In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
MPAC STRONGLY CONDEMNS KILLINGS IN
BORNO STATE
media@mpacng.org
Monday, 20 February, 2006. The Muslim Public Affairs Centre, MPAC,
strongly condemns any and all destruction of properties and killings
during the riot in Borno state at the protest against the publication of
the cartoons of Prophet Muhammad in some foreign newspapers. MPAC
condemns this act of wanton violence as a complete violation of the
teachings of Islam. The violence has been a clear aberration, reflecting
the actions of deranged minorities, social miscreants and religious
illiterates. The Qur'an, Islam's revealed text, states: 'Goodness and
evil cannot be equal. Repel (evil) with something that is better. Then
you will see that he with whom you had enmity will become your close
friend. And no one will be granted such goodness except those who
exercise patience and self-restraint.' (41:34-35)
More than 50 people were brutally murdered in Borno
state when the law enforcement was called in to repress one of the
largest and most peaceful protests in the history of the state. Muslims
have the right to feel and express their offense in a peaceful manner at
the unprovoked and brutal attack s on the magnificent characters of our
Prophet and the attempted demonisation of his message. There can be
little doubt therefore that the volatile situation that engulfed the
state and its people was brought about as a result of the decision to
disperse and inflame protesters by armed law enforcement agents.
The decision to repress the protest and the resulting violent reaction
of the hoodlums were deliberate attempts at hijacking legitimate Muslim
anger at the vicious attacks of the newspapers that published the
islamophobic cartoons of the Prophet of Islam, peace be upon him. It is
a disgrace that the hoodlums were allowed such an amp le time to cause
so much pain. Coverting every occasion of tension and crisis to
opportunity to target defenseless civilians, destroy places of
worship and attack minorities living amongst us, be they Muslims or
non-Muslims, is a pervasive problem that urgently calls for collective
actions from political and faith leaders who are serious about building
bridges and solving these problems. The failure of the political
leadership to address this problem is a testimony to their disconnection
to the people they purportedly lead. The problem, in most
cases, is created by the social exclusion of the youth, hate preachers
on the fringe of both religions and long years of dealing in mutual
mistrusts.
< SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">
Also, leaving free young Muslims who wants to do something and who have
not been taught the Islamically sanctioned ways of objecting to insults
and provocation, is a dangerous recipe for the type of actions that
occurred in the state where the riot took place. It was wrong that the
Media in their reports did not make the clear distinction that the
people responsible for the killing and destruction of properties were
nothing but largely xenophobic and evil thugs less representative of
Muslims than the small an d evil fringe of Christians who are renowned
for peddling evil and stoking the fire of hatred. It is wrong that we
Muslims have not dealt with these thugs once and for all. Justice is for
all, and injustice must not be allowed to go unchallenged.
It must be
remembered that the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, was quick to
condemn the islamophobic cartoons in its courageous and principled
position expressed recently. It is actions such as this, that
will reassured us of the possibility of a better future in which Muslims
and Christians can work together in order to bring peace and justice to
the country and by extension to the world, diffusing the current
environment of hate, anxiety and suspicion.
It is
our sincere wish that the enlightened and brave words of CAN in this
matter will constitute lampposts that provide guidance and inspiration
for members of the two faith communities. It is in the light of this
that MPAC calls upon the religious leaders in Nigeria to begin a
campaign of religious education of their people. We call on Nigeria's
Muslim leaders to embark on orientation programmes that emphasize the
principles of equality, respect of life, justice and accountability as
expressed in the Qur’an.
The general devaluation of human lives in Nigeria which caused the
trigger-happy law enforcement to shoot tear gas into a crowd of peaceful
protesters. Which makes the police sees itself duty-bound to repress
every public protest with high-handedness, however meaningful and
peaceful, the immoral and irresponsible executive orders issued to
prevent people from exercising their constitutional right to peacefully
object in a legitimate cause along with the culturally developed not ion
of growing xenophobia and mistrusts, create an environment where heinous
acts are possible; freely preached and perpetrated. Both the Nigerian
state and the faith communities must examine their roles in all these
crimes that are needlessly causing the loss of human lives. According to
Islamic law, or Shari'a, Muslims are obligated to respect and in fact
protect human lives against oppression and termination, except under
stringent conditions that are clearly expressed in the Qur'an and the
traditions of the Prophet, peace be upon him. All people, Muslims and
non-Muslims, are guaranteed basic rights in Islam including the right of
safety and security of live and properties as long as they are not
overtly or covertly engaged in any type of acts that threaten public
good and safety, or oppressive against fellow human beings and the
faith.
Furthermore, individual members of society are not allowed in Islam to
take the law into their ow n hands and render punishments, regardless of
whether a crime has been committed or not. Therefore, the cold-blooded
murder of innocent people that have occurred in Borno state must be
viewed only as a horrible homicide for which the perpetrators should be
punished under the full extent of the law. Our thoughts and prayers are
with the victims of violence, their families and everyone that are
suffering as a result of the atrocities perpetrated.
- END -
|