STOP BLASPHEMY FOR PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE

[Toyin Falola]

STOP BLASPHEMY FOR PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE
By Muslim Solidarity Forum Sokoto
Ath-thulatha, 16th Shawwal, 1443 AH | Tuesday, May 17, 2022

1.The Muslim Solidarity Forum Sokoto, as an umbrella body for Imams, scholars, preachers, Islamic organizations, Islamic centers and Sufi orders in the state has been following the sad events that happened last Thursday 11th Shawwal, 1443 AH (12.05.2022 CE) at Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto and their aftermath with great concern and wishes to submit thus:

2.The unfortunate incident started when a Christian student by name Deborah Yakubu posted a widely circulated voice note in a students' WhatsApp group because some Muslim members of the group shared some Islamic contents. In the message, which was in Hausa language, she was heard abusing the religion of Islam and hurling the most despicable and immoral abuse on the person of the Noble Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and salutations of Allah be upon him), bragging that nothing would happen to her, despite warning by her friends. This act is the most extreme provocation anyone can do to any Muslim who has an iota of faith in him. The Hall Administrator according to widely circulated audio has also warned severally how she was making reckless statements that could bring havoc!

3.This senseless, reckless and irresponsible act of incitement triggered riot by students, who protested against this extreme act of provocation in the seat of the Caliphate. This culminated in the loss of life of that student during the mob action.

4.We therefore, condemn in strongest terms reviling and disparaging the personality of our leader, the Noble Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and salutations of Allah be upon him) by any person whoever he might be.

5.Despite the terrible nature and seriousness of this offence, we call on all Muslims not to take law into their hands and allow the relevant organs of government to handle cases of such nature.

6.This is not the first time a Christian whether, student or not is deliberately making blasphemous statements against the person of the Noble Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and salutations of Allah be upon him) or trying to desecrate the Glorious Qur'an within and outside the state, thereby triggering religious crises and loss of lives and properties as witnessed in the last thirty (30) years. To stop this ugly trend, there is need for concerted efforts by all stakeholders towards addressing the roots of the menace.

7.In order to achieve the above mentioned, the following facts should be clear to all:
i. Any true Muslim - by the dictates of his religion- loves the Noble Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and salutations of Allah be upon him) more than his own self, parents, children and the entire humanity. He will not hesitate to sacrifice his life in defense of his honor.
ii. Muslims equally respect and honor all other Prophets and Messengers of Allah without discrimination, from Adam to Jesus, son of Maryam (may the peace and salutations of Allah be upon them all). Speaking ill or showing disrespect to any one of them is an act of disbelief that takes one out of the fold of Islam. That's why no any true Muslim will consider doing that.
iii. The punishment for blasphemy against Prophets (may the peace and salutations of Allah be upon them) is death according to the Islamic law. It is also the same in the Bible as mentioned in Leviticus 24 verses 10-16; First Kings 21 verses 10-13 and Second Kings verses 23-25. However, the execution of that punishment rests with the authorities.
iv. History and current realities have shown that blasphemous utterances against the Noble Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and salutations of Allah be upon him) is suicidal and a sure way of living a miserable life in the least, whether in a Muslim majority or minority climes. The case of French teacher who presented Charlie Hebdo blasphemous cartoons to his students last year is still fresh in our memories.
v. In all cases of blasphemy in Nigeria within the last three decades, it has always been a Christian deliberately provoking Muslims through unguarded and unjustified insults against the personality of the Noble Prophet Muhammad (may the peace of and blessings of Allah be upon him) or desecration of the Glorious Qur'an leading to reaction which often escalate into religious crises. There was no single time when a Muslim made blasphemous comments against any personality honored in Christianity.
vi. The poor handling of this very sensitive issue of blasphemy by many governments in the past, where the inciters, such as Rev. Bako in Kafanchan crisis of 1987, escaped justice while many innocent Muslims suffered maltreatment in the hands of some security agencies, made the generality of Muslims to view the position of this and many past governments as skewed in favor of Christians.
vii. It is on record that unjustifiable killings of Muslims were committed at Zangon Kataf in 1991 and 1992; Tafawa Balewa in 1991, 1993, 1995 and 2001; Yelwan Shendam in 2004, Zonkwa and Jarkasa in 2011; Mambilla plateau in 2017; Dura du in Jos in 2018; Ijagbo killing of a Muslim student in 2022 among others, but no single person was punished for those crimes.
viii. The attitude of some Muslim leaders who are quick to condemn wrong actions committed by some Muslims, but are always deaf and dumb whenever Muslim religion, lives, properties and honor are trampled upon has compounded the matter, pushing an average Muslim to resort to self-help as there's apparently nobody interested in safeguarding his fundamental rights.
ix. The attitude of many Christian leaders who impliedly endorse blasphemous utterances through silence; refusal to openly condemn such heinous utterances and not teaching their congregations to avoid such sacrilegious acts, also encourage blasphemous acts by some of their members.

8.In view of the foregoing, we make the following demands:
a.The extant laws punishing acts of blasphemy not only in the state but in the whole country should be immediately reviewed to reflect the enormity and gravity of the offense in order to prevent disruption of law and order in the society and needless destruction of lives and properties.
b.Sokoto state government shall pay full compensation to the families of those slain and injured by the security agents during peaceful demonstration on Saturday 13th Shawwal, 1443 AH (14.05.2022 CE) in Sokoto, while we also call on the government to investigate the activities of those security agents and prosecute those found responsible.
c.The Nigeria Police, The Department of State Security and other relevant agencies shall as a matter of urgency investigate and bring to face justice those behind a YouTube channel called JARUMA HAUSA TV, who made it their primary duty to churn out contemptable statements on respected and eminent Muslim personalities such as the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate, Shaikh Usmanu bn Fodiyo (may Allah have mercy on him), President Muhammadu Buhari, His Eminence the Sultan of Sokoto, numerous Emirs and many notable Islamic scholars. This should be done to avoid a religious conflagration.
d.The Muslim leaders who refuse to defend the honor of the Noble Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and salutations of Allah be upon him) and stand for Muslim rights for whatever reason should know that Islam is their source of honor, and if they sought for honor from outside its fold, Allah the Most High will surely humiliate them.
e.The Christian leaders should, in the interest of peaceful coexistence publicly preach against blasphemy and educate their followers that blasphemy is against the scriptures and is a trouble shooter that will consume the perpetrator first before others.

f.We call on Islamic scholars, Imams and preachers to intensify efforts in educating and enlightening people both Muslims and non-Muslims about the Noble qualities and life story of the Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and salutations of Allah be upon him) and other Prophets of Allah (may the peace and salutations of Allah be upon them), as sublime human personalities who deserve all honor.
g.Similarly, we call on all Muslims to remain calm, law abiding and avoid any act that will lead to chaos, as well as continue to emulate the Noble Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and salutations of Allah be upon him) in all spheres of their lives.

9.Finally, we pray Allah the Most High, to increase our love, respect and emulation of His Noble Messenger Muhammad (may the peace and salutations of Allah be upon him); keep us firm on his path in this world and the hereafter; guide those who ignorantly hate him to the right path and bring peace and prosperity to our nation, surely He is able to do so.

Signed
Prof. Isa Muhammad Maishanu (Ag. Chairman) and Mal. Muhammad Usman Ali (Ag. Secretary)


Sent from my iPhone

[Cornelius Hamelberg]

Pharoah Sanders - Hum Allah Hum Allah Hum Allah

With all my heart, I should like to fully embrace the spirit and the tenor of this submission and fully endorse the recommendations advanced by Muslim Solidarity Forum Sokoto.  

This too is in accordance with The Golden Rule 

Hopefully, in good conscience,  non-Muslim religious organisations, of every conceivable denomination, and exercising the same sense of civic responsibility, other civic bodies will issue similar statements in the interests of future peaceful and harmonious relations /harmonious coexistence with fellow Nigerian countrymen and countrywomen. 

However,  it should be pointed out that with regard to the death penalty for blasphemy in Judaism in the so called “ Old Testament “ properly known as the Tanakh  - the death penalty for blasphemy is only applicable to blasphemy of the Almighty, and not what could be properly understood as blasphemy or any form of irreverence to any of the prophets in the Hebrew Bible.

Therefore, the second sentence which I have underlined  in the excerpt quoted below has to be amended 

iii. The punishment for blasphemy against Prophets (may the peace and salutations of Allah be upon them) is death according to Islamic law. It is also the same in the Bible as mentioned in Leviticus 24 verses 10-16; First Kings 21 verses 10-13 and Second Kings verses 23-25.

We could take a closer look into the references cited : 

Leviticus 24 verses 10-16 // Vayikra 24 :  10 - 16

First Kings 21 verses 10-13 // Melachim 1:  21:  10-13

Second Kings verses 23-25 //  Melachim 2:  23 - 25

[Harrow, Kenneth]

dear cornelius

there is no death penalty for blasphemy in judaism in the present, and i suspect not for many centuries. it is

misleading to cite such passages, as i did from leviticus last week, as having anything to do with current law or practice.

i believe death penalties are wrong, no matter the crime. but death penalties for religious infractions are an abomination, and we should not imply that passages from religious texts and practices from the past have anything to do with contemporary, modern life. the sokoto muslim community should not be explaining how horrible blasphemy is, implicitly condoning the killing.

as an example of the antiquity of this kind of rationalization one can find in the bible the rule that a child who disrespects or disobeys his or her parents is supposed to be stoned to death, according to the jewish bible. if you ask contemporary scholars about this, they say it is never actually evoked, and even claim it never was, which is likely.

on the other hand, challenging accepted view of god, spinoza in the 17^th century wrote that there was no separate divine being, but that divinity was in all matter. he was declared a heretic, and here is the wiki account of what follows:

Spinoza's break with the prevailing dogmas of Judaism, and particularly the insistence on non-Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, was not sudden; rather, it appears to have been the result of a lengthy internal struggle ^....after he was branded as a heretic, Spinoza's clashes with authority became more pronounced. For example, questioned by two members of his synagogue, Spinoza apparently responded that God has a body and nothing in scripture says otherwise.^[54] He was later attacked on the steps of the synagogue by a knife-wielding assailant shouting "Heretic!" He was apparently quite shaken by this attack and for years kept (and wore) his torn cloak, unmended, as a souvenir.^[54]

ken

kenneth harrow

professor emeritus

dept of english

michigan state university

517 803-8839

har...@msu.edu

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Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2022 11:03 AM
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Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: STOP BLASPHEMY FOR PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE

 

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[Cornelius Hamelberg]

Dear Kenneth,

In other words, you’re saying that one should not quote either Torah or Talmud when such matters under our purview are being discussed?  

In any case, I suppose that it’s irrelevant to quote anything Hebraic when discussing sources that are written in Arabic, not even the Rambam who also wrote in Arabic.

In my humble opinion, the 12th Blessing of the Amidah is still relevant ….

Needless to say, modern day Israel is not a theocracy, the death penalty was abolished after Eichmann was hanged in 1962,  and if the death penalty hadn’t  been abolished in the absence of a duly constituted Sanhedrin the only body qualified to interpret (and implement ?) Halakhah  it’s still unlikely that  some folks in Tel Aviv which is currently the Mecca of the gay, alternatively viewed by some as  the new location of the old Sodom and Gomorrah would not have paid the penalty that’s outlined in Rabbinic lore: strangulation 

Salawat!  Allahumma Salli Ala Muhammad Wa Ala Ali Muhammad

In their laudable stand which is a principled Islamic stance on this matter, I agree with Muslim Solidarity Forum Sokoto  199%  - their position synchronises beautifully with my own ijtihad  and to quote really memorable wording from Dr Aliyu Tilde, anyone who doesn’t like it can go grab the nearest live electric transformer  - memorable words also from Madiba when he visited his friend Muammar Gaddafi: And anyone who doesn’t like it “ Can go jump in a pool!”

 I also sincerely believe that your objections/ disagreements with the brethren and sistren of Muslim Solidarity Forum Sokoto are completely worthless, irrelevant, and of no consequence whatsoever. 

[Oluwatoyin Adepoju]

Great thanks for this Ken 

This inhuman venerations of issues dealing with an invisible entity whose existence is in dispute is really tragic.

Thanks

Toyin

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[Harrow, Kenneth]

i  am sorry to have annoyed or angered cornelius so much, but

--i don't think we should quote scripture for justification of actions like killing or punishing people. i guess that means i believe in the separation of church and state 100%, and my example for this is the abuse of this killing of a girl by then citing qu'ranic verses or hadith in justification.

because,

one can find verse in any of the sacred texts and their interpretations for anything.

what is the value of citing scripture or interpretation? i don't say we shouldn't cite it, or any other texts. if they support our points, perhaps better than anything else, why not? but to cite them as authorities to justify our actions. again, for me, this case of the killing of deborah is the best example i can think of to demonstrate my point.

those who use religious texts as authority, rather than their own beliefs then supported by those texts, are abdicating their responsibility-what sartre termed bad faith.

that said, i would willingly cite any passage from any religious text for us to mull over and debate or even find inspiration in.

i very frequently write interpretations of the jewish tanakh, our bi ble, on passages read for the week, and i love the thinking and effort and engagement. but i wouldn't ever say, the text says to do this, so that makes it right. i call that approach that of "true believers," by which i mean  fundamentalists.

lastly, i do agree with cornelius on one point. i don't believe in absolute freedom of expression. if our speech or words cause hard, there must be a limit where the harm has to stop and the people causing harm punished. the harm could simply be libel, and we can sue those who libel us. but if speech is used to incite someone to kill others, that speech ought to be prohibited. the link is often direct.

an example: the killings in buffalo were linked to the replacement theories this kid read on line and which inspired him to kill as many black people in buffalo as he could. the vile outlets that promoted the killings serve no good, and cause real physical and mental harm. i would prohibit them. but then, i am not a billionaire named musk....

on the other hand, if the harm is seen as that of god or the prophet, that is not the same, and as toyin pointed out, we often engage in "discussions" with our sacred figures that others might deem blasphemy.

lastly, the moment we admit blasphemy merits punishment, we should recognize that one person's blasphemy is another person's truth, and if we permit ourselves to punish others for blasphemy, soon they will punish us for the same crime.

that's called religious wars. one man's truth is another's lies, and the two will fight to the death.

unless their name is ESHU, in which case, obviously, each side of the god can mock the other....a god to admire....

ken

kenneth harrow

professor emeritus

dept of english

michigan state university

517 803-8839

har...@msu.edu

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Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: STOP BLASPHEMY FOR PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE

 

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[Toyin Falola]

Ken:

Is the scripture the issue? Documents before Christ? Texts dating back to the 7^th century?

Should I now go and marry 300 wives like King Solomon?

I think the issue may be how holy texts intended to guide human behavior become converted into “Constitutions.” When you do this conversion, you elevate “conventions” to the status of “law.” Conventions are ethical, not legal. You can instrumentalize conventions by converting them into laws in a secular state, and you can pass laws around stereotypes and racist remarks (as in say, do not use the word “nigger”) or do not say “Holy Mary, mother of Jesus, was not a virgin.”

TF

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[Harrow, Kenneth]

the scripture is the issue, but before that, it is people's approach to scripture, i.e., taking it literally and absolutely.

scripture is wonderful for what it inspires; it is dreadful, unacceptable, when taken as commandment.

ken

kenneth harrow

professor emeritus

dept of english

michigan state university

517 803-8839

har...@msu.edu

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Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2022 6:10 PM

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[Cornelius Hamelberg]

I’m not angry or annoyed, I’m just irritated when some non -Muslims want to pontificate on the direction that they believe Islam should take. Maybe, someone like Rambam was in a position to say something, since he himself practised Islam for about eight years of his life, as a result of which he was in a position to recommend the washing of feet before entering a holy, Jewish place of worship….

Does Kenneth care to tell us why Jesus was executed? 

Up till now, some people are still feeling distraught about The Prophet of Islam's marriage with Aisha, others are still sitting in judgement, and believe themselves to be wiser than Solomon who had so many wives  - and concubines….

This much is clear:  up there in Sokoto, no female Christian student will be in a hurry to walk in Deborak Yakubu’s footsteps, after what just happened to her.

 I’m sure that if she had been studying at a similar institution in Saudi Arabia or Iran, she would have thought twice before saying anything untoward about Prophet Muhammad….

[Emeagwali, Gloria (History)]

"scripture is wonderful for what it inspires; it is dreadful, unacceptable, when taken as commandment."

What happens when it inspires the dreadful and the unacceptable?

It becomes unacceptably wonderful?

Professor Gloria Emeagwali
History Department, Central Connecticut State University
www.africahistory.net

http://web.ccsu.edu/afstudy/archive.html

Chief Editor- "Africa Update"

www.vimeo.com/gloriaemeagwali

Gloria Emeagwali's Documentaries

2014 Distinguished Research Excellence Award in African Studies

 University of Texas at Austin

2019   Distinguished Africanist Award                   

New York African Studies Association

Founding Co -Chair. Sengbe Pieh AMISTAD Committee

Founding Director, African Studies, CCSU

 

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Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: STOP BLASPHEMY FOR PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE

 

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[Oluwatoyin Adepoju]

Cornelius, 

As you make comments  like this:

"This much is clear:  up there in Sokoto, no female Christian student will be in a hurry to walk in Deborak Yakubu’s footsteps, after what just happened to her.

I’m sure that if she had been studying at a similar institution in Saudi Arabia or Iran, she would have thought twice before saying anything untoward about Prophet Muhammad"

are you following the  spectrum of views from the Muslim North and from the South on this subject and examining their implications?

In so far as Nigeria aspires to be a united nation, this incident in which Deborah was murdered and with such open savagery, an act supported and openly so, by so many in the Muslim North,  is one of the worst things that could have happened to this country.

In as much as the country is better off divided into separate nations, some are calling Deborah a matyr whose fate points to the necessity for the division of the nation between the Islamic North and the rest of the country.

The drastic polarisation between the majority of Muslim Northerners and Southerners on Facebook and most likely other social media on this subject has deeply fueled the idea of Nigeria as being two nations in uneasy coexistence.

Even eminent and highly educated Northern Muslims are identifying with the executioners of Deborah.

Not all though, but a significant no of those who have spoken up or most of them.

Meanwhile, almost all Presidential candidates except Pius Anyim, who has issued an unequivocal statement condemning  the murder, have kept mum.

Why?

Fear of votes from the Muslim North.

Atiku Abubakar, perhaps the most prominent Northern Muslim candidate, was the only other candidate who even made a comment on the subject, issuing an unequivocal condemnation of the murder, but as the volley of his fellow Northern Muslims declaring they would not vote for him rose, he deleted the post, claiming it was unauthorised, and chose to make no more published comment, the last I knew on the subject, although he later had an interview where he seems to be trying to do damage control.

We can describe this as the surrender of the Nigerian ruling class to the values that produced Boko Haram Islamic terrorism, the right wing mentalities dominant in the Muslim North that have made the region a hotbed for Islamic terrorism, from Maitasine to Boko Haram, for religio/ethnic terrorism of the Fulani herdsmen  militia variety.

This situation suggests the entrenchment of the persuasive powers of the calculus of violence that was central to the emergence of the disaster that is the Muhammadu Buhari Presidency, whose road to the Presidency was paved by the 2011 Boko Haram resurgence, which, against the background of the "power must return to the North" mantra that greeted GEJ's ascension, first presented themselves as Muslims fighting an infidel govt, creating an ambivalence in the Muslim North that might be central to their continued existence, their persistence central to what was seen as the failure of the GEJ govt, inspiring the replacement by Buhari.

Buharis path to the Presidency was also paved by the voting consistency and fanatical dedication of his Northern Muslim  followers, a rabid section of which massacred innocents in 2011 bcs he lost an election which observers could see he could not have won, since his presence did not go beyond a section of the Muslim North.

To make sure the political class did not forget the incendiary power of the murderous ones among his Northern Muslim supporters, he threatened that the "dog and the baboon would be covered in blood" if he lost again in 2015.

His Presidency has seen the Southern political elite cowed into either silence or acquiescence as he brazenly pursued an ethno-religious agenda climaxed by Fulani herdsmen and Fulani militia terrorism, in alliance with Miyetti Allah Fulani supremacists, a culture of enablement  critical to the creatures who have now turned on those who enabled them by carving kingdoms for themselves in the Muslim North even in Buhari's home state, making life hell, resonating with the hell visited by their official terrorist army on the Middle Belt and parts of the South.

Where are we going from here?

Meanwhile, the absolute contempt of most of the Southerners for what they understand as the Islamic inhumanities of the Muslim North is obvious.

Is this a watershed in Nigerian history?

A number of Southerners are calling for a division of the nation so the Muslim North can have their Sharia universe, where human beings may be killed for being accused of or for actually doing things Muslims see as insults to their religion and the South can live in their quasi-secularised existence.

A primary wall between these setiments and actualisation is the Southern political class, whose priorities are different and whose children will not be in the kind of school where Islamic senstivities will be among their problems.

Now, what happens if the South is able to let go of the Muslim North?

What will be the fate of the Muslim North  as the most terrorised region in Nigeria, on fire from Fulani bandits/terrorists and Boko Haram Islamic terrorism?

Your house is burning but you insist on hunting cockroaches.

You should be left alone to address your cockroaches and your burning house.

Thanks

Toyin

 

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[Harrow, Kenneth]

that's a great question. it inspires a couple of thoughts.

first, there are a few orders at play here, the moral or ethical, the aesthetic; and then the transcendental.

commandment is a dreadful word, but it evokes the moral order. in hebrew we say mizvot, god's rules, but also something like moral orders or good things. a bar mitzvah has that word.

that isn't dreadful; but becomes edgy with dread, say, when god commands all the egyptian firstborn to be killed on the night of passover--of the angel passing over.

adepoju has the word kant would use for that kind of dreadful, transcendental, beyond human understanding, the sublime, which can be like ogun who slaughters blindly when he is drunk. he is a god, divine, and destructive and outside any understanding, totally the opposite of eshu whose tricks always lead to the reestablishment of a proper order.'

so disorder becomes a condition for art, like for the surrealists--the only condition for art. as for the dadaists., and even maybe for the baroque who again approach that edginess of the dreadful, like goya's paintings of the god eating his children, mad, insane, violent.

one could say any art without that edge is mere decoration.

it's not a great film, but Blood SIsters is sort of like macbeth where the evil of the rich and powerful has that same edginess, which kenneth nyang likes to put on the screen. unimaginable horror of their evil, as if they were gods who could not be called to account for any of their actions. sort of like putin.

the opposite is the merely orderly biden, nothing exciting about the old boy, trying to uphold a liberal order in a world gone mad.

the only answer i have for your great question, gloria, is how we have to live with the art and thinking of genet, and so many others--marechera springs to mind, and at his best ben okri (the early fiction); not achebe, who is too level-headed, but soyinka's madmen and the accompanying godheads in The Interpreters.

the early novels of beyala, before she got ruined by french awards. many others could be added to this dionysian list. for me the key is that kantian notion of the sublime.

i suspect adepoju would have lots to add.

ken

kenneth harrow

professor emeritus

dept of english

michigan state university

517 803-8839

har...@msu.edu

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Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2022 8:13 PM

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[Emeagwali, Gloria (History)]

If “holy texts” are  just conventions, 

then on whose customs are they based -

and why are they designated as divine?

Professor Gloria Emeagwali
Prof. of History/African Studies, CCSU
africahistory.net; vimeo.com/ gloriaemeagwali
Recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Research
Excellence Award, Univ. of Texas at Austin;

2019 Distinguished Africanist Award
New York African Studies Association

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Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: STOP BLASPHEMY FOR PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE

 

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Ken:

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[Oluwatoyin Adepoju]

Better put perhaps on relationships between the problems unique to the Muslim North and the dominance of the region by right wing Islam:

" Your house is burning because of fires you lit by yourself but you insist on comtinuing  to fan the flames beceause they keep you warm".

Should you be left alone to self destruct or make up your mind to put out the fire?"

Thanks

Toyin

[Oluwatoyin Adepoju]

Thanks Ken.

I'll try to assimilate these deep ideas and see if I have anything to say.

Toyin

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[Cornelius Hamelberg]

Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju,

This Mississippi is not a diversion:

Devil's in the alley, mule kickin' in the stall

Say anything you wanna, I've heard it all

You are of course familiar with what has been falsely attributed as Einstein's Parable of Quantum Insanity: ”Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

You keep on provoking Muslims, worldwide,  you know for sure how they are going to react, you know that they’re going to react violently, but you go ahead anyway and pray for a different result. 

You insult the Prophet of Islam Sallallahu alaihi wa salaam, and expect some kind of gentle Jesus, meek and mild, holier-than-thou philosophical, non-violent reaction, such as turning the other cheek as if you don’t know that your insult is nothing less than a declaration of war - the reaction?  JIHAD!  - and then you start your pious crocodile tears, your weeping and crying, “what makes Islam so different?”

 In your case, it's weeping accompanied by some gnashing of teeth, you ask surprised,  “ Why is Nigeria so different?”

 The fact is, Nigeria is not so different, Nigeria is also making the same mistake of doing the same thing and expecting a different result. I’m sick and tired of you. I’m beginning to get sick and tired of Kenneth too, with his sanctimonious proclamations, his thumbs up for Foucault as a fitting response to violence, and lately, some smiles for Sartre and what always boils down to  “Why can’t Muslims just relax and be  like civilised me?”  Hell! 

Free expression: You wanna make Kenneth feel righteous?

 Ask him about Mansur Al-Hallaj, distance him from Jesus 

We live in a world of cause and effect, dear Adepoju, ask Kurt Westergaard, ask Charlie Hebdo, you should have asked Lars Vilks, and long before Deborah Yakubu you could have addressed not me but your sister who ignited The Nigeria Miss World riots, and lastly, ask a dead man walking, scumbag Rasmus Paludan about his Quran burning in Sweden… 

 If you remember, you once asked about this article that I referred to,  published in The Muslim World  Journal (Chapel Hill) way back in 1987,  I don’t have a copy, I read it at the Royal Library: “Yours to command: Contemporary theology and contemporary ethics in Islam” by Kenneth Cragg.

Back then, Mohammad Fazlhashemi also a frequent visitor to that library was a good acquaintance, I saw him on TV a few days ago moralising like a good Swede about Nikah mut'ah, the latest scandal fomented by a sensational Swedish TV reportage about this tradition being practised ina Sweden, thereby setting the whole country on fire with moral indignation, calling it “ ”Prostitution 

No, I'm not angry. Excuse me while I take a closer look at what Baba Kadiri is so unhappy about….

[Salimonu Kadiri]

​Muslim Solidarity Forum, Sokoto, must have hurriedly been formed to support the murderers of Deborah Samuel Yakubu which is why the article below was signed by Professor Isa Muhammadu Maishanu and Mallam Muhammad Usman Ali as Acting Chairman and Acting Secretary respectively.

Nigeria is a multi-ethnic and a multi-religious country, which is why it is specifically stated in Section 10 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria that "The Government of the Federation or of a State shall not adopt any Religion as a State Religion." Religion is a private affair of every individual Nigeria even though freedom of association as guaranteed in the Nigerian Constitution permits like minds to worship and pray together. Besides the Nigerian Constitution there are operational civil and criminal laws throughout all the States in Nigeria. Constitutionally, Nigerians are free to dwell, study and work in any part of the Federation without molestation or discrimination. Although Sokoto state adopted Sharia Laws in 2000, it is only a tail in the body of criminal laws that had been enacted and which are still being enacted by the Sokoto State House of Assembly law makers. Constitutionally, it is the Executive Governor of Sokoto State who signs into Law all laws enacted by Sokoto State Assembly. There are, magistrate and High, Courts in Sokoto State and cases there can go through the Court of Appeal up to the Supreme Court. Sokoto State is not a theocratic state governed by the contents of any scripture. Blasphemy may be punishable under Sharia law but not under the Constitution and Criminal Laws of Nigeria which are far more superior to Sharia Laws. In fact, a Christian cannot be tried in the Sharia court and a Muslim can even opt to be tried in the Magistrate or High Court instead of Sharia Court for any crime.

Justifying the murder of Deborah Samuel Yakubu of the Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, Professor Maishanu and Mallam Ali accused the late student thus, "In the message, which was in Hausa language, she was heard abusing the religion of Islam and hurling the most despicable and immoral abuse on the person of the Noble Prophet Muhammad ... This act is the most extreme provocation anyone can do to any Muslim who has an iota of faith in him."

​Deborah's message was conveyed in Hausa language and even if Prophet Muhammad were to be alive, he could not have felt insulted or abused since he would not have been able to understand Hausa because his mother tongue is Arabic. The people of Sokoto State are not Arabs and why should anyone of them feel offended and be pained if an Arab Prophet is abused or vilified? Angered by the message of Deborah on WhatsApp group Professor Maishanu and Mallam Ali wrote, "This senseless, reckless and irresponsible act of incitement triggered riot by students who protested against this extreme act of provocation in the seat of Caliphate. This culminated in the loss of life of *that student* during the mob action." It is usual for a group of people to protest and even riot against the authorities, societies and institutions but physical attack against an individual by a group can never, on any reasonable ground, be classified as riot or demonstration, and most especially when the attacked person, as in the case of Deborah Yakubu, suffers death. The brutally murdered Deborah Yakubu has callously been referred to by Professor Isa Muhammad Maishanu and Mallam Muhammad Usman Ali as *that student* and as if they were out to confirm the observations of Lord Lugard, the first Governor General of Nigeria as written in his 1922 book, The Dual Mandate in British Tropical Africa. In what has always been regarded as racist bias, Lugard wrote, "The African Negro is not naturally cruel, though his own insensibility to pain and his disregard for life cause him to appear callous to suffering. He sacrifices life freely under the influence of (religious) superstition, or in the lust and excitement of battle, or for ceremonial display. ...//... He (the African Negro) lacks power of organisation, and is conspicuously deficient in the management and control alike of men or of business. He loves to display power, but fails to realise its responsibility. He has the courage of the fighting animal - an instinct rather than a moral virtue. He (the African Negro) is very prone to imitate anything new in dress or custom, whether it be the turban and flowing gown of the Moslem (Arab) or the straw hat and trousers of the European, however unsuited to his environment and conditions of life. ...//.... Perhaps the two traits which have impressed me as those most characteristic of the African native are his lack of apprehension and inability to visualise the future... (p. 69-70)." Professor Maishanu and Mallam Ali wrote "We condemn in the strongest terms reviling and disparaging the personality of our leader the Noble Prophet Muhammad by any person whoever he might be." The proprietors of Muslim Solidarity Forum, Sokoto, would have sounded honest if they had stated that they condemned Deborah to death and their predators were justified in executing her.

Whatever negative statements Deborah might have made about the Prophet of Islam, no one has the right to murder her on account of that. At most, she should have been taken to court where the onus would have been on the plaintiff to prove if a non-Nigerian and a dead Arab prophet was defamed or not. Therefore, all those who participated in the gruesome murder of Deborah Samuel Yakubu, in Sokoto on Thursday, 12 May 2022, should be arrested and tried for murder. There is a precedent of such religious murder trial in Nigerian history. A Muslim preacher called, Alfa in Yoruba, whose name was, Bisiriyu Apalara, ridiculed and desecrated the Yoruba Órò worshipers in 1953 and contrary to the tradition, he demonstrated to women the origin of the sound of Órò. At Okobaba, Ebute-Metta, Lagos mainland, Apalara gave advance notice that he was coming to preach against pagans and Órò worshippers in the area. Órò worshipers warned him not to attempt it. On Saturday, January 1953, at 8pm Nigerian time, Apalara arrived at Oko-baba only to disappear after the sound of Órò deity. The following morning, what looked like human blood was traced from Tapa Street to the shore of the nearby Lagoon. Eleven people, including two brothers Raimi and Mustafa Oteka, were subsequently arrested and charged to Court for murder. Although the remains of Alfa Bisiriyu Apalara was never found, the eleven were tried and convicted of murder. The Yoruba often say, A ki nri ajeku Órò which literally translates to : We can never see the leftover of Órò meal. Alfa Bisiriyu Apalara blasphemed the religion of Órò worshippers but in law the cult had no right to punish or kill him. And despite the fact that his body was never found, the 11 Órò were sentenced to death by hanging. Thus, Sokoto and the Federal government should see to it that all those who participated in the murder of Deborah Samuel Yakubu are arrested and convicted for their crime.

S. Kadiri    

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From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Toyin Falola <toyin...@austin.utexas.edu>
Sent: 17 May 2022 23:00
To: dialogue <USAAfric...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - STOP BLASPHEMY FOR PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE

 

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[Cornelius Hamelberg]

Baba Kadiri,

On my part, as I have already made clear in this thread, I endorse every letter and embrace the spirit of the letter and appreciate the timely stand that Muslim Solidarity Forum Soloto has taken and is taking on this matter. It’s a praiseworthy, peaceful, intelligent intervention. What are we asking? Is what we are asking too much to ask? Too much for you to grant? We are only asking that you respect the Prophet of Islam, Sallallahu alaihi wa salaam. 

Pope of course was being a little sarcastic when he penned 

“A perfect Judge will read each Work of Wit

 With the same Spirit that its Author writ”

In your case,  it seems that you have either misread, i.e. not read in the spirit of the written word or you have “read” and completely misunderstood the well-intentioned communique/ appeal  “STOP BLASPHEMY FOR PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE  issued by Muslim Solidarity Forum Sokoto

Furthermore, this kind of wording is not helpful because it sounds like you are looking down on Sharia when you say ( the emphasis mine), “Although Sokoto state adopted Sharia Laws in 2000, it is only a tail in the body of criminal laws that had been enacted and which are still being enacted by the Sokoto State House of Assembly law makers.”

 Perhaps unconsciously I’m thinking of the Jewish prayer which goes, “May it be Your will, Adonai our God, that we be like the head and not like the tail”

Please carefully consider what you’re saying and try to avoid offending, the ummah, inadvertently, by saying offensive things  may be due to ignorance, prejudice based on ignorance/ innocence/ lack of respect, kufr, poor judgement 

[Salimonu Kadiri]

Menahem Hamelberg,

I am greatly appalled by you tacitly implying that I am disrespecting the Prophet of Islam, Mohammed, simply because I pointed out the indisputable facts that Islam is an Arabic religion, its holly book, Quran, is written in Arabic Language and its foremost Prophet, Muhammad was an Arab and the name for God in Arabic is Allah. I do not disrespect the Prophet of Islam by declaring that since I am an African of Yoruba origin, God who in Yoruba language is called OLÓRUN (the King or owner of Heaven) would not have chosen an Arab person to send His message to me or non-Arab speaking Africans in Arabic language. Expressing yourself in collective pronoun, you wrote : What are we asking? Is what we are asking too much to ask? Too much for you to grant? We are only asking you to respect the Prophet of Islam ... I have not disrespected the Prophet of Islam, rather, I have dissociated myself from the collective stupidity illustrated by the psychologist, Solomon Asch thus, "If a majority of people embraces a manifestly false and idiotic theory, others will go along with it merely because of the power of conformity. Whatever Deborah Samuel Yakubu might have uttered which was interpreted to imply disrespect to the Islamic prophet, it is only the prophet himself who should feel the disrespect and react accordingly and not any stupid house-niggers on his behalf. In law, one is allowed to avenge the slap on one's own face by a slapper but it is criminal for one to avenge the slap on the face of another person than self. Can you extrapolate a slap on another person's face to your own face?

STOP BLASPHEMY FOR PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE issued by the Muslim Solidarity Forum, Sokoto, is based on fraudulent belief that Federal Republic of Nigeria is a theocratic country governed with Qur'anic and Biblical laws. Section 10 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution says emphatically that "The Government of the Federation or of a State shall not adopt any Religion as a State Religion." In the secular Nigeria, blasphemy is not a criminal offence under the Constitution or the laws. Freedom of speech as guaranteed in the Constitution of Nigeria permits me to say I don't believe that God debauched Mary to produce Jesus, or to say Muhammad was not an African but an Arab prophet. No normal person will attribute my statements to blasphemy and what any sensible person who is opposed to my statements would do is disprove me with empirical evidence. Charging from the minds cocooned in Islamic putridity, the Muslim Solidarity Forum, Sokoto, approved the brutal murder of Deborah Samuel Yakubu by Islamic predators. It is repugnant to reason for Muslim Solidarity Forum, Sokoto, to turn around to issue a tacit ultimatum to Nigerians to stop blasphemy or else they will be murdered by Islamic predators in a secular Nigeria.

S. Kadiri

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From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Cornelius Hamelberg <cornelius...@gmail.com>
Sent: 21 May 2022 00:24

To: USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>

Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: STOP BLASPHEMY FOR PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE

 

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[Cornelius Hamelberg]

Dear Baba Kadiri,

I have decided that in the name of gilgul  I’m going to reincarnate in a biting satirical mode, in which mode I intend  to resurrect my blog of which I am the chief executive officer, under HASHEM, the one and only.

In the meanwhile, Heaven forbid that I should say anything that could be interpreted as blasphemy by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala or Olodumare  or Chukwu, or Ojogbon Falola, or the plantation manager…

I have no problem with  Muhammad - the Greatest !

I believe that many of the problems that we the 21st century people are facing today , are caused by demons.

All that a sane man has to say is “demons” and you have many of the intelligentsia, some of the self-appointed psychiatrists, and more than a handful of local sceptics accusing such a man of “superstition” and if he is not very careful he’ll ´find one of the lunatics running to the nearest police station in Sokoto, to have him arrested for what Socrates was accused of : teaching a foreign religion  

The fact is that various types of demons have been around for quite some time. We have been reading about them, in the so called “Old” Testament  and in the  “New”  Testament  too  you have people who were said to be demon-possessed , a problem to themselves and to their communities, some of them still causing most of the problems in our world. As has been observed in this  forum, by those who know, without the proliferation of witchcraft and accusations of witchcraft,  the Penetcostal outreach  which performs ritual exorcisms as part of their spiritual cleansing agenda , would have dried up, due to a lack of  patients to cleanse.and dispossess of demons…

Islam also talks about jinns ( both good and evil)

 Whether or not  such entities exist in Yoruba religion , the fact is that a man may be demon-possessed without realising it..

Hitler for example, was said to have been under the control of some demons.

I’m impressed by your main reason for rejecting what you regard as “foreign” religions, foreign prophets promoting non-Yoruba names of the Almighty, preaching and teaching and  speaking to you in tongues that you do not understand.

I have myself  been listening to e.g  Rabbi Mizrachi on Jesus and in general, Judaism's rejection of Christianity - not based on language -  Judaism’s rejection of prophecies outside of the the Jewish canon which closed with Malachi, and of course I am  impressed by what Judaism says : That you do not have to follow the path laid out by Judaism in order to merit a place in the world to come.That’s one reason why I have no quarrel with any religion that does not transgress the Noahide Code 

[Cornelius Hamelberg]

Nupur Sharma is in trouble over remarks she made about Prophet Muhammad

For those who think that any insult or perceived insult of Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alaihi wa salaam will be met with, forgiveness, turning the other cheek or the philosophy of “ love your enemies”,  here’s the latest fallout from a TV debate in India: 200 Indian Muslims + Muslims of PAKISTAN  demonstrate,  objections from Saudi Arabia,  Iran,   the OIC

[Cornelius Hamelberg]

The Lady of Heaven" is a film that’s supposed to depict Fatimah al-Zahra alaihi salaam, the beloved daughter of Prophet Muhammad salallahu Allahi wa salaam , the beloved wife of Imam Ali alaihi salaam, and the beloved mother of Husayn ibn Ali, Zaynab bint Ali, Ḥasan ibn ʻAlī, Umm Kulthum bint Ali, Muhsin ibn Ali (alaihim salaam

The film has been banned in Morocco and is being condemned as blasphemous by several Islamic countries ( Egypt, Pakistan, Iran  Iraq and other Islamic religious authorities.

 The CCM has issued a statement about the film, with a “categorical rejection of the blatant falsification of established facts of Islamic history.”

[Cornelius Hamelberg]

We should also bear in mind that the book, The Lady of Heaven was written by the freewheeling Shia alim  Yasser Al-Habib - already a very controversial figure.  

Eli King directed the filmed version 

Given its dynamism and range, it’s a miracle that Nollywood has not trespassed into the twilight zone of forbidden Islamic territories…

[Cornelius Hamelberg]

If it’s colour that you’re fixated on then you’ve come to the right place ( this planet) 

Yeshayahu - Isaiah 1: 18: "Come now, let us debate, says the Lord. If your sins prove to be like crimson, they will become white as snow..."

Consider: Anyone who says Muhammad was black, is killed

From the light (not heavy-hearted) dramatic monologue “ Telephone Conversation” taken as entertainment and part-time amusement, young Wole, not bitter, reporting back to humanity about the hassle of looking for digs in  Leeds, or was it in London? 

For him too, a lifetime fighting racism, tribal-ism and corruption from where Wofa calls “the trenches”, which means literally everywhere, and wherever you happen to existential -be, could be within the skyscrapers of Manhattan, hiding somewhere taking potshots from behind or inside the bushes, bulrushes, at the very least shooting back some bullshit as the verbal counter attack in Crimea because someone lost his senses, doesn’t know what time it is, lost his sense of direction and his i-manity since Gpd made soul-man black because Adam in Hebrew means “dark clay” and when Nation of Islam’s Hon. Minister Louis Farrakhan or Professor Griff or Khalid Muhammad jokes that God took the white man out of the oven too early, guess who they want to accuse of “race-ism”?

Quran: and on that day, their faces will be black

Darkness and light // light and darkness  is an old Zoroastrian theme 

What Yasser Al-Habib says about  Umar Ibn Khattab (al-Farooq) is reprehensible 

Consider: in Jesus Christ Superstar, a black dude Ben Vereen plays the role of Judas. 

Perish the thought that anyone would conceive of a similar rock opera about salallahu alaihi wa salaam. The very sky would fall down. 

In ´The Lady of Heaven" movie,  Black dudes play the roles of  Abubakr  and Umar  - from Yasser Al-Habib’s extreme Shia points of view, the villains of the piece 

 “Per writer Al-Habib, in order to respect aniconism in Islam,[13] all holy figures of Twelver Shi'ism were portrayed by light and cinematic effects as opposed to being portrayed by an actor or single individual; notably, figures deemed holy in Sunni Islam but not Shi'ism were portrayed by darker skinned actors” ( From Wikipedia on The Lady of Heaven 

[Cornelius Hamelberg]

Shir Hashirim - Song of Songs: “I am black but comely, O daughters of Jerusalem! Like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.”

( A contributory factor to the wisest King Solomon having so many wives...