Uslims (I)
to walk through a market and we experienced strange things. We were called masquerades. We were not welcome there.”
During the wedding proper, neighbours trooped into the compound and saw her dressed in her hijab, and they ran away, saying, “There is a masquerade in the room.”
According to Ibrahim, “I don’t go out much because of the reaction and the reception. If you go out 10 times, you will receive an equal number of insults.”
Women are biggest victims
Aisha Obi, speaking at the Okigwe Central Mosque, Imo State, points out “We have learnt to live with the intimidation, the frustration and the insults. Sometimes when you are on the streets, wearing the hijab, which is mandatory for Muslim women, people will call you masquerade, slave and saboteur. At times I feel like leaving the religion. It’s not easy practicing Islam here.”
She confesses “When you are in a vehicle somebody will say, ‘I and this Hausa person cannot stay in the same vehicle.’ Another will rise and say, ‘I don’t want somebody to use a bomb to kill me here.’ They believe that because we are wearing hijab, we are working for the Hausa. If a little thing happens, you will find them threatening to eliminate us.”
Obi dwells on related matters “We have been enduring a lot. They say if we don’t leave Biafra, when the Biafra war comes, we would be the first to be killed.
“The women are the biggest victims because of the dress code of our religion. They will say, ‘She is Hausa. This country cannot allow you to stay here; go to your own country.’”
I don’t belong
“I feel that I don’t belong to the state, or even to the local government, because of the way Muslims are treated,” recalls Daud Nwagui in Afikpo. He remembers a day when Muslim girls in the community were sent home from a secondary school because of a disagreement over the hijab.
Nwagui reasons , “A Christian should not be against the veil, because Christianity preaches modesty. Anywhere you see a painting of Mary, you see her veiled. Anywhere you see a reverend sister, you always see her veiled.”
Secret Muslims
Suleiman Njoku, the Chief Imam of Owerri, Imo State capital, speaks on recent converts to Islam “There are some secret Muslims in Imo. Because of persecution, some of them have been hiding their identity as Muslims. I noticed this when I became the imam as many of them were not coming out. This was about a year ago. They were of both sexes and they could have been up to a hundred in number. In the past, fresh converts to Islam used to be killed, or they were eliminated by poisoning. Many had to run away from here.”
Njoku notes that Section 38 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution guarantees freedom of worship and that there was therefore no justification for anyone to ask about an individual’s religious preference.
He indicates that some imams in the state have also come across secret Muslims who hid their identities and said their prayers in secret to avoid being lynched by their neighbours and relatives.
Zainab Igwe is one such closet Muslims in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State. She became a Muslim but hid this fact from her family, friends and neighbours. When her father found out, he immediately halted all financial support to her.
Igwe mentions that two other fresh converts in Abakaliki recently had to revert to Christianity, as a result of pressure from their families.
Isa Okonkwo, the Director of the Centre for Arabic and Islamic Studies, Afikpo, had to go underground at a point “Before I accepted Islam, I was a Catholic; I was a mass servant. When the story went round the town that I had become a Muslim, for three years I could not come out. I heard that I was declared wanted. I was in seclusion; avoiding everybody because of the threats that were coming to me from every angle. This is the same story you are told by fresh converts in this part of the country. At this stage of my life people still insult me when they get to know that my name is Isa Okonkwo. They say that the combination is not possible. I have to struggle to explain to them why I am Isa, as well as Okonkwo.”
It’s called hijab
Sheikh Haroun Ajah, a Commissioner with the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) sheds light on the difficulties Igbo Muslim women go through “The situation affects women so much. Women wear the hijab because a Muslim woman does not want to show her precious parts before the public. Her body is precious and there is a prescription of the kind of dress they ought to wear. It’s called hijab.
“However, somebody will come forward and ask why you are wearing this. Some of them who are not strong may choose to go half naked as the society wants. People are persecuted for wearing hijab. People are going about naked, and some people are trying to protect their precious parts, and you are against it.”
No denial of rights
On the allegation by Igbo Muslims of neglect and marginalisation, Ngwoke who specialises in systematic theology, argues “There is no attack, no denial of rights anywhere in Igbo land. There are a few towns in this diocese that have significant Muslim populations. They are able to practice their faith without let or hindrance.”
However, Ugwuanyi points out “Whenever our Igbo brothers see a woman wearing hijab, they will ask whether she is Igbo. Some Muslims have had to revert to Christianity because of hardship, which affects feeding, clothing and access to basic things. Some Igbo Muslims have even had to revert to the traditional religion.”
Equal opportunities in Enugu
Bala Ardo, a former Special Adviser (SA) to the Enugu State Governor on InterCommunity Affairs, posits “Igbo Muslims who happen to be indigenes of Enugu are qualified to apply for any vacancy without any hindrance or discrimination. As far as the state government is concerned, there are equal opportunities for all natives of the state without any discrimination.”
Government not aware of discrimination
On the allegation of discrimination in respect of religion, Ardo comments “The state government is not aware of such. Remember, the Igbo as a people are not known to discriminate against their fellow Igbo brothers simply because of religious belief. People can disagree over belief, but this should not be translated into discrimination.
The Muslim
Igbo instead should educate their
fellow Igbo brothers about Islam.”
Allegations completely false - Imo gov’s aide
In Imo State, Nwamkpa Modestus, the Senior Special Assistant (Print Media) to Governor Hope Uzodinma, while dismissing the allegations made by Igbo Muslims, adds “Ironically, Governor Hope Uzodinma is even being accused of being too pro-Muslims in Imo.”
Modestus responds, “It is completely false to allege that Muslims are being discriminated against. In Imo under Governor Hope Uzodinma, Muslims are not discriminated against in any way. I am from Imo and I can tell you that this is the first time I am hearing that Muslims are being discriminated against, or that they are being described as masquerades because of the wearing of hijab.”
Freedom of religion guaranteed - Falana
Renowned civil rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), argues “The constitution provides that everybody is entitled to freedom of thought, freedom of religion. Once official impunity is institutionalised in any country, the rights of citizens are routinely violated, and what citizens are supposed to do is to get organised, collaborate with human rights bodies in order to have their rights protected. In this situation, the media also has a duty to expose the violations of the rights of the Nigerian people.”
However, Falana laments “Is there anywhere in this country where people are not discriminated against on the basis of religion? It is the fault of government which does not respect the rights of
citizens generally.”