Kukah’s Statement and the Problem With Denial
Who’s surprised this happened in Bishop Hassan Kukah’s jurisdiction?
And the first note he sends out begins with this:
“This has nothing to do with religion. Christians have lived peacefully with their Muslim brothers here in Sokoto over the years.
This matter must be treated as a criminal act and the law must take its course.”
Yes — it is a criminal act.
Yes — Muslims and Christians have largely lived peacefully together over the years, perhaps despite his own abdication of responsibility as the preeminent “shepherd of the flock” in Sokoto.
But no — it does not have nothing to do with religion.
I concede that this is probably a clumsy, albeit well-meaning, attempt to preserve the peace. And peace must be preserved. But in his view, saying it has nothing to do with religion somehow achieves that — even when the opposite is plainly the case.
You do not preserve peace through fire-fighting techniques.
You cannot be among those who heat up the polity and then rush ostentatiously to the conflagration with fire engines.
A stitch in time saves nine.
The Work of Building Religious Harmony
I have argued before that, straddling two civilizations — the Islamic and the Christian — Kukah’s responsibility is to foster mutual understanding between both worlds.
We cannot spend billions building railway lines through terrorism-prone territory and then expect providence alone to maintain security for us.
Similarly, we cannot sustain a volatile religious atmosphere in Nigeria and still expect providence to preserve political and religious harmony.
Like security infrastructure, religious harmony must be intentionally built — and constantly maintained.
Blasphemy, Law, and Coexistence
As one brilliant lawyer recently pointed out, blasphemy laws do not exist in our Constitution. Incidentally, he is currently defending a young man accused of blasphemy against Islam and has asked that the matter be properly tried in court once and for all.
In the meantime, those with the power to shape hearts and minds must step forward and do exactly that. Otherwise, coexistence becomes impossible.
Why I Left That Christian WhatsApp Group
I once left a WhatsApp forum where literally everyone was Christian.
In fact, 101% Christian — because one member who had been Muslim throughout our teenage years had since become a staunch Christian.
Why did I leave?
The undisguised bigotry.
Some of them were pastors. And I often found myself wondering — sometimes even saying, with my characteristic lack of tact:
“If this is truly what you believe, what exactly are you teaching those who look to you for spiritual guidance?”
“Why Can’t We Live Together?”
Timmy Thomas asked the question decades ago:
Why can’t we live together?
Tell me why, tell me why, tell me why…
Everybody wants to live together.
Listen to it yourself:
https://youtu.be/cFU-FJzPE80
Grief, Empathy, and the Limits of Words
I have seen many angry remarks from Christians in recent days.
And I can only imagine the trauma, terror, fear, and anguish experienced by that young lady and her family. I have tried to put myself in her shoes — to imagine the horror she must have felt as she…
I have not watched the video, and I will not.
No words can adequately assuage the grief of her loved ones.
My only hope is that, as she passed from this life into the next, there was an outstretched hand lifting her upward and drawing her into an embrace.
Victor Wooten, God, and Forgiveness
Yesterday, I listened to a song by Victor Wooten titled I Saw God. I will write about him sometime soon. He is one of the most fascinating people I have encountered in a while.
In that song, he asks how he could ever forgive those he despised.
And God — she — answered:
“When you see me, you’ll know how.”
Love, Fear, and Abraham’s God
Jesus said the greatest commandments are these:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart.
Love your neighbour as yourself.
I should probably stop here, otherwise it would become necessary to explore the uncomfortable possibility that those two commandments can sometimes appear to clash.
It is complicated.
Very.
Did Abraham love God?
And would he kill his only son to please the God he loved?
Or did Abraham fear God?
Is there a difference between love and fear?
And does the distinction matter?
#DeepSigh
I rest my case.
— Don Kenobi (#dk)
#MoluePassenger
#OldManInTheMolue
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