Post 80--Insulting the Prophet

In the previous post I wrote about Aasia Bibi (Sometimes her name is spelled as "Asia.") being released from prison. I also wrote how risky this action was in the face of apparently large groups of Muslim extremists who threatened social violence if she were released. I expressed admiration for a judge and a government who dared to release her. As it turns out, I was right.  The government felt compelled to negotiate with extremist groups and then took Bibi back into custody for her own safety in a secret place. Spain and France offered to take her in, but even that was not acceptable to those extremists. I will try to keep you informed as things develop.

Now Bibi's case was one of a false accusation of blasphemy.  You might react with a shrug of your shoulder, thinking that this does not concern you, especially if you live in the Western world. Pakistan is far away from us. But hold on. This post tells you that it's coming closer to us--not Pakistan (It stays where it is; it does not move.), but the Muslim position on blasphemy against the Prophet.   

Bill Warner is a blogger on  < Political Islam.com >.  I find him kind of extreme and conservative.
Now, there's nothing wrong with being conservative, but being extreme is. I am not an extremist, but I am a conservative,  a radical conservative even. Now that will probably sound ominous to you, but my radicality is not the popular kind which is just another word for "extremism." Mine means that I like to go to the radix or root of a problem. That's what "radix" means. In that sense, it is good to be radical, for it means you are not satisfied with a mere superficial interpretation of things.  And conservative? Again not in the popular street sense or even media sense of the word, but philosophically. I have respect for traditional pillars and cultures; I am not a revolutionary so much as a reformer or conserver, but one that always is open to considering new ways in a reformer sort of way. Well, I should get back from this diversion to the real topic of this post.

Warner wrote the following on his post:

"Tyrannical European Court of Human Rights says Mohammed is a Prophet, if insulted there could be blood in the streets."

By now many are familiar with the recent ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against Elizabeth Sabitch Wolf. This ruling stated that “abusive attacks on the Prophet of Islam (Non-Muslims referring to Mohammed as the “Prophet of Islam” is an important detail to understand), [are] capable of stirring up prejudice and putting at risk religious peace, the domestic courts had come to the conclusion that the facts at issue contained elements of incitement to religious intolerance.”  This statement by the ECHR indicates that in order to maintain religious harmony, citizens may not insult Mohammed, and this is more important than freedom of expression. This European ruling is in line with the Islamic principle of blasphemy. Under Sharia, criticizing Mohammed is equivalent to apostasyand punishable by death. Censoring ourselves to please the Sharia is an underhanded subversion of democracy, an attack on free speech—jihad of the pen and tongue—by our own hands. Without free speech, you no longer have a republic or a democracy, you have tyranny.  Furthermore, there are two important subtexts to be noted in the ECHR ruling...[continue reading]: Sharia law has now been inserted into the laws of member states – Leading expert on Islam

Post 72--Established Islamic Social Order

The following short item on Muslim social style comes to us from Tariq Ramadan, a recognized contemporary Muslim scholar, but one also under the suspicion of some. Well, I will let you figure that one out.  In the meantime I believe this short article is educational for both Christians and Muslims and gives a more positive face to Islam. 

                                                  Established Order

The time has come to reconcile ourselves with the depth and breadth of the Islamic civilizational tradition and its wealth of meaning that establishes rules in the light of the objectives of dignity, freedom, justice and peace. 

The Muslim peoples of today urgently need to reassert themselves. Crucial to the process are spirituality and mysticism: not those of a certain form of Sufism that, not wishing to “take part in politics,” ends up playing the game of powers (and colonisers), but of the quest for self that an authentic Sufism never separated from human, social and political (by way of wise and just government) considerations. It is not enough to affirm that freedom must come before the “Sharia”; what is lacking is a thoroughgoing reflection on freedom in the modern age, and the superior objectives (maqasid) of the Path (ash-Sharia) that supersede its reduction to a body of regulations presented as God’s intangible laws. 

What ash-Shatibi provided us with, in his synthesis of the “objectives of the Sharia" - which is actually a “philosophy of law" - must be thought for the notion of freedom: we need a “philosophy of liberty” that cannot be constricting, reactive or dogmatic but must be broad, holistic and liberating, valid for women and men alike.

There is a sore need of young scholars (ulama) of both sexes, of intellectuals who will show a modicum of courage. While respectful of the message and the immutable rules of practice, they must imperatively seek reconciliation with the intellectual audacity of those who have given the age-old Islamic tradition its strength. Against the institutions that have often shaped them, that are under state control and intellectually enfeebled (such as al-Azhar or Umm al-Qura today), the young Muslim generations must free themselves, make their presence felt and give new meaning to the dynamics of a civil society that is no longer a passive onlooker, or simply complain, and display their indignation, or explore new ways of acting, new and alternative visions. Yet they must remain faithful to themselves, while resisting the established order.

Compiled From:
"Beyond Islamism" - Tariq Ramadan

Post 61--Nigerian Muslims and Christians Persecuting Each Other

This blog features quite a bit of Nigeriana, especially about Christian-Muslim relations. The reason is that my wife and I have spent 30 years in that country as missionaries and published quite a number of books about it.  You can go to the Boeriana and Islamica pages of our website 
   
                                            < www.SocialTheology.com/ >.

So, this post is no exception.  Unfortunately, those relations have mostly been negative, tense, hostile and even violent. The details of that can be found on the above Islamica page.

Today's story is a typical one. If it were exceptional, I would not pass it on, but its typical nature requires that I do.  This is an example of what has been going on for years, for decades. You would think that with all the blood shed over the past 50 years or so, someone would get tired and reason would pop up to put a stop to all this, but no, it just goes on and on and on....

While I often encourage you, readers, to enjoy the post you are reading, I cannot do so today. Rather, I can only encourage you to weep as you read and to pray for peace and tolerance.

But there is another side to it. In today's story, Christians rightly feel persecuted.  However, so do Muslims, at least the apparent majority of Nigerian Muslims who constitute nearly half of the 180 million population of the country. To them, a secular constitution is a form of persecution of Muslims, for they want sharia law, not Western secular law. Most Christians do not seem to understand that.  It is a much more complicated picture than most Christians realize. Muslims persecute Christians; semi-secular Christians persecute Muslims. Neither one recognizes its contribution to the impasse.

So far my comments. Now proceed to read the following story, but be sure to have a bundle of napkins at hand.

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Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 439 | Wed 24 Jan 2018 

For images and hyperlinks, visit https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Frlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com&data=02%7C01%7C%7C867ccf11f8ea4017244308d562e43e9a%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636523654795051507&sdata=q74lEIGo8%2BlNl%2FzdjVwQ336kCEVyURyMQSCGd%2F4n%2B2I%3D&reserved=0  

NIGERIA'S CONVERSION CRISES: ECHOES OF EGYPT
        -- plus Update on Syria 

by Elizabeth Kendal

Nigerians Miss Nabila Umar Sanda (19) and Engineer Simput Eagles Dafup (33) 
met and exchanged contact details in Dubai four years ago. A few years later, 
as Nabila (a Muslim) was studying at Bingham University - a Church-owned 
university in Karu, in Nigeria's central Nasarawa State - she decided that 
she wanted to become a follower of Jesus Christ too. When Nabila learned that 
Simput Dafup was going to be in Jos, Plateau State, over Christmas (2017), 
she re-connected with him and arranged to meet him there. When Nabila told 
Simput that she wanted to convert to Christianity, he asked about her family, 
in particular her father who is a powerful Muslim elder and a traditional 
title holder in Biu, Borno State. Nabila told Simput that as she was 19, she 
was entitled to choose her own religion and would do so regardless of 
obstacles. However, Simput remained concerned, so on Monday 8 January he and 
Nabila sought advice and assistance frSanda Nabila Umar, Eagles Simput, Bimngham Uom local church leader, Pastor Jeremiah Datim. Cognisant of the delicacy of the situation, Pastor Datim decided it 
was best to follow protocol and contact the umbrella group for the Muslim 
community in Nigeria, Jama'atu Nasril lslam (JNI), to inform them of Nabila's 
decision to convert, in the hope they might smooth the way forward. When 
Nabila's parents were informed, her furious father vowed revenge and 
requested intervention by the Department of State Security Services (DSS).  

Later that day, DSS officers stormed Pastor Jeremiah Datim's home, assaulted 
his wife and children and abducted Nabila. They also violently abducted 
Simput Dafup from his home and arrested Daniel Hassan, the taxi driver who 
had driven Nabila from Abuja to Jos. At a press conference in Jos on Saturday 
13 January Pastor Jeremiah Datim clarified the constitutional issue at the 
heart of the crisis. 'I want to state,' he said, 'for the avoidance of doubt, 
that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees the right 
to anyone to propagate his faith and the right also to practise any religion 
of one's choice.' Simput Dafup's widowed mother, Lydia then appealed for 
information on her son's whereabouts. 'My son,' she said, 'a quiet gentleman 
par excellence, was on Monday, January 8, 2018, brutalised, tortured and 
whisked away from his residence in Jos by men we suspect were from the DSS 
for allegedly converting one Miss Nabila Umar Sanda from Islam to 
Christianity.'  

Though no charges had been laid and no arrest warrants issued, the DSS is 
alleging that Nabila was abducted in Abuja, held captive in Jos and forcibly 
converted to Christianity. This echoes the 'Camilia' myth promulgated by 
Islamists in Egypt [see: RLPB 082 (17 Nov 2010)]. The accusation comes as the 
Voice of Northern Christian Movement of Nigeria (VNCMN) is pressuring the 
government of President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate the abduction of some 
100 Christian girls. VNCMN Executive Director, Pastor Kallamu Musa Ali Dikwa, 
explains: 'Muslims have abducted 100 Christian girls under the age of 18 and 
forcefully converted them to lslam and we have reported to security agencies 
severally but no arrest was made or return of Christian girls to their 
parents ... .' Thus the whole context mirrors that of Egypt [see: RLPB 398, 
'Bring Back Our Coptic Girls' (15 March 2017)]. But Nigeria is not Egypt! 
Nigeria is a democracy with a secular Constitution where Christians comprise 
at least 51 percent. Tensions are soaring.  

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has slammed the DSS 
for 'acting as some kind of  "Islamic religious police" ... We call on the 
National Assembly to call ... the [Director-General] of DSS to desist from 
using public offices to promote and canvass the interests of a particular 
religious group which are direct affronts to the Constitution of the Federal 
Republic of Nigeria which absolutely prohibits the elevation of one religion 
as state religion'.  

----------------------

[In a separate incident, on 15 January DSS officers similarly (i.e., 
violently and without a warrant) attempted to arrest Jos preacher Isa El-Buba 
after he criticised President Buhari in a nationally broadcast sermon. Church 
members resisted, forcing the DSS to withdraw. For details on this and the 
Islamisation of Nigeria, see Religious Liberty Monitoring, 24 Jan 2018.]