To demand imposition of Sharia law is not wishing Nigeria well -Imam Abdulrahman Ahmad, AUD Chief Missioner

MARCH 3, 2012 BY ADEOLA BALOGUN 42 COMMENTS

The Chief Missioner of the Ansar Ud Deen Society of Nigeria and former broadcaster, Imam Abdulrahman Ahmad, shares his experiences

 with ADEOLA BALOGUNp

As the chief missioner of Ansar Ud Deen Society of Nigeria, what do you do?

The chief missioner, or the chief imam of the Ansar Ud Deen Society, is the equivalent of the general overseer of a church. The AUD is a fairly large Islamic organisation that has branches in every part of the country and in some West African countries, such as Benin Rep. and Ivory Coast. My responsibility is to coordinate these branches, especially their spiritual activities, and the welfare of the members.

Before you became the chief missioner of AUD, you were a broadcaster. How did you get involved with the media?

I come from a religious family and the only thing my father wanted me to be was an imam. But he was not averse to education. He was a lover of education. Although Western-styled schools were not very popular among the children of Islamic scholars at the time, at some point in my life, my father decided I had to acquire Western education. He reasoned that it was necessary and concluded that people who did not add Western education to their Islamic education would not be able to perform efficiently and effectively. I don’t know where he got that from, but that was his conviction. As a result, he was severely criticised as someone who did not have enough confidence in Islamic education and who had now chosen to send his son to a Western- styled school. He had his own concerns, but he still wanted me to have what he used to call a balanced education. My father always said he wanted me to ‘see with both eyes’ and not with one eye. He did not take this decision until I came of age. I started primary school at the age of 14. I didn’t feel it was odd because I loved education. In primary one, I was not illiterate because I could read and write in Arabic. Also, I knew the value of education. I didn’t have any problem coping or adjusting. I had a classmate, who got married in primary one and had a child in primary two. We were either in the same age bracket or he was one year older than me. That was not anything strange in Ilorin, the environment in which we were born at the time.

How was it, starting primary school at 14?

It was so easy. As I said, I was already literate when I started primary school; I could read and write fluently in Arabic. At that point in time, I could write compositions and letters. So, I already had some education. It was not difficult for me to cope. In fact, being literate in Arabic made it a lot easy for me. I didn’t have to learn most of the things we were taught in school, except the English Language. Nobody had to start teaching me the plus and multiplication signs because I already knew that. Although I didn’t attend a Western-styled school, I spoke passable English. Even I could read stuff written in English. I think that helped my educational career to an extent.

Did you have to skip classes because of your age?

After completing primary one, my teachers felt that my level was high and they considered me for double promotion. But my father insisted that I had to go the whole hog. I would have had double promotion two times, but he disallowed it. He said he didn’t want ‘agbefo’ and that apart from the subjects we were taught in school, I should learn other things. I did not skip classes because of this. Although my father did not have Western education, he was widely travelled. He had fought in the Second World War and was exposed.

What happened after you left primary school?

After leaving primary school, I attended secondary school, wrote my A-level examination and moved on to the university.

How come you trained as a journalist?

You probably would have expected me to study Islamic studies or something related to it. But you see, my father had a policy that was somehow strange. He insisted, even as I was going to school and learning Arabic, that I must learn a trade. That was his idea of balance. He believed in the old saying that education without vocational training was incomplete. As far as he was concerned, the vocation translates into your ability to live without dependence on white collar jobs. But he gave me the liberty to choose the trade that I wanted to learn. I was fascinated with printing and I went ahead to learn it. Also, I learnt photography. Those were the things that fascinated me. Even from a very young age, I had always loved to read. Perhaps, it was what fired my interest in printing. I saw mass communication as an extension of that love. I had been exposed to speaking in public very early in life and when it was time to choose what to study in the university, I saw that I  had two options: either to read law, which my father wasn’t very comfortable with, or mass communication, which he didn’t mind. And since he wanted a balance, I felt I should do something else, having been at Islamic school all my life. That was how I ended up getting involved in mass communication.

Where did you study mass communication and how did you start work after obtaining a degree?

I studied mass communication at the University of Maiduguri. In fact, I started working before then. I started working as a photo journalist in 1975. At the time, Mr. Bola Adedoja of blessed memory, was the head of the bureau office of the Daily Times in Ilorin. Later, Adedoja became a commissioner in Oyo State. He was the one who signed us on as freelance journalists. Also, I taught in a secondary school after completing my A-level and before I worked with Radio Kwara. After leaving school, I worked briefly in the News Department of the Nigeria Television Authority in Ilorin. I worked as a freelance journalist for many organisations. I did freelance writing for Vanguard; at some point, I was writing a column for The Punch on Fridays so many years ago before I returned to broadcasting proper. I worked with the MITV; I have done programmes on LTV, on Radio Lagos and at some point, my interest shifted from broadcasting to media research. I have done quite a lot in that department. I am still involved till date. That was precisely what I was doing before I finally came here.

If you loved journalism so much, why did you decide to become a full time cleric?

There was no time that I was not involved in missionary activities, even when I was working. I started leading Friday prayers since 1977 as the chief imam right from secondary school. If you consider my background and where I was coming from, even what it took to pass through school, I don’t think it should surprise anybody that I am back. This is what I have always done. Remember I told you that my father wanted me to be an Imam. My parents believed that my education would just be an added advantage to enhance my ability to do this. I think the combination of my father’s wish and prayer brought me to where I am today
You were not a member of AUD, yet you occupy the highest office in the organisation.

One thing about Islam is that, contrary to the understanding of some people, it has no denomination or sect. We pray the same way, our belief is the same. Islamic organisations are a means to ensure the propagation of Islam; we do not have any doctrinal differences. Also, the AUD is an organisation of highly-enlightened and educated people, who have eyes for the best wherever they can find it. Because the AUD has been involved in promoting education in this country, it is expected that they will be liberal in their approach. More so, they have the understanding of the religion as a big family and brotherhood; that the organisations are not divisions but convenient means to advance the interest of the whole. So, against this background, it should not surprise anybody that somebody who was not a member of the organisation, such as the AUD, could emerge as its spiritual leader. I came here in 2003 and by next year, I will be 10 years in office. Yet, it seems as if I have always been one of them because, basically, we don’t have doctrinal differences.

Don’t you think your father’s belief in Western education runs contrary to the principle of Boko Haram in Islam?

Boko Haram and Islam are two different things. Boko Haram is social deviance; it’s not necessarily a religious matter. Let me put it this way: the Islamic religion that I know values education. It places education even before faith. It requires you to have education before you have faith because faith without education breeds fatalism, which Islam rejects. The first verse revealed in the Holy Koran emphasises the need for education for the purpose of studying, research, and exploration. And history can bear ample testimony to the fact that Muslims were the forerunners of modern education and science in particular. So, it is a misnomer to associate ignorance, illiteracy with Islam. However, we must not lose sight of the fact that Nigeria as a country is faced with a myriad of social problems. There is discontent in all parts of the country and it is being expressed through a multiplicity of vehicles, such as resource control, ethnic marginalisation, unemployment and bad governance. These are manifestations of discontent. Unfortunately, Boko Haram developed against the background of recklessness on the part of the country’s leaders, high insensitivity, the near-total collapse of educational infrastructure; even social infrastructure, which is almost non-existent, widening gap between the rich and the poor, and the neglect of children. I attended the University of Maiduguri. So, I have a fair understanding of that society and I think I am fairly qualified to speak on the basis of what I observed. This is a society where roughly about five million children are on the streets without education (whether Western or Islamic) or parental care. They beg on the streets everyday and have never known love because nobody has shown them. These children are cheaper than chicken; give them food and you can get them to do anything. They have no stake in the society at all.

How do we divorce Boko Haram from Islam because they demand Islamisation and imposition of Sharia?

Let me tell you, with every sense of humility, I am a member of the national executive council of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs. I am a member of the Nigerian Inter-religious Council and I have been involved in development researches. I have been a very active member of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria. So I can say that I am fairly conversant with the trends and thoughts of the Muslim community. There is no way anybody can demand the Islamisation of Nigeria. It is impossible. People must use their head. Sometimes, when people make claims, I am amazed. It is a divine plan by Allah to make us as we are. If Allah had wished, He would have made all of us Muslims, all of us Christians etc. He decided to create us in nations and tribes, so that we can’t become one in that sense. But then, we have to unite, even in that diversity. That is America’s greatest strength today. Immigration has contributed significantly to the development of America. But for immigration, America would never have become what it is today. Even nature has not made us homogenous. It is sheer stupidity for someone to say that all of us must become Muslims or Christians. All human beings have never subscribed to one faith. Even within a geographical expression, there will still be people of various faiths. Politicians and those who do not wish the country well are those that are saying they want Sharia law to be imposed in the North. Can you imagine? Even in Sokoto and Kano, there are native Christians. What do you want to do with them? Kill them? I can tell you, this is not the thinking of Muslims of this country. It is not the thinking of the leadership of the Muslim community of this country and I think I am qualified to speak on that.

But Muslim leaders have been accused of not speaking up enough in condemnation of Boko Haram

It is not true. What else do you expect Muslim leaders to do? Muslims have suffered more from Boko Haram than anyone else. Boko Haram is not religious; there is nothing religious about it. And I have repeatedly said that people should for once stand up and be united against this evil. Armed robbery is a crime, but once you allow crime to take shelter under religion, it becomes difficult. And that is what we have been warning against. You know religion is very powerful and once you perpetuate crime under a religion, it then becomes a very difficult matter indeed. Crime is crime, no religion sanctions arson, murder or terrorism.

Members of Boko Haram chant ‘Allah Akbar’ during their murderous attacks. What do you say to this?

This is why I have a lot of problem with the Nigerian media. Unfortunately, I think there has been so much irresponsible reportage concerning Boko Haram. To me, it’s like they are celebrating evil and sensationalising it. This is not consistent with the noble ethic of our profession. Every report on Boko Haram is over-celebrated and over-sensationalised. It is reported in such a way as to create fear, confusion, giving crime a larger than life image. What is their business reporting every statement of an irresponsible organisation like Boko Haram? They feed on that publicity to create a larger than life image.

Are you suggesting that the media should ignore Boko Haram?

MEND used to be celebrated in the Nigerian press. It got to a point, and I was privy to it, when the decision was taken to blank out their activities. Despite the public statements and disclaimers, which Muslim leaders have issued till date, and in spite of the obvious fact that even Muslims are not safe from these terrorist attacks, some people have argued that it should be the responsibility of Nigerian Muslims to arrest members of the Boko Haram terror group. But I want to tell you that Nigerians are wiser and they are not ready to go to war. Sometimes, when you read newspapers, you will think that Muslims and Christians are at each other’s neck and are about to go to war. I can tell you that nothing is farther from the truth. We are not about to go to war, we will not go to war because there is nothing between us to warrant that. We all share deprivation and poor governance, irrespective of our religious leanings.

Do you think there is a difference between Northern and Southern Muslims?

I just know that external forces and their internal collaborators, who do not wish this country well, won’t rest until they have broken us up. They are the ones who want to exploit religion and ethnicity to divide us. I used to know Warri very well before the creation of the local government council that pitted the Itshekiri and Ijaw against each other in an internecine war. Before then, they were living peacefully together. The same thing, that is, the creation of Jos North LGA, ignited the crisis in Jos. The Tiv and the Junkun are cousins. So are the people of Umuleri and Aguleri, and the people of Ife and Modakeke, as well as Offa and Erin. I have used these examples to explain that people will stop at nothing to overdramatise our differences. I tell you, in doctrine, there is no difference between Southern Muslims and Northern Muslims. In fact, we reject that kind of categorisation. Under the late Sardauna of Sokoto, Ahmadu Bello and former Prime Minister, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, you would not even know that other tribes existed in the North other than the Hausa/Fulani. It was the same North that had the late Sunday Awoniyi, a Yoruba man from Kabba, as private secretary to the Sardauna, who was premier of Northern Nigeria. We got it wrong somewhere and we must address what went wrong. Corruption, injustice and deprivation are social problems created by politicians.  And, since they know the potential of religion, they quickly hide under it to perpetuate atrocities. This is just the appeal we are making, don’t link crime with religion; Muslims can commit crime, so also are Christians. People do not commit crimes necessarily because they are Muslims or Hausa or Yoruba. They commit crime because every human being has the tendency to commit crime.


What do you think about suicide attacks carried out by members of Boko Haram members?

Suicide has no place in Islam. In fact, Islam insists that anybody that commits suicide will go to hell. In the Hadith of the Prophet, he said whoever takes his life, for example, by stabbing himself, will suffer from the pain of the stabbing until the day of resurrection. If he jumps from a height, he will be made to suffer the pain that he felt on jumping from a height and he will continue to jump from heights until the day of resurrection. And Islam insists that whoever takes a soul unjustly will have the punishment of someone who has killed the entire human race and whoever saves one life will be rewarded as if he has saved the lives of the entire human race. Suicide has no place in Islam at all. Regarding the issue of being rewarded for suicide, I have challenged people to point at textual evidence to prove it that if a Muslim has killed one person, he is going to Aljanah. There is no such thing; it is a form of bigotry and we have to be very careful not to allow bigotry. The unfortunate thing is that people make reckless statements on what they don’t know.

Why did you lead thousands of Muslims to join the anti-fuel subsidy removal protests last January?

Let me say, for the avoidance of doubt, that a group of Muslim scholars across Islamic religious organisations made the decision. I just happened to be their spokesperson. Of course, all my life, I have been an activist. I don’t see any conflict between my office and activism. Also, I am the chairman of the Movement Against Corruption. I have been in activism all along before this office. I have respect for Pastor Tunde Bakare and for his conviction, though we have our differences. Since the days of SNG, we have done things together. But I can tell you that I have a lot of respect for him. Some people have said he should not have gone into politics. I think he has a right to delve into politics, but I would not do such a thing myself. In fact, I have disqualified myself from going for any elective office because I feel that it will conflict with my role as an Islamic leader.

Have you been harassed by anybody because of your role in the protest?

I must be fair, I have not been harassed. There was a time I read somewhere that people phoned me all over the world to say that they read on the Internet that I had been put under house arrest. Nothing like that happened. I have never been threatened or harassed or arrested.

You said one of your classmates got married when you were in primary one, when did you get married?

I could have got married at the time. But if you looked at what my father took me through, you would see that I had no time for play. I only stole time to learn martial arts. My father did not know about this until the day he visited me in the boarding house. When he asked to see me, one boy carelessly said, ‘Oh, that is Bruce Lee.’ My father said, ‘No, he is not Bruce Lee. I don’t have a son by that name.’ My father kept quiet.  When I went to him, he said, ‘Bruce Lee, so you have given yourself another name?’ I was brought up to be business-like. I didn’t marry early. If I had wanted to marry at 15, my father would not have objected because it was not considered outrageous in our society then. He had felt that marriage could be distracting. I got married much later and we are doing well.

Is it compulsory that a Muslim must be polygamous?

No, it is not compulsory. In certain circumstances, it is not even compulsory to get married at all. There are certain conditions that will make marriage undesirable and this is understood. A man who is not a man, what does he desire marriage for? But Islam permits and in some instances, encourages polygyny. Polygyny is the custom of being married to multiple wives at the same time. Islam permits it because Islam is very practical and realistic. But there are conditions. Polygyny is not a means for expressing your sexual prowess; it is not a status symbol. It is based on prevailing reality in every society. Demographics in certain areas will not support one man one wife, especially in Africa. This is reality, but it is not everyone that is capable and Islam stresses capability. And in a polygyny, every wife occupies a place of dignity and they have equal rights. And that is why Islam says if you are not able to do justly, marry one. That is the specification.

It is already a Sharia country.
Christians are even more Shariac than Muslims.
MOST ARE PE-DOPHILES AND POLYGAMOUS.

Women are still second-class citizens all over Nigeria. So tell me the difference?
Might as well impose the damn thingy.

Hmm. Allahu Akbar. Mallam is now a very big man; the AUD missioner.

He was the friday Imam at the opening ceremony of the Alausa mosque, Ikeja.

The mosque was built by Buba Marwa.

But there can be shariah law for muslims.