omiobo: If you are a true muslim,go to north and enlighten them on how islam should be practiced. It's a waste of time and efforts to address christians and other religions on what islam is made of. We want to believe this piece of yours but the peace of islam must be felt from the followers around the world.
In christianity,our doctrines maybe different but we are members of this same body that stand against all unrighteousness. We are peace maker and we are known for that. So let islam be known for peace through the beliefs of the followers.

Kslib: [color=olive]@op,i understand your point clearly and commend you,but you cannot change the fact that boko-haram is an islamic sect.. The problem is that many/a higher percenatage of muslims do not think the way you do..
Now listen,every religion has people who have spent so much time studying the religion to understand it.. Now these people are qualified to teach/break-down the religion to their fellows who also believe in that same religion.. Now,If a high percentage of those same religious scholars agree that the said religion approves the killing fo people from other religions,why shouldn't the ordinary man agree?
If a religious leader who is suppose to lead by example comes out openly to violently attack the other religion,who is the ordinary muslim not to agree that killing them is the answer?
@basic,do you know that if you come into a group of islamic scholars and say "Islam does not support killings,you will be percieved as a weakling by the said scholars.. I know some of them will agree,but a majority of them will oppose you and refer you to the holy book...
Not all muslims are bad,but the problem is that most of them have been taught to bahave hositle towards the opposite religion right from kids,and worst of it,the holy koran is used as proof.. You need to see the way even those little muslim kids behave towards xtians.. I grew up in the north for good 18 years,so i know what am talking about....
Lastly,the Nigerian muslims look up to the middle eastern muslims for inspiration religious wise.. So how do you expect them not to behave like their religious mentors who know in and out of the religion.. They claim to understand their religion,but always 'copy' 'copy' what the middle east does.. I bet you,if those middle eastern muslims calm down and embrace peace,these i..diotic boko-haram will also do the same.. Like father like son.. Take it or leave it,boko-haram operates on islamic principles just like the middle east... They even want to islamize a whole Nigeria...can you imagine..

dahonestboss: Are the muslims in the middle east different fromt the muslims in Nigeria ? let us assume boko haram is a Nigerian thing, what about the killings of none muslim in other part of the world ?

ndala: Hope u are saying dis from ya mind because i no trust muslim u guys are like green snake in a green grass

goofie: i really feel the post is an attempt to creating peace.

the poster stated that muslims r not obligated or urged to kill.but the percentage of muslims that kill is too high to disregard.

i wish all muslims shared ur views but unfortunately they dont.

even muslims on nairaland endorsed the killings

Ujujoan:

Still you have to admit that your religion is doing absolutely NOTHING to stop these people killing in their name. Silence they say means consent!

Skynet247: Ur the only reasonable muslims thats is livng n nigeria...pls create a blog 4dat piece...if posible...let it be in news...

afam4eva: I've lived with muslims most of my life and there hasn't been anything i've had a course to suspect them as they've always been no different from the Christian and everyone that i've lived. It's sad that a small group of people who unfortunately are muslims have soiled the name of the religion all over the world in the name of fighting for their religion. But many muslim clerics have come out to quote that no where in the Qoran did it state that muslims should go out and kill innocent people. Those people who kill in the name of Allah are just criminals and nothing more. Anybody who takes what they say as word should also be ready to believe the devil. Why can't we as human beings be rational for once in our lives and stop putting everybody in one basket. We can't paint Islam bad simply because of the sins of a few. Let's be reasonable and not judge people by the color of their skin, their creed, religion, ethnicity but by the strength of their character.

Basic: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. May peace be upon whosoever follows guidance.

I advise every reader of this piece – Christians especially – to read with a plain mind that is free of any prejudice or stereotypes. This missive is addressed mainly at Christians and adherents of other religions in this country as well as any Muslim who may help spread word of it.

It is quite saddening that Boko Haram has done, in the name of Islam, so much evil that the average non-Muslim now has a very ugly perception of the religion and its adherents.

Though the Nigerian media has sometimes gone overboard in their reports (for instance, news spread months ago that a Boko Haram instigated bomb blast occurred in Bauchi, only for the Police to state later that the heard explosion was that of a faulty transformer and not a bomb), this piece does not seek to defend the acts of Boko Haram (in fact, it strongly disapproves of their acts). So, please don't start forming opinions yet.

Read this piece to the end, as it hoped that it would help extinguish the fire of inter-religious animosity raging in our society today – by means of these clarifications:

Clarification #1

You Christians have known we Muslims for years, and you have lived with us for years as well. I’m sure the Muslims you first knew or grew up with never told you that Islam permits unjust killings – not even of non-Muslims. They won't, because they never believed such. If that were part of their belief, they would certainly have attempted killing you. So, their peaceful co-existence with you shows that they had nothing of such as their belief.

But suddenly came a strange group of "Muslims" who kill in the name of Islam. Yet, you conclude that these "vampires" are following the dictates of Islam. Which Islam? A new version of Islam?

So, it is either Boko Haram members are practising a strange Islam or are not practising Islam at all. But the truth remains that our religion has never and will never undergo any kind of metamorphosis. And whatever is not part of it from the outset will never be regarded as being part of it today!

Since unjust, unlawful killings were never part of Islam, they will never be part of Islam, and any individual or group that practices such – even in the name of Islam – will ‘never’ be regarded as Muslims or as fighting for Islam.


Clarification #2

I do see Christians quote Quranic verses inciting Muslims to fight the non-believers. And I have these to say:

Just as you hold that many verses in the Bible have underlying meanings that are beyond the literal implications, we Muslims also hold the same in regards to the Quran. The Quran contains many verses whose meanings are subject to interpretations other than the literal.

So, I advise every truth-seeking non-Muslim to refrain from quoting Quranic verses without deep understanding of the circumstances behind their revelation.

As for the wars fought by the early Muslims, various circumstances led to these, and going into a detailed discussion will be digressive and will make this piece lengthier.

However, know that the wars propagated by the Muslims of old had many strong reasons behind them. And looking at history, no civilisation or revolution came to be without some struggle.

Now the truth: in Nigeria of today, there are NO justifications whatsoever for any Muslim – individual or group – to kill non-Muslims unjustly. In fact, from what I've learned about this religion, NONE – yes, NONE – of the conditions that permit Muslims to fight (such as if they are facing aggression from non-Muslims, and if they are in an Islamic state) is present in the Nigeria of today. Therefore, anyone fighting in the name of Islam is either doing that out of misindoctrination, crass ignorance, or for ulterior reasons.

Once again, Nigeria is not an Islamic state, and no Muslim – except for the misindoctrinated, ignorant, or hypocritical – is permitted to fight in the name of religion.

Clarification #3

Any Muslim individual or group that claims to be fighting for Islam by way of unjust, unwarranted killings is not following the dictates of ‘the’ Islam - and that is even if such were Muslims in the first place.

In a Quranic verse, which, interestingly, those Christians who have never stopped dissecting the Quran never quote, Allah says:

"Allah never forbids you from dealing justly and kindly with those who do not fight you based on your religion and who do not drive you out of your homes. Verily Allah loves those who deal with others with equity" – Quran 60 verse 8.

This verse drives home the fact that Muslims living amidst non-Muslims (in a non-Islamic state) should never fight them except in self-defence.

In another verse, Allah describes the sanctity life in these words:

"Because of that, we ordained for the Children of Israel that anyone who spreads mischief in the land by killing another person unjustly, and not out of retaliation, it would be as if he had killed all of mankind. And if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind" – Quran 5 verse 32.

So, Islam honours life and is totally against taking it unjustly.

Clarification #4

It would be illogical for any Muslim, after having observed some wrongdoing by a Christian or group of Christians, to conclude that Christianity preaches that wrong act or that all Christians approve of it.

Similarly, it contradicts logic for any Christian, after having observed some wrongdoing by some individuals or groups who claim to be Muslims, to conclude that Islam preaches that wrong act or that all Muslims approve of it.

Get it clear: We Muslims – who really understand the true message of Islam – are totally against the terrorist acts of these bloodsucking "Muslim" groups. In fact, we doubt their being Muslims in the first place. And if they were, either they lost touch of the pristine Islam by getting themselves misindoctrinated, or they are not sincere in their cause (i.e. they have ulterior motives).


Clarification #5

While it is natural for the adherents of any religion to feel enraged when the supreme deity, as held by that religion, is insulted, it is irrational for the adherents to go beyond bounds in their quest for justice – especially when this will involve greater evils like shedding the blood of the innocent.

However, Christians should stop spewing insults at Allah, His Messenger, and at Muslims as a whole. In the Qur'an, Allah has clearly forbidden Muslims from insulting non-Muslims and their religion (Quran 6 verse 108). So, Muslims too should refrain from doing this.

Also, it is far from ideal that a Muslim, in "retaliation" of blasphemy, goes wild, killing innocent lives and destroying property.


Final note

We Muslims are disheartened by the activities of these radicals, and on behalf of every Muslim in this country with a sound, unadulterated Islamic ideology, I state that we are proud of our religion, and we totally and openly disapprove of the acts of BH and their sponsors.

We pray that Allah vindicates His religion by exposing, humiliating, and destroying any individual or group perpetrating evil in the name of Islam.

We also pray that Allah restores peace and security in this country, and make it a haven of tranquility for all – Muslims, Christians, Pagans, and Atheists.

Finally, I advise every person who wishes to study Islam sincerely to look only into authentic sources and try to avoid the press, ignorant and biased non-Muslims, and other sources of baseless gainsay.

Spread word of this piece. Feel free to share with others through any available media. Hopefully, it will help reduce the inter-religious animosity that is thickening in Nigeria today.

Basic:

Thanks. I got understand you. But I insist, that whoever claims that unjust killing is part of Islam - be he an "imam" - is a transgressor, a radical, and an ignoramus!

afam4eva: I've lived with muslims most of my life and there hasn't been anything i've had a course to suspect them as they've always been no different from the Christian and everyone that i've lived. It's sad that a small group of people who unfortunately are muslims have soiled the name of the religion all over the world in the name of fighting for their religion. But many muslim clerics have come out to quote that no where in the Qoran did it state that muslims should go out and kill innocent people. Those people who kill in the name of Allah are just criminals and nothing more. Anybody who takes what they say as word should also be ready to believe the devil. Why can't we as human beings be rational for once in our lives and stop putting everybody in one basket. We can't paint Islam bad simply because of the sins of a few. Let's be reasonable and not judge people by the color of their skin, their creed, religion, ethnicity but by the strength of their character.

stagger: OP,

When you have people killing innocent people in the name of your religion, nothing you say here will change anything. I have friends who were killed by muslims in several religious riots in the name of your religion. SO personally, there is nothing you will tell me that will make sense, and I speak for almost everyone who has had a friend, relative or family killed by Islamic fanatics in Kaduna, Bauchi, Kano and several places.

So save your breath and epistle and instead, focus your energy on talking to those people you say are giving your religion a bad name. Christians have never attacked muslims unprovoked in Nigeria. It is your fellow muslims who do. So write a letter to the fanatical muslims and talk sense into them if you are so concerned.

Kslib:
Yes i understand you..from what i've noticed,the whole problem is just from two angles.. It is either from the religion itself or from the interpretation of the religion.. I dont know much about the quaran,so i cant choose..
Lastly,your imams also contributed to everything cos majority of them don't lead by example.. And these are the same people muslims who want to know more about their religion look up to for direction... Just the same way Nigeria's corruption starts from our leaders and crawls down to some of it's citizens,is the way islam's teachings can be traced to it's imams... If we want to reduce the level of corruption in the whole country,we all know where to start from.. If muslims want to change the way the world views the religion,it should also know where to start from..
@basic,i have another question to ask " Can muslims convince us with backings from the quaran that islam does not support violence? if they can,then i think nobody should say that islam supports violence,but rather understand that " terrorists are just using it as an excuse to commit violence...

dahonestboss: Are the muslims in the middle east different fromt the muslims in Nigeria ? let us assume boko haram is a Nigerian thing, what about the killings of none muslim in other part of the world ?

Ujujoan:

Still you have to admit that your religion is doing absolutely NOTHING to stop these people killing in their name. Silence they say means consent!

ignis:
OP,
Please save us this rigmarole. Go and tell it to the birds. For all i
care. If the muslims are really disheartened that the activities of
bokoharam are tarnishing their so called religion, why are they not
showing any concern to cur the menance. Boko harams have been in action
since over five years ago and has claimed thousands of lives (mostly
christians) in the name of islam. Yet not even a single protest to
condemn the inhuman and barbaric act. But a movie that was shot few
weeks ago in America, which most muslims dont even know the title of the
movie has attracted massive public protest and uproar in Nigeria by the
muslims.
I hate reading this type of bias and trashy articles usually written by
an idle person.

You Christians have known we Muslims for years, and you have lived with us for years as well. I’m sure the Muslims you first knew or grew up with never told you that Islam permits unjust killings – not even of non-Muslims. They won't, because they never believed such. If that were part of their belief, they would certainly have attempted killing you. So, their peaceful co-existence with you shows that they had nothing of such as their belief.

But suddenly came a strange group of "Muslims" who kill in the name of Islam. Yet, you conclude that these "vampires" are following the dictates of Islam. Which Islam? A new version of Islam?

Basic: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. May peace be upon whosoever follows guidance.

I advise every reader of this piece – Christians especially – to read with a plain mind that is free of any prejudice or stereotypes. This missive is addressed mainly at Christians and adherents of other religions in this country as well as any Muslim who may help spread word of it.

It is quite saddening that Boko Haram has done, in the name of Islam, so much evil that the average non-Muslim now has a very ugly perception of the religion and its adherents.

Though the Nigerian media has sometimes gone overboard in their reports (for instance, news spread months ago that a Boko Haram instigated bomb blast occurred in Bauchi, only for the Police to state later that the heard explosion was that of a faulty transformer and not a bomb), this piece does not seek to defend the acts of Boko Haram (in fact, it strongly disapproves of their acts). So, please don't start forming opinions yet.

Read this piece to the end, as it hoped that it would help extinguish the fire of inter-religious animosity raging in our society today – by means of these clarifications:

Clarification #1

You Christians have known we Muslims for years, and you have lived with us for years as well. I’m sure the Muslims you first knew or grew up with never told you that Islam permits unjust killings – not even of non-Muslims. They won't, because they never believed such. If that were part of their belief, they would certainly have attempted killing you. So, their peaceful co-existence with you shows that they had nothing of such as their belief.

But suddenly came a strange group of "Muslims" who kill in the name of Islam. Yet, you conclude that these "vampires" are following the dictates of Islam. Which Islam? A new version of Islam?

So, it is either Boko Haram members are practising a strange Islam or are not practising Islam at all. But the truth remains that our religion has never and will never undergo any kind of metamorphosis. And whatever is not part of it from the outset will never be regarded as being part of it today!

Since unjust, unlawful killings were never part of Islam, they will never be part of Islam, and any individual or group that practices such – even in the name of Islam – will ‘never’ be regarded as Muslims or as fighting for Islam.


Clarification #2

I do see Christians quote Quranic verses inciting Muslims to fight the non-believers. And I have these to say:

Just as you hold that many verses in the Bible have underlying meanings that are beyond the literal implications, we Muslims also hold the same in regards to the Quran. The Quran contains many verses whose meanings are subject to interpretations other than the literal.

So, I advise every truth-seeking non-Muslim to refrain from quoting Quranic verses without deep understanding of the circumstances behind their revelation.

As for the wars fought by the early Muslims, various circumstances led to these, and going into a detailed discussion will be digressive and will make this piece lengthier.

However, know that the wars propagated by the Muslims of old had many strong reasons behind them. And looking at history, no civilisation or revolution came to be without some struggle.

Now the truth: in Nigeria of today, there are NO justifications whatsoever for any Muslim – individual or group – to kill non-Muslims unjustly. In fact, from what I've learned about this religion, NONE – yes, NONE – of the conditions that permit Muslims to fight (such as if they are facing aggression from non-Muslims, and if they are in an Islamic state) is present in the Nigeria of today. Therefore, anyone fighting in the name of Islam is either doing that out of misindoctrination, crass ignorance, or for ulterior reasons.

Once again, Nigeria is not an Islamic state, and no Muslim – except for the misindoctrinated, ignorant, or hypocritical – is permitted to fight in the name of religion.

Clarification #3

Any Muslim individual or group that claims to be fighting for Islam by way of unjust, unwarranted killings is not following the dictates of ‘the’ Islam - and that is even if such were Muslims in the first place.

In a Quranic verse, which, interestingly, those Christians who have never stopped dissecting the Quran never quote, Allah says:

"Allah never forbids you from dealing justly and kindly with those who do not fight you based on your religion and who do not drive you out of your homes. Verily Allah loves those who deal with others with equity" – Quran 60 verse 8.

This verse drives home the fact that Muslims living amidst non-Muslims (in a non-Islamic state) should never fight them except in self-defence.

In another verse, Allah describes the sanctity life in these words:

"Because of that, we ordained for the Children of Israel that anyone who spreads mischief in the land by killing another person unjustly, and not out of retaliation, it would be as if he had killed all of mankind. And if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind" – Quran 5 verse 32.

So, Islam honours life and is totally against taking it unjustly.

Clarification #4

It would be illogical for any Muslim, after having observed some wrongdoing by a Christian or group of Christians, to conclude that Christianity preaches that wrong act or that all Christians approve of it.

Similarly, it contradicts logic for any Christian, after having observed some wrongdoing by some individuals or groups who claim to be Muslims, to conclude that Islam preaches that wrong act or that all Muslims approve of it.

Get it clear: We Muslims – who really understand the true message of Islam – are totally against the terrorist acts of these bloodsucking "Muslim" groups. In fact, we doubt their being Muslims in the first place. And if they were, either they lost touch of the pristine Islam by getting themselves misindoctrinated, or they are not sincere in their cause (i.e. they have ulterior motives).


Clarification #5

While it is natural for the adherents of any religion to feel enraged when the supreme deity, as held by that religion, is insulted, it is irrational for the adherents to go beyond bounds in their quest for justice – especially when this will involve greater evils like shedding the blood of the innocent.

However, Christians should stop spewing insults at Allah, His Messenger, and at Muslims as a whole. In the Qur'an, Allah has clearly forbidden Muslims from insulting non-Muslims and their religion (Quran 6 verse 108). So, Muslims too should refrain from doing this.

Also, it is far from ideal that a Muslim, in "retaliation" of blasphemy, goes wild, killing innocent lives and destroying property.


Final note

We Muslims are disheartened by the activities of these radicals, and on behalf of every Muslim in this country with a sound, unadulterated Islamic ideology, I state that we are proud of our religion, and we totally and openly disapprove of the acts of BH and their sponsors.

We pray that Allah vindicates His religion by exposing, humiliating, and destroying any individual or group perpetrating evil in the name of Islam.

We also pray that Allah restores peace and security in this country, and make it a haven of tranquility for all – Muslims, Christians, Pagans, and Atheists.

Finally, I advise every person who wishes to study Islam sincerely to look only into authentic sources and try to avoid the press, ignorant and biased non-Muslims, and other sources of baseless gainsay.

Spread word of this piece. Feel free to share with others through any available media. Hopefully, it will help reduce the inter-religious animosity that is thickening in Nigeria today.

Chuksgeo: @ moderator all your clarifications still boils down that when muslims are attacked that their retaliation is justified by islam especialy CLARIFICATION #3 but Christianity never preach revenge or retaliation of any kind.

And assuming what you said about muslims in Nigeria is true, how about the ones in the middle east, are they not going about bombing and killing people just like Boko Haram or is it not the same islam?

you better start preaching to your fellow muslim brothers(and stop denying them) who are busy killing people and your are here wasting our time.

Ujujoan:

Still you have to admit that your religion is doing absolutely NOTHING to stop these people killing in their name. Silence they say means consent!