The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
has called for a public holiday to mark the celebration of 1st day of Islamic
year.
The group accused government of
segregation and favouritism to Christians by honouring the Christian calendar,
yet refusing to recognise Muslim calendar despite petitions to federal
government.
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director of MURIC in a statement called for the first day of Muslim calendar to
be also declared a public Holiday, adding that Muslims were being treated as
second class citizens.
The statement reads “As usual and
since colonial days into Nigeria’s post-independence period, the Federal
Government declared today, 1st January 2018, as a public holiday.
“MURIC observes that today’s
holiday fully consolidated the two-day Christmas holiday and enabled Nigerian
Christians to kick off the 2018 Christo-Western Gregorian calendar.
“However, conscious Nigerian
Muslims, particularly stakeholders in the welfare of Muslims as well as the
growth and development of Islam in Nigeria, approached today’s holiday with
mixed feelings. First and foremost, we express happiness for our Christian
neighbours who were able to spend the day giving full practice, expression and
manifestation of their faith. On the other hand, we experienced a feeling of
despair, isolation and marginalization.
“Our feeling of marginalization
arises from the reality of the Nigerian situation which has conditioned Muslims
in the country for religious segregation and subjected them to spiritual
apartheid.
“Here we are today, enjoying
January 1st holiday which was declared by the Federal Government (FG) of
Nigeria in recognition of the Christo-Western Gregorian calendar. But the same
FG which recognizes this Christian calendar is yet to declare 1st Muharram a
public holiday in recognition of the Islamic calendar despite several petitions
and appeals to it dating back to the 60s. Surprisingly, some people still
complain that Nigeria is Islamised
“For the avoidance of doubts,
only two of the world’s nine calendars have either survived or remained
relevant to us in Nigeria. The first was the Egyptian calendar which came into
existence ten thousand years ago. This was followed by six other ancient
calendars, namely, the Babylonian, Hebrew, Mayan, Chinese, Greek and Roman
calendars.
“Due to human errors in the Roman
calendar discovered by Numa Pompilius (715 – 673 B.C.) and Julius Caesar in 46
B.C., the Council of Nicea of 365 C.E. came up with its surgical abracadabra by
moving back the Roman calendar by four days. Thus March 25, 365 C.E. became
March 21.
“But even this historical
razzmatazz was not good enough for Pope Gregory XIII (1502 – 1585) when he
discovered on Thursday, October 4, 1582 that the equinox fell on March 11
instead of March 21. By royal fiat, Pope Gregory quickly slashed off ten days
from the year 1582 and the next day, a Friday which would have been October 5,
1582 became Friday, October 15, 1582. It is this Gregorian calendar, which was
a product of gymnastic make-belief, that the Western world uses till today. It
was this same calendar, a sheer hocus-pocus that the British Christian
colonialists forced on Nigeria.
“Why is FG granting holiday for a
false god of Rome and denying same for Allah the Creator of all things (Qur’an
2:29), the Judge of all Judges (95:8), Master of all masters (51:58) and the
King of Kings (3:26).
“We do not wish to be
misunderstood: we are not agitating for the cancellation of anything which FG
has given its over-pampered favourite, whether 1st January is based on
falsehood and idolatory tendency or not is not our business, let them continue
to enjoy it. But give us our day for crying out loud!
“Fortunately MURIC has
successfully resisted the collective amnesia which is rampant among Nigerians.
We recall the torments suffered by Nigerian Muslims under colonial rule. The most
relevant of these inhuman treatments was the denial of holidays for Muslims on
their festival days.
“Although the colonialists
declared holidays for Easter, Christmas and 1st January, they bluntly refused
to give any Muslim festival an equal status. Muslims were therefore forced to
go to work on Id al-Fitr and Id Al-Kabir days. While Maulud an-Nabiyy was an
anathema to the colonial master, 1st Muharram was blue murder.
“Whereas Nigerian Muslims were
able to secure public holidays for some of its festivals in post-colonial
period by dint of struggles and determination, 1st Muharram remains a pipe
dream till today. The question on the lips of Nigerian Muslims today, 1st
January, 2018 as Nigerian Christians savour the sweet sensation of the holiday
and relish in the euphoria of spiritual fulfillment is, “When will our own
come? When will the Nigerian state treat Muslims as complete human beings? For
how long shall we remain second class citizens?”
“Research reveals that 1st
January is in honour of Janus, the Roman god of gates whom the Romans believed
protected them from invasions. This is an incontrovertible fact. Why should FG
force us to idolize the false god of Rome? MURIC charges FG to drop its
colonial garb and to don a truly nationalistic identity. On the contrary, the
Islamic hijrah calendar is divine (Qur’an 9:36; 2:189; 10:5 and 17:12).
“Nigerians enjoy a total of eight
(8) public holidays in a year. These are Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year
Day, Good Friday, EasterMonday, Id al-Kabir, Id al-Fitr and Maulud an-Nabiyy.
Five (5) of the eight holidays belong to Christians (Christmas Day, Boxing Day,
1st January, i.e, New Year Day, Good Friday and Easter Monday). Only three (3)
holidays belong to Muslims, viz, Id al-Kabir, Id al-Fitr and Maulud an-Nabiyy.
“It is time for FG to add 1st
Muharram to the number of Muslim holidays. This will bring the total number of
holidays enjoyed by Muslims to four only while Christians still continue to
enjoy five. This year’s 1st Muharram is likely to fall on Tuesday, 11th
September, 2018 or thereabouts.
“Finally, we advise FG and the
Ministry of Internal Affairs to interact with the Nigerian Supreme Council for
Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) for the exact date of 1st Muharram this year and
declare it as a holiday.
“For Nigerian Muslims to feel a
sense of belonging, FG must close the gap between Christians and Muslims. There
must be a conscious effort to fully integrate Muslims into the Nigerian project
otherwise we may be sitting on a keg of gun powder. Justice is the soul of
peace and whoever denies one can never enjoy the other.”
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Dear Muric, you started with an interesting argument and narratives but ended it with an uncivilized and evil form. Its okay to demand for public holidays but very bad to make a threat" by stating a keg of gun powder" Hey can't you just be civil? Also I need to state that first of January is NOT a Christian holiday. It was a leftover from colonization. And it is secular!
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