It is no secret that Nigeria, the most populous Black nation in the world, is grappling with serious security challenges, which recently culminated in the kidnapping of some teachers and students in Oríre Local Government Area of Oyo State.
While this insecurity has had far-reaching effects on everyone, irrespective of tribe or religion, it is saddening that Muslims, who constitute a large proportion of those affected, are also being scapegoated and stereotyped.
Today, in some parts of Nigeria, it almost appears to be a "crime" to look Muslim.
For instance, on the day of the last Eid al-Adhā, a woman belonging to the idol-worshipping community came out accosting and cursing Muslims returning from various Eid prayer grounds in a particular Yoruba town, accusing them of being insensitive to the plight of the kidnapped schoolchildren.
In fact, some Yoruba tribal bigots living abroad even went as far as threatening that Yoruba idolaters would soon begin to burn mosques in Yorubaland and physically assault Muslim clerics.
These acts of hostility from some idolaters in Yorubaland have been ongoing for some time, with little attention from Muslims until recently.
Some of these individuals, such as Musilihu Salami Babatunde (popularly referred to as "MS-Baba"), Tani-Ọlọhun, Malik Musa, and others, have been spewing various dangerous falsehoods against Islam and Muslims in order to cause chaos in Yorubaland.
Indeed, Malik Musa, a former Muslim, alongside one Ifá-Ma-Geography and others, once led a procession in a public market in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos, chanting slogans such as: "Say No to Islam," "Allah does not care for the Yorubas," and "Islam is a religion of killers," among other dangerous and inflammatory statements.
The situation became worse when a popular social media influencer known as VeryDarkMan, acting upon conspiracies promoted by an American agent, Alex Birbir, claimed that there was an Islamization agenda in Nigeria.
Reacting to the false claim that the criminals who kidnapped the Oríre schoolchildren had demanded the implementation of Sharī'ah in Oyo State as part of the conditions for the release of the victims, VeryDarkMan threw caution to the wind and made a series of reckless remarks about Islam.
He and others who echoed the claim were eventually shamed when the school principal, who was among those kidnapped, appeared in a video and stated that no such demand for Shariah had ever been made by the abductors.
Although tensions seem to have subsided somewhat, attacks against Islam on social media continue.
The Islamic position on terrorism and banditry is clear: those who engage in such crimes are not to be spared when apprehended, and they deserve the severest punishments under Islamic law.
Islam calls for peaceful coexistence among all people, especially in a multi-religious country like Nigeria.
The Prophet of Islam (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) emphasized good conduct towards neighbours, irrespective of their religious affiliations.
As a matter of fact, Muslims coexisted peacefully with their Jewish neighbours in Madinah until the manifest treachery committed by certain Jewish tribes during the Battle of the Trench in the fifth year after the Hijrah, which eventually led to the exile of some of them from Madinah.
Islam is a religion of peace. The extremist actions of fringe groups that claim affiliation to Islam, such as the Khawārij, whose ideology forms much of the foundation of groups like Boko Haram and ISWAP, should not be used as a basis for judging Islam itself.
These groups often misapply certain texts of the Shariah, particularly those relating to warfare, matters which are the prerogative of a legitimate Islamic authority, in order to foment chaos and bloodshed.
Other religions, too, have had their share of extremists who have misused their scriptures to wreak havoc upon society.
The Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda comes to mind, as do Zionist extremists in the occupied Palestinian territories. Hindu extremists in India provide another example.
From its earliest days in Madinah, Islam condemned rebellion and bloodshed. It says whoever unjustly takes a life is as if he has destroyed all the humanity.
It is well known that the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) decisively confronted the early Khawārij at Nahrawān.
We therefore pray for peace in our land and ask Allah to expose and destroy the mischief-makers wherever they may be and whatever religion they profess.
Interestingly, a number of kidnappers arrested in recent times have been found to belong to religions other than Islam and to ethnic groups other than the Fulani.
In fact, among the six persons arrested in connection with the Oríre kidnapping, only two are northerners, while the three others are Christians.
Also those who masterminded the recent kidnapping of the sister to Chief Adelabu, and her twin sons, were discovered to be non-Fulanis.
A similar incident had also come to play at Ladipo Market, Lagos, where four persons from the East were discovered to have masterminded an act of kidnapping.
Therefore, the issue of insecurity in Nigeria requires a holistic approach, free from prejudice against any religion or tribe.
May Allaah ease the task for the government.
Written by: Aboo Aamir, Ibadan, Nigeria.
