The Chief Imam of the DaaruNaim Central Mosque, Lagos, Sheikh Imran AbdulMajeed Eleha, speaks with ISMAEEL UTHMAN on insecurity in the north, misconceptions about Islam, and the motives driving violent groups
There are reports alleging that Islamist jihadists are attacking and killing Christians in the northern part of the country. From an Islamic perspective, what does the religion say about interfaith relationships?
It is not true that Muslims are killing Christians in the north. That said, no genuine Muslim, or any Muslim with proper understanding of the Qur’an and Sunnah, will wage war against or hurt any person, animal, or living thing on earth.
In the Holy Qur’an, Allah says He does not forbid Muslims from doing good, being kind, supportive, and warm to people of other faiths who do not wage war against them or drive them from their homes. He says He loves those who are just (Qur’an 60:8). This implies that whoever does not fight you because of religion or force you out of your home must be treated with goodness, regardless of their religion, tribe, or race.
A Muslim governor in the north must not cheat a single Christian in his state. If he does, that means the governor is not just.
If you are living with a Christian, you must not hurt him or her. You must be just to everyone. Islam even teaches us how to live peacefully with our neighbours. The Holy Prophet (SAW) narrated that Angel Jibril (Gabriel) constantly enjoined him to do good and be just to his neighbours to the extent that the Prophet thought the angel would inherit his neighbours after his death. The angel did not tell the Prophet to be good and just only to Muslims; he did not ask who was Christian or Muslim. He told the Prophet to be just to his neighbours—Muslims, Christians, Jews, and others.
The Prophet lived with Jews and others during his lifetime, and he was good to them. That is why I said no Muslim with proper understanding of Islam will wage any kind of war against people of other faiths or tribes.
Some terrorists are often heard shouting “Allahu Akbar” while killing people. “Allahu Akbar” is associated with Muslims, how do you explain this?
From time immemorial, there have been people known as Khawarij, whom the Prophet talked about. There was a man who falsely accused the Holy Prophet of being unfair in distributing resources. The Prophet asked him: “If I cannot share things justly, who else can?” Umar, one of the Prophet’s disciples, wanted to attack the man, but the Prophet cautioned him.
The Prophet then said, “A time will come when the descendants of this man will pretend to be Muslims and will kill fellow Muslims and others.” He added that they are from Hellfire and are not Muslims.
So, those who shout ‘Allahu Akbar’ while committing crimes are not Muslims but criminals. Sharia does not empower anyone to kill; it does not give any individual the right to take a life. Even when a criminal is sentenced to death, only the government carries out the punishment—not private individuals.
Anyone killing in the name of Islam is part of the Khawarij (people who unjustly wage war against government and innocent people). The Prophet even recommended that they be eliminated if apprehended. Therefore, if the government arrests any of these terrorists, they should face the full weight of the law.
Boko Haram claims that Western education is forbidden, and they have been abducting schoolchildren in the North. What is Islam’s position on Western education?
Allah did not command the Prophet to ask for anything except knowledge (Quran 20:114). All the Messengers of Allah were sent to spread knowledge. Are we limited to Islamic knowledge alone? No.
After the Battle of Badr during the Prophet’s time, he gave captured slaves a condition for freedom: they had to learn how to read and write. The slaves were freed after they fulfilled this condition. The Prophet also sponsored some of his followers to learn the languages of other nations, and when they returned, they helped him read and interpret letters from those countries.
We are enjoined to acquire knowledge of the world and its systems, and Western education is part of that. Whoever says Islam forbids Western education is ignorant. The real meaning of “Boko Haram” is the belief that whoever acquires Western education becomes a disbeliever—this is false.
We also have ISIS, ISWAP, Boko Haram, and others claiming to represent Islam. How do you respond to that?
Don’t mix things up. ISIS has a different cause. They are fighting for territorial control over parts of Syria and Iraq, under the leadership of Abubakar Baghdadi. Their activities are limited to Iraq and Syria. They are fighting for land and governance—not Islam. They do not represent Islam, and people should stop judging Islam based on their actions.
People must stop using the activities of those fighting for or against government, resources, or territorial control to judge all Muslims or the religion of Islam.
Al-Qaeda was created to wage war against Russia in support of Afghanistan at that time. Some Arab countries contributed fighters, and America also supported Afghanistan then. That is why some people accuse America of sponsoring Al-Qaeda. Those who created Al-Qaeda are now the same people calling them terrorists. The late Bin Laden even worked with America before their relationship collapsed. Al-Qaeda does not fight for Islam and does not represent Islam.
What about Boko Haram?
The Boko Haram sect has a very hard ideology that contradicts what Islam represents and teaches. They have been in existence since the 1980s. Originally, they were farmers and fishermen living deep inside the bush, far away from towns. They chose to remain in the bush because they had been misled by some clerics. They believed that no genuine Muslim should live in the town because of their ideology.
The question is: Who brought them back to town? It is the politicians who used them for elections. The politicians should explain why they brought them out and why they failed to honour the agreement between them. The crisis between the politicians and Boko Haram started when there was a breach of agreement, and they began killing one another. How is that an Islamic or Muslim affair? There are many political matters that people are wrongly presenting as Islamic or Muslim issues. Let me say clearly that the insecurity ravaging the country is political, not religious.
That aside, we even have Christians among Boko Haram members who were later arrested by the government. That means different sets of people have hijacked Boko Haram. Is a pastor who buries people inside his church not a Christian? Is a pastor sleeping with church members not a Christian? But do they represent Christianity? No.
The issue of banditry is another thing entirely. For a long time, we have had the typical Fulani and Bororo herders. The Fulani have lived peacefully with us for many years; they don’t graze on people’s farms, and they have settlements. But the Bororo are not like that. Now we have herders being identified as bandits. Banditry is not an Islamic issue. In fact, the majority of those killed by bandits are Muslims. It is wrong to claim the killings are targeted at Christians.
Just a few days ago, the bandits killed a leader of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria. Those who were killed in five villages in Kwara are mostly Muslims. The people killed by herdsmen in Oke-Ogun, Oyo State, are also Muslims. It has nothing to do with Islam.
What could be the motive of the bandits?
Only those committing the crimes can clearly state their aims and objectives. They are being sponsored by some godfathers. Is it possible for them to spend the money they raised from kidnapping inside the bush? No. They are working for people who are living large in the towns. What will a bandit in the bush do with N50m? They are obviously collecting the money for their sponsors.
If you examine the areas being terrorised by bandits and terrorists, you will notice that these places have mineral resources. Why are they stationed in locations with resources? Why are they not in riverine areas? That is another angle to it.
How can the situation be brought under control?
The government should get to the root of the matter. The government should go after the sponsors of banditry and terrorism. Only then will peace return to the country.
It has the capacity to end this crisis. The government should also allow both Muslim and Christian clerics to deliver sermons to the people. Sermons soften the heart, and they can discourage people from joining bandits.
Culled from the Punch Newspapers