Here yet again we see a Muslim cleric misunderstanding the Qur’an’s peaceful teachings and somehow getting the crazy idea that jihad involved violence against unbelievers. This misunderstanding of Islam (that’s what we’re constantly told that it is, anyway) is global in scope and motivates violent terror groups around the world, yet nothing — nothing! — is being done by Muslim groups that ostensibly reject this understanding of Islam to teach young Muslims why it is wrong.
“Soldiers raid Aba Central Mosque, arrest Imam, others,” by Sani Tukur, Premium Times, July 10,2014 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
Soldiers in Aba on Sunday carried out an early morning raid at Aba Central Mosque and the residence of some Muslims in the town and arrested the Chief Imam of the mosque, Idris Bashir; his deputy, Mohammed Hassan; and eleven others over suspicion of stockpiling guns and planning to manufacture bombs.
The Chief Imam informed PREMIUM TIMES over the telephone that the soldiers came to their area at about 2 a.m., where they arrested four persons at the mosque while he and the others were picked from their houses.
“They took us to the 144 Battalion Barracks at Asa where their commander informed us that we are being suspected of stockpiling guns and manufacturing bombs. However, after sometime, the officer said since nothing was found after their search of our houses, mosque and shops we should be released,” he said.
He also said only eleven of them were released.
“The other two, who are the Director and Principal of New Horizon Academy, are still with the military,” Mr. Bashir said.
He said the soldiers in their raid saw some bottles of chemicals at the science laboratory of the school and accused the school officials of using them to manufacture bombs.
Mr. Bashir said the bottles were used for practical studies for students of the school.
“The bottles were not hidden and were kept aside in the lab because there were only five students offering the subject and three of them are already married and the other two appear to lose interest in the subject, so the bottles are even empty,” he said.
The cleric said he was re-invited by the military for further interrogation at Ngwa High School, on Wednesday.
“They interrogated me and released me just before we broke our fast and told me that they may re-invite me again,” he said.
The Chief Imam said their major concern now was the fate of two of their colleagues who have been moved from Asa, where they were initially kept, to Ohafia.
“Right now we don’t know the state they are in, and these are innocent Nigerians struggling to live in the current prevailing circumstances. My appeal is for the military authorities to, please, carry out all their investigations thoroughly so that innocent persons will not suffer for just being Muslims,” he said.
Soldiers had last month arrested 486 northerners travelling through Abia State to Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Many of them were eventually released after being detained for weeks, while the military said it was still investigating others.
The House of Representatives had on Tuesday rejected a motion that sought to investigate and put a stop to the series of arrests of northerners by soldiers in Abia State.
The motion which came under matter of urgent national importance and sponsored by Aminu Suleiman (APC, Kano) suffered a setback when put to vote for consideration, Daily Trust reported on Wednesday.
The paper said when the deputy speaker, Emeka Ihedioha, who was presiding, put the question to a voice vote, only few voices were heard supporting it.
The mover of the motion, Mr. Suleiman told the paper that he was not happy with the way the motion was killed by his colleagues, saying it was a dangerous precedent they set for Nigeria.
“You cannot use the excuse of the insurgency to place a particular ethnic group, people or region on security spotlight. It is nonsensical and unacceptable,” he said. “This is a process that is capable of setting ethnic group against one another and where this is predominant is in the south-east. That is what I had wanted to read and as you know, the people that travelled a lot in this country are the south-easterners. If some people try to apply reprisal, it will be too bad for the country.”
When contacted, the spokesperson of the Nigerian Army, Olajide Laleye, said he was yet to get the full details of the operation. He said he would provide the details as soon as he got them.
Jovial Joe says
Erm, it said no weapons were found and they were released; I don’t get it. Although I understand the suspicion that led to the raid.
onisac says
Jovial Joe, This stuff is way over your head.
Go back to your hole and smoke more pot, it will relax you.
Stay relaxed until you pass-on. Then get a fresh start.
Jovial Joe says
Don’t know what your smoking mate, it’s frazzled your brain whatever it is. It’s a question of precise reporting you doosh; check out Copeland’s quotation below as a simple example for your limited neuronal capacities.
dumbledoresarmy says
If the authorities in Nigeria – and throughout the *entire* non-Muslim world – had a gram of sense, they would search **every damn mosque in their country**.
Identify all known mosques within the country. Then conduct simultaneous surprise searches, using overwhelming force, and preferably around 1 am in the morning.
And *assume* that there will be hidden rooms, hidden safes, false floors/ ceilings/ walls, and quite possibly even booby traps. So take sniffer dogs trained for all contingencies – cadavers, illegal drugs, explosives – and take people who are trained in detecting boobytraps and concealed rooms etc. Treat every mosque as if it was a/ a hostile military base and b/ the gang den of a major international crime syndicate. Because, in fact, from a certain POV, that is what it *is*.
And see what happens.
boakai ngombu says
and, also, the home and outbuildings where each wife of the imam dwells
Michael Copeland says
Headline should really be “on suspicion of” stockpiling arms.
mortimer says
‘Abrogation’ is the key doctrine of Islam. Peaceful, merciful, tolerant verses in the ‘early’ Koran of the ‘hanafi’ period were replaced by the later aggressive jihad verses.
The prime directive (to subjugate disbelievers by the sword) in the last chapter of the Koran supersedes all the preceding verses.
There is NO WAY to SUPERSEDE the 164 JIHAD VERSES! The Ahmaddi Muslims have a new heretical prophet who supersedes Mohammed and who abrogated military/political conquest, but they ARE HERETICS!
There is no non-political Islam that is not HERETICAL.
boakai ngombu says
“You cannot use the excuse of the insurgency to place a particular ethnic group, people or region on security spotlight. It is nonsensical and unacceptable,”
yeserri … must protect national unity. damn these rumors of insurrection; these boys that were incarcerated were just seeking a change of clime … dry to humid … they’re victims of unwarranted suspicion … boys will be boys and always go to where the girls are.