SULTAN of Sokoto and the president of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar has declared that Muslims girls have an unalienable right to wear the hijab to school and it is not a privilege that governments can extend to them.
Over recent months, several Nigerian states have been grappling with the thorny issue of Muslim girls being allowed to wear the hijab to school. Muslim groups have been insisting that it is a fundamental human right that must be observed, while Christian groups have insisted that it should be up to individual schools to determine what their uniform and dress code should be.
Yesterday, Sultan Abubakar canvassed fair treatment for Muslims across the nation, adding that they want nothing but a very peaceful and stable Nigeria. Speaking in Benin City at the General Assembly and Executive National Council Meeting of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, the sultan said Muslims were not asking for preferential or special treatment but given what they should have.
Sultan Abubakar said: “Hijab is our right not a privilege and it is not a favour to us but it is our right but we hold on to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that guarantees freedom of worship. That is why we don’t disturb anybody who wants to go and worship the way he wants.”
“Nigeria is a multi religious state, not a singular state and being a multi-religious state, we must allow the various religions to go on but we must not trample on each other’s right, which means I must be allowed to practice my religion the way I believe as ordered me by the Holy Quran and nothing else. So when we get this done, the issue of hijab and so many other things affecting Islam I believe is our right, not a privilege unless the constitution is changed.”
He frowned against stereotyping criminals and terrorists as Muslims, saying the bad eggs in the faith would be given fresh orientation to have a change of heart. Sultan Abubakar praised the Pope for making a very strong statement defending Islam as a religion of peace.
On bad elements in Islam, he said good Muslims should pick them out and teach them the tenets of Islam, adding that if they refuse to change, they will meet with the creator on judgement day. According to the sultan, in any society, there are many terribly bad people, so many, who are not Muslims but carry out criminal activities with some Muslim organisations in America, France and even in Nigeria.
“I’ve never heard of Christian terrorists but we have heard of so many Christians or followers of other religions who committed heinous crimes against humanity. However, they didn’t claim to do it for their religions and we did not hold them against their religions,” Sultan Abubakar added.
At the event, Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, called for the re-introduction of the teaching of religion in schools. This, he stated, would help to achieve peace and create a foundation for a fair and just society.
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