{"id":18355,"date":"2014-05-13T16:53:47","date_gmt":"2014-05-13T16:53:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=18355"},"modified":"2014-05-13T16:53:47","modified_gmt":"2014-05-13T16:53:47","slug":"rejoinder-boko-haram-reflects-flaws-in-islam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/05\/rejoinder-boko-haram-reflects-flaws-in-islam\/","title":{"rendered":"Rejoinder: Boko Haram reflects flaws in Islam"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">The comments made by Mr. Casely Hayford, a financial analyst, on the activities of Boko Haram and Ghanaian Muslim\u00b4s role has attracted my attention. His comments could have passed on as legitimate if he had criticized the activities of Boko Haram as all well-meaning people did regardless of their religious, racial and ethnic backgrounds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>However, Mr. Hayford went beyond this to generalize his comments that \u02baBoko Haram, projects the weakness in Islam as a religion\u02ba. He further asserted that \u02bathe continuous silence of the Muslim cleric to rebuke and condemn the activities of Boko Haram is an indication of the subtle acceptance of the group\u02ba. His comments though outrageous, raise fundamental questions whether such views were based on well-researched position as an intellectual as he is or he was out for mischief.<\/p>\n<p>The ill-motive which can be deduced in Hayford\u00b4s comments was to cast a slur on Islam and Muslims as a religion and people who are susceptible to violence. I have been motivated to react to his remarks primarily as a scholar. I am duty bound to clarify issues which have the potential to undermine the peaceful religious sphere we have been enjoying in Ghana.<\/p>\n<p>I am, however, disappointed at the Editorial Board of Citifm who have flouted the journalistic standards by allowing an individual to denigrate Islam and the Ghanaian Muslim community without any justification. Below is my reaction.<\/p>\n<p>The scenario painted by Mr. Hayford is that a good religion is one which does not promote violence. Since I do not believe that this analogy is true, I will not also say that states and the Western regimes that fan the modern warfare drives such motivation from their religious background.<\/p>\n<p>Millions of people all over the world have commented on the heinous crime committed by Boko Haram and at the same time refrained from generalizing it as truly an Islamic phenomenon. Mr. Hayford, however, stands as an exceptional figure. I do not want to believe that he is more enlightened than these people.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Hayford\u00b4s views tend to also portray his high level of ignorance about issues pertaining to the religious sphere in Ghana. I must emphasise that Muslim leaders do not owe him any responsibility to come to his doorsteps informing him about their overall strategies in educating their followers against religious violence.<\/p>\n<p>Those who care including academics and researchers always tune in to the relevant media platforms where Islamic programs are aired and global issues relevant to Muslims interest are discussed. Indeed, since the USA and the allies forces invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, Muslim leaders have spent more time preaching against religious extremism at the expense of addressing pertinent issues affecting their followers here.<\/p>\n<p>A day earlier to Hayford\u00b4s interview with the Citifm station, a young Muslim intellectual with a Nigerian guy was on Joyfm evening program. Similarly Muslim clerics, intellectuals, experts in religious conflicts in Ghana have condemned the Boko Haram phenomenon far earlier before it has assumed this dimension including the grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, the Organisation of Islamic Conference and the Al-Azhar, which the Citifm have failed to capture these on their platform.<\/p>\n<p>Inferring from the activities of Boko Haram to suggest that political Islam has been moving the religion\u00b4s agenda is to make comparison between his religious backgrounds with that of Islam. This tendency is not helpful since these two religious traditions emerged from different historical context and their values have been shaped differently. Muslims do not have a centralized leadership like that of Pope in Christianity.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike in Christianity, where there is a separation between religion and state, in Islam religion and politics are intertwined and depend on each other. While appreciating that, political Islam has been the most resilient element in Muslim discourse in the 20th century, the extent to which Muslims have come to terms with this phenomenon is not yet become clear.<\/p>\n<p>I use this platform to demand unqualified apology from Mr. Hayford and expect him to retract such irresponsible comments against Islam and Muslims which have the potential of undermining the prevailing peace in the country. I further appeal to the National Media Commission to caution the media against inflammatory comments which can create religious tension in the country.<\/p>\n<p>In short, in every religious tradition there are deviant groups whose activities tend to contradict the fundamental values of the religion. The Boko Haram might be following the pace set by the Lord Resistance Army in Uganda and not Islam, of committing heinous crimes including kidnapping of teenagers as their wives. Let us cherish and protect the peaceful religious sphere in the country.<br \/>\nBy: Yunus Dumbe (Ph.D)<br \/>\nReligious Studies Dept, KNUST, Kumasi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The comments made by Mr. Casely Hayford, a financial analyst, on the activities of Boko Haram and Ghanaian Muslim\u00b4s role has attracted my attention. His comments could have passed on as legitimate if he had criticized the activities of Boko Haram as all well-meaning people did regardless of their religious, racial and ethnic backgrounds. However, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":3671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[38,17],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Rejoinder: Boko Haram reflects flaws in Islam - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. 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