Nigeria was born as a country of Muslims, African Traditionalists and Christians in that order in 1914. We have had the benefit of respecting the faith and beliefs of these three religions though governments at the various levels have not been impartial in spite of the clarity in the Federal Constitutional provision on the relationship between ‘religion and the state’. Until the civil war in the 1960s which necessitated the creation of states from the existing four regions, religion played a very marginal role in the politics of Nigeria. Unfortunately, this exercise that was meant to unify the various parts of the country has given birth to the use of religion in fomenting bitterness, enmity, mediocrity and hatred which have continued to tear the country apart. Sadly, the creation of states therefore ushered in the negative role of religion in the country. Politicians, in order to gain integrity, acceptance, and credibility in spite of their lacklustre performances coupled with their unwillingness to be accountable to the electorate have resorted to the use of religion for their political ambitions. The northern states have been turned into a battle-field because of this manipulation of religion by politicians and greedy religious and traditional leaders in particular.
Well meaning Nigerians and their foreign admirers thought the country had gained some respite judging from the last elections in 2007 but unfortunately, this albatross is being reintroduced into our political life. As politicians canvass for support, it is unfortunate that though they tell the electorate they are not seeking for political positions on the platform of a particular religious community, yet, their supporters make it abundantly clear that they should be supported because of their religious affiliations. In this religious game, the players have resorted to negative interpretation of the other religion and the blackmailing of its adherents with very, very bad and disturbing insinuations.
Looking at the religious map of Nigeria, such dangerous politicians need to be reminded that it is highly improbable for any particular religious group to put any President in Aso Rock without the support of the ‘other’ religious group. So also to get a governor elected into office in some of the States in the Middle Belt and South West there must be massive support from the ‘other’ religious group. This observation calls for some honesty from Nigerians who are in the business of seeking political offices. Denigrating a human being because of his religion and in order to deny him/her the votes of those who do not belong to his religious profession is hypocritical, wicked and an offence to God!
We have two main religions in this country, Islam and Christianity. Each has its own understanding of this God and both faiths hold certain common beliefs about this God. The Roman Catholic Church for example has a very clear position on Muslims in the following words:
The Church regards with esteem also the Muslims. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in himself, merciful and all powerful, the creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to humans; they take pains to submit whole heartedly even to his inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam is gladly linked, submitted to God, they revere him as a prophet… Moreover, they look forward to the day of judgement when God will render what is deserved to all those raised up from the dead. For this reason, they value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, alms giving and fasting (Nostra Aetate 1965).
This statement of the Roman Catholic Church provides guidelines for the Catholic understanding of Islam and Muslims. The rest of the Christian blocks such as the World Council of Churches, the Anglican Communion Worldwide, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Lausanne Covenant all have made different statements on Islam as a religion and Muslims as a faith community. It is interesting to note that none of these fundamental statements describes the Muslim as an unbeliever. Nigerian Christians therefore aught to know that though the Qur’anic doctrine of God is far from Christian, yet it is wholly theistic. The verse of Light and the verse of the Throne in the Qur’an (24:35; 2:256) express in beautiful words the being and attributes of the God of the Old Testament. The ninety-nine excellent names of Allah can also (with one or two exceptions) be found as attributes of Jehovah in the Old Testament Scriptures.
Certainly, in terms of Islamic concept of sin, anthropology, eschatology and soteriology, there are wide differences. Nevertheless, as far as its theology in a narrow sense is concerned, the well-informed Christian only needs to read al-Ghazzali or al-Sha’rani and be humbled. The Islamic idea of God may be wholly inadequate from the New Testament standpoint, but it is not, therefore, anti-theistic. “No one is to be called a theist who does not believe in a personal God” (Newman, 119). Theism assumes a living relation to God such as Muslims feel and exercise in their prayers and adorations, such as Muhammad himself experienced. One may be a theist and not be a Christian; but she/he cannot be a Christian and not be a theist. How close Christian theism seemed to a Muslim theist is expressed by Al-Ghazzali (1058-1111) (the greatest Muslim theologian, with the standing of Augustine and Aquinas in Christendom) in the following statement:
Should someone say to thee, ‘say that there is one God and that Jesus is his Prophet’ thy mind would instinctively reject the statement as being proper to a Christian only. But that would be because thou hast not sufficient understanding to grasp that the statement in itself is true and that no reproach can be made to the Christian for this article of faith nor for any other articles, save only those two – that God is the third of three and that Muhammad is not a prophet of God. Apart from these two, all the other articles of the Christian faith are true (Al-Qistas, Cairo 1909:9).
The Roman Catholic clear statement referred to above speaks for a very significant segment of the Christian world that understands the doctrines and history of their faith and has a working knowledge of Islam as a religion. Conversely, the statement by Al-Ghazzali quoted above speaks for the Sunni community that makes up almost 90% of the entire Muslim umma. Both testimonies therefore leave no rational, well-informed and honest Christian and Muslim in no doubt that Christians are not infidels and Muslims are not unbelievers.
Politicians and religious leaders in Nigeria would make it easier for the electorate to elect into political leadership if they would stop this habit of deception and be honest in informing the electorate that both Christians and Muslims worship the same God albeit differently. This God will hold all accountable on the Day of Judgment. Nigerians need to be told the truth – Christians and Muslims are devoted to One God – the Muslim is not an unbeliever and the Christian is not an infidel – both are people of the Book (ahl al-kitab)! Nigerians should go out to vote for women and men who take their belief in God seriously knowing that this God is the Only One who gives authority to whomsoever He wishes and to Him they will be accountable:
La haula wa la quwwata, illa billahi
A similar message is found in the Holy Bible:
The Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and He gives it to whomsoever He chooses (Dn. 4:32).
We need such women and men to lead this country and, the fact that they worship this One God as Muslims or Christians should not be used against them as long as they can deliver. Let the truth be told that Nigerians may enjoy the services of competent and God-fearing citizens of this nation!
Josiah Idowu-Fearon (PhD) is the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Kaduna.
