By Ibrahim Usman
Lending his voice to the global concern by Muslims over the blasphemous publication by a Paris-based magazine, Charlie Hebdo on the personality of the Prophet of Islam, Leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, His Eminence Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky says, the publication was another way of striking at the inner core sensibility of Islam and Muslims.
Sheikh Zakzaky was speaking at the annual Maulud programme organized by the Resource Forum of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, which took place at the Hussainiyyah Baqiyyatullah, Zaria on Saturday.
He explained that, enemies of Islam have come to realize that, “the Holy Prophet still lives with the rapid expansion of the divine message he brought and instilled in the hearts of people, which has become a threat to global arrogance and injustice, and therefore found a new way of striking at his personality”.
According to him, the unfortunate action by Charlie Hebdo was Salman Rushdie reincarnate through covert operation, whereby the perpetrators decided to use their people to instigate violence and execute the violent action and attributed it to Muslims to justify their insidious intent of portraying Islam as a religion of terror.
Sheikh Zakzaky further explained that, the subsequent gathering of world leaders to condemn the planned attack on staff of the magazine was a clear manifestation of the evil intent, as well as open support to the blasphemy on Islam. “The global reaction by Muslims has shown that, the Muslims are fully awakened and hold Islam and its Holy Prophet in high esteem. Their great concern is the growing number of Muslim converts in Europe and across the world, and therefore wants to discourage it”.
He pointed out that, such atrocities in the name of Islam is being witnessed on daily basis in Nigeria with the same objective. “How could Muslims detonate bombs in mosques, kill fellow Muslims and destroy their settlements because they want to establish an Islamic state? This is clear fallacy and ridiculous. This is ridiculing Islam, the message brought by Prophet Muhammad and the kind of society he established!” he queried.
His Eminence said, all the reports and videos on the activities of the faceless Boko Haram terror cell in Nigeria were presented to the people by government agencies and therefore said, “It is the same government that is launching the attacks in the name of Islam and Muslims”.
Sheikh Zakzaky said, the whole aim of the global misrepresentation of Islam was to ridicule the message brought by Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), in order to discourage and suppress its spread. “We are in the era of hope, and therefore all hope is not lost. This religion brought by this Prophet must triumph against all odds. They may kill and continue killing, but a time will come when they can kill no more”.
The Leader further explained how Islam and Muslims were facing challenges in the face of combined plots of enemies from within and outside, which he said gave room for the sad representation of Islam by Charlie Hebdo and those culprits before it.
He therefore advised Muslims to be united and not to give room for division, in order to effectively face the challenges, and cautioned Muslims on using the same language and manner used by their enemies to retaliate or respond to any misconduct.
He said, despite the negative representation of the Holy Prophet, his good and super human attributes and conduct can never be disputed, against the attempt to portray him as an ordinary being.
“Historically, the compassion and sensitivity to human feelings demonstrated by the Prophet of Islam during his time were unprecedented and exemplary. The world can never be convinced now that, the religion brought by him is capable of committing such heinous crimes. Never!”
Sheikh Zakzaky, who narrated historical conquests by prominent personalities in said, the Holy Prophet of Islam conquered minds of the people through good conduct and not by sword or force, as it is being misrepresented.