The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has rejected the extremist group’s ideology of revenge.
This was made known in a statement signed by its Founder and Director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, at the weekend.
“For the umpteenth time, we reiterate our condemnation of terrorism and all forms of violence as a means of seeking redress. Violence is a square peg while peace is a round hole. Seekers of justice must not resort to violence lest they err. Neither can avengers have peace of mind because revenge, by its very nature, is a vicious cycle. The solution to the world’s problems lies in dialogue, mutual respect, tolerance, forgiveness and love.
“We reject religious demagogues who instruct us to kill people of other faiths. We debunk the parochial philosophy of merchants of death who tell us to kill Westerners. We assert clearly, categorically and unequivocally that Islam is a religion of peace, not a creed of violence. Islam gives life, not death. It gives hope, not suicide-motivating frustration. Islam promotes co-existence among the various components of humanity regardless of their religious leanings.”
The group contend that Muslims have no right to kill any follower of other faiths any more than members of other faiths have any right to kill Muslims.
“To believe otherwise is to succumb to the Hobbesian theory of nature where man is seen as a selfish and dangerous brute. This is what the killers in New Zealand and Sri Lanka have done. They have become unsolicited ideologues of the Darwinian theory of survival of the fittest.
“Contrary to this barbaric mentality, Islam invites mankind to rational thinking and respect for human life. The Glorious Qur’an forbids the shedding of human blood (5:161). It compares a man who kills a single person to one who destroyed the whole of humanity while another who saves a single life is compared to one who gave life to all mankind (5:32).”
