Pitying the President

Also published in Daily Trust

Though the plight of the overwhelming majority of Nigerians enduring the current wave of economic hardship, which is said to be the worst ever in the country, is indeed heartbreaking, President Buhari himself attracts pity as well, under these circumstances, albeit certainly not for the same reason, for obvious reason. He, instead, attracts pity in view of the sheer magnitude and complexity of the challenges bedevilling his presidency amid mounting expectations of the extremely exhausted hence rightly impatient Nigerians desperate for change after decades of groaning under excruciating poverty and misery. This, however, doesn’t de-emphasize his obligations as President, let alone justify his failure to deliver, anyway.

Having come to power as arguably the most reputable public figure in Nigeria who has over the decades earned and maintained an enviable reputation for honesty, President Buhari has been caught up in a quagmire represented by the largely apathetic and, in fact, obstructive civil servants and political office holders, on the one hand, and a populace that, though is desperate for change, yet is largely resistant to what real change entails, on the other.

Global peace in Islamic perspective (lV)

Also published in Daily Trust  

The pursuit of real global peace is obviously a collective responsibility that requires concerted efforts by all countries as well as regional, continental and international governmental bodies to achieve. The process to attain it, therefore, is unavoidably complex, because it, among other things, involves dealing with increasingly conflicting priorities and interests of many countries from various cultural and religious backgrounds, as well as some powerful vested interests with conflicting agendas that influence the course of international politics today.

In any case, Islam enjoins Muslims, as individuals, communities and governments, to actively participate in any undertaking aimed at achieving positive, constructive and productive things for the humanity. Besides, Islam maintains a particular emphasis on the need to maintain peaceful coexistence among people to ensure adequate protection of human life, wellbeing, property, dignity, among other things. In fact, Islam enjoins Muslims to cooperate with even hostile individuals, communities or entities in order to achieve strategic common interests e.g. peace. Islamic civilization, starting from the era of the messenger of Allah, to the successive Caliphates of his four rightly guided Caliphs and the subsequent Muslim empires and emirates across the world, if full of such instances that show Islamic principled socio-political and diplomatic pragmatism.

Global peace in Islamic perspective (lll)

Also published in Daily Trust

Anyway, though, Muslim scholars and intellectuals around the world are indeed making commendable efforts to counter the wrong religious interpretations that breed extremism and terrorism, more needs to be done to check the activities of such terror theorists who still indoctrinate innocent Muslims and turn them into terrorists.

While doing this, however, caution should be observed, lest the counter-extremism efforts unnecessarily compromise some Islamic principles, basic teachings or moral values. After all, there is a growing trend in this regard, as some Muslim intellectuals and thinkers who are apparently intimidated by the global dominance of the so-called liberal culture seem rather ashamed to present, defend and promote Islamic perspectives that contradict such so-called liberal culture, for fear of being branded religious extremists.

Global peace in Islamic perspective (ll)

Also published in Daily Trust

Islam also emphasizes the need to derive inspiration in the pursuit of peace, from the circumstances of the origin of man, for it indeed underscores mankind’s common interest to pursue global peace, regardless of their racial, ethno-religious and other differences.  Allah the almighty says ‘O Mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam), and from him (Adam) he created his wife {Hawwa (Eve)}, and from them both he created many men and women, and fear Allah through whom you demand (your mutual rights), and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship). Surely, Allah is Ever an All-Watcher over you’ (The Noble Qur’an, Surah 4. Nisa (The Women), Verse 1,)

In the same vein, He, the Almighty also says ‘O Mankind! We have created you from a male and female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another.’ (The Noble Qur’an, Surah 49, Al-Hujurat (The dwellings), Verse 13, as translated by Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali, and Muhammad Muhsin Khan in Translation of the meanings of the Noble Qur’an in the English language).

Global peace in Islamic perspective (l)

Also published in Daily Trust 

Today’s column is actually a paper I presented at the International Islamic Conference organized by the Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa’ikamatis Sunnah in Nigeria, in collaboration with the Makkah-based Muslim World League, between 17th and 19th of March 2016, in Abuja, under the theme of ‘Security and Stability in the Face of Contemporary Challenges’. However, due to space constraint, I will serialize it over the next few weeks, God willing, barring any need to postpone a particular part(s) in the series in order write on another issue. Enjoy... You can also watch the video here 

Today’s world is defined by mysterious paradoxes and inexplicable contradictions that affect our lives as human beings. Though, we are supposedly civilized, culturally and socially refined, yet real peace isn’t only increasingly elusive, but the alarmingly growing pervasiveness of violent conflicts across the world and the sheer barbarism that characterizes them are perhaps unprecedented in human history.