The gruesome murder of Deborah by Muslims in Sokoto (and the reason for which she was killed) attracted a reaction like never before among the Muslims – for whom she was supposedly murdered. The condemnation by the ranks of the Muslims was unlike anything ever before seen – and the reason is not far fetched.
The Muslims known for talking and writing for the Muslims and Islam all spoke and/or wrote. But what gave this reaction the unprecedented trajectory was the reactions on the part of the Muslims never before known to publicly comment on issues concerning the Muslims or Islam. The murder and attendant reactions trended for days on end. And as this happened, messages appeared on social media – written by Muslims – stylishly, discretely, diplomatically and in some cases, frontally condemning those who condemned the killers of Deborah.
Reading between the lines, some of our fellow Muslims took the view that the killing of Deborah by our brethren in Sokoto was praise-worthy – except none was able to say so in clear terms. That no one was able to say so in plain language confirms that deep inside, everyone recognises evil as evil. The sharee’ah condemns the murder of Deborah just as it does that of Fatimah. All scholars of note made comments to this effect. And in an Islamic State, the killers of Deborah would have been charged for murder. Whether or not they ultimately get convicted for same is a different issue entirely. You cannot justify Islamically the murder of Deborah in the manner she was killed. But this is not why I have written today.
The subsequent murder by IPOB of a Muslim lady and her four children in Anambra is the reason for this intervention. As it happens, the murder of this family and attendant condemnation by Muslims has not grabbed the headlines as much as that of Deborah – or so goes the allegation. I do not have any disagreement with this position. In fact, I am in full agreement.
But no sooner than Harira and her children were murdered than messages began to flow among the Muslims that those (Muslims) who cried for Deborah have gone into hibernation. Much as I do not have cause to disagree with these (often copy & paste, read and share) messages, I do see an unfairness – indeed injustice – in these messages to the extent that they lump together those who have spent a lifetime speaking and writing for Islam and the Muslims – and those who merely jumped on the Deborah bandwagon.
The first category of commentators do not need a prompting to make their positions known on issues affecting the Muslims. Some of these individuals have been labelled as anarchists and terrorists for no other reasons than defending the perpetual injustice against the Muslims in this country – even as they do so in very peaceful manners. These people have spoken, are speaking and would remain speaking even as the accusers (of going silent) themselves disappear.
And what an irony that those who are quick to accuse these people of silence are the very people who cannot showcase one article that they ever wrote in defence of Islam! Can you see the injustice here? A person who in his entire life has never publicly put his reputation on the line for the defence of his religion – goes on social media to accuse those who have done for a generation of being more interested in the enemies of Islam than Muslims. What can be more unjust than this?
Yes, some Muslims have gone quiet since the IPOB murders, but these are the very Muslims who were never known for writing on anything of interest to the Muslims. What are we to expect from this category of Muslims?
Sometimes, I do feel that the ‘share’ button should be removed from Facebook and similar platforms. OK, I do not really mean this as I am one of the biggest beneficiaries of the ‘share’ button. My article on Michelle Obama’s visit to a Muslim school in the UK and interaction with Muslim children attracted more than 3,500 shares – just as I know this (which you are reading) is going to be shared too, but that button would tend to encourage laziness on the part of some of us.
Regarding the silence on the part of the Muslim elite, I do not think anyone should really be surprised by this. Or how do we explain the fact that during Buhari’s first term, we had a Muslim president, senate president, attorney-general and even CJN for part of the term, yet remained in a struggle to get our girls to freely wear their hijab to school.
So, if the elite commented on Deborah, but not Harira, then the elite has only done what the elite does. The elite does not speak for Islam.
So, back to these trending posts about Muslims going into hibernation, I think the commentators should acknowledge that the Muslims known to speak for Islam (sometimes at great personal costs) remain doing what they do best and their number is limited. Those who have disappeared are the very ones never known to be commentators on Islamic affairs. The lumping of everyone together is not fair or just.
May Allah rectify the affairs of the Muslims.
Imaam Nojeem Jimoh writes from Lagos, Nigeria.
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