As a member of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria under the leadership of Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky (H), one of the most enthusiastic moments with me is looking forward to an event that involves procession or rally.

 This is because, it is one of the most effective ways of reaching out to the public. As a result of this, one of the most moving events of the holy month of Ramadan in the mind of every struggling Muslim is the marking of the international Quds day.

This is an event that is marked on the last Friday of every month of Ramadan as declared by the leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran Ayatullah Ruhullah Khumaini (QS). The global Islamic Movement displays its steadfastness in all parts of the world including the streets of cities in Europe, America, Asia and Africa. People come out, irrespective of their religions to protest the illegal occupation of the Palestinian lands by the Israelis as a result of which they occupy the third most holiest Mosque in Islam, the Mosque of Jerusalem (Al-Quds).

On the streets, slogans condemning the illegal state of Israel are chanted. Those in the processions and rallies also chant, “Death to America!” for its hypocritical role of protecting the illegal state of Israel. The atrocities of the illegal state of Israel against the Palestinians, like the murder, persecution and destruction of the houses of the Palestinians by the Zionists are all condemned by the Global Islamic Movement.

Nigeria, the seat of the Islamic Movement under the leadership of his eminence Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky (H) is not left behind in this great activity. It has become known to almost all Nigerians who are aware of the activities of the Movement that the members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria always mark the event annually in the holy month of Ramadan as do others in other parts of the world.

In Nigeria this year around, the level of the instituted insecurity bourn out of the imposed insurgence of a said armed Islamic sect founded a different scenery for the event. All junctions and roads in Kaduna metropolis were taken over by heavily armed military personnel who were all combat ready, in Potiskum, Yobe state, with the Joint Task Force in-charge and people leaving the town out of fear of attack by suicide bombers, in Kano city where the state governor was planning for a 24 hour curfew to hinder the possible marking of the procession, in Katsina where the state government had banned un-registered Islamic organizations from activities, in Sokoto where the state governor had forcefully ejected the members of the Islamic Movement from the state, destroyed their houses, killed some of them and jailed over a hundred of them and in Gombe which is a leading name on the list of insurgency affected areas, the Quds Day was marked successfully without any negative report.

From Kaduna where I participated, a very horrifying scene was created by the military men and police who were everywhere. Movement of vehicles was restricted in the early hours of the day. Those on motor circles were forced to drop and push their motor bikes past the check points. In some places, the roads were blocked and no one was allowed to pass. The situation was very tense and personal peace of the people was threatened. Fear was induced in them as though something bad was happening.

Those who knew about the annual event were not surprised at all. The authorities are trying to hide behind the claimed insecurity to stop the activities of the Movement. It is a known fact that the insecurity is not unconnected with the plans of the authorities to stop the Movement. It is a way of instilling fear in people and making them run away from the Movement.

It is such that they will bomb places and kill people to make them believe that there is insecurity, while on the other hand they chase the wind to claim that they are fighting against terrorists. The resultant situation they have created will subsequently terrorize the people to make them fear rising for their rights in the name of religion and also see any body calling for religion as a terrorist.

It is a deliberate plan involving various stakeholders who benefit in one way or the other in the Nigerian nation. Such benefit could be material or economic while others could be power ridden.

Those stakeholders who benefit economically are the multi-nationals, the stooges in the leadership and the power mongers in America and Europe. America and Israel in particular want to stop the Islamic Movement at all cost. They consider the Movement as the only threat to their interest in the region They cannot afford loosing such interest to an Islamic state in the future by allowing an Iranian type interest to be established as this will lead to their powers diminishing and their control and interest being destroyed while that of the Islamic Iran is integrating. That is why they are killing people and blackmailing Islam. Those with defeated minds will then fear being identified with religion and religious activism.

The simple logic here is that, the Israelis have occupied the Palestinian lands, the Israelis are killing the Palestinians, the Israelis are destroying the houses of the Palestinians, the Mosque of Al-Quds, which is the third holiest Mosque in Islam is under the domination of the Israelis, the Israelis are a threat to the peaceful coexistence of the Middle East etc, and some people believe all these to be wrong and not right. What then is their crime when they stand out to denounce it?

On the other hand, why should force be used in stopping those who protest against such crimes against humanity? Is the person stopping it in support of it and promoting the crime? Why is he so intolerant and extreme in his views that he cannot come out to promote what he supports, instead, he fights those who don’t support what he believes in? at least it is a democracy he can come out and stage a demonstration in support of Israel and not to scare or fight those who are against it. This tells everyone who the government represents and the interest it promotes.

Another painful aspect is how some people attach sectarianism to the demonstration. They and their misguided guides call and describe the demonstrations, rallies and protest as Shi’ism because those who call for it are called Shi’ites.

This is simply a display of myopic mentality and ignorance. Most of those in the occupied Palestinian lands are Sunnis but to the Shi’ites they are their Muslim brothers. There are also non-Muslims like Christians who are victims of the Israeli atrocities and the said Shi’ites help them in fighting for their rights because they are oppressed human beings. The Israelis are racists and they see their race as most superior to other races as such they kill all non-Jewish or Arabs irrespective of what religion they practice and it is the Shi’ites that are saying no to all these inhumanity perpetrated by Israel. If the Shi’ites are condemned for their actions, those who point accusing fingers at them must also be condemned for their myopia.

Indeed the struggle is never the threat it is the system that is fighting the uprising that is the threat to peace and harmony.              

A. Giwa