Lagos leaders of Muslim organisations in Nigeria, under the auspices of Muslims United for Peace and Justice, yesterday, urged security agencies to arrest those involved in the gruesome killing of Deborah Samuel, a student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, in Sokoto, over alleged blasphemy.
The Islamic group also urged Muslim scholars to issue fatwah against those who perpetuate jungle justice or extra-judicial killings, just as it begged imams to use the Friday sermon to promote peaceful coexistence.
Addressing newsmen in Lagos, Executive Director of the Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, Professor Lakin Akintola, flanked by other members of the group, said: “We condemn the murder of Deborah Samuel and call for justice against the perpetrators, irrespective of the nature of their motivation or the justification they claim.”
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Akintola, who said the murder of Deborah can be utilised as a turning point in Muslim-Christian relation and herald a new era of peaceful and respectful coexistence, noted that “these are achievable ideals if each religious adherent will embrace and sincerely practice the sublime messages of their faith.
We condemn every act of insult and provocation along religious and ethnic fault lines. In particular, we condemn in equal measure any insult, abuse, denigration or mischievous attacks against any and all prophets of God, be it Muhammad, Moses, Abraham, or others.
“We call for deep introspection by leaders of the Christian community and urge them to employ all means to fend off intolerance. We urge governments of all states of the federation to strengthen or promulgate (where none exists) laws to criminalise blasphemy and killing for blasphemy outside the law and faithfully enforce them.
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We urge Muslim scholars to issue fatwah specifically against frontier justice, jungle justice and extra-judicial killing at any time. Moreso, we appeal to Imams to use the Friday sermon to spread and promote the peaceful coexistence, respect for constituted authority and rule of law as enjoined in Islam.
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