Unanswered questions over Qur’an convention

Sponsors unknown We can fund our conference — Sheikh Bala Lau Top oil executive initiated project — Sheikh Jalingo Northern clerics divided   Three weeks to the planned Qur’an Convention scheduled for February 22, 2025, unanswered questions have continued to trail the planning and logistics of the event, which is expected to see about 30,000 […]

• Sponsors unknown

• We can fund our conference — Sheikh Bala Lau

• Top oil executive initiated project — Sheikh Jalingo

• Northern clerics divided

 

Three weeks to the planned Qur’an Convention scheduled for February 22, 2025, unanswered questions have continued to trail the planning and logistics of the event, which is expected to see about 30,000 Qur’an memorisers, writers, reciters and calligraphers across the country converge on Abuja.

Weekend Trust reports that although officials of the Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’a Wa Ikamatus Sunnah (JIBWIS), the lead organisers of the event, insist that there is no single sponsor, not much is known about the budget, source of funding, logistics and the actual number of registered participants. This is as the organisers have already created a website with many people visiting to register for their entry tickets.

While some Islamic clerics, especially from the JIBWIS, otherwise called Izala, have insinuated that the Qur’an Convention has a political undertone, the national chairman of JIBWIS, Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau, insists that the Muslim Ummah is capable of funding the convention.

“Under our organisation, we have more than 15,000 Juma’at mosques, so if we say every mosque should contribute N10,000, how much is it going to cost if we take a month to contribute? There are lots of well-wishers who want to contribute as a way of putting their wealth into the cause of Allah. So the Muslim Ummah has the means and ways of bringing contributions through this kind of gathering,” he said.

Weekend Trust gathered that the concept was first initiated by the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Malam Mele Kyari. According to the chairman of the JIBWIS, Ulamas Forum, Sheikh Ibrahim Jalo Jalingo, Kyari initiated the idea and engaged other religious groups to join.

“Whoever knows Mele Kyari knows that he is from a respected family and is not politically influenced. His intention was pure about this initiative. He was the one who initiated the whole idea; may Allah bless him,” Jalingo said on Tuesday night during Muhadara (special lecture) held at the JIBWIS national secretariat in Abuja.

When contacted through the telephone to comment on the issue, Femi Soneye, the Chief Corporate Officer of the NNPCL, said the questions should be sent to him.

He later called and said: “The truth is that you all know the GCEO, anything that has to do with religion, he takes it passionately. However, in this respect, he has nothing to do with the organisation and funding of the event.”

 

Convention splits northern clerics

There is a clear division in the positions of Islamic clerics from northern Nigeria over the planned Qur’an Convention. This division, especially among members of Izala, has led to heated debates over the funding of the convention, its place in Islam, as well as fuelled allegations of political motivation and monetary incentives.

While many senior Izala clerics criticise the planned convention, describing it as an innovation that has a political undertone, the organisers insist that it is aimed at bringing together all Muslims under one banner to showcase their gifts of knowledge of the Quran and to foster unity and national stability.

The JIBWIS national leader, Sheikh Bala Lau, described the convention as an inspiring initiative aimed at bringing Quran reciters together.

Last week, the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), under the leadership of the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, said the programme aimed to enhance the unity of Muslims for national development.

However, in the middle of the controversy, the national chairman of the Council of Ulama JIBWIS in Jos, Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir, made several statements against the organisers and argued that the convention lacked religious legitimacy.

Sheikh Jingir, who had in the past boasted of having a close relationship with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, said the president never gave authorisation for the convention. In a one-minute, 30-second video of his Friday sermon last week, Sheikh Jingir further fuelled the debate, saying: “I know Tinubu will not ask them to do this. We suspect they want to do rituals with the Quran, and whoever does rituals with the Quran is not among us. We are only for Muslim-Muslim.”

 

The controversies

On January 14, 2025, the National Chairman of JIBWIS, Sheikh Lau, hinted through their Facebook page that at least 30,000 Qur’an memorisers, writers, reciters and calligraphers across the country would converge on Abuja.

Three days later, a popular skit maker, Dr Bello Galadanci, popularly known as Dan Bello, released a video alleging that the gathering was politically motivated and aimed at campaigning for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of 2027.

Since then, a heated debate has ensued between the organisers and some Islamic clerics, who have called for the cancellation of the event. Many of the clerics, such as Dr Ahmad Gumi, Sheikh Ibrahim Khalil, Dr Sani Umar Rijiyar Lemu and Sheikh Abubakar Salihu Zaria, based their arguments on three key areas.

First, they questioned the use of the phrase “Qur’an Festival”, arguing that the word, festival connotes a social gathering.

Criticising the use of the word, festival, a prominent Tijjaniyya Sufi order cleric, Sheikh Muhammad Auwal Sharif Zaria, argued that it made the gathering seem more like a social event than a religious one.

Another renowned Islamic scholar from the Izala sect, Sheikh Musa Yusuf Asadussunnah, in a video circulated on the social media, said that while he disagreed with the use of the word, festival, he still respected Sheikh Lau and would not attack any Izala cleric.

A Kano-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ibrahim Khalil, also questioned the use of the word, festival, which he said could make the event to be misunderstood as a concert or party.

Weekend Trust reports that the organisers have since replaced the word, festival with convention.

But despite this, other clerics have taken up the organisers on two other issues. They labelled the convention a form of “bid’ah” (an Arabic term for religious innovation without basis in Islamic tradition), insisting that the programme is an innovation and alleged that the organisers were politically motivated.

Sheikh Muhammad Auwal Sharif Zaria claimed in one of his lectures that he and nine other scholars had been allegedly excluded from the event due to their opposition to it. He said a prominent figure advised him to reach out to a certain individual to have his name included on the list of invited clerics, noting that incentives would be provided.

Additionally, he alleged that attendees of the convention had been promised N50,000, fuelling the suspicion about the event.

But Sheikh Kabiru Haruna Gombe had countered Sheikh Sharif, saying some of the clerics he alleged that the government had directed the organisers of the convention not to invite them are part and parcel of the general preparation.

He went further to showcase at least one of them in one of the videos that he used to defend their mission.

On his part, Sheikh Ibrahim Khalil expressed concern that politicians had long used Islamic clerics for their political gains. He clarified that while the event itself could not be declared haram (forbidden), he saw it as a “disrespectful joke to the Qur’an.”

“We cannot say the event is haram in Islam, but using it as a tool for politics or romancing clerics with politicians is another issue. We should not joke with the Quran,” he said.

In a similar vein, a Kano-based scholar, Professor Muhammad Sani Rijiyar Lemo, expressed opposition to the event, describing it as an innovation in Islam. He argued that the structure of the event had no basis in Islamic tradition and criticised the format, stating that it deviates from the established practice of Qur’anic recitation competitions.

“To turn it into a ceremony, where guests are invited from various places, lectures are delivered and numerous recitations are made, is the innovation,” he said.

Presenting a similar argument, a prominent Kaduna-based cleric, Dr Ahmad Gumi, in one of his lectures at the Sultan Bello Mosque, questioned the legitimacy of such event in Islam.

He insinuated that any Nigerian elite who introduced the concept was trying to use Izala clerics to enforce an innovation that has no place within Islamic teachings. Rather than organising such events, Gumi advised the clerics to focus on teaching Muslims the right way to practise their religion.

“This is not a period for copying from others. This is Bid’ah (innovation) and cannot be seen as Islamic because the Qur’an does not need any festival. We read the Quran every day. This is not part of the teachings of Islam,” he said.

 

Tijjaniyya, Qadiriyya leaders welcome convention

While many Izala leaders are divided over the Qur’an Convention, Tijjaniyya and Qadiriyya leaders have called on their followers to register and participate in the event.

In a viral video, Sheikh Ibrahim Dahiru Bauchi, son of the respected Tijjaniyya leader, Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, expressed support for the convention. In a 1:31-minute video, Sheikh Ibrahim conveyed his father’s goodwill wishes and support for the event and described it as an opportunity to bring Qur’anic reciters together to showcase their talents.

He expressed pride in Nigeria’s role in hosting the event, especially considering the country’s large number of Qur’anic reciters.

“I am happy to tell you that we welcome the Qur’anic convention to be held in Abuja. And we will pray for the country there. Also, Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi asked me to tell the followers that we are in support of this event because anything related to the Quran is welcome by us,” he said.

On the same note, Sheikh Karibullah Nasir Kabara, who is the Qadiriyya leader in Africa, shared a video on Wednesday calling on his supporters to register and attend the event.

 

It has no political undertone — JIBWIS

Despite criticism, the leadership of Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’a Wa Ikamatus Sunnah (JIBWIS) has defended the convention, insisting it is neither politically motivated nor financially induced by the government.

Speaking at a special lecture (Muhadara) at the JIBWIS national secretariat in Abuja within the week, senior Izala leaders, including the national chairman, Sheikh Lau; the national secretary, Sheikh Gombe; chairman of the JIBWIS Ulama Forum, Sheikh Ibrahim Jalo Jalingo and other leaders emphasised the non-political stance of the organisation.

Sheikh Lau clarified that the initiative was a collective decision by various religious organisations, including Darika Tijjaniyya. He said some Izala Ulamas were pushing the government to cancel the convention, and stressed that the attacks on the planned event stemmed primarily from the fact that he was the one who made the announcement.

The cleric defended the invitation of President Tinubu, saying it was significant as it would not only celebrate Qur’anic recitations but also provide a platform to address government’s shortcomings and areas needing reconsideration.

Also speaking on the controversy surrounding the convention, Sheikh Gombe countered claims of President Tinubu’s involvement, saying, “I swear to God that I will never attend it if it would serve as a tool to campaign for any politician.”

He dismissed accusations that the event was organised solely by Izala, and criticised some clerics, accusing them of misleading their followers with baseless claims about the event being financially influenced.

“Those who are angry think Izala organised the event. This convention is not only for Izala. Wallahi (by Allah), if we realise that this convention is politically related, we will not join,” he said.

Gombe addressed another source of the controversy — the initial branding of the event as a “festival.” He explained that it originated from an Arabic term used to reflect the large number of attendees, which made the organisers use it as the title. He, however, said that after concerns were raised by a respected scholar and wide consultations made, the term was changed to “convention.”

Defending the convention, the chairman of the JIBWIS Ulamas Forum, Sheikh Ibrahim Jalo Jalingo, said similar events had held in several Muslim-majority countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Senegal, and even the United Kingdom. He emphasised that the initiative aligned with global practices of promoting Qur’anic teaching and unity among Muslims.

 

Contributions from Faruk Shuiabu and Dalhatu Liman