Shekau’s version of Islam

Reading through your reflection on “What we can do together”, you have indicated that the violence that was already labelled religious was purely political. In the article “Religion and the National Cake”, I admired the way the Muslims and Christians live in peace and harmony in your community. How I wish some states in the […]

Reading through your reflection on “What we can do together”, you have indicated that the violence that was already labelled religious was purely political. In the article “Religion and the National Cake”, I admired the way the Muslims and Christians live in peace and harmony in your community. How I wish some states in the North can also enjoy religious co-existence. He requested if we could continue the conversation on phone. I told him to send me his phone number which he did immediately. That to me indicated the level of his seriousness to continue the dialogue. Each time we talked on phone, he seemed very worried about the future of the relationship between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria. Shortly after the bomb blast in Nyanya and the abduction of the school girls in Chibok, he called to enquire if he could visit me in the office. Unfortunately, I was not available then.
Shortly after the release of the video of the abducted girls by Abubakar Shekau, he called to enquire if we could meet. It was convenient for me, so I invited him to my office. He gave me a brief of his biography. He had an indebt study of Arabic language and Islamic theology. He has travelled to Egypt, Yemen, Sudan and Saudi Arabia. I was impressed that Sikiru could quote the Bible to sustain a religious conversation. I told him that I have some of the videos of Shekau in my iPad. He was excited and wanted to listen to them. After watching four of the video clips, he exclaimed almost in a rage as if he would kill Shekau the next minute if he has the opportunity. “Stupid, rubbish, is this Islam?” He continued, “the terrorist activities of this lunatic is capable of causing ‘islamophobia’ (fear of Islam) in Nigeria.” I interrupted, “Why do you think so? I think the Muslims in Nigeria have denied that Shekau and his terrorist group are not Muslims.”   
Father, he said, let us critically look at this video in the context of the teaching of Islam. In the first video we just watched, Shekau said that the Christians sent somebody to Egypt to learn the secret of Islam. The person came back and revealed the secrets of the Qur’an to every body. Since then, people do not respect the Qur’an again. Because of that many Muslims in Nigeria have lost their Islam because of Western education. What is the secret of Islam? Is the “Islam” of Shekau a secret cult? It appears that Islam for Shekau is violence and death whereas, the true Islam is peace. If any Muslim has lost Islam in Nigeria, it is Shekau who has lost Islam because Islam is peace. Shekau has no peace hence he is living in the forest. To Shekau’s statement that his war is against Christians, Sikiru recalled the relationship between the Muslims and Christians (people of the book) and concluded that the action of Boko Haram is simply criminal. He regrets that when the seed of hatred for other religions was being sown in some parts of Northern Nigeria, some traditional, religious and political leaders did not know that a time would come when a group of terrorists would emerge beyond their power to control. I told him that it was not necessary to cry over spilled milk. What is important now is for the Northern elders and political leaders to see what can be done to stop this terrorist operation, given that the way is not just against Christians but every body, including Muslims who have died in large numbers.
On the video where the kidnapped girls were reciting the Qur’an, here is the reaction of Malam Sikiru. Where in Islam are people converted with a gun? These girls wearing full veils and praying in an undisclosed location is an abuse of hijab. If Abubakar Shekau is a true Muslim, why should he, wearing military fatigues and holding an AK-47, chant “God is great” and appears confident laughing as if human trauma means nothing to him? This man is heartless! Boko Haram militants claim to be fighting for an Islamist state. Perhaps, the terrorist group believe that through the Boko Harram terrorist operation, Nigeria one day will be like Egypt, Turkey and other Islamic states that were once dominated by Christians. He does not know that times have changed.    
Sikiru was very disturbed with the following Shekau statement: “All I am saying is that if you want us to release the girls that we have kidnapped, those who have not accepted Islam will be treated as the Prophet treated infidels and they will stay with us. We will not release them while you detain our brothers.” Sikiru interpreted this statement as an insult on the Prophet of Islam. He wonders why the Muslims among the girls needed a second conversion. He said that the Christians among the girls who have been forced to wear hijab cannot be true Muslims because it is forbidden to force somebody to convert. Is this Islam? Sikiru queried again! Suppose you understand Arabic, you would have laughed when Shekau says that he will kill Goodluck Jonathan, Barak Obama, and destroy all the Western technology. Yet he is holding a gun that he did not manufacture; he uses uses a vehicle he did not manufacture to transport the Chibok girls to unknown destination. Sekau said that no one can defeat him because Allah is with him. Sikiru wondered if Shekau’s Allah is the same God that every body believe in! How can God permit Shekau to slaughter human beings that he called pagans because they are not Muslims?
While Sikiru was still talking, Jibril knocked and entered. Jibril is a friend of Sikiru. He came to tell Sikiru that somebody was waiting for him but got involved in the conversation. Jibril introduced another dimension and was almost changing the topic. Jibril’s problem was that many Christians are thinking that Muslims can not be trusted. Jibril took over the discussion, “you see, what you Christians do not know is that there are many sects in Islam. He wanted to lists the sects but Sikiru was not patient with him. He responded immediately, “Is Boko Haram a sect? Tell me which sect of Islam preaches violence and terrorism? Boko Haram is a sect of criminals! You talk about trust. Trust is a virtue that is cultivated and built over a period of time. Why is Borno State different from other states? It will take another generation before Borno State will recover itself again? If not for the effort of the military, by now, Borno would be a terrorist empire with Boko Haram system of bloody government.”  Jibril kept quiet concluding that Boko Haram is waging war on Islam with the video in all the media.
Fr. Prof. Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua is the Director of Mission and Dialogue of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Abuja and Consultor for the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims (C.R.R.M), Vatican City ([email protected]).