Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has listed its demands to the All Progressives Congress (APC) restructuring committee.
MURIC 6-point demand is contained in a statement on Monday by Professor Ishaq Akintola, its president.
It reads: “One: Nigerians enjoy a total of eight (8) public holidays
in a year. These are Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year Day, Good
Friday, Easter Monday, Id al-Kabir, Id al-Fitr and Maulud an-Nabiyy.
Five (5) of the eight holidays belong to Christians (Christmas Day,
Boxing Day, 1st January, i.e, New Year Day, Good Friday and Easter
Monday). Only three (3) holidays belong to Muslims, viz, Id al-Kabir, Id
al-Fitr and Maulud an-Nabiyy.
“Restructuring should give Muslims 1st Muharram. This will bring the
total number of Muslim holidays to four while Christian holidays remain
five.
“Two: Christian marriages contracted inside churches or registries
are held sacrosanct everywhere in Nigeria whereas Muslim marriages
(nikah) are not recognized for any official purpose. Muslim couples find
themselves in a cul de sac each time they presented their Islamic
marriage certificates for official purposes. It is paradoxical that in a
democracy, one marriage conducted by a religious group is acceptable
while the other is not. What kind of constitution is Nigeria using?
”Islamic marriages should be recognized in all official circles where
Christian marriages are recognized. The Nigerian Marriage Act (1990)
should therefore be revisited.
“Three: Nigeria has a two-day weekend, viz, Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday was a half day during the colonial era and Sunday was the only
full day at the weekend. However, Saturday was made a full day to favour
the Seventh Day Adventists, a Christian denomination during the regime
of General Yakubu Gowon, a Christian military ruler. It is very clear,
therefore, that the two weekend days recognized in Nigeria belong to
Christians while Muslims have none since Friday, the Muslim day of
worship, remains a working day.
“It is pertinent to note that Friday was a work-free day until the
British brought Christianity and stopped Muslims from enjoying their
Allah-given fundamental human right. The relief we are seeking through
restructuring is that Friday should be declared free to assume parity
with the Christians’ Sunday. While we are not seeking anarchy, we are
confident that the Federal Government (FG) has all the paraphernalia of
administration to work out the modalities.
“Four: Immigration officials engage in regular stereotyping of
Muslims who apply for international passports. They intimidate Muslims
particularly at the point of taking pictures. Muslim males are ordered
to remove their caps; Imams are coerced into removing their turbans;
bearded Muslims are compelled to shave or trim their beards;
hijab-wearing Muslim women are made to remove their hijabs or ordered to
draw their hijab backwards to reveal their ears. The same scenario
plays itself out in driving licence, national identity card offices and
during registration for elections.
“In the process, thousands of Muslims have been denied international
passports, driving licences and national identity cards while millions
have been disenfranchised during elections. The authorities must find a
way of stopping the persecution and profiling of Muslims.
“Five: Uniformed groups in Nigeria, including the army, police,
uniformed voluntary groups, nurses, the National Youth Service Corps
(NYSC), students of primary and secondary schools, etc, use uniforms
designed by the Christian colonialists. These uniforms should have been
reviewed after independence because they only suit the Christians. Some
of them constitute breaches to Islamic dress code and offend the
sensibility of Muslims who are compelled to wear the uniforms regardless
of their inner feeling of resentment.
“In view of the fact that Western countries like Britain, Canada and
the United States have designed uniforms with hijab for their female
Muslim police, soldiers, students, etc, Nigeria’s restructuring
authorities should borrow a leaf from those countries.
“Six: There is no single Shari’ah court in South Western Nigeria
where Muslims constitute the majority. This is contrary to what obtained
in Yorubaland before the advent of the British. There were Shariah
courts in Ede, Iwo, Ikirun, Ibadan, etc. Yoruba Muslims are now
compelled to take their civil matters like inheritance, marriage, etc to
Christo-Western courts. This is preposterous and unacceptable.
“We demand the establishment of Shariah courts in all South Western
states including Edo State where there is a significant percentage of
Muslims.
“We call the attention of FG and the restructuring committee of the
APC to the above six reliefs. Muslims are in bondage in this country and
we believe that restructuring should emancipate people in captivity.
APC promised change. This change can only be meaningful to us if it
breaks the shackles around our necks. We have begged enough for the
restoration of our Allah-given and fundamental human rights. We are
tired of begging. Restructuring is about reapportioning the dividends of
democracy such that it goes round and it is not restricted to one
section.
“Colonial administration was grossly unfair to Muslims. Nigeria was
Christianised by Britain and Muslims bore the brunt. We suffered
forceful conversion, denial of rightful employment and even worse forms
of persecution. But what is most disappointing is the policy of
exclusion adopted by post-independence governments.
“On a final note, we demand full integration and full recognition as
bona fide citizens of Nigeria, not second or third class citizens. We
are the aggrieved party. The British most brutally and most unjustly
took all we had from us, giving us nothing in return and offering no
relief. It has continued to give us a feeling of rejection,
marginalization, denial of the dividends of democracy and lack of a
sense of belonging. The time for redress is now and our six-point relief
is here for all to digest.”