No Compulsion In Religion By Hannatu Musawa | Sahara Reporters

No Compulsion In Religion By Hannatu Musawa | Sahara Reporters

This is an outstanding scholarly work, no doubt. I may be persuaded by your argument in light of your erudition in the Islamic Faith. Nevertheless, I would like to add that the treatise doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to any real-life situation in some parts of the northern region of Nigeria, as we know it today, especially on the issue of religious tolerance.

In spite of everything, I must commend your audacity and sense of purpose - a demand for tolerance, love, and peaceful coexistence of people of different belief systems. I pray that our political leaders, traditional rulers, as well as religious instructors of northern extraction, embrace this timely piece and act on it expeditiously and decisively.

I am not a Muslim and I am not versed in the language of the Holy Quran. Therefore, given your reputation for authenticity and background in Islam, I do not have any cause to doubt the veracity of the quoted verses in your treatise. To a considerable degree, you have succeeded, though theoretically, in convincing me and maybe most non-believers, that after all, your religion also promotes peace and love for non-believers. 

If I take that as true, I may be compelled to also conclude that the deep-seated feeling of resentment that most non-Muslims have against the religion and some of its followers is traceable, not to the scripture itself, but the diabolical interpretation and teaching of the scripture by those vested with power to teach and minister to the adherents of the faith. 

You cited copious verses from the Holy Book to support your position about peace, love, tolerance, and acceptance of people of other faiths by Islam. In a nutshell, it is then more about the teaching and not necessarily the letter of the Holy Book, based on what I am learning from your treatise. Therefore, taking everything you have written as a true account of the Holy Quran, it is my opinion that the solution to the ongoing religious war in Nigeria lies first at the doorstep of the leadership of the faith who distorts and propagates antediluvian messages.

You wrote “It is regrettable that Islam, a religion of peace, harmony, goodwill, and brotherhood has been used by unruly people to justify unwarranted acts of violence such as suicide bombings, threats and other forms of violence. At the very base of Islam is the quest for freedom, justice, and equality and when a Muslim uses Islam to threaten and condemn another because they do not share the same faith, that discrimination is totally foreign to the pure teachings and doctrines of Islam.” Well stated, but how do we reconcile that with the bloodbath going on in Nigeria right now? It is simply irreconcilable.

In conclusion, it is my call that every faithful adherent of the Islamic faith in Nigeria must stand up to rescue the faith and Quranic studies from the stranglehold of those with perverted doctrinaire. Every community must rise to protect itself. Every vigilante group must reorganize to protect their women, their children, and the helpless. Two wrongs don’t make a right. Every struggle has meaning. At this juncture, I would like to remind every insurgent group and those behind them that making peace with your number one enemy is not a sign of weakness; it takes greatness to accomplish that. We shouldn’t forget the Camp David Accord between Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, brokered by President Jimmy Carter in 1978. No one thought it could ever happen, given the aftermath of the Six-Day War. Today, the two neighboring countries live in peace. Why not us?