IGNORANCE OR HYPOCRISY OR BOTH
Yesterday (17th June, 2016) a colleague came to my office and said, "Ganiyu, I saw you one day on TV at that place where you dey knack your head for ground." He was derisively referring to seeing me (on TV) while I was praying in a Muslim congregation.
He was about stepping out, so I called him back and politely asked him how much he knew about Jesus Christ, may peace and blessing be upon him. He replied that he didn't mean to offend. I told him that Jesus Christ did exactly what he saw me do in Muslim prayer. I cited the Bible (Mathew 26:39) to confirm my point. I told him there is no single instance in all the four Gospels where Christ worships God or prays to God by singing or praise singing or dancing or revelling as we witness today in many Christian worship services. Jesus never does such things in worship or prayer. Without doubt, there is clearly a soul-touching message in that for the true followers of Christ. Make Christ your role model; follow Christ's way.
Curiously, a lot of other things that Muslims practise in their worship and daily life are prophetic, e.g. from Abraham to Moses to Jesus and to Muhammad (all names revered, may peace be on them). They are all sent by the same God Almighty Creator to guide humans to Godliness. They all prohibit alcohol, usury, eating of pork, giving false testimony, backbiting, etc; and they all preach sincere faith in one Almighty heavenly God Creator and Sustainer of existence. They all preach modesty, truthfulness, neighbourliness, charity, and other moral values.
In Nigerian society today, it is ironic that a female Muslim, for instance, is criticised and denied the wearing of hijab (head covering) by religious individuals and groups who adore Virgin Mary (peace be on her) with hijab on her head. That, in the least term, is hypocrisy; and it is unChristlike. A lot of Christians who admire seeing bearded images of Jesus Christ and his disciples (peace be upon them) and tolerate the growing of a beard by Jewish/Christian men (including Jewish/Christian clerics and scholars) will hypocritically detest Muslim men (including Muslim clerics and scholars) for growing a beard!
Back to the encounter with my colleague in the office, after citing the Biblical verse in support of Christ's prayer to God Almighty by bowing and going down on his face at Gethsemane before he was taken to Golgotha, I asked my colleague if by any chance he could describe the Christ's prayer as "knacking the head on the ground" similar to the way he had described it for Muslim prayer. He was dumbfounded and ashamed. Then he apologised to me and we shook hands in friendship.
I encourage people to kindly equip themselves with truthfulness and knowledge about anything concerning Islam before they dislike or deride it. Knowledge is key to tolerance; truthfulness is key to love. You cannot tolerate what you lack knowledge of, and you cannot love what you are untruthful about. Imagine that you were told, right from childhood, that your own shadow was a threat to your life and that you should avoid it. If you gullibly believed the falsehood, you would hate your shadow till the end of your life. But if you take time to observe your shadow and discover that it is harmless, then you will find it the best of friends you ever have. That is exactly the case with Islam in today's world. Think deeply about it.
By Ganiyu Muhammed Adekunle aganiyu43@gmail.com