Posted on 12 February 2020,
*Mohammad Umar(author, novelist )
** Stephen Sizer (priest, researcher)
*** Raza Kazim (Islamic Human Rights Commission)
Nigeria is one of the largest African countries but has been inflicted with intractable problems. The military rulers have been unable to uproot the various ailments of the country despite their iron-fist policies. Corruption is widespread as well as religious fanaticism, extremism and terrorism. Boko Haram has wreaked havoc for the past decade. At the same time, the rulers have persecuted the weak. Among the most outrageous cases is that of Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaki, the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria. His persecution almost cost him his life. He lost one eye, four of his children and the right to live in peace. Nigeria’s predicaments are multi-faceted and are regressing its development.
Tuesday, 20th August 2019
Mohammad Umar: Salam aleikum. Let me start by thanking the organisers for inviting me and also say that when Brother Saeed Shehabi invited me I was a little bit reluctant and I will tell you why. As you must have heard, I left the country in 1986 and then I went to Russia. From Russia I came here. A lot of things have happened in Nigeria. I thought I would not be the best person to do justice to such a topic as I was not there and I did not witness the latest wave of religious fanaticism. I wasn’t there during the last military regime. They were only three days old when I managed to get out of the country to Russia and so I thought maybe somebody else should speak. But he said ‘no’. The little that you know you can come and share.
Let me start by talking about Nigeria. You all know where it is. It is in West Africa with 160 million people, lots of resources both human and natural. But the paradox is that although it is very rich it is the country where you find some of the highest levels of poverty and illiteracy.
I will start my presentation from 1978. The reason is this. I was just 20 years old. I finished by secondary school and this was during the period when we had a second republic. It was a period when there were five major political parties and there were lots of minor groups. I was in one the biggest universities Ahmadu Bello where I studied political science and I had the opportunity of belonging to the youth wing of Peoples Redemption and the other one was a Marxist- Lennist group called the Movement for a Progressive Nigeria.
The thing is that in the process of all these massive debates that we have on campus we also had a lot of clashes with one man Zakzaki. So I have met him personally I have had clashes with him because I come from the Marxist-Lennist wing of the students group. And he is not part of the Muslim Students Society found in almost all universities. He comes from a different group and so we always clashed. I clashed with him on so many issues. I will not go into details now.
We had our views on the economic problems – we used to organise quite a lot of meetings where the communists would be on this side and the Islamists would be on the other side. We would debate. Sometimes we exchanged blows. We were young then – we were just 20.
To cut the story short in 1981 I was expelled from the university for various reasons and then I went to a town where I was born in Bauchi area. The reason I am mentioning this is because Bauchi became the starting point of Boko Haram. So I am mentioning this to let you know that I have this bird’s eye view of religious fanaticism. So when I went to Bauchi to work they sent me to Kano. Kano is the place where we had Mohammed Marwan who was killed in 1980. He led an uprising.
Let me pause here and tell you a little bit about Mohammed Marwan. Before he was killed in 1980 Mohammed Marwan had this huge compound in Kano where he had a lot of majlis. The people who came from the villages came to learn in the cities. They were used for one reason or another and he clashed with the authorities. His compound was invaded and he was eventually killed.
I am mentioning this because according to a lot of sources some of the remnants of Mutasini eventually started Boko Haram. Whether it is true or false I don’t know – I was not there. But a lot of people said that because they failed and then they all dispersed and years later they thought the situation was now conducive for them to go ahead what Mutasini could not do. This will again contradict what I will tell you later about Boko Haram.
Why do we have religious fanaticism in northern Nigeria and not in other parts of Nigeria? I want to draw your attention to a historical factor which a lot of people ignore when discussing religious fanaticism and uprisings in northern Nigeria. We had an Islamic caliphate in the north.
So historically we had something that a lot of people can go back to. The Sokoto caliphate of the Fulani jihad – it was led and organised by the Fulanis. After the collapse of the Hausa state they tried to cleanse the society and establish a Muslim state. They did this in 1803 and according to sources they had a very good administrative and education system and so on. When the British came they dissolved this in 1903.
Another reason we have a lot of religious fanaticism is of late – within the last 30 years – geographically we have desertification. The desert is encroaching onto what was farmland. So you find a lot of communities have been coming from Niger and the upper part and everybody is coming into the city. These things do not happen in isolation. There is mismanagement, desertification, we have an oil boom which encourages a lot of money. There was a lot of money around after the 70s and the civil war. In the 80s and 90s people started marrying more wives and having kids. All of them are now in their 30s and 40s. They do not have jobs and the means of livelihood are practically non existent in those parts.
So they moved to the cities. They are the prime targets. These are the people who would go to Boko Haram and Marwan there are so many of them in Kano. So this rural-urban migration really contributed to a lot of social problems in the 90s and 80s.
Socially because they are poor, largely marginalised and illiterate they are the people who can be used and abused. You have reports about different alims using and misusing these people.
Politically there was repression. They have no clues about what is left and right. If they are uneducated most of them are used politically. They are being used by some of these alims. I am not saying Zaki is involved in this. Some of them claim to have supernatural powers. A lot of these politicians use them and say I want you to tell them to vote for me. I want you to tell them to vote against this guy. This is how there imams are used. Most of these young men who come from the villages and are concentrated in the cities do not know their political rights and they just follow what the imam says.
Because they are illiterate they are confused and they are used and led astray. It is still happening for example in Katsina where one of these so-called Islamic leaders was arrested for practically using them as slaves. I have given you a bit of background about why we have this religious fanaticism especially in northern Nigeria. Let me try and focus on Boko Haram for a bit.
Boko Haram is translated by the news media as Western education is bad. That is the literal translation. There is something deeper than this. When I was growing up it is normal for you to be called Mohammed. And I was asked what school I went to. There were two schools – the Arabic and the Islamic school and the Western schools which are largely Christian schools.
When anything that is foreign comes normally you will say boko with it. Another source that contradicts this idea. Someone told me that if you look at the first group, the ones who set up Boko Haram has a lot of members with PhD’s. But they have all either been killed – I don’t know what happened to them.
They came to the conclusion that because the West gave us this corrupt system. The west gave us corrupt education and a corrupt judiciary and a corrupt way of life. As time went on it took a different turn. They do not have a command structure as you would expect from such a group. They are infiltrated and corrupted. This is what I gathered by speaking to people. I wanted as many views as possible on how they came about. They were against nepotism and corruption but as time went on one leadership left and the other leadership came and we know who is doing what. Of late they have been hijacked.
If there is a fight for land they would organise something and everybody would blame Boko Haram. Even the security services if they are told to move from one post to another and if they don’t want to go something will happen. They will say this is Boho Haram. How do you want us to go when Boko Haram is still active. This is how things have changed.
I was born and brought up in their hot bed. My sister is the chief justice in the state. She took me round and showed me where they camp and to explain how the security forces dealt with them. Order was restored so that civilians would not be killed.
Then they moved to Majuri and then to other parts in the northeastern part. They are there, they are still active. In Nigeria we are dealing with so many other forms of insecurity and kidnappings which are ten times more than Boko Haram. Fulani cattlemen are fighting people which is dangerous. Boko Haram is mainly in the northeastern part but we have just bandits in the northwest attacking people and we have kidnappings all over the country where people will just attack, kidnap and demand ransom. If it is not paid they kill them. We have all these levels of insecurity. Boko Haram is still there.
So where are we today? What are the problems facing Nigeria? Nigeria is a typical neo colonial African country, mismanaged and misgoverned. There is a lot of lawlessness insecurity and repression.
To give you an example on August 3rd Yamin Sowore started an online news magazine called Sahara Reporters. He was picked up by the security services in Lagos. Why? Because he has this hash tag revolution now. They picked him up and they asked him why are you calling for a revolution. This is against the law. This is a civilian administration.
His lawyer said they want him taken to court immediately because they found evidence that in 2011 the president of Nigeria said we need a revolution. That will be interesting to see when they go to court. I am following the case closely. Not only because of that but also because at the end of my first novel I said we need a revolution. So I don’t know what is going to happen to me if there is a precedent.
I have tried to give you an overview of who we got to where we are. With Zaki a lot has happened since we last me. I have changed and he has changed. Nigeria has changed. I cannot give you a blow by blow account of what is message was, what led him to where he is now. I can only give you an overview of why and where we are today.
Nigeria is a strategic country and it is at a cross roads like many countries between modernisation and progress and then obscurity and backwardness. It is one of the cross roads in which we are in now. With globalisation and modern technology and so on we find one group will definitely move forward while others are left behind.
There is a backlash from the Fulani cattle raisers, people who have had a certain way of life over the past centuries and they want to maintain it. Life is moving on and it is too much for them. The pace is too fast for them to catch up and there is this constant conflict. But we still have hope.
Revd Dr Stephen Robert Sizer: More than five years ago, the Times newspaper published an editorial entitled ‘Spectators at the Carnage’.
“Across the globe, in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, Christians are being bullied, arrested, jailed, expelled and executed. Christianity is by most calculations the most persecuted religion of modern times. Yet Western politicians until now have been reluctant to speak out in support of Christians in peril… The West must be ready to support the Christian faith. That, rather than embarrassment, has to be the starting point of our necessary conversations with…. followers of other faiths.’ And it concluded, ‘We cannot be spectators at this carnage.’
Persecution on the grounds of religious faith is a global phenomenon and is growing in scale and intensity. Reports including that of the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on ‘Freedom of Religion or Belief’ (FoRB) warn that religious persecution is increasing, and an “ever-growing threat”. Based on reports from various NGOs, it is estimated that about one third of the world’s population suffers from religious persecution in some form, with Christians being the most persecuted group.
This is despite the fact that freedom of religion or belief is a fundamental right of every person. This includes the freedom to change or reject one’s own belief system. The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in Article 18 defines religious human rights thus:
“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. (The Universal Declaration of Human Rights).
Tonight our focus is on Nigeria. In my brief presentation, I am going to focus particularly on the suffering of Christians in Nigeria. Open Doors produce an annual World Watch List of the top 50 countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution. This year, Nigeria is listed 12th.
The population of Nigeria is just over 200 million. A Pew study in 2011 calculated that Christians formed 56.8% of the population in Nigeria, while Muslims comprised 41.1%.
The majority of Christians live in the south of the country where their religious freedom is respected. Twelve of the northern states have imposed Sharia law. As a minority, Christians face discrimination and restrictions in accessing community resources, such as clean water, health clinics and higher education, and on occasions extreme violence. As a consequence, thousands of Christians have fled north-east Nigeria and are living in often terrible conditions in neighbouring countries or in camps within Nigeria itself.
The 2019, US Commission on International Religious Freedom Report explains:
“Given the myriad ways that religious, ethnic and tribal identities are intertwined, it can be difficult to determine the basis or catalyst for violence: Violence stemming from disputes over land or water, for example, can become immersed in and exacerbate religious differences. Similarly, clashes between farmer and herder communities can also take place across – or be perceived to be due to – religious and ethnic divides, as herders are primarily Muslim, and farmers Christian.”
The primary cause of the persecution has been the actions of the militant group Boko Haram who have abducted and killed those who refuse to conform to their extremist brand of Islam.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations’ Global Conflict Tracker, since 2011, an estimated 37,500 people have died as a result of Boko Haram violence and 2.4 million people have been displaced. The UN recently stated that since 2009, an estimated 8,000 children have been abducted by Boko Haram. According to a UNICEF report, at least 117 of these children have been used as suicide bombers since 2017—and more than 80 percent of them were girls.
The name, Boko Haram, means “Western education is forbidden.” The Islamic extremist group rose up to fight the influence of the West—which includes the teachings of Christianity. A statement from Boko Haram in August 2016 declared the group would focus on “blowing up every church that we are able to reach and killing all of those who we find from the citizens of the cross”.
Boko Haram has waged a war against believers in north-east Nigeria, torching villages and churches, abducting Christian women and girls for forced marriage to jihadists, and slaughtering believers. Their aim has been to establish an Islamic caliphate, similar to that declared by Islamic State in Iraq in 2014, to whom Boko Haram had pledged allegiance. While the Nigerian army has had some success in tackling Boko Haram, most of the recent killings have been carried out by Hausa-Fulani herdsmen, a radical Islamic tribe that frequently targets Christian communities.
Attacks by Fulani herdsmen have claimed the lives of hundreds of Christians, and scores of villages and churches have been burned to the ground. Attacks aimed at forcing Christians from their land have escalated, with the government perceived to be rewarding their violence by proposing a bill protecting Fulani grazing rights. Here are just three recent examples:
On April 24, 2018, Fulani herdsmen attacked a Catholic church in Benue State during a morning service, killing two priests and 17 parishioners. After the “shooting rampage,” the attackers “descended on the community and razed over 60 houses, farmland and food barns, after carting away what the people had in their barns.”
On 14 February 2019, in a dawn attack on Karamai, 41 people died when about 300 gunmen attacked the village and ransacked homes. Almost all the dead were women and children, apart from a few elderly and blind men who were unable to flee.
On 11 March 2019, 71 people were killed and 28 injured in a Fulani militia attack in Dogon Noma village, Kaduna State. According to eyewitness accounts, the gunmen were “torching houses, shooting and hacking down anything that moved”. Some 100 houses were destroyed in the attack.
During Nigeria’s recent election President Buhari, who was re-elected, campaigned on the promise to “bring permanent peace and solution” to the north east and other regions of “insurgency”, specifically mentioning Plateau, Benue and Kaduna States.
Christian leaders in Nigeria have also repeatedly called on the President, who is himself a Fulani Muslim, to take decisive action against the scourge of attacks by Fulani herdsmen on Christian farming communities. The Most Revd Benjamin Kwashi is the Archbishop of Jos, Nigeria. In his new book, Neither Bomb Nor Bullet, Dr Kwashi alleges:
“In northern Nigeria, if you are a Muslim and you kill a Christian, you’re most likely to go free. You can get away with murder — literally. There is a culture of impunity in Nigeria, and the government is either powerless or lacks the will to prevent the killing.”
“I believe that the current system of governance in Nigeria gives Christians no hope beyond their trust in God. . .“When the government fails to protect its citizens, it is, in effect, licensing untrained vigilantes to carry out extrajudicial justice, while the lawmakers, the military, and the police look on. This is what has happened in Nigeria.”
“The effect of this is that children, old people, women, and unarmed civilians are being hacked to pieces in their beds. By refusing to restrain murderers, the government is forcing people to rise to defend themselves.”
“If you look at the people who are being killed, these are people who have never done anything on earth, they’ve just wanted to live and eat.”
“We live with that fear every day, but we don’t let it control our lives. We are aware it could happen at any time.”
In July 2019, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Commissioned Review of the Persecution of Christians was published. The then Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, accepted all of the recommendations on behalf of the UK Government and the Review received full support in a House of Commons debate.
In an Afterword, the Report concludes:
“Perhaps the most dystopian aspect of George Orwell’s 1984 is the existence of the ‘Thought Police’ and the possibility of prosecution for ‘thought crime’. The freedom to think for oneself and to choose to believe what one chooses to believe, without fear of coercion, is the most fundamental human right, and is indeed the one on which so many others depend: because if one is not free to think or believe how can one order one’s life in any other way one chooses? And yet everywhere in our world today we see this right questioned, compromised and threatened. It is a grave threat which must be resisted – both because it is an evil in itself, and because it threatens so much else. It is on the basis of that conviction that these recommendations have been formulated. And those who find these recommendations unpalatable should simply ask themselves this question: what exactly would the consequences of inaction be? And how grave does this situation have to become before we act?”
Without being too pessimistic, there is now some uncertainty whether the recommendations of the report will ever be implemented, since Jeremy Hunt is no longer Foreign Secretary. Boris Johnson, said – before his installation as Prime Minister –
“I welcome the @ForeignOffice review into the persecution of Christians abroad. If I am fortunate enough to become PM, I will always prioritise protecting religious freedoms and stand up for those facing persecution”.
Fine words but I suggest Brexit is a far more pressing concern to the government. In the meantime, Nigeria continues to be plagued by a highly explosive mixture of “terrorism and ethno-religious violence.” And there are increasing warnings of an impending genocide. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9). We clearly need more children of God, not least in Nigeria.
Raza Kazim: Salam Alekium brothers and sisters, good evening ladies and gentlemen. I want to first of all thank the organisers for inviting me to speak on the issue of Nigeria, particularly with a focus on Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaki and in terms of the presentations that have already been made it is quite interesting how some of those mix in with the points I will be making.
One of the things we need to remember is that Nigeria has a legacy of British colonialism. There are many groups within Nigeria so the area that Mohammed Umar talked about in the 80s was when the communists, the Christians and the Muslims were all discussing or arguing or whatever else with each other in terms of the direction that Nigeria needs to take.
There are other groups within Nigeria, the Bifirans and other groupings. The divide and rule policy of the British empire has resulted in many injustices that took place in Nigeria and the way that Nigeria has continued in terms of military dictatorships.
It is also important that we remember that this is not the first time Buhari has actually imprisoned Sheikh Zakzaki. He has been imprisoned many times. It is quite interesting to meet and hear someone who was there at the time when the whole movement of Sheikh Zakzaki started. The legacy of that time and his arguments and statements about where things were going to go and how things should proceed is that he has been in and out of prison on a regular basis.
His first son Mohammed was born when he was doing a stint in prison. His idea of actually being such an inspirational figure was that he was not actually going in any way to compromise on his principles in a any shape or form. This was there right there from the beginning. This was a man who was speaking and speaking truth to power and saying whatever needed to be said in order to challenge the injustices of the time.
One his slogans is that our greatest weapon is the truth. The man has lived up to those expectations in all sorts of ways. When we look throughout his life and look through the many trials and tribulations that he has gone through I want to pick up on a few things that I think have been quite interesting milestones in terms of signalling what that man is about.
He came to Britain 12 years ago and he spoke in front of religious scholars. One of the things which he said which was inspired by Islamic ideology was the idea that we need to remember as scholars, as people who lead the community is our neck more important than the neck of Imam Hussein? When we talk about being a Muslim we need to submit totally to the will of God. Are we ready to give that final thing and say that final thing, do that final thing that is required regardless of what the consequences might be.
And while you sometimes hear religious scholars making these rhetorical and quite powerful statements and they are inspirational in terms of linking the theory of religion and the past practices of religion to actual things that are going on currently, it is quite interesting how from the day that he started to today he has not deviated from the direction that he has actually been going in, that he is going to speak up for the truth against the oppressor and for the oppressed. That has been a constant thing that he has done.
One of the things that did regularly was the Quds Day demonstration that would take place on an annual basis. It has been going on for many years. In July 2014 the situation was somewhat different. The army decided that they were going to target that peaceful demonstration and shoot at people. It was a peaceful demonstration that had been going on for years – decades. One of the things that happened was that in that pro-Palestinian demonstration one of his sons was actually killed along with 30 plus people. And then two of his other sons were also picked up by the authorities and were killed when they were in prison. So three of his sons were killed as a result of the Quds Day demonstration that had taken place.
Following that demonstration Massoud Shadjareh the Chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission went to visit Sheikh Zakzaki and one of the things he talks about is the range of people that were actually present to pay their respects and give their condolences to Sheikh Zakzaki. They ranged across the Muslim spectrum of people from different denominations people were actually there.
He was prepared to carry on his articulation of standing up for the oppressed and was prepared for the fact that even if his sons were martyred he was not going to waiver from the direction that he was actually going to go in. Massoud mentioned that Christian ladies were there. He asked them how come in a country where inter religious differences are strongly entrenched and deeply problematic and clashes take place how come these two Christian people are there to give condolences to Sheikh Zakzaki.
He said it was striking that they said that the reason we are here is because when there are communal tensions in Nigeria in the areas where Sheikh Zakzaki’s followers are the instruction that he has given to his followers is to stand outside the houses of the Christians to make sure that no one is going to be attacked and if there is an attack to make sure they are defended. He instructed his followers to stand outside the churches of the Christians and to make sure that the churches will not be attacked.
This was quite striking for us and also quite interesting that when we talk about the Islamic Movement of Nigeria within the Islamic Movement of Nigeria – one of the things that Sheikh Zakzaki says is that this is not an organisation which has a spokesperson. This is a movement and we are going in a particular direction – we are advocating for certain things and we are looking for certain things to actually happen. In terms of his inspiration the Islamic basis is certainly there.
But within that movement of over 20 million people that are now his followers in the Islamic Movement of Nigeria a significant number are from a Christian background. They are also part of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria. This is down to the trust that has been created by Sheikh Zakzaki.
In December 2015 not being satisfied with killing three of his sons in July 2014 they were looking for him perhaps to respond and perhaps go down a different track than the one he was pursing in terms of non violence and something that would speak out against the government. That was a trade mark of Sheikh Zakzaki’s Islamic Movement. They decided that they would target his particular place of worship and also his house.
During that time over 1,000 of his followers were killed and also three of his sons were killed. He was then himself imprisoned and he was arrested, his wife was also arrested. Both of them had significant injuries. There is a bullet still lodged inside him. Another bullet lodged inside her and various other complications. He has lost sight in both of his eyes to varying degrees. One of them has gone completely and that state of affairs has existed since 2015 and there has been no treatment within that situation.
What the Nigerian military were trying to portray was that somehow there had been some kind of violence that had been perpetrated. That was completely disproven. The footage that emerged showed that the military took up positions around the compound and used it as a shooting alley of the followers of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria who were there at that time. Some of the leading figures in the movement were shot dead during that massacre that took place.
We in the Islamic Human Rights Commission put something into the International Criminal Court because we felt that there were things that needed to be looked at scrutinized and treated by the prosecution in the ICC and to be addressed by them and justice needed to be served in that actual process. A whole bunch of evidence has been provided to them.
Since that time in 2015 one of the things that actually took place was a court case in the Nigerian High Court that actually ruled that Sheikh Zakzaki should actually be freed. This is the highest court in the land ruled that Sheikh Zakzaki should be freed and his wife should be freed and that compensation needs to be paid to Sheikh Zakzaki and his wife for the damage that was caused and the death and destruction that was caused. This is something that happened with the highest court in the land.
The court gave the Nigerian authorities time to release him. That in itself is an interesting concept. The guy has done nothing wrong and you give the Nigerian authorities time to release him. The time passed and he was not released. Up until now he has not been released from prison despite the highest court in the land ruling that he should be freed and compensation should be paid.
Recently you would have seen that in April the Islamic Human Rights Commission sent a team of doctors three of them from India and Massoud Shadjareh went with them to Nigeria to ensure that Sheikh Zakzaki and his wife received an initial examination to see what the issues are and what needs to be done.
This train of events led to information coming out that he has a level of poisoning in his blood that needs specialist treatment and he needs to be taken out of Nigeria as no hospital in Nigeria is able to provide that specialist treatment.
We looked at a number of options where that treatment could be provided internationally in terms of a number of logistical reasons and it was deemed that India would be the best option. A farcical situation developed with Kaduna state in which they said that Sheikh Zakzaki needed to answer to some of the allegations that had been raised.
So we have this situation where the highest court in the land has ordered his release and the local state court says he has to be kept in prison where he has been illegally detained for three years. International pressure was mounting. You can see the farcical allegations that were made from the court documents.
As a result of all of this he was actually freed. He was ordered to be on bail and taken to India where he would be given full excess to medical specialists. What we had in India was a really strange situation where the Nigerian security accompanied him. So he was not actually being given the treatment that he required. The whole situation was very problematic as he was not able to access doctors that had initially examined him. He was not able to have any kind of freedom of movement and in all sorts of ways the sheikh then decided that there is no way that he will be given the appropriate treatment within India and he said there is no way I am going to stay here. He made a video making his position clear. And again that is something that you can look at.
One of the things that was quite interesting and quite key within this process was that from 2016 – 2019 Monday to Friday thousands of people came out onto the streets of Nigeria to demand that he is released. Thousands of people for three years Monday to Friday came out the streets demanding his release.
In London we have started a protest 24/7 outside the Nigerian High Commission where we are demanding that we are going to continue this protest until he released and sent for treatment aboard.
One of the things that is quite important is that as a result of the protest that took place outside the Nigerian High Commission people in other countries were encouraged to hold protests so the pressure was mounting for him to be allowed medical treatment. This situation is something that we need to remember. This kind of protest does work. It creates an environment where things will change and things will happen.
I conclude with a statement from Sheikh Zakzaki that our greatest weapon is the truth. That is something that he has stuck to. That is something that he has been talking about on a regular basis. Six of his sons have been martyred in front of him and he has not waivered one iota from the path that he has actually chosen.
His message around Nigeria has been followed by over 20 million people. It includes people from different backgrounds including Christians and it is something that is going to be successful. One of the things that Sheikh Zakzaki has constantly said is that the will of Allah will be implemented. He has no doubt about that.
Revd Dr Stephen Robert Sizer is the founder and director of Peacemaker Trust, a registered charity dedicated to peacemaking, especially where minorities are persecuted, where justice is denied, human rights are suppressed or reconciliation is needed. Stephen was an Anglican priest for 35 years and is the author of several books on the Christian origins of Zionism and the role Western Christians have played in perpetuating the Middle East conflict.”
** Mohammed Umar was born in Azare in Nigeria’s Bauchi State. He studied political science at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. He also worked as a journalist before he left Nigeria in 1985 to the then USSR. He studied journalism in Moscow and political economy in London. Mohammed Umar served as a judge for the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2009 and he was the winner of the Muslim News Award for Excellence in Arts in 2010. His first novel Aminahas been translated into over thirty languages. He lives in London.
***Raza Kazim is spokesman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission and a trustee of its charitable trust.
