Nigerians like to dissipate their precious time on needless and divisive debates such as the one on hijabi schoolgirls in Kwara State. The controversy on hijab has exposed us as bigots and intolerant people.
Christianity and Islam are the greatest and closest religions in terms of propinquity. But in Nigeria, the adherents of the two religions are in constant opposition. They are the worst enemies. They quarrel and kill each other over trivial issues.
I have read dozens of opinions against the hijab, yet I have not seen any school in Nigeria where a girl in hijab infringes the rights of other pupils or students. I don’t understand why a hijab will be a cause of discord between Christians and Muslims. I cannot see any problem or harm a hijabi student or pupil can cause to our Christian brethren anywhere in Nigeria. At times, I ask the question: Of what benefit is hijabophobia (hostility towards the hijab) to the Christians in Nigeria? It is high time we grew up and stopped these petty grievances.
I advise our Christian brethren in Nigeria to emulate the spirit of brotherhood and respect of the Baptist College in Australia. The College had deemed it worthy to change its dress code to accommodate a student wearing hijab. Imaging how a school in a predominantly Christian populated country warmly accepted a hijabi girl; while a public school funded by the government in a predominantly Muslim state in Nigeria sent a student back home because she wore a hijab. It is shameful that this backward, disdainful and provocative debate is happening in our country in the 21st century.
State governors should ensure that hostility towards the hijab wearing girls is stopped. I cannot see a time now, or in the foreseeable future when the Muslimah will throw away the hijab for any reason. All qualified Muslim scholars throughout Islamic history agree on the obligation of hijab and that it is not a religious symbol to differentiate between Muslim and non-Muslim women, rather it’s a dress code ordained for Muslim women.
I challenge the Christian clerics or any person who discriminates against the hijab to prove to Nigerians how the hijab infringes upon their rights and freedom? Our country is on the edge of a precipice. We should not compound the precarious situation with a needless debate on hijab.
Saleh Bature, NDIC Quarters, Maitama, Abuja, [email protected]
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