By Kelechi Esogwa-Amadi
Chief Imam of Central Mosque, Mile 1, Diobu, Port Harcourt, Muritala Suleiman, has said that the Boko Haram terrorists are not fighting to defend or protect Islam.
Speaking to TPCN today in his office in Mile 1, Diobu, Port Harcourt, in reflection of this year’s Eid-el Kabir celebration, the Muslim Cleric said that Islam as a religion is all about peace, adding that violence, criminality and killing are not part of the teachings of Isalm.
He said: “I want to say that Islam is peace. Islam means love. Love your neighbour, love whoever that is beside you: that is Islam. Islam is not criminality. Islam is not violent and the Muslims are not criminals.
“It baffles me and it gives me a lot of concern when journalists are reporting the militancy, the Boko Haram, and they say Muslim fighters, terrorists. They (Boko Haram members) are not in any way supporting Islam. They’re not in any way protecting the Muslims. They’re giving us bad names. So the journalists should know that these terrorists are not helping us; they’re blackmailing us and giving us bad names. They’re not in any way protecting Islam as a religion”.
The Mile 1 Imam, who is the leader of Khalifa Tijjania in Rivers State, said that although covid-19 affacted this year’s Eid celebration in terms of gathering, it did not prevent them from doing their fasting and praying to God, noting that covid 19 has come to change the lives of humans.
“Covid is here with us now and we have to bear with it. There’s nothing we can do than to accept it. It’s from Allah. It affects us anyway but it never stops us from going to Allah; it never stops us from fasting to Allah and it never stops us from observing our five times prayer, doing our Jumat service.
“But because of it, we did not have the normal service and gathering that we used to have. In the Jumat we did not have it; in the Eid we did not have it. So, all things being equal, today to Muslims is a day of joy, merriment and thankfulness to Allah for sparing our lives because as Muslims, we live in the hands of Allah.
“People should understand that this covid has come to change our lives; to fine-tune and reset our lives. That is the major thing this covid has come to do. So we pray to Almighty Allah to continue to guide us. As we celebrate this Eid, the only thing that is not there is the funfare. But all things being equal, we still give thanks to Allah.”
