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  • Taraba CAN reacted to viral video clips from Islamic Clerics

    Taraba CAN reacted to viral video clips from Islamic Clerics

    Danzumi Ishaku, Jalingo.

    The Taraba State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN has reacted to viral video clips from some Islamic Clerics outside the shores of Taraba State, threatening religious war and the establishment of a sharia Islamic government in Taraba over the recent APC governorship primaries in the state in which a Christian, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha was announced the flag bearer.

    The reaction is coming in a Press Release issued by the Taraba State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN.

    According to the press release issued by the CAN Chairman Taraba State Revennd Isaiah Magaji Jirapye, the association viewed the messages of the Islamic Clerics from outside of Taraba State as calculated plots to instigate religious unrest in the state.

    The release observed that CAN is never a participant in partisan politics but cannot fault it arms watching outsiders threatening wars.

    The release wondered why political party activities can generate such threats, adding that the messages accredited to Sheikh Ibrahim Aliyu Kaduna and several others give the impression as if APC belong to Muslims, the claim CAN described as false.

    CAN said it is shocked that purely political party affairs and activities could be given a religious coloration and draw such hateful utterances capable of destabilizing the entire nation.

    The statement also faulted the religious demographic composition that Taraba is 65% Muslim and 35% Christians and warned the Clerics about spreading falsehood.

    It also lamented over some blasphemous names given to Christian by the Clerics.

    According to the release, Taraba state has a long-standing history of religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence amongst Christians and Muslims even in politics and CAN cannot accept anyone by whatever disguise who is out to threaten and instigate crisis in the state, just as they have successfully done in some other states that they have destroyed and ruined.

    The release said the messages of the clerics stand condemnable by all reasonable individuals and called on Government and intelligence agencies to arrest these clerics, especially Sheikh Ibrahim Aliyu Kaduna, and several others, who has openly threatened to create crisis in Taraba State and Anything short of this will be viewed by Christians in Taraba State, and indeed Nigeria as a whole, as government approval of these subversive propaganda.

    The release noted that the tolerance in the state has been the reason it is exempted from the religious carnage ongoing in some states. We urge the APC to settle their party issues without bringing religion into it.

    The release observed that Politics is not religion but a game of numbers and that People should desist from using religion to win presumed public sympathy.

    The release maintain that Clergies ought to preach peace, love and tolerance, not hateful sermons and promotion of religious politics.

    The release added that CAN will hold authors of those videos making rounds responsible for any harm on Senator Emmanuel Bwacha and other Christian contesting in various political parties.

  • Bane of Community violence is predicated on economic, political factors – Islamic clerics

    Bane of Community violence is predicated on economic, political factors – Islamic clerics

    From Ujah simon, Kaduna


    An NGO, the Community initiative to promote peace (CIPP) in collaboration with Mercy Corp, have trained some Religious leaders and stakeholders in Kaduna state on prevention of all form of violent arising from religious extremism in the course of preaching in the state.
    This was disclosed in the 3-Day training workshop on ‘countering and preventing extremism, held in Kaduna, as part of activities to mark the 2020 World day of peace,.
    The workshop which drew Participants from four key local governments areas and communities across the state among others, as an Islamic cleric also observed that the bane of community violence is predicated on economic and political factors..
    Speaking during the workshop, the project Director CIPP Pastor Dr. James Movel Wuye, said, the essence of the training was to look at practicable ways to prevent religious extremism.
    He also state that the essence of inviting religious leaders is to train and developed them on how to speaks and ‘preach in ways that would be inclusive that make people not to go into extremism.
    “We want to ensure that a new curriculum is developed that is inclusive to prevent people from taking extreme positions in their day to day life, particularly those that affect religious leaders which could invariably prevent violent resulting from extremism,” he said.While he expressed satisfaction with the training workshop especially in terms of frankness and openness of participants to each other, wuye noted that, ideas and  feelings were freely exchanged, shared, while fears were shared and agreed  by all participants to henceforth watch out.He also expressed pleasure that participants were blunt and telling each other to their faces, on the need to stop the hard preaching and relied on what will unite the people together.Also speaking, the lmam of Kano road Juma’at Mosque, Kaduna, pointed out that the bane of community violence is predicated on economic and political factors.He also called on followers to be tolerant, patient and considerate and also inculcate the fear of God in people so that kaduna-would have peaceful and tolerant community and Society.
    Similarly, a participant and Zaria based man of God, Rev. Stephen said his take home from the workshop “is that the two major religions share the Abrahamic, root hence the need to coexist as brothers and sisters for peace to reign in our communities and society.Also in a communique issued at the end of the 3-day workshop on Friday stated that Christian and Muslim participants bared their minds on likes and dislikes on the practice of each other’s religions. “Issues that border on stereo-types and prejudices were debunked during the intra/inter session of the Workshop which led to connections between the Muslim and Christian participants. “Common grounds in the belief and practice of both religions were also highlighted.”At the intra and inter interactive sessions, was dominated with salient issues  on countering and preventing extremism induced violent among others tactics were considered.
    Indicators, radicalization, root causes of Violent Extremism (VE), recruitment tactics/Cyber Sanctuar, typology of Violent Extremism, Local and Global types of VE were highlighted.
    Drivers of Violent Extremism Economic Exclusion, Limited Opportunity for Upward Mobility, Political Exclusion, Shrinking Civic Space, Selective Mistreatment among others also discussed.
    Recommendations were also made that Christian and Muslim religious leaders should be courageous enough to eschew, exposed and stand by the truth in fighting violent extremism in their respective communities,report any indicators of
    of possible instances of religious extremism. 

  • Sultan knocks Islamic clerics for misleading Muslim followers

    Sultan knocks Islamic clerics for misleading Muslim followers

    The Sultan of Sokoto and President General, Jama’atu Nasril Islam, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar lll, expressed anger over the attitude of some Muslim clerics for misleading their followers over the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus in the country.

    The sultan, who is also the spiritual leader of Muslims in Nigeria, was particularly sad that some Muslim clerics were going against measures put in place to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 across the land.

    He condemned the attitudes of the clerics, warning that the coronavirus was real and that adequate precautionary measures must be adhered to.

    The leader of Izalatu Islamic sect in Plateau State, Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir, had in a preaching told his followers that there was nothing like the deadly coronavirus ravaging the world.

    Jingir had said it was a western conspiracy to stop Muslims from performing their religious rites, noting that the virus was a lie.

    The sect leader had stated this during a sermon on an Izala TV, monitored in Kaduna penultimate Tuesday.

    Apart from that, two Islamic clerics were caught while conducting the Friday congregational prayers in Malali and Ungwan Kanawa areas, all in the Kaduna North Local Government of the state.

    This was despite the curfew imposed on the state by the Kaduna State Government to tackle the spread of COVID-19.

    The Sultan chastised the Muslim clerics, urging them to desist from misleading the Muslim community on the deadly virus.

    The Sultan described the attitude of some of the Islamic clerics as unfortunate and myopic.

    He noted that it was sheer ignorance for any Islamic cleric to claim there was nothing like coronavirus currently ravaging the entire world.

    The Sultan, who spoke through the JNI Secretary General, Dr Abubakar Khalid-Aliyu, in a statement, also warned that the Muslim ummah (community) must never allow a repeat of what happened in Italy in Nigeria.

    The statement read in part, “Jama’atu Nasril Islam under the leadership of His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General, JNI, is once again saddened with the recent unfortunate developments of misleading the Muslim Ummah (Community) by some sections of ‘Ulama (preachers) over the coronavirus prevalence.

    “We must as an Ummah avoid a repeat of the current trend in Italy, which was partly due to non-adherence to expert advice over the pandemic. Allah, the most wise says “…So ask those who know if you know not” Q16:43. Therefore, we should all bear in mind that knowledge is an amanah (trust) and must be safeguarded and delivered as such, thus the need for this statement.

    “One may not be wrong to conclude that the action of some of the ‘Ulama clearly depicts sheer whims and caprices of their myopic worldview, stark ignorance of reality based on genuine knowledge and medical scholarship.

    “It is, however, regrettable that as the negative actions of such preachers incite innocent Muslims, who are unaware of the serious health implications of adhering to such empty dispositions that invariably endanger humanity. Nonetheless, it should be noted that the issue of plague and/or pandemic is not new throughout human history, either at various times or places, the Muslim world inclusive.

    “It is thus sheer monumental ignorance to falsely claim that the pandemic of the coronavirus does not exist and that it is a lie and a shadow of a ghost. Such lamentable utterances leave much to be desired by any scholar that is worth being called a scholar. Moreover, the matter is a documented fact whose medical precedents have been set in curbing its tide in human history.

    “Therefore, the current position of government is not a new standpoint to curtail the spread of the infection. Rather, new methods of mitigating it and nipping it in the bud emerged in this contemporary world we live in, as a result of scholarly findings.”