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Let us continue to present some extracts from Igwe's article which we treated last time.
"Now think about it, the religions which demand respect are Christianity and Islam. Meanwhile, these are not the only religions and philosophies that exist in society. Why is it that believers, Muslims in this case, feel entitled to not be offended? Meanwhile, they espouse views and notions that going by their standards insult religious and irreligious beliefs and icons of others."
"In their profession of faith, Muslims dismiss other gods as non-existent; they downgrade other prophets. Don't Muslims know that the recitation of Shahada is offensive, insulting, and provocative to many out there?"
I do not know what Igwe intends to gain by making these misleading statements.
God says, "And do not insult those they invoke other than Allah, lest they insult Allah in enmity without knowledge" (Quran 6:108)
If God says we should not insult other gods, why are you interpreting the Shahada wrongly to serve your self-opinionated understanding? Igwe also misinterpreted some other verses of the Qur'an in other articles he had published earlier.
Since Igwe does not believe in any gods, what bothers him if Muslims dismiss the existence of other gods? What is the rationale behind defending God and prophets, as his statements suggest? Meanwhile, he does not believe in God.
I have made profound comments and defended Jesus Christ because, in my Islamic faith, we Muslims must believe in Jesus Christ and all the prophets God Has sent. (see Qur'an, 3:84).
What does it mean for Igwe to say that the Shahada is insulting to 'many out there'? If it is insulting to those with other gods, then are atheists also not insulting them, when they say that there is no God? If it is rather insulting to Atheists, then we get more confused as to how this could be possible when Atheists do not believe in God. I can't make head nor tail of his assertions.
The Shahada means, there is no god worthy of being worshipped except the Almighty God, who created the entire universe. (See Qur'an 6:102). The Bible also affirms this monotheistic declaration, "I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20: 2,3) & "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3).
This is not an insult but a statement of fact. It throws a challenge. If any being or entity believes that they also created the universe, then they are delaying in coming out to make a counterclaim.
The last paragraph of Igwe's article under discussion reads, "People of all faiths and beliefs should learn to accommodate and civilly engage in positions and propositions that insult or disparage their faiths or beliefs whether they are in the majority or the minority".
In another article, he published on 2nd Dec. 2020 and headlined, "Religion and human rights abuses: Combating Islamic extremism and witch persecution in Africa", Igwe said, "Freedom of expression starts and not stops at the point where individuals, Muslims, or non-Muslims could be offended ".
Igwe should know that his understanding of freedom of expression, where one can offend or insult their opponent, is untenable. I understand the freedom of expression to mean, to speak responsibly.
If Islam had allowed Muslims to insult non-Muslims and mock their icons, by caricaturing them, then it could have been justified for those who were offended to have the clout to retaliate. But that is not the case. We live in peace with people who cherish peace, but when you insist that your human rights allow you to make a caricature of our holy Prophet, it then creates animosity and we shall never accept that.
Tell us, which of your books did Muslims burn before? Which of your icons did we paint or caricature before? Our Qur'an is burnt now and then. Our Prophet is caricatured many times. If you cannot advise the vandals to desist from this act of vandalism, or if you emboldened the perpetrators to act irresponsibly, you do not expect the victims to bear those savagery.
In every society, some people go to extremes. Where in the Qur'an did God ban females from going to school? Where did God enjoin Muslims to persecute witches? And where did God allow Muslims to practice female genital mutilation (FGM)? In all these instances, people whose aim is to undermine Islam, give the blame of some uncouth Muslims, who act contrary to what Islam prescribes, to Islam.
In many Muslim countries, females go to school. FGM is a practice among some Arab and African cultures but not in Islam. Hunting of witches is inhumane and Islam condemns all wicked acts. If you have problems with Boko haram, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, etc., mention their names directly and blame them, and stop using terminologies like 'Eastern Islamization', 'Islamic terrorism', 'Islamic extremism' etc. Sometimes, people are hired to act as Muslims to perform dastardly acts in order to tarnish the image of Islam.
Is every humanist or atheist a saint? When your members act offensively, do you attach the words 'humanism' or 'atheism' to their names? Why is your humanist organization bent on defining the freedom of expression for Muslims to tolerate insult, but it does not define the issue of human rights abuses for Western imperialists to stop attacking Muslim countries and killing and maiming innocent women and children? Look at what they did in Libya, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, etc!
Neocolonialism is being advanced in Muslim countries, by the West and led by America. These Muslim countries that refuse to be 'colonized' by the West are attacked under the pretense of being terrorist states. Islam has helped the Muslims to resist the oppressor and liberate themselves. Humanists do not seem to care about how Muslims are unjustly tortured and killed. They are only interested in how Muslims should accommodate insults.
Ironically, Igwe was furious when members of his humanist organization insulted him and they were labeled as 'spies' or 'infiltrators'. Listen to him!
"Since 2020, especially following the arrest of Mubarak Bala, random individuals who self-identify as humanists have surfaced. They have infiltrated the various platforms..... When they could not realize their goal, they started attacking those who were leading the campaign making frivolous and unfounded claims. ............. they resorted to insults and to using vile language. ...... Some became humanists to further some ulterior motives. ...... Of course, when external organizations entertain these mischievous individuals as 'humanists' from Nigeria and validate their opportunistic claims it makes matters worse and becomes counterproductive".
Igwe was giving us a bitter pill for us to swallow. When it was his turn to also swallow the pill, he could not 'entertain' it like the way the 'external organizations have entertained the mischievous individuals'.
Here in Ghana, Muslims, Christians, traditional religious practitioners, Baha'is, Hari-Krishnas, Hindus, Atheists, etc., all enjoy relatively peaceful coexistence compared to Nigeria where there are tensions between religious believers and sometimes including irreligious people.
Please Igwe, I beg you 'Oga', I know you do not love God, but for God's sake, let your expressions be moderate in tone in order to let us continue to enjoy the peace we have in this country. Ghana is a secular state and it welcomes everybody. Religious or irreligious people are free to promote their views and beliefs, but they should do so with circumspection. I pray to God to let religious tensions cease in Nigeria and elsewhere across the globe.
I greatly appreciate the GhanaWeb for publishing my voluminous rejoinder.
I, therefore, leave you with the following Qur'anic verse in which God says:
Say, "O disbelievers! I do not worship what you worship. Nor are you worshippers of what I worship. Nor will I be a worshipper of what you worship. For you is your religion, and for me is my religion." (Sura Al-Kafirun, 109: 1-6)