Boko Haram: Rise Up Against Terrorism, Aregbesola Tasks Muslims

 

Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has called on Muslims in the country to stand up against the belief that Islam is a religion of terror, massive alienation and mindless killings.

The governor gave this onerous task to the Islamic organisation Jama’atu Izalatil-Bid’ah wa Iqamatis – Sunnah, when its members paid him a courtesy visit in Osogbo, yesterday.
Aregbesola said that Islam, by its nature, rejected force, compulsion and violence that some characters were attributing to it by their behaviour.


The governor said that the mode of attracting people to one’s faith was by good deed, good character, love, accommodation rather than by violence and compulsion.

“Islam rejects force, compulsion, killing and maiming and violence in all its forms. Islam encourages piety, good relation, nice character, a combination of which attracts people to it.
“The absence of all these qualities brings hatred and rejection by the society. The message Islam brought to the world is that of peace, love, justice, tolerance and accommodation.
“So, any form of unilateral killing is wrong. Those who think they can punish others for whatever reason at all are playing God because it is only God that rewards and punishes,” Aregbesola said.
He admonished the Islamic clerics to be at the vanguard of using Islam to pursue peace, unity, good neighbourliness, tolerance, accommodation and humanitarian services.