VOICES FROM RAMADAN

“You should not beat your chest with someone else’s hands.”

Cameroonian Proverb

The month of Ramadan represents the essentials of the bonds that bind Muslims with Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala. It is the month in which the holy Qur’an was sent to the last and most revered of Allah’s prophets, Muhammad S.A.W. It is the month Muslims are enjoined to intensify acts of worship, sacrifice and charity, and demonstrate the highest ideals of their faith. It is a month of intense soul search at the individual level, and rigorous scrutiny at the state of the Muslim ummah (community) by leaders, clerics and activists involved in policing the boundries between Muslims and non-Muslims, and Muslims and the state or the international community. Leading clerics and intellectuals in the Muslim community lead widely-Publicized readings and interpretations of the holy Qur’an (Tafsir) and Hadith (traditions of the holy prophet Muhammad, S.A.W), and other works which deepen understanding and faith of Muslims.

Kaduna has been, since the explosion of the Izalatul Bidia Wa Ikamatus Sunnah (JIBWIS) movement in the 1970s, the focal point of much of the activism in the Muslim community. It has also represented a veritable battleground between traditional Darika sects and the Izala movement, as well as rumerous shirmishes between Muslims and Christians. Between Kaduna and Zaria next door, the most profound intellectual and spiritual changes have been generated: the Izala movement; resurgence of the movement for expansion of the scope of Shari’a law; the emergence of Nigerian Shiite movement, the salafiyya movement and the politicization of Darika sects. The emergence of political christianity which drew the line between Christian north and Christian south at Kaduna itself also highlighted the strategic position of the city and the State.

In this dynamic and often volatile context, Ramadan provides an opportunity to reassert positions and consolidate gains. Leading clerics such as the late Abubakar Gumi (now succeeded by his son, Ahmad) and Dahiru Bauchi’s Tafsirs represent the summit for the Izala and Darika leaders, each in his own forte. Hundreds of other clerics and intellectuals also conduct Tifsirs, and hundreds of thousands of Muslims particularly, young males, attend them. Many broadcast outlets give huge vent to many of the prominent clerics and leaders, and the media exposure undoubtedly encourages many of them to adopt postures and positions which are most likely to appeal to a part of the Muslim community which has a high level of consciousness. On the whole Ramadan Tafsir’s represent the only avenue for the Muslim community to speak to itself, to rise issues which worry it, and to assure particularly young members of the community that it is part of a caring and concerned community. In the last few years, it has also provided a platform for raising issues which affect Muslim relations with non-Muslims and the Nigerian state.

This year’s Tafsir, in Kaduna at least, have collectively exposed new levels and dimensions in thinking among leading clerics and Muslims. If the security and intelligence services as well as the political antennas of governments are alert, the sentiments expressed by the Muslim community should be meticulously noted and accorded the attention they deserve. It is vital that his is done, because at this stage, it does not appear that the government and mainstream Muslim community are in very productive and positive contact. It is also very important that the current disposition and thinking of Muslim leaders and clerics is shared among as many Muslims as possible, because it serves as both a yardstick for conduct, as well as a benchmark by which governments should relate to Muslims in Nigeria. In any case, those responsible for processing the many voices heard during the Ramadan should pay very close attention to them, because the gulf which appears to exist between many Muslims and the Nigerian state must not be allowed to become wider than it is.

Significantly, the emphatic and public repudiation of the doctrinal basis and claims of the Jamaatu Ahlil Sunnal Liddiwati Waj Jihad (JASLIWAJ) by all clerics without exception has been a major revelation during the last Ramadan. Muslim clerics and followers were open in their condemnation of the group’s activities, and the assurances which were given that peace and justice to all Muslims and non-Muslims are the foundations of the Islamic faith were not merely targeted at a non-Muslim audience and a Nigerian state eager to hear Muslims condemn the insurgency. Violence against people outside the strict boundries set by islam was roundly condemned, and the place of suicide in islam was amply clarified. There is no doubt that most of the clerics and leaders of the Muslim ummah have crossed the fear threshold which may have restrained public condemnation, and the assurances by learned people that death in the hands of the insurgency represents unlawful killing in islam, and victims will be relieved of their sins, while their killers will be punished has served to reassure a community which has been terrified by both the insurgency and agents of the state.

The issue around the JASLIWAJ insurgency also took up much of the concerns of the Muslim community. The operations of security agents which tend to create the impression that all Muslims are enemies who have to pay penalties of an occupied or defeated people were widely condemned. The outward manifestations of these, including raids into homes; mass arrests and detentions without trials; massive militarization of highways and neighbourhoods; compelling people to push their motorcycles past numerous checkpoints; public humiliation of people at the slightest of provocations; crude profiling of muslims, harassment of people from neighbouring African countries, extortion and all manners of impunity and highhandedness by security people were widely condemned.

Voices were also raised against allegations that recruitments into security agencies, including the military were being deliberately made to exclude Muslims. Postings and deployments of senior officers are allegedly done to favour non-Muslims. There are widespread feelings of injustice against Muslims in the manner the Nigerian state treats consequences of ethno-religious conflicts. The continued stay of hundreds of women and children refugees from Zonkwa at the Kaduna State Hajj Camp continues to remind Muslims of an unfinished business and hints at a state too weak or indifferent do justice to Muslims. The refugees from Zonkwa were used to remind Muslims of Yelwan Shendam, of last Sallah in Jos when Muslims were killed, roasted and enten publicly, and of recent skirmishes around Riyom, Barikin Ladi and Jos. There were voices raised to indict a Nigerian state quick to condemn church bombings as handiwork of Muslims without waiting for evidence, but is indifferent to mass killings of Muslims, irrespective of the circumstances.

The last Ramadan showed a new level of consciousness among the Muslim community, a consciousness created out of the need to purge their faith of undeserved stigma and provide guidance and comfort to itself. But there is also an emerging element of that consciousness which seeks to assert the right of Nigerian Muslims to live with dignity and full respect, and not accept a lower status owing to the activities of JASLIWAJ. In the last Ramadan, new benchmarks were established by leaders in courage and commitment to the demands of their faith. They have left the impression among millions of Muslims that the insurgency has no place in Islam, but cannot be successfully fought by a Nigerian state which treats it as if it is a Muslim problem, and milks it to weaken Muslims further.  Strong messages were sent on the need for Muslims to work for peace and unity of the country, but to work hard to protect and defend what they have. Leaders who care about the future of the nation as one entity founded on justice should pay attention to the messages which came through during the last Ramadan.