Boko Haram Is Not An Islamic Group – Sultan Of Sokoto

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa'ad
Abubakar III, has urged Nigerians to stop
judging Muslims based on the activities
of Boko Haram insurgents in the North
East, saying Boko Haram was not an
Islamic group.
Abubakar, who spoke at the first Annual
Conference of Ahlus-Sunnah of Nigeria at
the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos,
yesterday, said those who referred to
Boko Haram as an Islamic sect were
unfair to Muslims as the group comprised
of criminals who were carrying out
terrorist activities against the country.
"Those terrorising us are not Muslims.
They are terrorists. People should not be
referring to them as an Islamic sect.
They are agents of insurrection," he
stated.
The Sultan also noted that Nigeria was
not a secular country but a multi-
religious society, adding that Muslims
should seek to live according to the
dictates of their religion.
Also speaking at the event, Governor of
Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, identified
the major cause of religious extremism
and intolerance in the country as claims
by Christians and Muslims that nobody
could go to heaven except through Jesus
Christ and Prophet Mohammed,
respectively.
Aregbesola, who was one of the guest
speakers, quoted from the Q'uran to
buttress his point that Islam was a
religion of peace. He said that what
obtained in Yoruba as regards the
healthy relationship between Muslims
and Christians should be emulated by
people in other parts of the country.
Other speakers blamed injustice,
poverty and ignorance as major causes
of disunity in the country, stressing that
there was nothing uniting a very poor
man with an extremely rich person, as
both groups were in two separate
worlds.
Former Head of State, Gen Mohammed
Buhari on his part said the panacea for
peace included security and good
management of the country's resources.
"When Obafemi Awolowo was in the
Western Region and Saduana of Sokoto,
Ahmadu Bello was in the North, there
were no religious crises because they
managed the resources well. Awolowo
was a Christian and he established the
Muslims Welfare Board. May God
Almighty give us a leader that can
deliver in 2015," Buhari said.
In his remarks, Vice President Namadi
Sambo said the conference, held under
the theme,"Peace and Unity for
Sustainable Development", could not
have come at a better time than this
period, because of the security
challenges facing the country.
Sambo said the recent anti-gay rights
bill, which was signed into law, has
further demonstrated that religion has
taken its proper place in the country.
The conference was attended by
prominent Nigerians including Governor
Ramalan Yero of Kaduna State; Speaker,
House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri
Tambuwal; former Secretary to the
Government of the Federation, Alhaji
Yayale Ahmed; Senator Idris Umar, and
some ministers.
President of Niger Republic was also
represented at the conference.