Tell(www.tellng.com), one of the foremost magazines in Nigeria devoted this week's edition to what it calls The Other Side of Islam in Nigeria. A curious topic indeed. I really wanted to know what this other side of Islam was so I decided to purchase a copy of the magazine. After going through it I was disappointed because I found out that Tell had repeated the same mistake many journals and newspapers in Nigeria have made in the past. It treated the serious threat of Islamic fanaticism in Nigeria with kid gloves.
The magazine identified the Other Side of Islam as the violent plot to islamize the country.(That is correct). It attributed the upsurge in islamic radicalism in northern Nigeria to 'mass poverty, illiteracy and ignorance'.(That is what analysts always say) And those interviewed by the magazine said that economic development and infrastructural transformation would be the solution.(Are they sure?)
Personally I think the person who anchored the story and those interviewed shied away from the truth about the underlying causes of religious fundamentalism in northern Nigeria. And that is part of the problem. Whenever it comes to diagnosing and treating the disease of islamic fanaticism, nobody wants to call a spade a spade. Nobody wants to hit the nail at the head.
And that is why islamic radicalism will continue to threaten, darken, destroy and distabilize Nigeria, Africa and the world. Tell magazine did not go far enough in terms of identifying the root causes of islamic fundamentalism and militancy in Northern Nigeria. They failed in uncovering fully the Other Side of Islam.
The radical plot to islamize Nigeria is not driven by poverty and illiteracy alone(afterall it is not only in Northern Nigeria that people are poor and ignorant) but also by islamic indoctrination that is so enthrenched in that part of the country. Islamic indoctrination constitutes the basis of family upbringing and social formation. The agenda of Islamists are informed by what they are taught, told and preached to at their homes, mosques, at Arabic schools and Quranic indoctrination centers. The first form of education or better instruction children from muslim homes in Northern Nigeria receive is islamic indoctrination and brainwashing.
So at a very tender age children have their minds infused with radical and fanatical creeds that shape, direct, influence and control their thoughts and conscience for the rest of their lives.
The islamic radicals that are threatening and terrorizing Nigeria, Africa and the world are products or rather victims of misformation, malformation, miseducation and malaeducation going on at Islamic homes, Quranic centers and mosques in northern Nigeria. What islamists are doing is spreading the diseased and dangerous messages and ideologies they imbibed while growing up. That is why islamic fanatics can openly and publicly say 'Kill those who insult Islam' (as if Islam is a human being)or that 'Islam will rule the world'. But Islamic radicals need to be told that Islam will NOT rule the world. Instead Islam will ruin the world of those who blindly and thoughtlessly embrace it.
Another root cause is in the history of Islam itself. In Nigeria, and around the globe, Islam has a violent history. Islam has a tradition of jihad, of conquests and imperialism. Islam has a history stained and tainted with blood, force, imposition and exploitation. Prophet Mohammed who founded Islam was a jihadist. He fought to islamize anywhere he conquered. In Nigeria, the 1804 jihad of Sheikh Uthman dan Fodio radicalized islam. What comtemporary muslim jihadists in Nigeria are doing is following this 'bad example' of Prophet Mohammed and Sheikh Uthman dan Fodio. They see themselves as the Mohammeds and Uthman dan Fodios of this generation and want to carry on with the jihad, the conquests and the islamization of the world.(unfortunately they have got it wrong)
The other root cause of radical islam is in the Quran. The islamic holy book contains so many passages that sanction and sanctify violence and religous bloodletting. Unfortunately muslims believe the Quran to be the infallible word of Allah and blindly accept, follow and practice everything that is written in the book(That is the problem, that is where they got it wrong). Muslims are taught not to question the teachings in the Quran or the Hadith.So what Islamists are doing in Nigeria is to apply, promote and practice their religion without thinking, and without reasoning.
Another side of Islam in Nigeria is lack of political will to tackle radical islam. Politicians in Northern Nigeria prefer using Islam to enhance their interests, get votes and win elections. They fear being accused of opposing Islam or being branded an enemy of Islam. According to former Nigerian president Shehu Shagari, nobody can oppose islam and succeed politically in the North.
So, these are other Sides of Islam which the authorities in Nigeria must understand and address before it is too late.