An Islamic rights organisation, Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, has stood up to the United States President Donald Trump, saying that Shari’ah is Muslims’ way of life and won’t be abandoned.
The group insisted that no amount of pressure by the United States of America or any Christian influencer will make the Muslim faithful to abandon their ways of life.
This was disclosed in a statement by MURIC’s Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
He said those advising the US government to pressurise the federal government to stop Shariah in parts of the country are crossing the red line.
The Executive Director stated that their calls raise more questions than answers about the United States’ intentions.
Recall that a Senior Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, a U.S think tank, Dr. Ebenezer Obadare had urged the United States to pressurise President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to outlaw Shari’ah and the Hisbah.
Obadare made during a joint congressional briefing in response to US President Donald Trump’s directive and designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.
But responding in the statement, Prof. Akintola said: “Shari’ah is the Muslims’ way of life. It cannot be separated from Islam. We fought hard to establish it. And its foundation is deeply entrenched in legality, constitutionality and democratic values.
“The moment anyone attempts to touch our Shari’ah, we begin to see him seeking to eliminate Islam in its totality. Our advice is this: don’t go there. It is the red line.
“This call raises more questions than answers and casts doubt on the intention of the United States in its interest in Nigeria’s war on terror.
“It amounts to surrendering Nigeria’s sovereignty. It constitutes an affront to the Nigerian constitution. And it is, therefore, a no-go area for either the US or the Nigerian government,” Prof. Akintola said.
Reacting to Obadare’s call, Akintola described it as mischievous, reactionary and outlandish as well as undemocratic, neocolonial and imperialistic.
“As usual, Nigerian Christians who opposed the Shari’ah ab initio and were defeated in due process have now gone through the back door to use the US to abolish it. It will not happen.
“Obadare’s approach is not only cowardly, but it is immoral and despicable.
”The United States, in particular, must not allow doubts to be cast in its interest in Nigeria’s war on terror.
“Is the US fighting terror or fighting Islam? This is a critical question for a Western power that has declared its intention to protect Nigerian Christians.”
”Nigerian Muslims will continue to support President Tinubu in his war on terrorist groups as long as there are clear lines of demarcation.
“But Nigerian Muslims are not fools. The story will definitely change if any government, local or foreign, makes any attempt to outlaw our hard-earned Shari’ah,” the MURIC leader added.