Saadula Bello is the Chief Imam Oluwole Ogba Central Mosque in Lagos. He is also the Secretary General of the Council of Imams, Lagos Division. He spoke with Yemi Olakitan on the subject of female suicide bombing, the position of Islam on violence and other issues. Excerpts:
What is your reaction to the use of female suicide bombers by insurgents in the North?
As you all know, Islam is a religion of peace, in all its characteristics and nature. There are two definitions to Islam. Islam is a religion of peace. Islam is also submission in totality to the will of God. Inside and outside, Islam is a religion of peace and tranquility. If you look at our fasting and prayers, the Hajj, alms giving, they are all about peace. When people see a certain Muslim doing something wrong, they then generalise and say that all Muslims are bad. It is not so. Female suicide bombing or male suicide bombing, none is condoned in Islam.
If a Muslim is not good, he is not good by himself. It does not imply that Islam is bad and every other Muslim is bad. There are rules and laws to living a righteous life in Islam. Nobody can spoil Islam. One can only spoil himself and no one can break the rules of God and go free. There is no religion that preaches that people should kill one another. The rules of God will break you. Killing is not allowed in Islam and even suicide bombing is not allowed as well. Islam does not preach suicide bombing. The Holy Quran said, we should not kill and we should not commit suicide, no matter the circumstances. You cannot say your condition is terrible and then decide to end your life. Islam forbids it, no matter your situation in life. You cannot commit suicide. So if Islam forbids suicide, where is the ground for using young girls as suicide bombers?
What would you say is the cause of the violence and the reasons for using underage girls?
They are using politics to deceive people; some people want to rule by force and they are using religion as a pretext. All these have political undertone. They have brought deceit into religion and they brainwashed some people. Look at the fasting period, Islam said during the festivities, Muslims should look out for those in need and give to them from the abundance that they have. Islam does not preach violence at all. At other period, beggars beg for food but after the fasting, Islam instructs us to look out for the poor and give to them from whatever we have. Islam teaches us to consider others. It is a religion that puts others into consideration. If you have something to eat, think about those who do not have. Suicide is not allowed in Islam. Anyone who kills himself will inherit fire and will not make paradise. Anyone who kills another will also be killed according to Islam. They are using politics to deceive people. Islam forbids killings of any kind.
What is the meaning of Jihad?
Jihad means to strive for something. Whoever goes to school and succeeds has done Jihad. If you go out to care for your family and look for what they will eat, you have striven for something good. Anything that you can strive to attain that is good is called Jihad. It does not mean war alone. The Holy Prophet did not kill. If you look at all the wars that the prophet fought, they were defensive. War is in two fold, defensive and offensive. How did Jihad start? The pagans pursued the Holy prophet from his house. They also pursued him to where he ran to, and then Allah instructed him to defend himself. The Holy Prophet said that all the defensive wars are even small jihads. The Prophet said that the greatest Jihad is the Jihad of the soul, elevating oneself to be closer to God from the animalistic stage to the higher level. The greatest Jihad is the discipline of the soul. Those who commit suicide bombings are not following the tenets of Islam. A person says he wants to make paradise and then he goes to the market to denote a bomb which kills many people, both Muslims and Christians. That is complete madness and not religion. If we want to kill a chicken, the Holy Prophet said we should look for a very sharp knife, consider the animals and not subject the animal to cruelty.
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