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.

afam4eva:
I hope you won't go on the offensive when someone opens a thread and say that girls are goldiggers. The problem i have with people is that they don't treat other people the way they want to be treated. Don't the goose and gander deserve an equal treatment? If we agree with you that Islam is violent, what are you now going to say about the Aluu villagers who maimed those boys to death. Are they muslims too. The only difference is that those villagers didn't claim to be representing any God but what they did is evil anyways and most if not all of them are Christians.

TroGunn:

The bolded is a big difference. What happened in Aluu community was evil, but that's a different story. They did not kill the youths because of their religion and did not claim to expect reward from God for their actions. It was a case of jungle justice, where supposed criminals were mobbed to death. You can't call the premeditated killing of non-muslims by muslims who truly believe they are doing God's work to the mob action in Aluu. Comparing the two is lame.

There's a fundamental religious issue - a lot of muslims worldwide find it quite easy to attack non-muslims over religious reasons and they truly believe God is please with them when they do so. It is a case of deliberate ignorance to think it's a local Nigeria problem - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_terrorism

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.

afam4eva:
Does it really matter in whose name they kill? The most important thing is that they have killed.

TroGunn:

Actually, it really doesn't matter fundamentally. Killing people is wrong - whether it's mob action or over a cartoon or movie or in trying to install Sharia law.

Just don't expect people to believe the "Islam is a religion of peace" crap when people kill based on their understanding of Islam . No amount of propaganda will help.

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:
So, what about the millions of Muslims that don't kill nobody...why don't you use them to judge the Islamic world. Why use those that do negative things to qualify all muslims.

afam4eva:
I hope you won't go on the offensive when someone opens a thread and say that girls are goldiggers. The problem i have with people is that they don't treat other people the way they want to be treated. Don't the goose and gander deserve an equal treatment? If we agree with you that Islam is violent, what are you now going to say about the Aluu villagers who maimed those boys to death. Are they muslims too. The only difference is that those villagers didn't claim to be representing any God but what they did is evil anyways and most if not all of them are Christians.

lalaosky:

chukwu gozie nwa oma...amaromu udiri ogwu oke afam ññuru were na akoyeri ife ndia afu ona akoyeri

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.

seunajia: At times I just don't feel the need to clarify or say anything. Humans are inherently and incurably prejudicial.



Not true. There are two options a muslims has when attacked or when someone wrongs him.

1. Leave the transgressor to God,
2. Retaliate, an eye for an eye only. If he take more than measure, he automatically becomes the transgressor!

I can bet my life the Holy bible say this too.



The issues in the middle-east is a complicated one that transcends this thread. I'm sure historians and political students understand these issues more than we do. Isaac, Ishameel, palestine, Israel, Arab, jew, the west, sovereignty, capitalism, socialism, worldpowerlism and a little of the "opium" just for fun and to skim the support of blind men like you and I. Hahaha. We're just PAWNS



Yeah the OP and muslims must stop being bedroom warriors and start speaking up. Enough is enough! This thread is a right step in the right direction.

Non-muslims alike who know the truth too should join the crusade. The world belongs to us all!

Ruth Isaac: OP
nice writeup, keep it up. But 2 b sincere n honest, a muslim girl friend of mine has once told me, dat as a muslim, if u try n Kill even jst one non-muslim, u will enter d Kingdom of Allah, dat is (Paradise awaits u whn u die) n i asked her if she can also kill me, since am not a muslim, but she laugh n said, No because we re friends she cant do dat. Now tell me, is there TWO diff type Islam n we dnt kw? So me as a person, has dis bliv dat a, Muslim can kill a non muslim any day, any time. So jst as u hv d bliv dat Islam is peaceful, dat is d same way other Muslims bliv, in killing 4 Allah.

afam4eva:
Does it really matter in whose name they kill? The most important thing is that they have killed.

bukatyne: don't bet your life on what you don't know

Imoy: "...it is the duty of those who have accepted them [Allah's word and messager] to
strive unceasingly to convert or at least to subjugate those who have not. This
obligation is without limit of time or space. It must continue until the whole world
has either accepted the Islamic faith or submitted to the power of the Islamic
state.”

So how can you tell me this religion means peace?

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 ?

eduson77:
there is an adage that says,
if one finger gets stained by oil,it spreads to others..

you need a revolution in your teaching and mindset.

shikinah