Before Another Round Of Religious Crisis!

By

Najeeb A. A. Gambo

najeebaagambo@yahoo.com

 

I am writing this epistle to the Nigerian Security outfit with the sole intent of bringing to their notice a mischievous movement that if care is not taken would ferment another round of religious crisis.

 

It is on record that an advert was placed on Monday June 29th 2009 in one of the Nigerian Dailies (Nigerian Compass) by some obscure personalities (Abigail Ogochukwu Ekwudo, Pst Charles Amankwe and one Dr. Marcel Russel) giving a public notice on their intention to register a faith based organization sobriquetted as Muslim's Mujtamiah of Nigeria under part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act No. 1990.

 

As someone who has the interest of this country at heart, I feel it is morally binding upon me to alert our Security agencies on the grave implication of registering such an organization. My concern mainly centered on the motive behind naming an organization with Islamic insignia whose objectives are completely not in tandem with the teaching of Islam.

 

It sufficed here to reproduce the objectives of the FBO with the view of making an honest comparism of the duo. The objectives are: “(1) To preach the gospel and the works of Jesus Christ to all people and the religion of the word,

 

(2) To win souls for Christ through evangelism,

(3) To train, ordain gospel ministers and church works and license members for the work of the gospel and

(4) to establish and maintain Bible institutions

 

From the foregoing one could adduce the point of divergence between a supposedly Muslim Mujtamiah (an Arabic word synonymous to Congress or assembly) and ‘gospel’, ‘preaching’, ‘evangelism’ and ‘ordainism’ movement for the training of Church workers.

 

Wherever the word Muslim is mentioned, what will usually clack in someone’s mind is that the term is synonymous to the followers of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who believe in monotheism, and respect all other Prophets.

 

However, on looking at the word Muslim and relating it to the preachment of gospel and the works of Jesus Christ (PBUH) with the intent of wining souls through evangelism make someone to have a second look at the congruence or divergence between the nomenclature and the mission behind the formation of such organ.

 

Every sincere mind I supposed will be convinced that the organization in making is Christian; the protagonists are Christians and the motive behind the setting up of the organization is also Christian.

 

But the one million dollar question is why on earth would people hide under the cover of one religion to preach another religion? The simple answer to this is either mischief making or lack of confidence, articulation, substances and methodology to market their religion.

 

If not for mischief making why on earth the so called people of ‘God’ would decide to surreptitiously abandon the path of honour and hides under pseudonym to register their Association knowing fully well doing so is tantamount to igniting cataclysm?

 

My concern for this matter is, if the Corporate Affairs Commission refused to take heed with Muslim Public Affairs Committee (MPAC) objections, I am afraid that someday the ‘Mujtamiah’, will be masquerading as Muslims with the sole purpose of deceiving some gullible illiterate nomads and villagers to preach their religion and brand what they are teaching as Islam and at the long run hypnotize them using monetary inducement, free Medicare and other gratification to convert them to their religion.

 

I am also very sure and optimistic that their clandestine activity will one day be exposed and some jobless and ignorant Muslim will take advantage of that scenario to ferment the trouble that nobody knows the quantity of lost and damages that would be incurred.

 

As a Nigerian, I am aware that Nigerian Security outfits lack one term in their operational dictionary of ‘proactive measure’. The outfits most often siddon look on issues that is supposed to be treated as a top priority. Their responses usually come when the damage has already been done and sometimes those who had no any hand in the unholy toga be rounded up and paraded as ‘culprits’.

 

It is therefore my ardent hope that both the security outfit and the leadership of the Nigeria Inter Religious Council (NIREC) will quickly see reason in persuading the ‘Mujtamiah’ to discontinue with their intention in establishing such organization with that name.

 

Conclusively, I would like to mention for the benefit of hindsight that Muslims in this country are neither jealous nor afraid of the sprouting of any evangelical movement. What we however detest is the pretense of naming an organization with the Islamic emblem whose mission is Christian, its vision is Christian and its objective is Christian!

 

Najeeb A. A. Gambo

(National Secretary General Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria)

Takur Housing Estate Block TC 4B

Dutse, Jigawa State