Deborah Emanuel

By Ibrahim Ado-Kurawa

Wole Soyinka is a Nobel Laureate who won the highest prize for his work in Drama, where he excelled. But as everyone knows, no one who opposes Western ideas will win that prize. In fact, those who oppose their indigenous worldviews are more likely to win it. A good example is Neguib Mahfouz, the Egyptian anti-Islamic intellectual. Ibrahim Maqary, on the other hand, is an Islamic scholar who became prominent at a very young age because of his proficiency and erudition. They are from divergent backgrounds. Soyinka was nurtured in the neo-pagan Western intellectual tradition. Maqary was nurtured in the Muslim intellectual tradition of Sudanic Africa.

The neo-pagan Western Civilization, sometimes referred to as Western Christian Civilization, considers itself as the superior civilization, and all others must judge their practices according to its criteria. The West, since Enlightenment, has continuously incorporated pagan traditions. Hence Roberts’s conclusion that “Europe once coterminous with Christendom is now post Christian and neo-pagan” (Roberts 1996: 583).

The Islamic and Sinic Worlds have resisted Western intellectual domination. Therefore Ibrahim Maqary and other Muslim scholars always speak their minds damning the irritation of Western neo-pagan inspired scholars. Soyinka will insist that he is independent, but this is not true. His ideas of freedom are not original but primarily influenced by Western Neo-Paganism. He is not even a pan Africanist compared to Walter Rodney, Ngugi and Franz Fanon, who resisted colonialism. He was only engaged in sophistry, which is a form of intellectual cowardice.

Yes, there are elements of African traditionalism in Soyinka’s ideas, but they are those acceptable to the West. They include his anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim postures. He supports animism in Muslim majority Yoruba land. Hence despite his liberal pretensions, he never opposed the killings of innocent Hausa Muslims in Yoruba land by Sunday Igboho and other Oduduwa terrorists as much as he opposed the extra-judicial killing of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto.

Like his Western patrons, Wole Soyinka never opposes the killings of innocent Muslims. Hundreds of Hausa Muslims and non-Muslim northerners have been killed by IPOB and unknown gunmen in the South East. Yet, Wole Soyinka and Christian Bishops never protested loudly as they did for the extra-judicial killing of Deborah. Their conception of human beings is rooted in the Western intellectual tradition where the other has no value.

Why has the Neo-Pagan West become so inhuman even though Man has been the pivot of its philosophy since Renaissance? This could only be understood within the context of European history and the abolition of Christianity, and the entrenchment of secularism. Jesus (peace be upon him) did not come to destroy the Law of Moses but to confirm it and give glad tidings of the coming of Ahmad (SAW), the last Prophet. Therefore his followers remained Jews until the conversion of Paul. And eventually, Jewish Christians under the leadership of James, who upheld the Law, were obliterated (Wilson 1984: 126-7). This paved the way for emphasizing only the teachings of Jesus relating to personal piety, and people were encouraged to regard Caesar as supreme in worldly matters (Mark 7: 17).

Subsequently, Christianity became the Roman Empire’s official religion, and the clergy wielded power and influenced decisions. During the theocratic phase, in some areas, the clergy ruled, and the Pope, as the head of the Christendom, crowned the Kings and Emperors. The Church abused this privilege because Pauline Christianity was not equipped for this purpose. This necessitated a Reformation led by the Protestant fathers. In most parts of Europe, the clergy were made to revert to the position Paul intended for them. Many scholars have shown how Protestant ethics led to capitalism (Raghuram 1999: 236). The Catholic areas of Europe also followed these steps, and the influence of religion in public life was gradually reduced. Europeans believe that they were backwards in the Dark Ages because of the influence of the clergy, which caused the “Christian disease” (Lewis 2002).

With the curing of the “Christian disease,” religion became marginalized in Europe, and there was a shift from God as the pivot of philosophy to Man (Aminrazavi 1996: 384). This was the Enlightenment philosophy. According to Kant, one of the greatest Enlightenment philosophers, this current facilitated the emergence of man from his self imposed infancy and inability to use his reason without the guidance of another (Inwood 1995: 236-237). The Enlightenment philosophy preached equality for citizens of the nation but encouraged brutality and even genocide against others.

For example, the French revolution, which was a product of Enlightenment that gave birth to the republic based on “liberty, equality and fraternity”, but it restored slavery after it jailed Toussant L’Ouverture, the leader of the revolt in Haiti who was inspired by the French revolution (Time, December 31, 1999 p. 164). This shift from God to Man led to all the atrocities committed by Westerners who came to regard themselves as superior and all others as expendable. They lost the compassion of Christianity and became Christians in name only. And they were always willing to use Christian missionaries for this agenda. As confirmed by Pope Paul VI, the apostles who were extremists were also willing to be associated with the European imperialists because they regarded all non-Christians as heathens.

The public aspect of Christianity was abolished because the clergy misused the privilege. This was why Roy made his statement: “Secularity and politics are born of a closing of Christian thought onto itself” (Roy 1994: 8). Fukuyama also observed that: “Christianity in a certain sense had to abolish itself through a secularization of its goals before liberalism could emerge” (Fukuyama 1992: 216). This made it possible for some Western Christians to hate others and commit the worst crimes in human history: colonialism and Nazism. As a result, more than fifty million people lost their lives during the Western-inspired Second World War, the worst in human history.

This Western imperialist epistemological vision has enabled Western leaders to commit the worst atrocities against humanity despite human rights pretensions. European Americans committed genocide against Native Americans and Africans to build their economy. It is universally acknowledged that Western leaders lied when they invaded Iraq, as there were no weapons of mass destruction.

They spent trillions of dollars to destroy Muslim countries: Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria, causing the worst humanitarian crisis. Since World War II, the worst conflict has been the resource war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) caused by Western companies. Over three million people have lost their lives. No one cares about these atrocities in the West, but their diplomats can talk about Deborah in Nigeria.

Wole Soyinka and some Christian leaders can show their outrage against the extra-judicial killing of Deborah but not the massacre of innocent Muslims in the South East precisely because their worldview is rooted in the Western intellectual tradition. Muslim lives are nothing to people like Wole Soyinka. Hence, he was one of those who signed the petition that the murderers of Tafawa Balewa, Sardauna and military officers of northern origin should be released because the lives of Muslim and non-Muslim northerners eliminated do not matter. And now they want the mob that killed Deborah to be prosecuted simply because she symbolizes the violation of the sanctity of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), not because of any humanitarian consideration since they are selective.

Wole Soyinka has no respect for the Prophet of Islam (peace and blessings be upon him). There is no problem with this since he is an acclaimed unbeliever, but he should show understanding of the Muslim position as an intellectual. Ibrahim Maqary, on the other hand, as a Muslim scholar, considers the position of the Prophet of Islam as more important than the world and what it contains. Therefore, just as Western imperialists can destroy countries to satisfy their hedonistic lives, Muslims are willing to sacrifice their lives for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon).

Muslims have no history of genocide against non-Muslims or cruel destruction of countries as in the case of Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan and Syria or evil obliteration of communities like Tafawa Balewa in Nigeria.

Muslims, unlike Western Christians, have not abolished Islam; therefore, they cannot tolerate infringement on the sanctity of the Prophet. This is the worldview of the Muslims, and why should anyone query it? Must Muslims adopt a Western neo-pagan worldview? This can never happen. No Muslim scholar has ever called for the extra-judicial killing of anyone who violates the sanctity of the Prophet. It is the responsibility of the state to take action against those who commit this crime.

There is no doubt Wole Soyinka will continue his pretentiousness that Ibrahim Maqary should be sacked from the position of Imam of the National Mosque. This is one of the reasons why he was awarded the Nobel Prize – to promote Western neo-paganism against Islam. Ibrahim Maqary, on the other hand, will continue to attract the respect of the Muslims for protecting the sanctity of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Muslim scholars will also continue to maintain their position that Prophet must not be insulted and, at the same time, no mob action or human rights violations of innocent citizens.

Ibrahim Ado-Kurawa is the Editor of Nigeria Year Book and Who is Who. He can be reached via ibrahimado@hotmail.com.

By Hussaini Hussaini

There were gruesome murders of one pregnant Muslim woman, Harira and her four innocent kids, and six other innocent Northerners killed in Anambra State. There was also arson on goods and livestock worth millions of naira belonging to Northerners in the southeast. As per Daily Trust Newspaper reports of May 24, 2022, and other sources, all the crimes were carried out by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). However, there was a habitual dead silence of other media houses. One of the victims, a Northern Christian, was said to have been killed and disfigured by the terrorist for his “offence” of being a northerner and securing a job in the southeast.

We are in a country where God in His infinite Mercies sandwiched diverse tribes and religions to live with each other. This, some may call a colonial act of 1914 in which the regions of the geographical location that was to become Nigerian were amalgamated. I see it ordinarily as a divine opportunity for success.

This amalgamation would have served a positive purpose for Nigeria post-independence if the citizens had united themselves for genuine national (not regional or personal) interest, just as the Europeans united themselves in sharing Africa as a spoil of war on the table in the Berlin Conference.

Unfortunately, Nigeria has been so divided by strives with ethnic, religious, and political colouration since its independence. We witnessed the happenings that led us to January 15 and the counter-coup of the 1960s down to the civil war. Those sad events should have served as lessons for us to think about how to live with one another in peace since divisions and strives had severally proven to be futile in solving our respective problems.

However, turns of events have shown that the gap between us has kept widening. Even the people at the helm of affairs and presumed outstanding intellectuals such as the leadership of the legal profession are taking sides and showing extreme bias in addressing issues that can touch the roots of our unity as a country. A typical example is a press release of  May 17, 2022, by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president, Mr Olumide Akpata. He took time to condemn the happenings in Sokoto over the killing of Debora Samuel. She blasphemed and uttered abusive, vulgar words against the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (Peace be upon him).

In the same statement, Mr Akpata passively mentioned some killings of innocent Nigerians, including a military couple killed in the south by the terrorist organization, IPOB. Mr President held the brief of IPOB terrorists by referring to them as “Unknown Gun Men” as the southern media hypocritically cloned them. However, the NBA President made it clear through his press release that the statement and the cancellation of the scheduled NBA-Spidel in Sokoto were in honour of Debora, not the late military couple who was in a sane environment supposed to be national heroes.

To Muslims, who form the majority inhabitants of northern Nigeria, their lives and that of their families and everything they own should go astray if that loss will prevent any slur on the honour of Prophets Muhammad and Jesus, Mary, or any other prophet of God almighty (may peace be upon them all). In order words, Debora would not have been attacked by any mob if she’s only accused of killing a Muslim in their private affairs in Sokoto, just as some Igbo kidnappers who killed a Muslim Colonel a few years ago in Kaduna; and the Christians who killed Gen. Alkali in Du village in Jos.

Blasphemy committed by Debora is one of the highest abuses and attacks on the Muslims, which was capable of putting the entire region in flames. Still, our Bar President found it very worthy to state that his statement and postponement of NBA-Spidel was in her honour without showing any concern about the root of the evil. Idolizing Deborah without equally condemning blasphemy in all its ramifications is abuse and over trivialization of the sensibilities of the Muslim community, most significantly, the members of our noble profession.

All the Muslim leaders who spoke on the Debora issue, such as the Sultan, Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir, and Prof. Mansur Sokoto, have condemned mob action as they equally condemned the intolerant and provocative act of blasphemy. This would have been a fairer pattern of address to be employed by our President as a leader. Four years ago, I wrote two published articles to condemn blasphemy and mob action.

Ebikebuna Augustine Aluzu Esq responded to Mr Akpata’s statement thus: “in honour” is she an NBA Member?”. He concluded: “…People get gruesomely murdered in Nigeria daily. If NBA wants to stand against jungle justice, it should not be selective”. The NBA President would have done better if he stayed within his mandate fairly. However, since Mr President has chosen to throw his hat in the ring, what goes around comes around, they say. Hence, we will patiently await the personal reaction of the NBA President on the recent killings of northerners in the southeast.

Hussaini Hussaini wrote from Abuja via hussaini4good@gmail.com.

By Abdullahi O Haruna Haruspice

I have never seen a liar like the guy who said his life was under threat for renouncing his scholarship as a PG student of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria over the killing of Deborah Samuel.

He allegedly feared what befell Deborah in Sokoto may happen to him in Zaria if care was not taken. He added that he faced the fiercest discrimination in Zaria, particularly in the Department of Political Science, where he studied comparative politics. Moreover, he was allegedly forced to dress like northerners, say Assalamu Alaikum and his rented apartment the off-campus always targeted!

The same Zaria we graduated from, oh! the same Zaria where you are likely to grasp more Igbo words than even the Hausa language? Political science where you have representatives of all tribes as lecturers and students! I have never seen a pugnacious liar like that dude.

People like this guy should be avoided at all costs. They are the triggers of the ethnic faultlines we have. They brew discord to sustain the mutual distrust. He is as toxic and barbaric as the mob that lynched Deborah in Sokoto, the mob that killed the four souls in Lekki and the so-called unknown gunmen that decapitated the lawmaker yesterday in Anambra State.

Ahmadu Bello University Zaria admission is the most sought after in Nigeria. People travel from far to study at ABU. All the departmental student heads in the social sciences faculty were Igbo, Yoruba, Idoma and all Christians during my time. You have all tribes as students. Zaria was a pilot ground and still a model of national cohesion. You have giant mosques and churches in the school with no one infringing on another person’s right.

Whoever comes to the media to paint a grotesque picture of ABU Zaria as a reflection of bigotry is nothing but a merchant of lies and fabricated mischief. People like that guy that a whole Punch newspaper is giving full page to spew his diatribe should be asked to shut up.

Stop the Islamophobia, stop your ethnocentrism and be human. There is more gain in being human than a purveyor of hate and bigotry.

Abdullahi O Haruna Haruspice wrote from Abuja. He can be reached via haruspicee@yahoo.com.

By Murtala Uba Mohammed (PhD)

Dear Reverend, I wish to thank God for sparing your life during last week’s riot in Sokoto City because of the intrinsic value and sanctity of human life as shown to us by our beloved religion of Islam. I have to do that Father, because, rumors went round that a mob had allegedly attacked Sokoto Diocese and killed the bishop. Glory be to the Almighty, the most exalted, that you have not sustained any injury and that it was only windows of the church that were smashed and neither you nor any member of your congregation was injured. 

I hope Father would not be angry with me for deciding to throw a letter addressed to him through a public domain, rather than sending it privately to his Most Reverend. Sir, I am only following your footsteps. I know you are used to writing public letters to many of our leaders, including late ones, as you did recently to his Eminence, the one and only Premier of the Northern Nigeria, Alhaji Sir. Ahmadu Bello Sardaunan Sokoto, whose ancestral home and the city established by his grandfather, Sultan Bello, is now serving as your abode.

Sir, you seem to have carved a niche for yourself for being blunt and outspoken; we know you talk to power in the Northern Region in the most audacious way or to put it differently in the words of Professor Edward Said that you speak “truth” to power and the powerful. Sir, your magnum opus, Religion, Power and Politics in Northern Nigeria have not spared any of the respected Northern leaders be he a politician, traditional ruler or religious leader. Sir, forgive us the younger ones if we speak to you in a similar tone because a Hausa have a proverb “mai kwaikwayon shan mai, ya fi mai koyan shafawa” loosely translated, a trainee learns more than what his trainer taught. The Hausa people might not be aware of the Biblical verse which says: a “disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant is above his lord.

Let me not digress from the topic of the letter. I am writing concerning the blasphemy case and the riot that followed it. It is unfortunate that this had happened while you are holding the “Most important Christian chair in the Sokoto Region. Sir, the aura you built around you is that you are a “Peace Crusader”, which is stated as one of the goals of Kukah Centre. One expects you to come out boldly to uphold justice, speak the truth and promote the peaceful resolution of the crisis. Alas, your voice was one-sided. You are well aware of the highly accommodating and peaceful nature of the Sokoto people. It is enough pointer to their tolerance that you could freely come and settle in the city built by the Shehu and establish an institution which aims at unwinding and uprooting all that the Shehu had built two hundred years ago. Even as this crisis was surging, Muslim political and traditional/religious leaders would have definitely assured you of your rights and the rights of all Christians to settle in Sokoto or any Muslim city without hindrance. Shouldn’t such tolerance be reciprocated by the Bishop and his followers? What the people of Sokoto demand, as you work to reduce the strength of Islam by spreading the mission of Christianity is to AT LEAST respect the sensibilities of the people; respect their religious sanctity and personalities, do not subject them to ridicule, teach your followers good manners and the spirit of togetherness. This, disgustingly enough, you have failed to do. You have poisoned the minds of the young Christians around you and charged them with hatred against the majority Muslim population amongst whom they live. By God, how can you then claim being a peace maker? I know that in the case of Deborah, you may not be the person who directly misguided her behaviour. Some zealous Pastors might have been responsible. You are, however, the highest Christian cleric. I may therefore, not be wrong for holding you accountable for the irresponsible utterances of Deborah. Your one-sided statement lends credence to this assumption. Your position cannot be compared with that of the Sultan, who in the spirit of peacebuilding condemned those who took the law into their hands and called for restraint, knowing fully that he himself was deeply hurt by the assault on the personality of the beloved Prophet. The Sultan called his people to order, you called mainly for punishing the killers, pretending that there is no problem, therefore, your silence on the abuse cann be interpreted as tacit approval to rain more abuses on Islam and Muslims and further instigate demonstration in Churches and CAN Secretariat.

For the avoidance of doubt, I stand vehemently against taking laws into ones hand by any group of people. While condemning the killing of any soul not approved by a court of law, I am strongly convinced that she (Deborah) had crossed the red line and it is her filthy action that instigated the unfortunate youth reaction. It was Newton’s law that says every action generates equal and opposite reaction. 

Sir, the Sultan has done excellently well by not taking side with the killers; do the same Bishop, don’t just side with Deborah for the Muslims were insulted and enraged by her unprecedented foul words, therefore, remind your fellow Christians that Muslims hold their prophet in the most dearest way, let them teach their children never to insult our Prophet (peace upon him) again; after all we are not gaining anything by insults and curses, we gain by relating in the best of manners. In fact, no Muslim can be considered a true believer if he does not believe and respect Jesus. Your boldness is always against Muslim, this is the right time to probe yourself by showing it to Christians. 

Before I bid you farewell Father, let me use this opportunity to call for peace between you and three eminent children of Sokoto. Since you are now in their home region and you are still alive, this is the best time to cease fire with the trio who formed the tripartite stones that hold the Caliphate. Sir, I am talking of Shehu Usman bn Fodio, his great-grandchild Sir Ahmadu Bello Sardauna and Sheikh Abubakar Mahmud Gumi. Sir, all of them were dead when you wrote your book, which I believed to be an extract of your PhD thesis, but the book is full of a sort of vengeance and hatred towards them. Sardauna, as you insinuated was/is sustaining the wishes of Shehu which is extending the boundary of the Caliphate to the shore of Niger and beyond. This completely counter your dream and the dream of your master Dr. Walter Miller which is to have a ‘civilized North’ which according to him as you quoted in your book is looking “forward to the time not far from hence, when educated Christianized pagans will lead the way… and even encircle the more obstinate and conservative Muslim emirate” (Religion, Politics and Power in Northern Nigeria, p4). I think this is the main reason for your fight with Sardauna, because of his zeal to spread Islam, particularly his engagement in mass conversion in Central Nigeria. 

Finally, I wish you well as you will be celebrating your seventy year birthday in a few days to come. May we find peace in Nigeria, North, Sokoto and Southern Kaduna as well. Let us hope this will be the last time Sokoto will have this unfortunate incident. Thank you. 

Murtala writes from Kano, Nigeria, and can be reached via murtalamuhammadu@gmail.com. 

By Lawan Bukar Maigana 

To achieve the relative peace we crave, we must respect each other’s religion and be wary of using nasty words on our “sacred belongings.” However, I wholeheartedly condemn jungle justice, burning people, and people taking laws into their hands. That is un-Islamic. Islam is organized religion. We should follow due process when it comes to issues that require capital punishment. 

For a fact, I know that any negative thing in words or drawing against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) will not be tolerated or pardoned by any truly practising Muslims across the globe. However, Muslims should be wary of taking laws into our hands. Some people say that the justice system in Nigeria does not do the right thing at the right time. They mainly delay judgment. 

Some people gave the example of Mubarak Bala – an atheist from Kano – who was sentenced to 24 years in prison after pleading guilty to blasphemous charges against him. They said that his punishment was the death penalty, but he was sentenced to 24 years in jail, which was unjust. I told them that that should not be an excuse for them to take laws into their hands because Islam does not encourage doing that, no matter how bad our systems are. 

In the wake of Deborah’s killing by a mob, a lady named Naomi Goni was reported to the police and the Borno State Government over a blasphemous she made on Facebook. The Borno State Government aptly did the needful to avoid jungle justice on her, as in Sokoto. Jungle justice and people taking laws into their hands are un-Islamic. Everyone should respect each other’s religion for the sake of peace. We shouldn’t be influenced by press freedom or any similar freedoms to do anything that can lead to the loss of lives and properties across the country.

On May 16th, I read news published by the Punch newspaper that a Lagos engineer was killed and burnt on the road by motorcycle operators because of N100. This is condemnable and should not be accepted by any reasonable government. It is high time the Nigerian government came up with strict laws on burning people no matter what they did. 

These guys gruesomely burnt the engineer because of N100. You can’t count how many people were killed and burnt because of minor things like stealing food, goat, little money, and shoes, among others, in the South. And they happily do it. No northerner will kill anyone because of any of the things mentioned above. Yet, the northerners are called murderers. Really! Are they?

Although I am not an Islamic scholar, I know that Allah has warned and forbidden believers from punishing people with fire. Only Him does that. Insulting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is unacceptable and unpardonable even in a Muslim minority state or country, let alone a place like Sokoto, which is primarily the root of Islam in the North. Desisting from insulting the prophet will not cost you anything. Why can’t we live in peace? 

As Muslims, we should act with knowledge in whatever we do. Allah has asked us to know Him before we worship Him. We can’t worship Him if we don’t know Him. We should respect each other’s religion no matter what happens because none of us will take it lightly when any of us transgresses. I fear that this issue should not be metamorphosed into religious conflicts because people’s comments on the incident are scary and dangerous. 

One’s faith in Islam will not be complete until he believes and loves Jesus – Isa (AS). That is why you won’t see Muslims insulting him. Honestly, some of the comments made by some moderate Muslims and Christians are unjustifiable because such things have been happening in the South/East in the open, and no Muslim has ever attributed them to Christianity because we know what Christianity is. 

Why can’t they do the same justice as Muslims do for Christianity when things go wrong in the South? Until we start telling ourselves the truth and live by it, respect each other’s religion and censor our utterances, we will continue to get things wrong. Then, we can live together without crossing each other’s red lines. 

It is hypocritical to condemn and label the Muslims as murderers because of what happened in Sokoto while you keep mute on the killings thriving in the South and other places. All lives are sacred, and no religion has asked its followers to kill people for no reason, and no religion has asked its followers to insult or mock someone’s faith. This has to be understood by all of us. 

The only way to end this kind of incident is through the establishment of laws on blasphemy with strict punishment for whoever is found wanting. In addition, the state governors should enact laws that will protect each other’s religion in the country to avoid jungle justice, burning people, and preventing people from taking laws into their hands.

The law should clearly state that whoever insults or uses nasty words on prophets or religion publicly will be decisively dealt with. The person should blame themselves for whatever punishment is meted at them. I think this will put an end to blasphemy, which will save lives and properties in the country. 

Lawan Bukar Maigana is a writer. He can be reached at lawanbukarmaigana@gmail.com. 

By Professor Abdussamad Umar Jibia

Nigerian Muslims following discussions on the execution of a young woman by unknown youth in Sokoto would note that several obscure social media “Islamic scholars” have emerged. Some of them arrogated to themselves the right of ijtihad, a thing some of the most outstanding Islamic scholars avoided unless absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, people kept sharing such stuff as it suits their position on the matter.

When you decide to be a Muslim, you have taken a big decision to be a student of knowledge throughout your life. We all know this because the first passage of the Qur’an revealed to our Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) is essentially an instruction to sit up and learn. After that, the Prophet lived the remaining 23 years of his life interpreting the Qur’an revealed to him piecemeal using both verbal and practical approaches. By the time he left, the religion was complete, and a whole body of knowledge was on the ground, safely transferred from generation to generation of Muslim scholars.

The knowledge is vast as it covers all aspects of life. Take the five pillars of Islam, for example. Whole books have been written on aqidah, which constitutes the first pillar of Islam. There are books on Salah (prayers), the obligatory and supererogatory aspects of it, prayer timings, adhan, iqama, the core body of prayer, etc. Same with Zakah, Fasting and Hajj.

The daily transactions of a Muslim in the market are well detailed in terms of halal and haram. In addition, there are books on rights, including rights of other Muslims, non-Muslims, neighbours, colleagues, animals, the environment, etc.

How would the sick be handled while still alive and after their death? What happens to their heritage? How is it shared? These are clearly stated.

All aspects of Islamic knowledge are available in detail, and, in sum, Islam is not a teach-yourself religion. Instead, it has to be learnt from those who know it.

Take it easy. I am not saying every Muslim must be a professional Islamic scholar, just like not everyone must be a medical doctor or an Engineer. You are probably 40, 50 or even 60 and above and have been working hard in the area Allah has placed you in. Keep working hard to earn a lawful means of livelihood for yourself and your family. That is an aspect of Jihad you are making.

I believe you would agree with me that you would not accept any quack to offer medical services to yourself and your family in the event of sickness. Most likely, you would look for the best affordable specialist to treat you and your loved ones. You would check their qualifications. You would not pick a document from an unknown specialist on the internet and begin to apply their medication and think you would be okay. When you want to build a house, you will look for the right architect to design it for you and the right engineer to supervise the work.

You are doing all of the above when it comes to Islamic knowledge. When you are going on hajj for the first time, for example, you would typically meet the scholar in your area to ask questions. You would probably attend the courses organized by the local pilgrims’ board. You are doing that to avoid wasting your money and make sure that you perform a hajj Allah would accept.

When your father dies, you would call someone you believe has a good knowledge of inheritance to help you share what has been left by the deceased. You do that for zakah, etc.

As a Muslim born to a Muslim family, you learnt to recite the Qur’an and pray from your Islamiyya days. Many thanks to your parents who took you there. Yet, you keep learning from your local Sheikh to make sure you recite the Qur’an even better and perform a prayer that is devoid of mistakes.

My brother, if you only consult an Islamic scholar you trust on all of the above, which are what you do daily and/or from time to time as a Muslim, why do you think you need a social media “scholar” to tell you the Islamic position on blasphemy, a thing not essential in your daily routine of Ibadat? I guess you are not contemplating insulting the personality of the Holy Prophet (SAW), and you are most probably not aspiring to be a Shariah court judge to know the kind of punishment you would pass on a blasphemer.

But in case you have abandoned your Sheikh and/or dropped all your Islamic books, thinking you don’t need to learn more about Islam, I am afraid that you are already preparing yourself for eternal destruction. So please go back, get an Islamic teacher you trust and continue.

As for the Sokoto case, we have shown sufficient anger, and anyone contemplating a repeat of what the young woman did would have to think many times. Let us leave the Muslim leadership to handle the rest. We should have confidence in the Sultan and his team.

May Allah forgive our shortcomings. Amin.

Professor Abdussamad Jibia can be contacted via aujibia@gmail.com.

By Muhammad Sabiu

Bauchi State Commissioner for Education, Dr Aliyu U. Tilde, has replied to Peoples Gazette newspaper over his condemnation of Deborah Samuel, who made derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in a WhatsApp voice note.

Recall that Deborah was killed and set ablaze by an angry mob over the insult she rained on the Prophet, which caused outrage at the Shehu Shagari College of Education Sokoto, where she was a student. Protests erupted in parts of the northwestern state over the arrest of those suspected to be part of the mob action.

In a post on his Facebook page, the Bauchi commissioner condemned Deborah’s remarks, noting that “baki shi ke yanka wuya”, which can roughly mean “what you say lands you in trouble.”

However, a report by Peoples Gazette, a newspaper many people accused of being involved in gonzo journalism, claims that “Bauchi commissioner for education Aliyu Tilde endorses murder of Deborah Samuel, tells Christians to undergo psychiatric test.”

In a short rejoinder he posted on Facebook, Dr Tilde said, “No Regret

“Anyone that is not touched by that high degree of provocation is insensitive. Children must be taught to respect others. If Jesus (May peace be upon him) is insulted will say the same.

“You are free to fabricate lies and attach to my statement. That is your business. But don’t deceive yourself by thinking you’re a good Christian. You are a bad one.

“I have watched and read many Christians condemn what Deborah said.”

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is the most respected, loved, and obeyed human being to the Muslim faithful. According to Islam, he was the last Messenger of Allah, who is the greatest among all other Prophets and Messengers.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state has imposed curfew on the state to mitigate violence, as protesters demanding the release of the two suspected youth over the killing of Deborah Emmanuel roamed the state’s streets.

Emmanuel, a student of the Shehu Shagari College of Education, has allegedly blasphemed the prophet of Islam, Muhammad peace be upon him, the development that led to her killing Friday, May 13th, 2022.

Tambuwal said in a statement, “Following the sad incident that happened at the Shehu Shagari College of Education on Thursday and sequel to the developments within (Sokoto) metropolis this morning till afternoon, by the powers conferred on me by Section 176 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; and Sections 1 and 4 of the Public Order Act; and, also Section 15 of Sokoto State Peace Preservation Law, I hereby declare, with immediate effect, a curfew within (Sokoto) metropolis of Sokoto township for the next 24 hours.

“I appeal to the good people of Sokoto State to kindly continue to observe law and order and calm down (on the) restiveness currently pervading in the metropolis.

“Everyone should, please, in the interest of peace go back home and observe this measure, with a view to reestablishing peace, law and order in the state.

“It is not in the interest of anyone for us to have a breakdown of law and order. I, therefore, appeal for restraint; and for people to observe and respect the rule of law. Thank you very much,” he stated.