Reading the news papers and watching the news, on both local and international television stations, I am compelled to ask questions. I know I might not get the answers I hope for but if only I could get a good explanation of why world peace is being threatened by religious extremism and radicalism and why the holy prophet Mohammed’s (SAW) faithful are always in complicity.
During my days as a corps member, my closest friend was a calm and gentle Muslim. In the wake of the Boko-Haram crisis, while I was bemoaning the onslaught and the fact that the north is highly flammable like an open keg of petrol waiting for a naked flame, my friend told me that Islam actually means peace; to guide my judgement. I was surprised because I was hearing this for the first time but only now, it made me more confused.
Truly, Islam may mean peace but Scars from the 9/11 terrorist attack still hurt and recent attacks in northern Nigeria by the Boko-Haram sect, Farouk Abdul-Muttalab’s saga, and daily news of bombings from around the world where Muslims are predominant makes it hard to synonymise Islam with peace.
In northern Nigeria, citing the case of the Boko-Haram sect, whose leader; an Islamic scholar and cleric, gathered together or should I say recruited ignorant and vulnerable faithful and began to indoctrinate them against all things western and non-Islam. He certainly was preaching violence as he and his followers left sorrow, tears and blood in the city where they struck. I ask again then, as a cleric and scholar of Islam wasn’t he supposed to be preaching peace? Clearly, he wasn’t.
However, before I am misunderstood, I am not saying that any religion is void of extremism or its manifestations but please watch CNN or even the news from the local stations and you will not be surprised as news of the consequences of men who kill and maim in God’s name and to punish America (like some believe), or like Boko-Haram; to protest against western or anti-Islam education, and for other various reasons begin to roll-in by the hour like the stock market update.
I am moved to tears each time I hear of these killings in Afghanistan, Iraq, Borno, Bauchi, Jos, Kano, and many other places where Islam prevails. It hurts more when I hear that men who carry out these dastardly acts do so for the purpose of attaining al-Jana (heaven) and a promise of a certain number of virgins(I stand to be corrected). How cruel! What kind of god allows you into paradise and gets you laid for killing and maiming fellow Human-beings? It is horrible, how religion eats our sanity and makes monsters out of us.
Nevertheless, some have argued that these men who strap themselves with explosives or those who walk into the streets on a busy day and begin to separate heads from bodies with machetes are not Muslims. So now, I seek to know: is it mere accusation or propaganda that most of the suicide bombers are Muslims and are they not known to cry out loudly, “Allah Akbar” before detonating their weapons of destructions and wrecking havoc on both themselves and innocent, unfortunate others?
It is okay to die for what one believes in but there is absolutely no sense in making others die for it too. I agree that I may not know the grievances of these defiant ones but whatever it is, what would force a man to blow-up himself, fellow citizens, brothers in the faith, and a few foreign nationals? Then again if Islam preaches peace, why do these other adherents choose to self-destruct and take the part of violence rather than seek peaceful resolution.
Finally, I do not write this with any form of bias in mind, neither do I intend to condemn Islam, but to appeal to the conscience of well meaning Muslims who see these things but for fear of being labelled an infidel, do and say nothing. It’s about time someone spoke up in the defence of Islam; evangelising what the faith really stands for. Ignorant as I may seem, what I know is this; no one man has the monopoly of violence and there is a clear distinction between love and hate, peace and war. Asallam allekum!
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