Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria says Shiites aren't Muslims and need punishment

UMBRELLA Muslim group the Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria (SCSN) has said that Shiites who were indicted in the December 2015 clash with the Nigerian Army in Zaria must face the full wrath of the law because Shi’ism is not Islam.

 

Presided over by the Sultan of Sokoto, the spiritual leader of Nigeria's Muslims, the SCSN is the country's paramount authority on matters of Islam. So far, it has remained silent on the butter clash between members of Shiite group the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) and the Nigerian Army which took place between December 12 and 14 that left hundreds dead.

 

At the bitter clash which took place in Zaria in Kaduna State, the Nigerian Army opened fire on IMN protesters after they denied the chief of army staff Lt General Tukur passage through the town. SCSN chairman Sheikh Yusuf Sambo Rigachikun, said the Shiites must be punished for their role in the clash because their attitude towards the army was un-Islamic.

 

Sheikh Rigachikun added: “From the delivered lectures, it has become obvious that Shi’ism is not Islam and Muslims should acquire the knowledge of their religion, so that they are not derailed from the true teachings of Prophet Muhammad. From the little we heard about the submitted report of the commission of inquiry into the military-Shi’ites clash last December, the council calls on the government to release the White Paper on the crisis as this will go a long way in curbing the menace of Shi’a in our society.

 

“The council condemns, in strongest terms, the call by the Christian Association of Nigeria to its members to take up arms to protect themselves. It’s unbecoming of a body of clergymen to make such unguarded call and meanwhile, we call on all Muslims to be law-abiding and be vigilant at all times."

 

He said that the government of the day, led by President Muhammadu Buhari, needs the collective support and prayers of Nigerians to survive these economic turbulent times. Sheikh Rigachikun thus called on all Muslims to be supportive and endure these harsh times which, by Allah’s grace, will be over with time.