Press Releases
The Muslim Media Watch Group of Nigeria has welcomed with an open mind and absolute sincerity of purpose, the suggestion of the Chief Justice of Nigeria Hon. Justice Tanko Mohammed that Shariah Laws be given more powers in Nigeria in order to fight the ills plaguing Nigeria.
In the same vein, the Group condemns in totality the reaction and over-reaction of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the so-called Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) on this matter.
To begin with, is Sharia a new Law in Nigeria? The answer is capital NO! The law has been in existence in Nigeria for decades before the Colonial Masters came. With their advent, the law was retained by Colonial Rulers but reduced to Muslim Personal Laws. The negative effects of its reduction is what we now face in Nigeria today with ‘everything turning upside-down’ as materialism, lust for illicit wealth and killing of innocent people to grab powers at all costs. Political positions now turned to money-making venture instead of using them to serve the people.
It is necessary to state categorically that Almighty Allah that evolved Islamic Laws does not make it compulsory on non-muslims, but He outlaw all unlawful acts that we witness in this Country and elsewhere today such as murder, arson, looting, kidnapping, abduction, adultery and fornication, cheating, pool-betting and all other forms of gambling to mention a few!
As condemnable as these acts are, the Bible also condemns some of them. If we have a set of laws that fail to address the problems being created by current crimes being committed as it is presently, the best is to return to our Lord the best Fashioner of laws to provide solutions to our problems.
The call by the Chief Justice of Nigeria is therefore apt and relevant this time more than ever before.
During the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. (S.A.W) in Madina, he reportedly signed severally agreements with Jews, Christians and unbelievers on the promotion of peace, stability and freedom of worship, If our Leader Muhammad (S.A.W) did that with non-muslims of that time even with insignificant number of Jews, Christians and others in Madina, the Muslims of today are prepared to uphold the sanctity of virtue, including freedom of religion, sanctity of life and enhancement of fundamental human rights of all.
In this Nation today, Muslims have an overwhelming majority and even if we are in minority, we are entitled to our right including rights to be governed by the Islamic laws that we believe in. Today, Muslims are more than 70 percent of the Nation’s population, and no law forbids our demand to be governed by our choice of laws.
It is therefore unfortunate, confrontational, ill-motivated and abuse of liberty to air opinion for any individual or Group to accuse the CJN that he was over-heating the polity by calling for more powers for Sharia, when as a matter of fact it is the CAN and HURIWA that always provoke religious conflict by raising false alarm all the time.
For example, what has wearing of Hijab has to do with Christians that make CAN and some denominations in Christian faith oppose it in public and private schools? Is it right for any Christian denomination to oppose joint morning devotions in schools that have both Muslims and Christians? Is it correct to remove Arabic from the school curriculum simply because Muslims speaks and worship in Arabic? All these are acts of religious intolerance and fanaticism we must bury to move forward.
The Islamaphobia of CAN and their collaborators negate all principles of justice, fairness and uprightness and it shows hypocrisy as well as ignorance. Their participation inter-faith dialogue and NIREC meetings give credence to the fact that they justice attend meetings without imbibing the culture of promoting brotherhood, unity and stability.
We call on all Muslims to join hands with other Muslim Bodies and Leaders to demand for any right that would better the lots of this Nation. Shariah is meant for non-muslims. It is for Muslims only, and in a multi-religious (not secular) like ours, everybody must be given his or her right!
Nobody can intimidate anyone. The call on CJN to resign made by CAN and the so-called HURIWA is, to say the least, ill-motivated and irrational.
Ibrahim Abdullahi, FCIPM
National Coordinator,
Muslim Media Watch Group of Nigeria (MMWG)
21st Rabial-Thani, 1441 AH /17th December, 2019 C.E.
