Murder in the name of God

 Murder in the name of God

Contrary to Karl Marx’s celebrated dictum, “religion is the opium of the people”, the true opium of the people is ignorance dressed and embellished in the garbs of religion.

The incident that happened in Sokoto in which a young girl, Deborah Samuel, was lynched and burnt to death by a mob is the highest and most despicable form of ignorance any person who believes in the pristine, immaculate teachings of Prophet Muhammad, blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, can ever exhibit.

The crude, cruel, and primitive act is reminiscent of the days of Jahiliyah (ignorance) of the pre-Islamic Arabs, who had no modicum of refinement in their ways and practices. Indeed, a people with a beautiful civilization, rich jurisprudence, and comprehensive justice/judicial system like the Muslims cannot, under any circumstances, descend into such barbarism and primitiveness, and that is why such act does not find any historical precedence in Islam.

To start with, blasphemy is a crime punishable not only by the shari’ah but by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. However, Islam emphasizes the importance of proofs, evidences, and the establishment of motives. Therefore, on any issue in which capital punishment is sanctioned – be it theft, adultery, or murder – the sentence cannot be carried out by private individuals, regardless of the soundness of their minds or their conviction to the commission of the offense. There is a boundless dichotomy between knowing the law and knowing the applicability of the law. Therefore, only those vast in the intricacies and technicalities of the law and its application, and vested with the authority of enforcement, are allowed to handle such issues. They subject the accused to fair trial to establish the proof against him, examine the possible motives behind the commission of the offense and, depending on their findings – vis-à-vis the position of the law – the person is either convicted and given maximum or reduced sentence, or set free completely.

There is no avenue for self-help in Islam, and ignorance is no excuse. When the Muslims miss-advised one of theirs on the use of water for ablution when he had a head injury – a situation where the use of dust could have sufficed – Prophet Muhammad said: “They killed him, may Allah kill them! Couldn’t they have asked if they did not know? The cure for ignorance is inquiry.” [Sunan Abi Dawud 336]

We all must realise that the overriding principle and intendment of the shari’ah is mercy, not only to the Muslims but to the generality of humanity and the entire universe. Allah says in the Qur’an:

“We have sent you ùO Prophetú only as a mercy for the whole world.” [Surah Al-Anbiya (21):107]

Anas bn Malik, who lived in the household of Prophet Muhammad, blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, narrated that once while they were in the mosque with him, a Bedouin came in and urinated right inside the mosque. The companions of the Prophet said: “Mah, Mah” (an expression used to severely scold someone, to indicate the graveness of a matter), and they rushed towards him, but he (the Prophet) stopped them and said: “Do not put a halt to his urinating, instead leave him alone and allow him finish.” They left him alone until he finished urinating, and then he called the Bedouin over and said to him: “Any kind of urine or filth is not suitable for these mosques. Instead, the mosques are only appropriate for the remembrance of Allah, the Prayer, and the recitation of the Qur’an”. He then issued an order for a bucket of water to be poured over the affected area. Thereafter, he turned to his companions and said: “Verily, you were sent only to make maters easy, not difficult.” [Sahih Muslim, 285, Tirmidhi, 147, Ahmad 2/239]

This incident is meant to teach the Muslims the “standard operating procedure” for dealing with issues of provocation, for none may be more disgusting as a man desecrating your sacred place of worship with urine right in front of you. The Prophet of Islam demonstrated the highest degree of patience and tolerance, and even allowed the man to finish urinating inside the mosque before counselling him.

For clarity, if a person blasphemes in a society where the shari’ah (Islamic legal system) is operable, or a society where the shari’ah may not be operable but the prevailing legal system has provisions for dealing with blasphemy (as we have in the Nigerian legal system), the blasphemer is reported to the authorities and made to appear before a trial judge. If it is a society where no such authority exists, the blasphemer is admonished with wisdom and convincing argument, and if he persists, he is ignored to continue in his folly. The Muslim who feels offended in such situation cannot constitute himself into the law, the prosecutor, and the jury to mete out any form of punishment. Such resort to self-help can only give birth to a chaotic society, which Islam is strictly against.

Even for an issue as simple as sighting the new moon to commence the fast of Ramadhan, it is not left for individuals to determine on their own. Rather, the report of the moon sighting is presented to the authorities who verify it; and on the veracity or otherwise of the information, they announce the next line of action, whether to commence fasting or not.

Crudeness and barbarity do a great disservice to Islam and the efforts of da’wah (the propagation of Islam). If I were not a Muslim and I saw the Muslims perpetrate the kind of jungle justice they carried out on Deborah, nothing would ever make me want to have anything to do with them, let alone be one of them. You do not get rewarded for bringing your religion to disrepute and opprobrium.

Just as evil can only beget evil, every action that followed the cold-blooded murder of Deborah Samuel has been one act of criminality after another. From the disruption of public peace to the destruction of the property of Christian traders and looting of their shops, to the attempted invasion of the Palace of the Sultan of Sokoto, it has been an unveiling of disgust after disgust. If this is not shame, then shame has no definition.

It is a lame argument to say the Muslims are not the only ones who do such acts and as such should not be singled out for reprimand and opprobrium. The commission of a crime in one place cannot be justified by citing a similar crime committed elsewhere. The fact that two persons were beheaded and burnt somewhere in the East by suspected IPOB members, and another was roasted somewhere in Lagos by suspected okada riders over N100 does not make it okay to gruesomely murder a girl in Sokoto for alleged blasphemy. It is also not appropriate to say she deserved the mob treatment she got because she ought to have known the consequence of making sacrilegious statement about Prophet Muhammad in a place as volatile as Sokoto. That is like saying a girl deserves to be raped for dressing provocatively in a shari’ah state. Both crimes – murder and rape, have no justification, and anyone who justifies crime overtly or covertly is as guilty as the criminal. No matter how glaring a crime may be, due process must be followed in addressing it. Muslims are expected to live above board in terms of morals, civility, and respect for the rule of law, especially in a mixed society like ours.

The government of Sokoto State must compensate the family of Deborah and apologise to them for the misbehaviour of her citizens. No parent deserves to watch his/her child in a recorded video being burnt to death by a delirious, lunatic mob. Islam strictly prohibits punishing anyone by fire and forbids the mutilation of a dead body, even in the battlefield.

All those who took part in the murder of Deborah Samuel have committed unlawful homicide and must be made to face the full wrath of the law.

As for those who are all over the place justifying the evil act, be warned. The justification of an evil is worse than the evil itself. That is why, Prophet Muhammad, blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, said: “All the sins of my followers will be forgiven except for those who brag about their sins.” [Sahih al-Bukhari 6069]