In its 126 years of existence worldwide, Nigeria’s Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat recently clocked 100 years. The head of this religious group, Amir (Dr.) Mashhud Adenrele Fashola appears to be outstandingly witty and coherent on issues relating to humanity and God. Chinyere Abiaziem, engaged this seasoned cleric in this exclusive interview.
Enjoy it:
We are a Muslim community with the aim of promoting the grace of God, the mercy of God and love and peace among humanity. We propagate the commandment of God that we should all submit to the will of the Almighty creator. We believe that humanity has one God and it is in the interest of all humanity to submit our will to the will of God Almighty. God’s will is the sustenance of livelihood, peace and love of all creation, because He is the lord of all creations, he wants nothing but the good of His creation.
The purpose of our community is part of the purpose of religion which we believe has the objective of righteousness. Man is the representative of God on earth, in that wise he is supposed to manifest the attribute of God Almighty, which includes grace. Grace means showing love to all without discrimination or expecting anything in reward. God is also merciful so whosoever draws closer to Him derives mercy from Him, because the closer you get the more you see.
We believe that God is the all knowing and all wise, we do not know and also not wise. So He has given us commandment which we believe is the best for us. Rather than pursue my selfish interest, I should pursue the interest of God. In what way should I hurt any person which we believe all religion teaches, if not that man has deviated from the ways of God? We cannot force people to obey God but to appeal to them to obey and not to support them in doing evil. We teach people to show love to all and maintain peace with all.
How long has the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat of Nigeria being in existence?
We started 1916 here in Nigeria; this year marks the centenary celebration, in the world it is now 127 years of existence.
Looking through the past years, how positively has the society been impacted through Ahmadiyya Muslim?
Only God is perfect we started by letting Muslims know that Islam stands for peace and love and that there is no compulsion in matters of religion. Again that Islam recognises the freedom of every human being; you cannot force anyone to embrace your own religion. Islam encourages that we encourage the livelihood of everyone, is a collective responsibility that nobody should go hungry, naked and lack access to safe water. Three, that we must be peace loving and not to take sides with anyone. But you see some Muslim groups thinking they can force someone to Islam, no this is not what the religion teaches.
In that way we have promoted religious tolerance among Muslims and we have made the Christians and the non Muslims have a better feel of what Islam is. We have promoted religious cooperation, peaceful tolerance.
Muslims were lagging behind in education, for us education is education, for us there is no western or Islamic education. Education can either be good or bad; we remind Muslims that they should seek education. The holy prophet enjoins that we seek education, man or woman. Muslims were weary of going to school because the schools were dominated by Christians and they had the fear that when they send their children to school, the schools get to convert their children to Christians. This leads us to start a school where everyone is welcomed, whether Muslims, Christians or not. We believe education is moral and mental development, so we do not compel people to change to Islam in our schools. These days’ schools no longer give attention to moral aspect of education, the way they give to the intellectual aspect. Without moral aspect, the intellectual effort will be wasted. We have been able to impact whole education to Muslims, we started first Muslim schools in Nigeria, and we have trained many doctors, engineers, academicians and other professionals.
Most of our schools are free. Where they pay, the charges are moderate because it is subsidised. We also give scholarships to people in the community. Here in this organisation we do not see welfare or any other form of good, as doing good to the society, we see them as doing well to ourselves.
What is the link between Islam and extremists sects like Boko Haram and ISIS?
You see, man is a wonderful animal; there is no system that man cannot corrupt. What Prophet Moses brought was seriously corrupted that he was disappointed and called the Israelites an evil and adulterous generation. For example, the first and second world wars started in Europe by Christians who killed themselves which is against the commandments of God. Same thing has happened to Muslims; they claim to follow Quran yet they jettison the commandments of the Holy Quran and pursue selfish interests. They now use religion as an instrument to pursue selfish interest, political goals and materialistic goals. They are only exploiting religion and are exhibiting wicked characters. They are devilish, they have nothing to do with Islam, and they are only using it for their own selfish goals.
It is clearly written in the Quran that there should be no compulsion in belief or religion. The holy prophet never compelled anyone to join Islam nor did he kill anyone. If God Himself grants man free will who is man then to take the free will from his fellow man. But man should also know that he will account for the way the free will is used. What they are doing is not Islamic at all. Look at Syria, they are just killing themselves. When one group kills the other group, they say ‘Allahu Akbar’ meaning God is good. I call it nothing but madness; we are praying that God will have mercy on man. It is important that we know that these problems are not without the hands of the Western powers. So it is all pure politics and ego for power. You can see one thing common to them which is wickedness, which is the attribute of the devil. It is very clear that they are sons and children of the devil; they are diabolical and are enemies of humanity. When you see a man of God you see mercy and grace but when you see a man of the devil you see wickedness. It is not important what you call yourself but what is important is your character.
What exactly is Holy Jihad?
There is nothing like that in Islamic terminology. Jihad is an Arabic word which simply means striving or making efforts. And the word is used in the sense of children taking care of their parents. If you as a child have old parents it is jihad. It is the striving that is highly honoured by God when you take care of your parents.
To make efforts to suppress one’s evil tendencies, to check greed, wickedness, to impose moral discipline and the greatest jihad has to do with disciplining one self. It also shows courage in defending ones family or the weak and oppressed from attack. Any good thing done is jihad. And there is no where the Quran says sword should be used. It is a form of human right activism.
Of what relevance is face covering to Islam?
There are grades in Islam but the Quran advises women to wear loose gowns, cover their heads and bosoms when they want to go out. Some interpret it to mean putting on covering for the face up to the knee or ankle level, as some men can be carried away by the face or figure of women. God did not say they would go to hell if they do not cover their faces, but it is for them not to be sexually harassed. It is recommended in Islamic teaching that women do not wear tight dresses so as to protect their chastity. For those who work in corporate organisations, they can cover their head but not wear coverings that will cover them to the waist or knee length. What can make you go to hell is sin-killing, adultery, stealing etc. The greatest sin is idolatry, for God said He would not forgive idolatry.
A lot of Muslim clerics and scholars are alleged to be diabolical. What is your feeling about this?
Those ones are sorcerers, Quran has said it categorically that many claim to believe in God but in reality they don’t believe in God. In Islam the means for appealing to God is nothing but prayer and not wristband, waist band or juju. The greatest power is your obedience to God Almighty. Once you are obedient to Him, He will answer you, and He does not fail. There are so many Muslim and Christian clerics that are working for the devil, there are so many of them.
These days some Muslims hold open vigils and Sunday services, don’t you think it has to do with imitating Christians?
It is not the practice of Islam to hold vigils. You keep vigil personally though it is not wrong occasionally when there is a need for it to offer special prayers. For example the way it is in Nigeria we need prayers. The prophet desires that a Muslim observes vigil daily, like waking up in the night, saying prayers. But when you do not pray regularly you make yourself an easy target to the devil.
Islamic injunction supports polygamy. But is it true that Muslim husbands only celebrate their first marriages?
It is not true; it is your choice whether low key or high key. What is important is that you should not be secret but imbibe an open declaration which is the Nikkah. You can make it big as your pocket can carry. But do not be extravagant.
Is there something you will like to say concerning the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari?
It is the wish of God that man should pursue truth and honesty. People have looted a lot from the nation that the masses are not being cared for. God’s wrath can even descend on us if we do not support the president’s anti –corruption campaign. However something is happening that is not pleasing at all which is the killing by Fulani herds men. It is a dent on this administration. The earlier it is addressed the better. God is not happy at all that lives are being taken. I think the major challenge for this government is security. Security of lives is more important and should be seen as priority. If someone’s money is stolen it is nothing compared to when the person’s soul is taken away. If a person is killed that is the end which points to the fact that securing lives and properties is more serious than fighting corruption. So this administration should fight to stop killings; if they don’t they will be attracting the wrath of God. Let us promote truthfulness, do justly and regard everyone as equal. No life is more sacred than the other. If you do not protect lives and properties, you have committed the greatest offence. All hands should be on deck to safeguard lives ad properties which is a command from God and the closest to righteousness.
What do you advise Nigerians?
God said justice is nearest to holiness. We should not look at tribe or religion but treat everyone equally. Lives and properties should be given maximum protection. People’s lives have been violated a lot, you see the uniformed men torturing people mercilessly, and you see gun men wasting lives, even the Fulani herdsmen. Life is sacred; we should take care of everybody without discrimination. Promote the livelihood of everyone; God does not want people suffering. Let there be access to amenities. Remember even the Bible said Jesus Christ would reject many people on the last day because they refused to give shelter, food, clothes to the needy.
Source Independent Newspaper
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