The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, yesterday, said anyone that takes innocent lives while shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ is going to hell, and would pay for such evil.
The Sultan added that much of the violence often described as religious is being misunderstood, deepening suspicion and mistrust.
He said these at the first triannual meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council, NIREC, in Abuja, where the Sultan, who co-chairs the council, spoke alongside President of Christian Association of Nigeria, Daniel Okoh, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume.
According to him, “Let us get the narrative right. It is not about religion. Let us stop bringing religion into it.
“Let us call them what they are – criminals. Not Muslim criminals, not Muslim terrorists, not Muslim bandits. Even if someone claims to be Muslim, what they do goes against Islam.”
Linking the problem to ignorance, he warned against false claims of religious authority, adding that “the fact that you understand Arabic does not make you a Sheikh. Arabic is just a language. So literacy is very important.
“Somebody can go to the market, blows his or herself up, kill people and shout ‘Allahu Akbar’. Yes, God is great, but you are going to hell. They will suffer for taking innocent lives.”
