Muslims

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 Aminu Mohammed      

It is no longer a secret that we have many single ladies and divorcees in search of elusive husbands to marry in the North. This has become worrisome not only to the women but their parents, who are tired of seeing them at home. The increasing incidence of poverty and idleness among our women may not be unconnected to a lack of skills and capital to embark on a meaningful trade or vocational training. Most women in the North are further impoverished following the death of a husband or incapacitation due to the loss of a job. In some instances, the family suffers if the breadwinner becomes sick over a long time.

Although appreciable progress has been made in increasing female enrollment in secondary schools and tertiary institutions across Northern states, even at that, the region is lagging in terms of education. We still have a highly marginalised segment of the society peopled by an armada of illiterate and disempowered women.

Have we bothered to question the rationale behind the increase in social vices, especially sexual immorality, in our society? Have we pondered the root cause of poverty and inequality in our midst? Do we still think that poverty is spiritual and caused by our actions and misdeeds? The fact is that we have marginalised our women and do not see the need for them to excel and go after their passion and dreams. Instead, we believe that women should just stay at home and take care of the kids while the man goes out to look for means of sustenance.

It is pertinent to note that parents spend a lot of money preparing for their daughters’ marriage ceremonies by buying all sorts of assorted kitchen wares and household items without prioritising the education and empowerment of their daughters. Many parents do not see the need for their daughters to have the requisite training or education to become self-reliant. That is why most women in the North become a burden to society in the case of divorce or the death of a spouse.

Have we asked ourselves why we have so many idle women living in squalor and deprivation due to divorce or the death of a spouse? What can we do to empower our women so that they can live meaningful lives and achieve their dreams? Most of these idle women have goals, dreams and innate talents that could be harnessed for societal progress. Of course, cynics and chauvinists may argue that women are fickle-minded and should not be allowed to chart the path to self-reliance. This is due to fear that they may not be submissive to their husbands. However, that is not always the case in concrete terms.

Of course, I believe in female empowerment for societal development, even though I am sceptical about the feminist utopia. However, I am indeed aware that an empowered girl-child through education and vocational training is a pride to her parents and the community. Thus, an empowered woman will ensure an excellent educational upbringing for her children.

I believe that parents should focus on allowing their female children to acquire vocational training and practical skills before marriage to support their families in one way or the other. The focus should not be only on marriage rites and traditional practices, to the detriment of her future wellbeing. The clothing materials, especially “lefe” and many boxes of clothing materials that we dissipate energy in gathering for the wedding activities, will never translate into wealth in concrete terms.

Parents should realise that marriage is not a poverty alleviation scheme and that giving away their daughter to a rich person does not guarantee her happiness. Some families even go to the extent of incurring colossal debt to procure the needed wedding materials to impress relatives, friends, and society, which leads to anguish and regret.

I must reiterate that disempowered women are a burden to society. Therefore, I believe that skill acquisition programmes should be inculcated in our women, especially those who are not fortunate to acquire tertiary education. Of course, those with tertiary education should also learn entrepreneurship to fend for themselves due to the limited job opportunities in the country.

Islam does not prohibit women from education, mercantilism and trade. Even the prophet’s wife, Khadija (RA), was an independent woman and a merchant. So, there is no basis for the argument that women should be locked at home without any meaningful enterprise only to serve as a tool for satisfying their husbands’ sexual needs.

It is not enough to marry off your daughter to a man without adequate skills for survival. Parents who do not see the need to educate their female children should make sure that they acquire a vocational skill or trade before marriage. This ensures their economic survival in case of a spouse’s death or loss of job. We cannot run a society where a large segment is marginalised and lack the wherewithal to participate in any meaningful economic activity. That will not augur well for the progress and development of the Northern region.

Aminu Mohammed is at the school of Sustainability, Christian- Albrechts- Universität zu Kiel, Schleswig Holstein, Germany. He can be reached via stu219013@mail.uni-kiel.de or gravity23n@gmail.com.

By Ibrahiym A. El-Caleel

By the special grace of God, nothing shall befall the Imām of National Mosque, Professor Ibrahim Ahmad Maqari, for the calculated report published by Vanguard Newspapers. The media house submitted a report on the Sokoto incidence wherein they sandwiched truths, half-truths and micro-truths.

The Imām didn’t justify mob action anywhere in his tweets and Facebook posts. He only maintained that Muslims have redlines. Circumferential lines that shouldn’t be approached, lines that must not be crossed to disrespect their faiths. And this is both factual and non-negotiable. So, the Imām was very much on point. No amount of deliberate media intimidation can change this hard fact.

You may say the Imām was not making a personal statement. He was stating what is obtainable in the thoughts of every Muslim with some adequate knowledge of Islamic law. It is in the books of Islamic law.

Unfortunately, we are not seemingly ready to make progress on this recurrent problem. People are reiterating the measures that can be taken to avert future episodes of this issue, but no one is ready to listen. Instead, the suggestions are mischievously twisted to mean tacit justification for mob lynching. What sort of regressive society have we become? We prefer to dwell on polemical exchanges rather than orienting ourselves towards some mutual understanding. Between polemics and societal orientation, which paves the way for harmony in a plural society?

Muslims are saying blasphemy isn’t tolerated in Islam. When genuinely committed to the rights of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), the provision by Islamic law is execution. And in Qur’an Chapter 6, verse 108, Muslims are categorically prohibited from blaspheming anyone’s religion – be they Christians, Jews or Traditional Worshippers. It is not allowed in Islam. The Qur’an has warned about it. This prohibition was made so that no one blasphemes Islam out of revenge. By this, Islam respects the boundaries or redlines of every religion.

Are Christians saying that their religion encourages them to blaspheme Islam? Where was that stated in the Bible? I believe nowhere! This means it is purely an act of mischief for anyone to choose to make a living from ridiculing or blaspheming a Muslim’s faith since the instruction isn’t Biblical.

These are honest discussions that will promote harmony and give us some sanity. It will also give us a civil society. This is what a national mosque Imām, Professor Ibrahīm Maqari, says. He was not justifying mob action by any implication. So do not put words into his mouth, please. Vanguard Newspapers lied as usual. Barefaced. And this is not the first time they have submitted such a mischievous report whose jeopardizing tendencies they are underestimating.

But it is understandable since yellow journalists would always take pleasure in misfortunes like this. It gives them the advantage of selling volumes of papers and gathering traffic. Woe onto he who follows unethical methods to garner influence and gain income. Woe onto him!

Ibrahiym A. El-Caleel writes from Zaria and can be reached via caleel2009@gmail.com.

By Ishaq Habeeb

I know emotions are tense at the moment, and people are understandably choosing their words carefully not to appear fanatical or “un-woke”, but as we condemn the lynch mob that murdered Deborah in cold blood, let us also condemn her recklessness to save the next Deborah from other such murderous lynch mobs abound.

Deborah was only right to caution people to stop posting irrelevant, least of all, religious messages to a school platform, comprising people of varying faiths, formed solely for sharing academic updates, but dead wrong and at once suicidal, to speak blasphemously about a man whom she – should – know (since she spoke the Hausa language, a tribe, about 80/90% of whose natives are Muslims) majority of the group members, hold in the highest esteem.

Sadly, in Nigeria, you only need to become an Admin of a WhatsApp Group – with a clear cut mission – to know how practically impossible is it to govern Nigerians and have them obey simple rules.

I understand that it is hard to blame the dead in moments like these, but there are young people here who are reading our takes on topical issues, and our takes to shape their ideas and actions.

So, condemning only the lynch mob while ignoring the victim’s manifest, brash and unbridled lack of respect for other people’s revered personalities is, to say the least, lynching the stark truth to appease our emotions, and that is both shortsighted and dangerous.

We must do well to avoid living in half-truth denial and speak the whole truth from both sides so that young observers will not go around believing it is okay to do what Deborah did and that the only person to blame squarely is the lawless lynch mob.

Obviously, we can’t reason lynch mobs out of jungle justice(s). Still, we can reason with our living sister Deborahs to study their environments and always be mindful of their utterances, and this isn’t limited to people’s belief systems. It cuts across all strata of people’s lives endeavours. A stitch in time, as they say, saves nine.

Conclusively, as the regional coordinator of a Pan African movement, I’ve had to, on several occasions, scold/remove members for posting Friday/Sunday messages to the movement’s WhatsApp platform, even though it has a self-defined purpose and a strict rule against posting ANY irrelevant and PARTICULARLY religious messages.

As an admin, I’ve been called many atheistic names privately by those shambolic recalcitrants for simply doing my job, as clearly spelt. I fear if they could have their way, perhaps, I may as well face Deborah’s fate.

Ishaq can be reached via: simplyishaqhabeeb@gmail.com.

By Prof. Abdussamad Umar Jibia

The trending topic that every Nigerian is talking about is the execution of a young woman who insulted the personality of the Prophet of Islam (May peace be upon him). There is not too much I have to say on it. It is clear that Nigerian Muslims have spoken. We have a redline; no one would insult the Holy Prophet of Islam and get away with it. If democracy is all about what pleases the majority and protects the right of all, then there should be a law criminalizing any attack on the personality of our Holy Prophet with the appropriate punishment; unless some people feel it is part of their right to insult him. If, on the other hand, democracy is about being anti-Islam and crossing its redlines, then our problem has just begun.

The discussion on the Sokoto incident as I followed it on social media has revealed the level of hypocrisy in many of those who claim to be Muslims. Many commentators were not worried about the magnitude of the evil the woman committed but the way she was executed. Others would say, “She should be taken to a court of law”, etc., as if they are not the same people who would condemn any law that applies execution as the punishment for blasphemy.

Specifically, in a Whatsapp group I belong a particular person was so deep into his attack of the “perpetrators of the murder” that he went out of his way to be making other unsavory comments about Islam. The particular point I took him on was his association of slavery to Islam. To him it was the British who liberated slaves relying on a colonial document written by Lugard.

But he is not alone. A Northern writer with large followership among Northern elites once accused the Arabs of killing slaves because we don’t have African Arabs like we have African Americans. That, to the best of his imagination was because Arabs killed their slaves.

The danger is not about these people but the unsuspecting followers they can influence. Unfortunately, most social media followers are fascinated by beautiful grammar even if it is bereft of facts. In particular, I have always wanted to respond to the claim on the killing of African slaves by the Arabs. With my discussion with another Northerner I decided to write a few lines on this.

It is well known that it is not Islam that came with slavery. Islam came and met the practice of enslaving fellow humans well established not only in Arabia but in all other societies. The methods of acquiring slaves and the way they were treated were devoid of sanity in most societies. These methods were practiced before Islam came and continued to be practiced after the coming of Islam in societies where the impact of Islam was yet to be felt. Sadly, even in some Muslim societies where ignorance or selfish desires prevailed some of these methods were practiced.

One way slaves were acquired was through war. In war, the victor could treat the vanquished enemy the way he liked. They could simply kill them, torture them to death, put them under their control as soldiers or otherwise make them slaves.

Another way slaves were made was through guardianship. A father or grandfather had absolute authority over his offspring. He could sell or gift them away as slaves; could lend him or her to someone else, or exchange him or her with another’s son or daughter. A community chief could sell out one or more of his subjects as slaves.

Invasion was another method. In many cases, strong communities invaded weaker ones, enslaved all men, women and children and sold them. This is chiefly how many Africans found their way to other continents as slaves.

Other methods include pawning, tribute, etc. depending on the geographical location and time in history.

Islam restricted the means of enslavement to only one method. Jihad. The Qur’anic meaning of the word is maximum struggle in spreading and defending the message of Islam. As long as falsehood is confronting the truth and evil is opposing good and mischief and its doers are standing in the way of reform, Islam does not allow Muslims to seclude themselves with rituals and look the other way. Just like a Muslim is enjoined to give Zakah that symbolizes kindness, he is enjoined to perform another form of worship that symbolizes opposing evil. That is Jihad. Of course this write-up is not about Jihad.

When Jihad becomes an armed struggle and prisoners are taken, a favour is done to them. Instead of being killed they are taken to Muslim community as slaves to serve as house helps, on the farm and help in other activities not beyond their ability.

Of course, it is not a rule in Islam that war captives must be enslaved. Captives can be released freely by the leader or after payment of ransom (Q47:4). Both of these happened during the lifetime of the Prophet (Salllahu alaihi wa sallam). Peculiarities of situation would always guide the leader. Islam also prohibits torturing the enemy or mutilating their body as practiced in other climes.

The rules of treating slaves are summarized in the following Hadith, quoted in parts, “They are your brothers and servants. Allah Has put them under you. Whosoever has his brother under him, he should feed him from what he eats and clothe him from the type of cloth he uses. Do not assign them to do any work that is too much for them. When you assign them, help them.” (Bukhari and Muslim reported it).

In addition to this golden rule of treating slaves, Islam introduced incentives for freeing slaves. For example, freeing a Muslim slave would emancipate the freer from hell fire on the Day of Judgment, according the Holy Prophet (May peace be upon him) himself. Kaffara (expiation) for incorrect breaking of fast, abrogation of oath, killing by mistake, zihar, etc. can be done by freeing of slaves, sometimes as the first option.

The claim that Arabs killed their slaves stems from ignorance of the above and the fact that intermarriage took place between Arabs and freed slaves. Even in modern day America or Europe, how many whites marry blacks? The former still look at the latter as slaves. The fact is that even among themselves, enslaved people in America were not legally allowed to marry until recently. One woman was allocated to several slaves to share, so she gave birth to another slave whose father did not matter. This beastly practice was unheard of in what our ‘liberals’ condemn as “puritan” Islamic societies.

The Shiite-brainwashed “intellectuals” probably forgot that in Islam a master can have intercourse with his female slave subject to laid down conditions and when she gives birth to any child she qualifies for her freedom and her child has full rights of a child. Some of the famous early generations of Muslim rulers were children of such slaves. A handy example is Abdurrahman bn Muawiya of Spain. The only maid slave the Holy Prophet had, Maria, was an African and she gave birth to his son Ibrahim. This is unheard of in western societies.

I challenge any believer in western civilization to cite an example where a white master married a slave.

Thus, slaves were integrated into the Arab/Muslim society. Not only were they integrated but many of them learned Islam and excelled in Islamic scholarship. The list is long but a few would suffice. Nafiu m. Abdullahi bn Umar, Ata’ bn Abi Rabah, Tawoos bn Kaisan, Yazid bn Abi Habeeb, Makhul, Maimoon, Addhahhak, Ibrahim Annakha’iy are some of the famous scholars of early Muslim generation who were originally slaves.

Coming down to recent history of West Africa, what confused many who get their knowledge of Islam from secondary sources is the conduct of some West African kings. For example, Kano and Zaria were Muslim states and war between them was far from being Jihad. People enslaved as a result of that war were enslaved unjustly and Allah will judge between them and those responsible for their enslavement.

Another wrong pre-colonial enslavement method was raiding of minor tribes by major tribes for the purpose of generating slaves. Such slaves were kept in the palaces of traditional rulers or sold out to foreigners. This is clearly outside what Islam permits, regardless of whether or not such major tribes are predominantly Muslim.

Sheikh Abubakar Gummi had very tough times trying to educate some traditional rulers who still kept such slaves in their palaces that such practice was unIslamic.

Most western-educated people in Muslim societies are misled by Shiite propaganda. It is well known that Shiites have deep animosity towards Arabs and Islam.

Prof Abdussamad Umar Jibia

By Dr Bala Muhammad

His name is Muhammad. And all of us, now One and a Half Billion Souls and counting, love him beyond compare. In fact, we so love him that others just can’t understand or comprehend. They don’t get it, and they can’t get it, for they know not this kind of love. We love him more than we love our parents; indeed we love him more than we love ourselves! The moment we hear his name invoked, we immediately add: “May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.” O we so love him, Muhammad!

He left us more than 14 centuries ago, yet it is as if he daily lives amongst us. There is no day that passes without his name being called, and praised, by each one of us. To us, he is inviolable, unjokable. He is leave-alonable. We don’t joke about him. To us, Muhammad the Prophet is a serious matter. In anything concerning him, we are, we swear by Allah, fanatical, fundamental, impatient. We love him; you don’t, and you can’t understand. So we say to them, just leave him alone.

We are so many, and O how we so love him! A billion-plus loves! Yet some people who don’t understand us, or our Prophet, think they can just play with his name, and his person, and his dignity, and hide under ‘freedom of expression’ or similar Western jargon. We say to unto them: just leave him alone! May our fathers and our mothers be a ransom for you, O Muhammad! O Rasulullah!

They have done it again! Filmmakers and cartoonists and writers who think they can make fun of our Prophet and go scot-free should know this fact: you may abuse a Muslim’s father, you may abuse a Muslim’s mother, you may abuse everyone abusable, but never poke fun or abuse our noble Prophet Muhammad. On that, we are fanatical, we are fundamental; end of discussion. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon you O Rasulullah!

But we should all remember that the forefathers of these insensitive filmmakers and cartoonists and writers were not like them. They acknowledged and praised our Prophet as the greatest person to have ever lived. His name Muhammad, indeed, means praiseworthy. SallalLahuala Muhammad.
Michael H. Hart in his book on ratings of people who contributed towards the benefit and upliftment of Mankind chose Muhammad at the top of his list of the Greatest Hundred. He writes: “My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world’s most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels.” (The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History: New York, 1978).

George Bernard Shaw, the great philosopher, said about the Prophet: “He must be called the Saviour of Humanity. I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it much needed peace and happiness.” (The Genuine Islam, Singapore, Vol. 1, No. 8, 1936).

Historian John William Draper in his well-known work, ‘A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe’, observes: “Four years after the death of Emperor Justinian, was born at Makkah, in Arabia, the man who, of all men, has exercised the greatest influence upon the human race.”

Dr Annie Besant in her book, ‘The Life and Teachings of Muhammad’ (Madras, 1932) says: “It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character of the great Prophet of Arabia, who knows how he taught and how he lived, to feel anything but reverence for that mighty Prophet, one of the great messengers of the Supreme. And although in what I put to you I shall say many things which may be familiar to many, yet I myself feel whenever I re-read them, a new wave of admiration, a new sense of reverence for that mighty Arabian teacher.”

David George Hogarth (1862-1927) English archaeologist, author, and keeper of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford says of Prophet Muhammad:

“Serious or trivial, his daily behaviour has instituted a canon which millions observe this day with conscious mimicry. No one regarded by any section of the human race as a Perfect Man has been imitated so minutely. The conduct of the Founder of Christianity has not so governed the ordinary life of His followers. Moreover, no Founder of a religion has been left on so solitary an eminence as the Muslim Apostle.” (Arabia, Oxford, 1922).

Edward Gibbon (1737-1794), considered the greatest British historian of his time, says of our Prophet: “The greatest success of Muhammad’s life was affected by sheer moral force without the stroke of a sword.” (History of the Saracen Empire, London, 1870). Gibbon adds elsewhere: “His (i.e. Muhammad’s) memory was capacious and retentive, his wit easy and social, his imagination sublime, his judgment clear, rapid and decisive. He possessed the courage of both thought and action.” (History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, London, 1838, vol.5, p. 335).

Professor Keith L. Moore, one of the world’s most prominent scientists in the fields of anatomy and embryology, and author of the book ‘The Developing Human,’ which has been translated into eight languages, was in Saudi Arabia in 1981 during the Seventh Medical Conference in Dammam. Professor Moore said: “It has been a great pleasure for me to help clarify statements in the Qur’an about human development. It is clear to me that these statements must have come to Muhammad from God because almost all of this knowledge was not discovered until many centuries later. This proves to me that Muhammad must have been a messenger of God.” SallalLahuala Muhammad.

Thomas Carlyle, in ‘Heroes and Hero Worship and the Heroic in History,’ (1840) says: “The lies (i.e. Western slander) which well-meaning zeal has heaped round this man (Muhammad) are disgraceful to ourselves only.”

Mahatma Gandhi, speaking on the character of Muhammad said: “I wanted to know the best of one who holds today’s undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind…I became more than convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These, and not the sword, carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle. When I closed the 2nd volume of the Prophet’s biography, I was sorry there was not more for me to read of the great life.” (Young India).

Alphonse de Lamartine (1790-1869), the French poet and statesman, says of our Master: “Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror of ideas, restorer of rational dogmas, of a cult without images; the founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire; that is Muhammad. As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he?” (Translated from Histoire de la Turquie, Paris, 1854, vol. II).

They will continue to provoke us by mocking our Rasul. But we should be ahead of them by being circumspect in our protestations. We must remember that Allah says “Wa la taziruwaziratuwizraukhra”. The consequence of this blasphemy is a burden on those filmmakers, cartoonists and writers. And they will bear it, in sha Allah.

Please tell all of them: just leave our Prophet alone!

This article was written by BALA MUHAMMAD and first published by Weekly Trust (Nigeria) on Saturday, 22 September 2012. It’s reproduced here with the author’s permission.

• News Desk

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has condemned the killing in Sokoto of a student, Deborah Samuel, over an allegation of blasphemy.

In a statement released by its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, on Friday, 13^th May 2022, MURIC described the killing as outrageous, illegal and unlawful.

The full statement reads :

“A female student of the Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, Deborah Samuel, was on Thursday killed for allegedly blaspheming against the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The blaspheme statement was reportedly posted on a WhatsApp group. She was asked to withdraw the statement but she allegedly refused to do so. The school’s security unit and police were overwhelmed by the crowd when they tried to rescue her.

“MURIC strongly condemns this killing and all others that have been happening in Nigeria in recent times. Those aggrieved by the student’s post should have reported her to the security agencies or to the Shariah police, the Hizbah. Mob killing is archaic and bohemian. It belongs to the Stone Age. Nobody has the right to take the law into his hands.

“The Glorious Qur’an compares the killing of a single person to the killing of the whole of humanity just as it compares the saving of life to the rescue of all homo sapiens (Qur’an 5:32) In like manner, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) himself condemned all acts of violence and advocated peaceful conduct at all times.

“But this incident should not be condemned in isolation. The recent trend whereby Nigerians now freely shed their brother’s blood should be condemned by all patriots. In this regard, we also strongly denounce the killing of several Northern Muslims in the South East in the past few months.

“We frown at the recent burning last week of a truck fully loaded with cows in the South East as well as the killing of many Muslims of South-East origin by their Igbo brothers in the same South East. We note with keen interest that Muslims in the North did not retaliate when these killings were taking place.

“MURIC calls on the Sokoto Police Command to do everything within its power to get to the bottom of yesterday’s killing of the female student over alleged blasphemy. We appeal to members of the public to remain calm and law-abiding. Nigerians should allow the police to carry out their investigations on the case. The Sokoto Police Command has started well as it already has two suspects in detention for the killing.

“Meanwhile we remind Nigerians to always exercise restraint on matters of religion. Free speech is no longer free if it amounts to religious provocation. Even the European Court has ruled that the utterance of derisive statements against the prophet of any religion is a crime.

“We affirm clearly, categorically and unequivocally that there is a symbiotic relationship between provocation, violence and extremism. While MURIC will not condone extremism and violence, the anatomy of terrorism is becoming clearer day by day. We must all ponder over the causal-effect theory. Violence and terrorism are mere symptoms. The real disease is a provocation. Violence and terrorism are mere smoke. Provocation is the fire and we all know that there is no smoke without fire.

“We, therefore, appeal to Nigerians to desist from insulting, deriding or abusing the prophets of other religions. Muslims should continue to respect Jesus (peace be upon him) whom the Christians hold very dear. In the same vein, Christians should avoid casting aspersion on the person of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). We have experienced enough religious crises in the land.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Amidst Sallah (Eid-el-Fitr) celebration, when people jubilate the end of Ramadan in new clothes and different sorts of delicious dishes, civil servants in Kano have seen their 4th day of a new month without salaries, the development they said has thrown them and their families into dilemma.

Reacting with dismay, the workers said the government has failed to keep to its promise of paying the salaries on the 25th of every month.

The Daily Reality learnt that some workers had to hide because they could not make any provision to welcome and host their friends and relatives as usual.

The workers who bitterly complained about the government’s carelessness towards their wellbeing said they remained indoors on the Sallah days because they were economically depressed.

Eid-el-Fitr is the period when the Muslim faithful happily celebrate the end of Ramadan. The days are usually welcomed with beautifully sewed clothes, different sorts of delicious foods, and meats of all kinds provided they are Islamically lawful, and relatives from all walks will call on their family and friends to celebrate the day.

Salary delay leaves a big hole in our minds

One of the civil servants who spoke to our reporter said that he went ahead to embrace his old craft of sewing for a living. The civil servant, who our reporter found busy sewing in a tailoring shop, said this delay has left in their minds a very big hole.

He added, “I can not do what I used to do on Sallah days. I couldn’t afford to buy a single chicken for my family. We did not cook anything nor did we have any new clothes to wear.”I used to sit with friends after Eid to exchange greetings and share pleasantries. But this time around, as I was depressed, I remained indoors until 4 pm when I came out to pray,” he added.

Another source, Ibrahim Shu’aibu, decried the experience as horrendous as they largely depend on their monthly income for a living.

Shu’aibu said, “The experience is horrendous. The effect is deep. It has affected almost all aspects of our lives as civil servants. More than half of the civil servants rely on salaries to cater for themselves, their families as well as some members of their relatives.”

In the same vein, this incident has deeply affected many businesses in many states in this country, Kano in particular.”

Personally speaking, this Eid-el-Fitr has passed like an ordinary day. I had to hide because I didn’t make any provision to welcome and host my friends and relatives as usual,” he stated.

Also, another source who pleaded for anonymity confided in our reporter that this Sallah is one of the worse situations he ever found himself in. He said, “We didn’t cook anything for this Sallah because I was broke. And I couldn’t afford to buy Sallah attire for my small kids. Here we are living like baggers.”

The worst part of it is that the government keep mute about the issue. I think the government should have addressed us. But sadly enough, what we only hear or see from the government officials is their beautifully snapped pictures at Umara.”

Another worker, Sulaiman Abdullahi, not his real name, said they found it difficult to handle the situation as they mostly live from paycheck to paycheck.

He said, “that’s why most of the workers are indebted beyond settlement. As we receive our salaries, we go ahead to pay the debt. I know you can imagine how hard we civil servants live our lives.”

Kano economy in a chain – Economist

An economist teaching in one of the Kano institutions lamented that the state economy is in a chain, leaving a lot many sectors affected. The economist said the delay in this month’s salary has affected many businesses, leading to the stop in the facilitation of goods and services in the state.

He further stated that “generally, the state economy is the dependent economy. It is dependent because it depends on workers’ salaries. When workers get paid at the end of every month, they will take their income into circulation by purchasing goods and services.

“At the end of this month, workers have not been paid. The facilitation of goods and services from various markets in the state will stop.

“The welfare of workers and their families will be affected. The state economic facilitation and activities are also stopped. And in long run, it will give a gap in which businesses will be dropped. And if it dropped it will create losses,” he said.

Could Kano State Government respond?

In line with balancing this report, our reporter contacted the Kano State Chief Press Secretary, Malam Abba Anwar, to know the cause of the delay in this month’s salary payment. However, all attempts were proved abortive despite huge complaints by the workers about the government’s silence on the issue.

By Abdullahi Yusuf (Abdool)

The viral tape of Chrisland School, Lagos, has become a trending topic lately due to its indecency and the nature of the people involved (i.e. children).

But before we conclude on whether the act involved rape or not, let’s look at the bigger picture, which is questioning the moral upbringing of the kids involved, who are obviously at the initial stage of puberty (below 13 years of age). We can all believe that it is too early for them to have such a bad experience at this young age. But who is to be blamed for this?

The 21st century has come along with many technological advancements. Some of these are of optimal benefit to humanity but detrimental to morality in some aspects. Contemporarily, one can access information and things we merely hear about in the olden days.

Internet is one of the goodies of this century. It enables its users to access what happens around the world quickly. Internet helps one learn a lot of things and get exposed to global opportunities with ease, while on the contrary, it holds a lot of negativities, especially for our younger ones.

We can’t dodge away from the reality of the moment, but we can put a lot of effort into making sure the negativities of the moment do not corrupt our progeny or us.

Parental negligence is the major contributing factor to the immorality we are experiencing. Parents nowadays show an unreasonable love to their children, which haunts them when they can no longer protect themselves or the children. This love gradually exposes the evil in the children due to a lack of due diligence in discharging parental responsibilities by the parent.

In the olden days, a total stranger could discipline a child for misbehaviour, and the child’s parent would appreciate the stranger for helping them do the right thing. But unfortunately, in the present time, a neighbour cannot punish a child for any misdemeanour because doing that could instigate the wrath of the child’s parent, and they would fight back as if punishing their child is a felony.

I could remember a scenario I read about on Twitter not long ago. A lady who visited her aunt narrated the story. She was necessitated to make a call and realised that her phone was out of credit which compelled her to borrow the phone of her aunt’s son, who was about 14 years of age, to make the urgent call. When using the phone, a video suddenly came in through WhatsApp, and she became curious to see what had just come in. She was shocked when she saw a nude sent to the boy by a young lady who happened to be his classmate. So she went through his chat with the same young lady to ascertain the fact. What she saw was devastating. She realised that the boy had been in a sexual relationship with that girl for a very long time.

In the above scenario, the parents are unaware of what’s going on with their child. He has been destroying his life without their knowledge due to their negligence. Their contribution to his misbehaviour is massive as they provided him with a phone and never cared to monitor what he was doing with it.

Typical African parents find it disgusting to give sexual orientation to their children. They think doing it is immoral, while not doing it causes more harm than good to our contemporary society.

Sex education to children is not about telling them about sexual intercourse; it’s about orienting children about their sexuality, sexual abuse, and what they should know about the sensitive parts of their body and acts they should consider as molestation. It is also about gender stereotypes and limitations concerning their morphology and physiology.

In conclusion, being a parent means being a protector, a teacher, a guide and a counsellor to the child. As a parent, don’t ever become reluctant to discharge your sole responsibility. Whenever you fail as a parent means unlocking an element of distress to society, which will strain you before diffusing to the larger community.

Abdullahi Yusuf (Abdool) studies at the Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, Bayero University, Kano. He wrote from Kaduna State via abdoolphd@gmail.com.

By Sheikh Prof. Muhammad Babangida Muhammad

The growing trend of conflicting religious verdicts being issued these days by the Ulama in Nigeria is alarming. That they differ and argue on issues is not in itself the problem. In fact, they should differ in order to provide the people with a variety of acceptable perspectives of the secondary teachings of Islam. At the same time, there should be no cause for Muslims to differ on the fundamentals of Islam.

The problem lies in how the Ulama express the differences in their understanding and interpretation of texts. Some Ulama resort to launching abusive missiles and questioning the integrity and sincerity of the other scholar who differs from them, which is out of tune with the ethics of differences (adab al khilaf). They create an unnecessary atmosphere of distrust, tension and ill-feeling, accompanied by intolerance, lack of moderation and self-centredness.

The institution of scholarship in Nigeria is gradually being abused by intruders who lack the basic prerequisites of scholarship. Some vacuum seems to exist somewhere as people fail to recognise who genuinely is a Malam and who is ‘ pro-Malan’ – for wealth or worldly-inspired. An era of Ulamisation (crowning the ignorant as Ulama) of the ordinary uninformed people seems to be taking over as religious verdicts are issued by ‘Awaam al nas’, disrespecting the precise position of qualified Ulama.

We are in a state of ‘Kowa Malam’- everyone claiming Islamic knowledge. There are the ‘social media Malams’ and the ‘Market and roadside Malams’. We have the ‘Amulet-vendor Malams’, ‘political-opportunists Malams’ and all sets of quasi-Malams who wriggle in themselves and slug it out with the real Malams in the religious and socio-political space. They corrupt the religious environment, promote confusion and chaos and ultimately cause societal decay. Something needs to be done to stop these people and keep them away altogether.

We all recall that Maitatsine and later Boko Haram emerged out of such a situation and, fuelled with ignorance, developed into a monstrous extremist ideology. The current race by the uninformed to take over the religious garb and platform might be a fallout from the wrong perception of freedom provided by democracy or societal disequilibrium and failure or the incapability of the real Ulama to provide the needed leadership and guidance in response to emerging contemporary issues. In any case, it is an unacceptable trend that must be arrested.

In most Islamic countries, an established Central Committee of Leading Ulama (Hai’at Kibar al Ulama) or a Fatwa Council collectively deliberates on any issue requiring a verdict. Uncertified people who issue fatwa are sanctioned. Within the Fatwa Council, the majority opinion is upheld, while the minority view of any scholar is respectfully appended, but the majority view remains the official position. It is probably high time we considered instituting such a body in Nigeria, which will consist of capable and qualified Ulama who would be saddled with the responsibility of issuing fatwa based on well-informed opinion.

The Fatwa Committee of the National Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs could be expanded to include various religious tendencies within Sunni Islam. Alternatively, a university-based Islamic research Centre may constitute a broad-based non-sectarian Fatwa body (Majma’u al Buhuth wal Fatawy al Ilmiyyah). Only the most qualified (not necessarily certificate holders) would be admitted into the body. This will go a long way in arresting the seemingly uncontrollable trend of ‘Ulamitism’ or false claim to Islamic knowledge.

Only recently, during this blessed month of Ramadan, an unnecessary controversy on Inter-religious Dialogue (IRD) was blown out of proportion. Before you know it, accusations and counter-accusations were flying all around. Some ‘Ulama’ issued fatwa literally declaring those involved in IRD and any form of a committee consisting of people of other religions as apostates. Fatwa without strings or borders. A dangerous trend indeed. Something is definitely wrong somewhere, and we need to trace our steps back to do the right things in order to right the wrongs.

Let’s begin from here. First, establish an Intra- Religious Dialogue Committee, which would promote mutual respect, understanding and tolerance amongst the Ulama and, by extension, a broader atmosphere of peace and unity amongst the Muslims. It should not be an assembly of the argumentative elements who strive in controversies. If we fail to appreciate the value and significance of intra-religious dialogue and positive engagement with one another, Inter-religious dialogue will indeed appear out of order.

In a multi-religious society like Nigeria, engagement with people of other faiths for some common good is essential. Therefore, we should use sound knowledge, wisdom, sincerity and consideration of the general good of the Muslims (al Maslahah al ‘ammah) to determine any engagement of Muslims with other faiths. Ulama who are well-grounded in knowledge should be given a chance to guide how to pursue such engagement.

At the intrafaith level, the example of the Coalition of Ulama in Kano is a commendable initiative. Ulama belonging to various inclinations, came together under a Forum to pursue and tackle shared problems related to insecurity, drug abuse, child theft and trafficking, issues of IDPs and disaster-stricken communities, orphans and related problems. The Coalition established an NGO, NUSAID Humanitarian Initiative, which since 2016 has been extending assistance and community services to the needy members of the community, including the IDPs in Borno. The Kano initiative may serve as a model for Ulama in other states to adopt to promote Muslim unity, peace and mutual assistance.

May this piece not be a source of yet another controversy. Ameen, Ya Allah.

Sheikh Prof. Muhammad Babangida Muhammad is the Director Center for Quranic Studies BUK & National Amir, National Islamic Center (Ummah Movement).