RE: LEAVE OUR BANK ALONE!
HUSAINI SANI, KAGARA, NIGER STATE: It was blunt – and I like it! Why don’t they come up with a Christian Bank if they need an alternative to capitalism? Is it because they do not have alternatives and they would no longer enjoy our free deposits? Many ‘Christian’ nations are rushing to international Islamic banks […]
HUSAINI SANI, KAGARA, NIGER STATE: It was blunt – and I like it! Why don’t they come up with a Christian Bank if they need an alternative to capitalism? Is it because they do not have alternatives and they would no longer enjoy our free deposits? Many ‘Christian’ nations are rushing to international Islamic banks to borrow and do business, yet our counterparts are busy trying to block our constitutional right!
H. ADAMU, ZARIA: Your piece was something else! After reading it, it made me feel proud once again to be associated with the religion of truth, Islam. You have given the Nigerian Christian clergy some food for thought: if only they would take time to really read their Holy Book, therein lie all the answers they seek!
ABDULRAZAK B. IBRAHIM: It appears you have trivialised the issue. Islamic Banking as approved by the CBN is not for Muslims alone. When you go about trivialising the issue in this manner, you actually run the risk of negating the very philosophical concept upon which it is founded. Perhaps it will be more fruitful for you to inspire the “us” you referred to in the piece, to engage in further intellectual pursuits that seek to dispel the misconception of the system, encourage “us” to be more honest, sincere, hardworking and tolerant so that “they” can begin to see “our” bank as “theirs” too.
ABDULMALIK IBRAHIM: After reading your piece, I came away with the conclusion that some of the Nigerian Christian clergy just suffer from Islamophobia such that they either cannot see anything good in Islam or that if their congregation were to find the beauty of Islam they may abandon them. We owe it a duty to continue educating our Christian compatriots on the beauty of Islam’s ethical financial system and expose those who feed fat on their tithes!
JACOB KWAGA: Virtue is not a preserve of Muslims and the same “sins” could be named among your elites and clergy. But the point is that Britain or Italy is not Nigeria. Perhaps British Muslims or elsewhere do not easily resort to burning of churches and killing of innocent people at the slightest excuse or behave as a conquering force. In Nigeria we do not know the end. At least we know that Boko Haram are asking for an Islamic state and they seem to have a large following, if letters and e-mail comments in your newspaper are anything to go by. That is the worry even if there are merits to this banking system.
ADO MA’AJI: Your knowledge of world history and your research into the Holy Books and the contemporary world economic order have made this piece exceptional. The Nigerian Christian clergy must to be told that enough is enough: we have not complained of Nigeria’s Christian weekend, or the Christian language of English, or even the system of government. Yet any little thing for us they vehemently complain.
KABIR AHMED: We must now take the struggle further: Fridays must be declared work-free days also. Maulud should have two holidays, one on the birthday, one on the naming ceremony day, separated by a weekend (a la Easter). And we better start Boxing gifts after Sallah to enjoy another day of holiday.
ABDULLAHI ALFA: I want to thank you for this beautiful piece. It‘s the best I have read so far since some groups began to decry the decision to introduce Islamic banking. Your piece has the right content and was timely too.
KASSIM ABUBAKAR: If the Vatican can speak so well in favour of Islamic banking, any contrary argument is as good as noise-making and is baseless. America and Britain are ‘Christian’ nations, yet their stand on Islamic banking is so commendable. Our Christian country-people should borrow a leaf.