Representatives Keith Ellison (D-MN) and André Carson (D-IN), the nation’s two Muslim Congressmen, and a host of Muslim leaders, many with ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, have published an open letter condemning Boko Haram, the Party of the People of the Sunnah for Dawah and Jihad, as un-Islamic, and calling upon the group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, to release the girls the group has kidnapped.
The U.S. Muslims’ argument is based on the claim that Boko Haram kidnapped the girls because they were seeking an education, while in Islam both men and women are enjoined to get educated. This neatly avoids the real objection that Boko Haram has to girls (and boys) getting educated: that the education they were getting was Western in style and orientation, rather than based on the Qur’an and Islam. And once again we see Muslim leaders condemning the kidnapping of these girls without even mentioning the Qur’an’s allowance for a man to have “captives of the right hand” with whom he can have sexual intercourse (4:3; 4:24; 33:50. etc.). It would be refreshing if even once these “moderate” Muslim leaders would address these passages and explain how Boko Haram and other Muslims who kidnap girls and use them as sex slaves are misunderstanding and misusing the Qur’an. But it hasn’t been done yet.
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful –
May 20, 2014
Abubakar Shekau:
We urge you to immediately release the young children you have unconscionably taken. Your actions have shocked Muslims across the world and have disrespected Islam and the teachings of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).
Your justification for stealing these children – that education for girls goes against Islam – has no basis whatsoever in our faith. The Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) wisely emphasized that every Muslim man and woman has a duty to seek education. You have truly strayed from Islam when your actions betray its first command: “Iqra!”
You do not represent Islam or what Muslims know to be the teachings of Islam. Your attempt to transform a central tenet of Islam into a vile lie used to kill and maim innocent Nigerians of all faiths is transparent. You treat children like cattle. It is abhorrent and sinful to pretend to be a Prophet to whom Allah has spoken.
A faithful reading of the teachings of Islam compels you to immediately return these children to their families. The Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) instructs us to set an example of justice and mercy. In Surat Fussilat, Ayah 34, we are told that “the good deed and the evil deed are not alike,” and we are instructed to “repel the evil deed with one that is better.”
If you would like to follow the teachings of Islam, listen to the global chorus of voices that are enjoining you to do what is right: return these children to their families and replace the evil in your heart with peace and learning.
Sincerely,
Keith Ellison
U.S. House of Representatives
Minneapolis, MNAndré Carson
U.S. House of Representatives
Indianapolis, INImam Mohamed Magid
ADAMS Center
Sterling, VAImam Abdullah T. Antepli
Duke University
Durham, NCOussama Jammal
U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations
Washington, DCSheikh Hamza Yusuf
Zaytuna College
Berkeley, CAImam Sheikh Jamal Said
The Mosque Foundation
Bridgeview, ILImam Sheikh Kifah Mustapha
The Mosque Foundation
Brigeview, ILDr. Hatem Bazian
American Muslims for Palestine
Palos Hills, ILMazen Mokhtar
Muslim American Society
Washington, DCNihad Awad
Council on American-Islamic Relations
Washington, DCNaeem Baig
Islamic Circle of North America
Queens, NYKhalil Meek
Muslim Legal Fund of America
Dallas, TXW. Deen Mohammed II
The Mosque Cares
Chicago, ILMahtabuddin Ahmed
Muslim Ummah of North America
New York, NYHussein Ata
The Mosque Foundation
Bridgeview, ILShakeel Syed
Shura Council of Southern California
Orange Grove, CAImam Talib Shareef
The Mosque Cares
Washington, DCImam Mohamad Bashar Arafat
Islamic Affairs Council of Maryland
Baltimore, MDShaykh Yasir Qadhi
Al-Maghrib Institute
Memphis, TNImam William Suhaib Webb
The Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center
Boston, MAImam Sohaib Sultan
Princeton University
Princeton, NJImam Omer Bajwa
Yale University
New Haven, CTImam Yahya Hendi
Georgetown University
Washington, DCImam Dr. Salahuddin M. Muhammad
President, Association of Muslim Chaplains
Garner, NCImam Beau Latif Scurich
Northeastern University
Boston, MAImam Jihad Turk
Bayan Claremont Islamic Graduate School
Claremont, CANaila Scurich Baloch
Tufts University
Medford, MAImam Tarif Shraim
University of Maryland
College Park, MDShaykha Tahera Ahmed
Northwestern University
Chicago, ILChaplain Ailya Vajid
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, PAImam Adeel Zeeb
Wesleyan University
Midldetown, CT