FELLOWSHIP IN TIMES OF CRISES

Our basic tragedy in Nigeria is that many of our leaders, Muslim and Christian, including the clergy, do not know the history of either Islam or Christianity. They therefore do not know the right sound-bites to use in times of tension. Our leaders must be daft to be ignorant of the ‘add-fuel-to-the-fire’ foreign media organisations working in this country, or the crassly ignorant local media stations that only aggravate serious situations by making unguarded comments which make one want to strangle their radio and television sets.
As argued on these pages over and over again, any country held back by petty religious and ethnic jingoisms never progresses. That is why, as is customary, this Column always loves to revisit the Story of Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace) and the Monks of Saint Catherine. Anything done by anyone contrary to what our revered Prophet said on that occasion is on his own – Islam or Nigerian Muslims should NOT be held by it.
That 1,400 year-old story goes: Back in 628 AD, a delegation from St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai came to Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be peace, and requested his protection. He responded by granting them a charter of right, reproduced here:
“This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them. Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them.
“No compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries. No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims’ houses.
“Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God’s covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.
“No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them. If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray. Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants.
“No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day.”
That was Prophet Muhammad’s hand of Fellowship; Nigerian Muslims also offer a similar hand to Nigerian Christians in these trying times, and especially at this occasion of Christmas. True Muslims believe in this. That is why, as also is customary, the President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, this week called for closer ties between Christians and Muslims, while felicitating with Christians on the commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ.
In a statement signed by Secretary-General of NSCIA, Professor Is’haq Oloyede, the NSCIA said Christmas offers another opportunity to renew our prayers for the restoration of peace in our dear country. “We join you in prayers as we beseech the Almighty God to extricate Nigeria from the shackles of her current challenges. As you celebrate this important religious milestone, the Muslim community wishes you God’s guidance and abundant blessings embedded in the festive season.
“Prophet Isa or Jesus, upon whom be peace, is one of the top-ranking prophets of God that all Muslims venerate. In fact, the Qur’an mentions his name more than 25 times…Though his personality or divinity may be viewed differently by the teeming adherents of Christianity and Islam, the fact remains that in Jesus Christ, all of us, Christians and Muslims alike have a role model, an exemplar and a symbol of our commonality as a people of faith.”
The statement added that “As millions of Christians in our country mark the birth of Jesus, NSCIA prays that the occasion signals the beginning of more peace, more understanding, more security and more faithfulness to the true teachings of God as preached and lived by Jesus among us all”.
Similarly, the Director of Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) Prof. Ishaq Akintola, prays for the safety and well-being of all Christians before, during and after Christmas. He said: “We remind all Nigerians that religion is expected to serve as a link among Homo sapiens. It should therefore not divide us. Love is sine qua non as an ingredient of righteousness. Religion is therefore dry and incomplete where there is no love. MURIC therefore invites Nigerians to love, to tolerate and to forgive one another. We need these three qualities (love, tolerance and forgiveness) in order to build a peaceful and progressive nation.”
He also charged politicians to avoid whipping up religious sentiment during the ongoing electioneering campaign and equally remind prospective voters to shun religious prejudice and ethnic jingoism and that picking candidates on the basis of credibility is the mark of an enlightened electorate.
It also happens that the Islamic month of Rabi’ Auwal, the month in which the Prophet of Islam Muhammad was born, is in its first week while Christians commemorate the birth of Christ, Isa, upon whom be peace.
Similarly, we should also collectively never forget the Mongols of centuries past. Back in 1258 Mongol forces under Hulagu Khan devastated the Muslim Abbasid Caliphate in what is now known as The Siege of Baghdad. History records that the attack was for no apparent reason, for the Caliphate had much earlier entered into a peace treaty with the Ilkhanate Mongols. It was just a Scourge from God. The invasion left Baghdad in a state of total destruction. Estimates of the number of inhabitants massacred were up to 1,000,000. Baghdad was sacked and burned. That event is widely regarded by Western writers as the end of the Islamic Golden Age.
Those Mongol hordes did not only attack Muslims; they also sacked many Christian cities. All over the then religious world (Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Bhuddist), the supplications rising from the mosques, cathedrals and temples were the same: “O Lord! Deliver us!”
That time is upon us again! The devastation being visited on our lands is against us all. Therefore, Muslims to your mosques; Christians to your churches! Let us all pray and fast that the Merciful Lord save us from the new Mongols. Our collective refrain must now be “O Lord! Deliver us!” “O Lord! Deliver us!”
In addition, Muslims should continue reciting La haula wa la quwwata illa bilLahil aliyyil Azim! (There is no power and no strength, save with Allah, the High, the Great); Inna lillaHi wa inna ilaiHi raji’un! (We are from Allah, and unto Him shall we return!); And HasbunalLahu wa ni’imal Wakeel! (Allah is Sufficient for us and He is the Best Disposer of affairs!)