Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu
Buhari, on Saturday urged Muslims in the country to avoid violent extremist
ideas that give Islam a wrong name.
Speaking in his Eid-el-Kabir
message to Muslims, said the greatest commitment to Islam was for Muslims to
put its good virtues into practice, and by making justice and righteousness the
guiding principle of their everyday life.
According to him, “we should be
the mirror through which others see the good virtues of our faith.’ Islam is a
religion of peace and we should avoid violent extremist ideas that give Islam a
wrong name because our conduct leave more lasting positive impressions than
what we say by word of mouth.’’
The President regretted that
“violent extremism is the greatest challenge facing Islam today and the only
way we can neutralise its evil influence is to distance ourselves from the
activities and teachings of those who preach indiscriminate violence against
innocent people. And this flies in the face of the teachings of Islam.’’
He advised parents to “protect
their children from the deadly exposure to violent extremists who manipulate
and exploit those children for their own evil agenda.’’
Buhari noted that “Boko Haram
became a deadly force and a major security scourge because Muslim societies
were indifferent from the beginning to the activities of extremist preachers
who manipulate innocent and gullible followers.’’
He said that “extremism is like a
cancer, which must be detected and destroyed from its early stages of growth.’’
The President, however, assured
Nigerians that the Boko Haram terrorism, kidnappings and other forms of
banditry “would be dealt with uncompromisingly until we see the back of these
evils plaguing our country.’’
“Despite occasional setbacks’’,
the President explained that “the Boko Haram militants have been so militarily
weakened and scattered by our Armed Forces that they are no longer in a
position to occupy any part of Nigeria, let alone hoist their flag and impose
their reign of terror longer than 24 hours.’’
“As our armed forces get more
equipped and trained, in addition to being more motivated and reinvigorated,
this administration is relentlessly committed to protecting Nigerians no matter
what it takes to bring a permanent end to this evil,’’ the President further
assured Nigerians.
He advised Muslims to be tolerant
and continue to work for peace, unity, national integration, and peaceful
coexistence.
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