Boko Haram-Muslim Army?

My aim is not to apologize for my
religion; I will not write as one who is
ashamed of my way of life, and before
you shout ‘Southern Muslim!’ like I’m
certain you’re probably already
thinking, let me inform you that
Muslims all over the world are one and
the same.
Once, the Prophet (PBUH) was asked
‘who is a Muslim?’, his reply made it
clear that anyone who believes in the
Oneness of God and offers as-salat
(prayers) regularly is a Muslim; I call
this the ‘minimum requirement(s) into
the school of Islam’, a School of which
I’m a proud student. I have faith in the
Oneness of God, I observe as-salat, I
give Zakat (charity), I fast during
Ramadan, and I hope to go on
pilgrimage soon. Muslim, I am, and I
will die as one (Insha Allah).
Many times, I’ve had cause to dispel
rumours about my religion (I do not
conform to any form of stereotype, so
I’ve had the privilege of hearing a lot of
lies and conjecture). Once, on a bus
from Enugu to Lagos, a preacher
decided to get the attention of his
‘mobile congregation’ by misquoting
and murdering verses from the Holy
Qur’an. I respectfully waited for him to
end his hateful sermon, then produced
my Quran and read the actual verses to
everyone in the bus. I even took time
to explain what Jihad means, what it
entails, and what led to it. Yes, I’m a
woman; No, I’m not a scholar. But do
you have to be male or a Reverend to
understand the Bible?
As you most probably already know,
Jihad means Holy War. There are two
forms of Jihad- the one you fight within
yourself (this entails choosing between
what’s right and what’s wrong), and
actual warfare.
Now, what led to it?
When the Prophet (PBUH) began to
spread the message of Islam, the
unbelievers (pagans, idol worshippers)
of that time decided that Muslims
didn’t deserve to live; they attacked
Muslims, took over their properties,
killed them. Muslims were oppressed.
Initially, they were asked to ignore the
pagans and maintain peace, but when
the situation became unbearable, God
asked them to fight back.
The first verse revealed with respect to
Jihad (V 2:190) says ‘ And fight in the
way of Allah those who fight you,
but transgress not the limits. Truly,
Allah likes not the transgressors ‘.
This verse is the ‘foundation’ of Jihad, it
prescribes THE standard for warfare in
the name of God.
Fight against those who fight against
you; God did not say ‘fight against
those who piss you off’, He didn’t say
‘fight against those who you don’t like’.
‘Fight against those who fight against
you’ means self-defence is the ONLY
form of violence that’s permitted.
‘But do not transgress limits’; self-
defence was the previously established
limit. ‘Transgression’ would then mean
fighting people who didn’t attack you
first. This is termed ‘irjaf’. Irjaf and
Jihad are two extremely different
things.
Before you judge the over one billion
Muslims in the world by the actions of
some hell-bound transgressors, kindly
permit me to draw your attention to the
Muslim Capital of the World; Saudi
Arabia. Do Christians live there or not?
How many times has a suicide bombing
occurred there? How many times have
some obviously deluded, highly
misguided maniacs demanded that
they all revert to Islam?
This brings me to another issue-
suicide. My Qur’an tells me that suicide
is a one-way ticket to Hell. Couple that
with aggression, and tell me what the
outcome would be.
This brings me, inevitably, to Boko
Haram. Personally, I believe what
happened in this case was a deliberate
move by government to hijack a
problem that should have been solved
at inception, and turn it to a political
tool for division.
Nigerians have always had a penchant
for tribalism; add different religions to
the mix and the potion becomes even
more volatile and potentially lethal. Just
how lethal that potion is, is what we’re
all experiencing now.
Frankly, what this is about is speaking
for myself and others like me, and most
importantly, sparing Islam the pain of
being seen as something it’s not.
Claiming Islam encourages violence is
akin to saying that Christianity or
Buddhism or Zoroastrianism, or even
Scientology, gives room for a vice that
some of its followers have.
Right now, I’m just so glad that Hitler
and Truman weren’t Muslims.
My point? PEOPLE are evil, PEOPLE kill,
and taking up arms and killing little
children is no justification. Boko Haram
does not have the mandate of Nigerian
Muslims to exterminate Christians.
When Boko Haram killed Imams almost
on a daily basis, there were no
reprisals. Nobody said ‘Muslims have
asked Boko Haram to kill the clerics’.
When busy areas of Kano were
bombed, no one said ‘Muslims are
killing Christians again’.
This selective anger, this selective pity,
is what I do not like. My eldest sister is
an evangelist, my niece bears the
name ‘Chukwuamaka’, her father is an
Igbo man. Why would I, a Muslim, then
decide to send Boko Haram on a
mission to kill Christians? Or why would
I harbour murderous thoughts towards
Christians at all?
My Quran tells me that ‘……. he who
takes a life will be judged like he
killed all of mankind….he who
saves a life will be judged like he
saved all of mankind’ (5:32). If Boko
Haram is following any sort of manual,
it is not this Qur’an (or any other for
that matter because there are no
different versions. The Qur’an is the
same anywhere in the world). Perhaps
if we did the right thing and displaced
those thieves and murderers from their
seats of power, we would find copies of
the manual beneath those seats.
There’s a rule I abide by; ‘if you don’t
know it, don’t say it’. Seventy-two
virgins as reward for suicide? I’ve read
the Qur’an from cover to cover
countless times and not once have I
come across it. The Holy Qur’an does
not portray Paradise as a reward for
suicide and/or murder.
I pray that God gives all those who’ve
lost their loved ones- Muslims,
Christians, Traditionalists, free thinkers-
the fortitude to bear the loss.

Rinsola Abiola
@Rinsola_Abiola