MURIC Rejects US Interference In Nigeria’s Shari’ah Affairs

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has rejected the call by Dr Ebenezer Obadare, a United States Senior Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, to be involved in Nigeria’s Shari’ah matters.

Obadare had urged the United States to pressure President Bola Tinubu to outlaw Shari’ah and the Hisbah boards.

‎‎However, in a statement issued on Thursday by its executive director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, MURIC described Obadare’s call as crossing the red line.

Akintola also added that the call raised more questions than answers about the intention of the United States.

‎”The call was made during a joint House briefing in response to US President Donald Trump’s directive and designation of Nigeria as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’.

“This call raises more questions than answers and casts doubts on the intention of the United States in its interest in Nigeria’s war on terror. It amounts to surrendering Nigeria’s sovereignty.

“It constitutes an affront on the Nigerian constitution, our grundnorm. It is therefore a no-go area for either the US or the Nigerian government.”

Akintola described Obadare’s call as mischievous, reactionary and outlandish. “It is also undemocratic, neocolonial and imperialistic.”

He added, “As usual, Nigerian Christians who opposed the Shari’ah ab initio and were defeated in due process have now gone through the back door to use the US to abolish it. It will not happen. Obadare’s approach is not only cowardly, it is immoral and despicable.”

‎‎The MURIC leader described Shari’ah as the Muslims’ way of life, maintaining that it cannot be separated from Islam. “We fought hard to establish it and its foundation is deeply entrenched in legality, constitutionality and democratic values.”

He added that the moment anyone attempts to touch the Shari’ah, “we begin to see him seeking to eliminate Islam in its totality. Our advise is this: don’t go there. It is the red line.”

‎‎He stressed that the greatest challenge the Nigerian government will face when it starts tampering with Shari’ah is that it will lose the support of liberal and mainstream Muslims who have been opposing the terrorists, as well as the Hisbah.

‎‎”The United States, in particular, must not allow doubts to be cast in its interest in Nigeria’s war on terror. Is the US fighting terror or fighting Islam?

“This is a critical question for a Western power that has declared its intention to protect Nigerian Christians.

‎‎”Nigerian Muslims will continue to support President Tinubu in his war on terrorist groups as long as there are clear lines of demarcation. But Nigerian Muslims are not fools. The story will definitely change if any government, local or foreign, makes any attempt to outlaw our hard-earned Shari’ah.

‎‎”Every nation has its own legitimate institutions. Democracy itself has no particular tabula rasa. The system of government which is approved by the people is its own democracy.

“Interestingly, Shari’ah is an integral part of our system, and it was not introduced by force. Something terrible has gone wrong the moment a government starts tampering with the Constitution to favour a minority group.

‎‎”Any attempt to tie the Shari’ah to the war against terrorism will cost both the US and the Nigerian government the cooperation of Nigerian Muslims in all spheres. That is when we will see an existential threat with microscopic accuracy,” Akintola added.