Boko Haram Extremism Unacceptable
The kidnapping of more than 270 schoolgirls in Nigeria and opening fire on a busy marketplace, killing hundreds, by the Boko Haram extremist network have triggered worldwide concern, shock and outrage. As many as 300 people were killed in the assault on the town of Gamboru Ngala on Nigeria’s border with Cameroon. Killing innocent persons and kidnapping young girls are un-Islamic and inhuman. But this extremist group admittedly captured the girls, saying they should never have been in school and should instead get married. The group has also threatened to sell the girls as slaves! This is highly unacceptable and strongly condemnable.
The Hausa word ‘boko’ figuratively means Western or non-Islamic education, and ‘haram’ means prohibited. Thus the group called Boko Haram, which has been active in Nigeria since 2009, is opposing Western or non-Islamic education for girls. No scripture, no sensible book or no sane person prohibits education for girls or learning any branch of knowledge. The Qur’ān does not limit education to males only, for education is the right of every human being. The fact remains that the very first word revealed in the Qur’ān is iqra meaning ‘read’. When Islam commands us to read from the cradle to the grave, the tone is general without restricting or excluding any gender, sect or group. And this commandment to read is not restricted to Islamic knowledge only but rather it covers acquiring all branches of knowledge and learning which can contribute to the progress and advancement of human society. It is this very wide Islamic concept of education that produced great Muslim scientists, mathematicians, geographers, astronomers, astrophysicists, biologists, neuroscientists, psychologists, chemists, alchemists, economists, social scientists, earth scientists, political scientists, physicians, surgeons, physicists and engineers, who contributed significantly to science and civilization in the early period of Islam, and whom the post-modern age envies.
This deplorable act of kidnapping young girls has made local Muslim women feel the sting of another stereotype of women being forced into oppression and labelled as second-class citizens. They have launched a social media campaign under the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls to effect renewed world attention to Boko Haram’s campaign of violence. Muslim women are taking a stern stand against Boko Haram and are joining the movement #BringBackOurGirls.
There is no sense in rejecting the group as one created by the West. Muslim organisations must condemn this abominable act of the group which is doing great disservice to Islam. It is high time the group realised the futility and gravity of its extremism and release the girls with honour and dignity and thus save Nigeria from foreign intervention.
(Courtesy: Radiance, New Delhi)
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