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MURIC faults allegations of ‘Islamising’ Nigeria

By Sulaimon Salau
21 July 2017   |   3:11 am
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has faulted the allegations by some retired military generals and Christian elders under the aegis of the National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) that Nigeria was being Islamised.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has faulted the allegations by some retired military generals and Christian elders under the aegis of the National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) that Nigeria was being Islamised.

Director of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola, in a statement made available to The Guardian described the allegation as false, baseless, deceptive, malicious and provocative.

Akintola, who expressed his displeasure about the recent wave of attacks by the Christian leaders said, “warnings against the ‘Islamisation’ of Nigeria is now an old song and nobody is interested any longer,”

He said: “Come to think of it. Why is the new false alarm coming just after the bloody massacre of an entire Fulani Muslim population in Taraba State? NCEF feels frustrated that it is a plot to Christianise Muslim children by using the old deceptive curriculum when government introduced a policy, which grants religious freedom to all. What is wrong if government makes Christian Religious Knowledge compulsory for Christian students while Islamic Religious Knowledge (IRK) is also made compulsory for Muslim students? How on earth does that translate to Islamising Nigeria?

“Besides, what is this idea of using former military generals to intimidate the country in an issue involving religion? When last did Muslims use their own generals to make noise? Must we flex military muscle over a civil matter? Why the emphasis on a statement “issued by retired military generals and Christian leaders”? Are the generals there to represent the Nigerian Army? To make what point? We declare clearly, categorically and unequivocally that Nigerian Muslims are not in any way moved by this subtle threat,” he said.

Akintola charges the Nigerian military to caution its retired Christian generals. “They must desist from brandishing their expired medals in our faces. Something has gone terribly wrong with their pre-retirement briefings. We appeal to CAN to allow Nigerians to work together as compatriots and without religious bias. Only thus can we forge a truly genuine nation where rewards for citizens are based on potentials and performance rather than affiliation to a church, a mosque or a tribe. Allow merit to be the deciding factor.”

He however called the attention of the federal and state ministries of education to an alleged grand plot, where “Teachers of IRK are being cleverly diverted to teach other subjects. Senior officials in the Ministry of Education who are Christians are made to compromise their positions and neutralize teachers trained for IRK.

“Our claims are verifiable and we charge the Federal Ministry of Education in particular and the state ministries of education in the South West to launch an investigation into this. Many graduates of Islamic Studies who have been forcefully diverted to teach other subjects are ready to come forward. Those clamouring for restructuring have something interesting here,” Akintola said.

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