Islam
Comrade Kokori accuses JNI scribe of inciting religious war
Elder statesman and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Comrade Frank Ovie Kokori, has accused Secretary of the Jama’atul Nasril Islam, JNI, Dr. Khalid Aliyu of allegedly inciting religious war in the country. Comrade Kokori made his position known on Wednesday while reacting to Dr. Aliyu’s outburst in response to the Christmas homily of the archbishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah. Recall that Bishop Kukah in his 2020 Christmas day message, accused President Buhari of nepotism and other misdemeanours which have attracted several reactions across the country. The elder statesman who is a former general secretary of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, also urged President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto ...
Rare Christmas sales in Saudi Arabia
Christmas trees and glittery ornaments are for sale at a Saudi gift shop, a once unthinkable sight in the cradle of Islam where all public non-Muslim worship is banned. In recent years, festive sales have gradually crept into the capital Riyadh, a sign of loosening social restrictions after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledged to steer the conservative Gulf kingdom towards an “open, moderate Islam”. “I didn’t ever imagine I’d see this” in Saudi Arabia, a Riyadh resident told AFP at the shop selling trees, Santa Claus outfits as well as tinsel, baubles and other ornaments. “I am surprised,” said the resident, declining to be identified. Until barely three years ago, it was almost impossible to sell such items openly in Saudi Arabia, but authorities have been clipping the powers of the c...
Arabic inscriptions on naira doesn’t threaten Nigeria’s secular status – central bank tells court
The Central Bank of Nigeria has vehemently opposed a suit before the Federal High Court in Lagos praying that the Arabic inscriptions on naira notes be removed. A Lagos-based lawyer, Chief Malcolm Omirhobo, who filed the suit before Justice Mohammed Liman, contended that having Arabic inscriptions on the naira notes portrays Nigeria as an Islamic state, contrary to the country’s constitutional status of a secular state. Omirhobo, who said he does not know what the Arabic inscriptions mean, is praying the court to order the CBN to replace the Arabic inscriptions with either English language, which is the country’s official language, or any of Nigeria’s three main indigenous languages – Hausa, Yoruba or Igbo. According to the lawyer, with the Arabic inscriptions on the naira note, the CBN ha...
#EndSARS: MURIC kicks amid allegation of mosque burning in South East
The Muslim Rights Concern has raised the alarm over the alleged burning of mosques in the South East following the #EndSARS protest. The Islamic human rights body, which raised the alarm in a statement on Monday, said the mosques were burnt on October 31, 2020, with threat to invade the Islamic School, Afikpo, Ebonyi State. The statement said the mosques were burnt in Enugu, Enugu State amid reports that 11 Muslims were killed during the #EndSARS protests in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and Orlu in Imo State, while the Orlu Central Mosque was completely destroyed about two weeks ago. The statement equally said markets belonging to Muslims in the region were also attacked and properties worth millions of naira destroyed, including whole trailers with goods. MURIC, in the statement by its Dir...
French president says he ‘understands’ Muslims shock over Prophet Muhammad cartoons
French President Emmanuel Macron said he can understand why Muslims were shocked by caricatures depicting the prophet Muhammad. But in an interview with Al Jazeera broadcast on Saturday, he said he could never accept the issue being used to justify violence. “I understand and respect that we can be shocked by these caricatures,” Macron said. “I will never accept that we can justify physical violence for these caricatures and I will always defend in my country the freedom to say, to write, to think, to draw.” Tensions flared with some Muslim majority countries who have held anti-Macron protests and called for a boycott of French products after he publically promised France would not “renounce the caricatures”. Macron made the comments following the October 16 murder of French school teacher...
Rihanna Apologizes To Muslim Community After Savage X Fenty Show
Source: Kevin Mazur / Getty Rihanna recently held a Savage X Fenty fashion show that was praised for its inclusion of all shapes, sizes, genders, and representation across the board. However, the Barbadian superstar was in hot water with the Muslim community after using a song featuring a sacred Islamic prayer and has since apologized. During the Savage X Fenty show, the track “DOOM” from French artist Coucou Chloe which has a portion of the Hadith, a record of sayings by the prophet Muhammad. Going to Instagram Story, Rihanna apologized for using the song in a written statement after uproar over the text began to spread to both the singer and Chloe. From Rihanna: I’d like to thank the Muslim community for pointing out a huge oversight that was unintentionally offensive in our savage...
CAN reacts to death sentence on Kano singer
File Photo The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, in Kano State has reacted to the death sentence passed on a musician, Yahaya Aminu Sharif. An Upper Sharia court had sentenced Sharif to death for alleged blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad. The court sitting in Kano had sentenced Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, to death by handing for comments against Prophet Mohammad. The trial Judge, Khadi Muhammad Ali-Kani had ruled that the 23-year-old singer’s audio remark against Prophet Mohammad was against Islamic law. Reacting, the Chairman of Kano State chapter of CAN, Adeolu Samuel Adeyemo said the group has no objection to the ruling. Speaking with newsmen in Kano, Adeyemo said CAN has no objection because the ruling was is in line with Islamic jurisprudence. According to Adeyemo: “For us in CAN, the ...
Saudi fines large gatherings as coronavirus cases increase
Agence France-Presse Saudi Arabia has imposed fines between 5,000 riyals (1,333 dollars) and 100,000 riyals for large gatherings, in a bid to control the spread of the coronavirus inside the kingdom. In March, the kingdom banned gatherings in public of more than five people as it loosened a nationwide curfew several weeks after it was imposed, allowing some businesses to reopen, including shops, construction companies and factories. However, COVID-19 infections have been steadily increasing, prompting the Interior Ministry to introduce the fines. The oil-rich monarchy reported 1,793 new confirmed cases on Thursday, a new daily record that brings the total number of infections in the kingdom to 33,731, including 219 deaths. The Interior Ministry said gatherings of more than five people insi...
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Associate disputes ‘marriage’ between NAF chief, minister
As news continued to spread on the purported marriage between the Nigerian Chief of the Air Staff, Sadique Baba Abubakar, and the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Umar Farouq, a VOA Hausa report has quoted a close friend of the Air boss describing the report as false. It was reported that Sadique and Sadiya got married in a mosque located in the Maitama high brow area of Abuja on the 18th of September, 2020. However, the VOA Hausa reported that when contacted on the matter, senior Air Force officers in Abuja said they were not aware of the marriage. “Even an intimate friend of the Air boss, who was in charge of his affairs, said he had inquired from his friend the Chief of Air Staff, and he told him the story was a fallacy.” A public commentator, Mohammed Usman, told the VOA that i...