Boko Haram: matters arising
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- Category: Philosofaith
- Written by M. U. Ndagi
- Hits: 1079
Although the Boko Haram crisis that ravaged the northern parts of the country may seem to have ended, matters arising from it are prompting Nigerians to ask several pertinent questions. Is Boko really Haram as claimed by the group? Is there any correlation between the bad leadership styles of governance by Nigerian leaders and the insurgence of extremists in the country? Is the killing of the Boko Haram leader, Muhammad Yusuf, the best option for the police to have chosen?
It is glaring from the name Boko Haram that followers of the sect are more ignorant about their religion, Islam, than those who never claimed to be religious but acquired the Boko education. Perhaps, the Boko Haram group was not aware that science and technology which gives Western education the prominence it enjoys today passed from the Greeks to the West through the translated works of Muslim philosophers. It is pertinent to also add that it has always been difficult for Western writers (who never liked that part of the history of scientific ideas) to draw a demarcation line between translated and original work because many of the translators were themselves contributors.
The epoch of translation (750-850AD), which was the period when the Abbasid dynasty flourished in the Muslim world, was followed by a creative era when the Arabs did not only assimilate the classical heritage of Greece but adopted it to their peculiar needs and ways of thinking. In astronomy, mathematics, geography and medicine, Arab Muslims in addition to their translation works carried on with the original thinking, which was accordingly transmitted to Europe through Spain, Syria and Sicily. This consequently laid the foundation of that canon of knowledge that dominated medieval European thought. Transmission, from the standpoint of the history of culture, is no less essential than origination.
Many of today’s advancements in science and technology owe much to names like Al-Kindi, Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd and Ibn Jabir even though some of their names have been anglicized in books authored by orientalists. If Boko were Haram, the Prophet (SAW) couldn’t have asked Muslims to “seek for knowledge even unto China” where Western instead of Islamic education was, and still remains, the norm. If Boko were actually Haram, why were the sect members carrying GSM handsets or riding in cars because these are products of Boko civilization to which Muslims greatly contributed in ideas? If Boko were Haram as claimed by the group, how much of the Halal knowledge do they essentially possess? The answer to this last question takes us to the issue of the abuse of the traditional Qur’anic system by some ill-motivated proprietors of such schools.
The euphoria with which some Muslims express their passion for traditional Qur’anic education, with their eyes closed, gives us some concern. Though the curriculum of this system is still relevant to the needs of Muslim societies, the teachers and proprietors of some of these schools today are people whose ideology and character raise questions in the minds of other Muslims. In the days of the Sokoto Caliphate (1804-1903) when Islam provided the code of ethics that guided the political, social and economic life of the people of northern Nigeria, traditional Qur’anic schools at that time were devoid of most of the problems associated with it, today, in Nigeria. The proprietors of these schools at that time never claimed to be learned even though many of them possessed the requisite knowledge that qualified them to be called scholars (Malam in Hausa). Today, nearly everyone in the Muslim world of Nigeria including those who perhaps know very little call themselves “Malam”. In any case, the insurgence of groups such as the Boko Haram cannot be isolated from the socio-economic living conditions in the country.
A recent incident in Abuja should be an eye opener for many of us. Out of a strong quest for Qur’anic education, a resident of Abuja city entrusted his child to a Qur’anic teacher with whom the child was to remain until he had finished learning the Holy Qur’an. Several months into this agreement, the father of the child decided one day to visit the “Malam”. On getting there, he discovered that the “Malam” had concluded arrangements to relocate from Abuja along with the child. If the man had not gone there by chance, that could have been the end of the story about his son learning under a “Malam” whose ideology and background from the onset was unknown. We urge fellow Muslim brothers and sisters to look before they leap at some of today’s teachers in the Qur’anic schools before sending their children to learn under them. This is important if we do not desire our children to become recruits into extremist organizations in the course of learning the holy Qur’an. It may also not be out of place to enquire about the teacher’s level of Islamic education since most extremist positions are products of ignorance.
The military claim they handed Muhammad Yusuf over to the police alive. The question many are asking is: why did the police kill him in custody? Is it because late Yusuf was likely to name highly-placed people in positions of authority as the powers behind his activities as is the case with the militant groups in the Niger-Delta region of the country? He should have been interrogated in custody and then prosecuted. The police have an explaining to do to convince Nigerians that the killing of Muhammad Yusuf was not a violation of fundamental human rights. May Allah (SWT) guide and protect us against the insurgence of any extremist group in any part of the world, amin.
Articles
Boko Haram: matters arising
Category: Philosofaith Written by M. U. Ndagi Hits: 1079
Although the Boko Haram crisis that ravaged the northern parts of the country may seem to have ended, matters arising from it are prompting Nigerians to ask several pertinent questions. Is Boko really Haram as claimed by the group? Is there any correlation between the bad leadership styles of governance by Nigerian leaders and the insurgence of extremists in the country? Is the killing of the Boko Haram leader, Muhammad Yusuf, the best option for the police to have chosen?
It is glaring from the name Boko Haram that followers of the sect are more ignorant about their religion, Islam, than those who never claimed to be religious but acquired the Boko education. Perhaps, the Boko Haram group was not aware that science and technology which gives Western education the prominence it enjoys today passed from the Greeks to the West through the translated works of Muslim philosophers. It is pertinent to also add that it has always been difficult for Western writers (who never liked that part of the history of scientific ideas) to draw a demarcation line between translated and original work because many of the translators were themselves contributors.
The epoch of translation (750-850AD), which was the period when the Abbasid dynasty flourished in the Muslim world, was followed by a creative era when the Arabs did not only assimilate the classical heritage of Greece but adopted it to their peculiar needs and ways of thinking. In astronomy, mathematics, geography and medicine, Arab Muslims in addition to their translation works carried on with the original thinking, which was accordingly transmitted to Europe through Spain, Syria and Sicily. This consequently laid the foundation of that canon of knowledge that dominated medieval European thought. Transmission, from the standpoint of the history of culture, is no less essential than origination.
Many of today’s advancements in science and technology owe much to names like Al-Kindi, Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd and Ibn Jabir even though some of their names have been anglicized in books authored by orientalists. If Boko were Haram, the Prophet (SAW) couldn’t have asked Muslims to “seek for knowledge even unto China” where Western instead of Islamic education was, and still remains, the norm. If Boko were actually Haram, why were the sect members carrying GSM handsets or riding in cars because these are products of Boko civilization to which Muslims greatly contributed in ideas? If Boko were Haram as claimed by the group, how much of the Halal knowledge do they essentially possess? The answer to this last question takes us to the issue of the abuse of the traditional Qur’anic system by some ill-motivated proprietors of such schools.
The euphoria with which some Muslims express their passion for traditional Qur’anic education, with their eyes closed, gives us some concern. Though the curriculum of this system is still relevant to the needs of Muslim societies, the teachers and proprietors of some of these schools today are people whose ideology and character raise questions in the minds of other Muslims. In the days of the Sokoto Caliphate (1804-1903) when Islam provided the code of ethics that guided the political, social and economic life of the people of northern Nigeria, traditional Qur’anic schools at that time were devoid of most of the problems associated with it, today, in Nigeria. The proprietors of these schools at that time never claimed to be learned even though many of them possessed the requisite knowledge that qualified them to be called scholars (Malam in Hausa). Today, nearly everyone in the Muslim world of Nigeria including those who perhaps know very little call themselves “Malam”. In any case, the insurgence of groups such as the Boko Haram cannot be isolated from the socio-economic living conditions in the country.
A recent incident in Abuja should be an eye opener for many of us. Out of a strong quest for Qur’anic education, a resident of Abuja city entrusted his child to a Qur’anic teacher with whom the child was to remain until he had finished learning the Holy Qur’an. Several months into this agreement, the father of the child decided one day to visit the “Malam”. On getting there, he discovered that the “Malam” had concluded arrangements to relocate from Abuja along with the child. If the man had not gone there by chance, that could have been the end of the story about his son learning under a “Malam” whose ideology and background from the onset was unknown. We urge fellow Muslim brothers and sisters to look before they leap at some of today’s teachers in the Qur’anic schools before sending their children to learn under them. This is important if we do not desire our children to become recruits into extremist organizations in the course of learning the holy Qur’an. It may also not be out of place to enquire about the teacher’s level of Islamic education since most extremist positions are products of ignorance.
The military claim they handed Muhammad Yusuf over to the police alive. The question many are asking is: why did the police kill him in custody? Is it because late Yusuf was likely to name highly-placed people in positions of authority as the powers behind his activities as is the case with the militant groups in the Niger-Delta region of the country? He should have been interrogated in custody and then prosecuted. The police have an explaining to do to convince Nigerians that the killing of Muhammad Yusuf was not a violation of fundamental human rights. May Allah (SWT) guide and protect us against the insurgence of any extremist group in any part of the world, amin.