Hawzah News Agency-The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) wants Muslims all over the country to help in defending Nigerian Christians against Boko Haram, following the threat of Abu al-Barnawi, new leader of the sect, to “blow up every church and kill all Christians“.
However, responding in a statement on Saturday, MURIC urged Muslims to “demonstrate solidarity with their Christian neighbours by ensuring that Boko Haram elements are not allowed to launch attacks on Christians in their neighbourhood”.
The statement, signed by Ishaq Akintola, director of the group, reminded Muslims of their “duty to defend our Christian neighbours at this critical stage”, saying this is the way to keep Nigeria united.
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) expresses total bewilderment at the depth of barbarism in the recent hate speech emanating from the leadership of Boko Haram. It is totally despicable and exceptionally criminal to target fellow products of the Adamic chromosome for annihilation. We have no doubt that this call could only have come from a twisted mind.
Islam is love, not hatred. Islam gives life, not death. It builds and does not destroy. The Glorious Qur’an only allows Muslims to fight in self-defence (Qur’an 2:190). It forbids unjust and unlawful killing (Qur’an 6:151). It compares anyone who kills his fellow man to one who kills all humanity (Qur’an 5:32).
We remind the Boko Haram coercion ideologues of the moderate posture of the Glorious Qur’an towards non-Muslims. Qur’an 2:256 says there should be no compulsion in religion (Laa ikraahun fil diin).
As we round up, we reaffirm our readiness to peacefully coexist with our Christian neighbours. We reject hate speeches and their authors whether from Boko Haram or ISIS.
We call on the Nigerian public and the rest of the world to separate criminals from their religion and desist from stereotyping Muslims as terrorists or their sympathizers. In this regard, we welcome the recent pronouncement of Pope Francis in which he urged the world to stop equating Islam with terrorism.