THE PRESENT PROBLEMS OF THE MUSLIMS ( مشاكل المسلمين الحاضرة )

Muslims in West Africa have similar problems to that of their brothers, in various parts of the world, and they also have different and multiples of it that is making their mud worsen.

Among them is :

1-The Problem Of Leadership

which is the loss of a leader that will bring them together under a flag, and unites their ranks behind a caliph, or an imam who speaks their language, protects their ruins and defends about their rights.

Islamic societies are dispersed in various purposes and directions.

Sufi sects are fanatical to various sheikhs and doctrines.

Then came the political parties that dismantle all associations and unions.

The first attempt to coordinate the Islamic associations took place in the year 1948 AD, In the name of the Islamic Conference of Nigeria, by Hajj Amin Kudaisi from Jeboudi, but he made a big mistake, by turning the conference into a political party before it was fully stabilized, and he was attacked by the Labor Group party, which was the party of the then government in the western region, which refrained from establishing a party on the basis of religion and belief.

So that the Muslims would not withdraw from his party to theirs. As a result, he opposed the Muslims until their party unravelled. Then he established the Islamic Council in 1961 AD. To standardize Islamic associations in Lagos, chaired by the great lawyer Muhammad-l-Awwal Augusto, then Haji Abdul Wahid Ilias, and did not go beyond the limits of Lagos state.

Professor Kamel Al-Sharif, the Jordanian ambassador to Nigeria, has efforts in this field, he helped in establishing the League of Imams to regulate the affairs of mosques, in western territory in1964 AD. The late Ahmadu Bello founded the Nasr-l-Islam Association to unite the Muslims of the North and South, but his death ceased this from being achieved by him, however, the established association was still the hope of the northern Muslims.

Then the division of the north into states surfaced, its headquarter was the Centre of Union with the Crusaders in Lagos. The Muslims began to think about who would unite their ranks, and they waited with impatience, for the leader whom God will ordain to take their lead, but if all the rulers had risen up and reorganized their ranks behind one of them that is capable, they would not have met their Waterloo in recovering the lost glory of Islam in these countries. [If you help(cause of) Allah, he will help you and make firm your feet], Muhammad:7.

2-The Problem Of Cultural Invasion.

The western culture invaded the Arab countries first before it invaded the countries of Islam, so the Arabs degraded their culture, language, and religion, except for a few believers among them. And no more proof for that than the regard of many Arab intellectuals to those who speak with them in English or French without someone speaking Arabic with them, apart from the Arabians, and they do disagree objectionably with this with unjustified arguments for those who love Arabic.

What do we say about the children of the Arabs who live by praising those who learn English or French in West Africa, and alienate from the Arabic who learnt it, under the excuse of empathy for their livelihood in the future, because Arabic does not provide them with a livelihood, and no civilization in this country has enriched them. Have we seen an Englishman or French apart from an enthusiastic to teach his language? What should we say to the sons of Persians who abandoned the culture of English or French in their countries, and they were enthusiastic about Arab culture until they went to the Arab countries for it, then they realized the sons of the Arabs revering what they had abandoned in their country, and they(Arabs) do look disdainfully about what they had come for, alas there is a great scourge in the Arabic language!!!.

3-The Problem Of Alienation Among The Intellectuals

The argument is intensifying between the owners of Islamic culture and Western culture, where one of the two views the other with contempt and disdain. And that is either because one of the two cultures, or both, were amputated from either side or to antagonize one of another due to ignorance of it.

It has been said: “He who is ignorant of a thing will alienate it.” Even if the owners of Islamic culture took a share of Western culture, and were not ignorant of what is necessary for them to know, they will definitely follow the suit, or that the people of Western culture embraced the Islamic culture,

And they did not stumble into it randomly, they would have gained the sweetness of the faith.!!!

However, the fact that both this and that were amputated intellectually is what prevailed in the calamity in the Islamic world.

Or the fact that one of them waged an intense war on the other, is threatening to the public peace between religion and the world.

The Problems Experienced By Muslims In West Africa In Particular Are :

• The Problem Of Assigning A Duty To An Unworthy Person:

This problem arises in the fertile grounds of the Muslim community in Yoruba.

This is by inaugurating the ignorant people to the office of the imamate by virtue of limited inheritance in the homes of those who had worked to spread Islam for the first time in that area, regardless of the fact that the imamate is in Islam, conditions must be met by whoever is in charge of them.

The ignorant imam is a lost and misguided fellow by the hadith (The most of what I fear for my followers is the misguided imams), by the intervention of the rulers and the rich in appointing the imam who is obedient to their command and subject to their reference, not those who counsel them and fear not but only God.

• The Problem Of Tribal Fanaticism :

This tribal nervousness, which opened the eyes of each tribe to the virtues of itself, and the flaws of others in customs and traditions, and instilled egoism in the heart of every tribe in every field, even in religion. Then you see Hausa Muslims objecting to pray behind a Yoruba imam, even if they are in the lands of Yoruba.

This is why the Hausa colonies do refrain from the vicinity of the Yorubas to a special neighbourhood, called Sabongari, or Zenfu, where they will be able to maintain their traditions, and hold their religion behind a Hausa

Imam. And if they are unable to do so, they will never observe the congregational prayer, rather they will observe it solely.

They justify this their behaviour with deficiencies that they discovered on the tribes of Yoruba.

-Like the residuum of the pre-Islamic and faithfulness traditions among them, such as holding the seven-days funerals for their deads, and long mourning for those who died at an early age, or preparing a feast for this funeral, if the dead are old and aged and leave children behind.

-Including the lack of more of their imams to the conditions of the Imamate as presented.

-Including their inability to legislate the wearing of the hijab on their women, releasing them to trade sale and purchase in the markets, and mixing with men in societies.

Among them is that most of them resemble Christians, such as hiding their Islamic names with symbols. And showing and mentioning the names of their pagan ancestors, by inciting evangelization of the Crusader in order to disallow the showing of the features of Islam in them, or for holding parties on Sundays, or so from Christian traditions. That is why their poet Mallam zam'at Ibn Imam of the city of Bauchi said in some of his poems:

"There is no shame in Yoruba except that their religion,

It is like the religion of the Christians, not the religion of Muhammad."

The Muslims of Yoruba feels the disregard of the Hausa Muslims with their own Islam, so they continue with their conditions, for all this, it has not been possible till today for the two tribes to agree on anything, but rather they have accepted to be in separate methods, each working according to their likeness and every party is joyful with what they have!!!.

While the churches enjoy harmony and happiness, there is no difference between southerners and northerners, nor between tribe and others, but all of them have one cooperate hand against others.

Thus, they were able to multiply their soldiers in missionary propaganda, from the day they saw at the head of the federal government a Muslim who was  called as Al-Hajj and wore on his head

the turban, and around him was a number of Muslim ministers wrapped around him, and they always mistook them that the mosques were still full of gatherings and feasts and that the number of pilgrims was still more than before every year, and preaching councils are still held during Ramadan ...

These are the manifestations that the Crusaders complained about, and they calculated a brilliant Islamic force. They strove to attenuate this power by all means, until they launched the first coup, and the assassination of Muslim leaders to become a parish without a shepherd, so the Crusaders seized this opportunity to spread everywhere, to establish centres, build churches, reconstruct hospitals, open schools and colleges, distribute newspapers and magazines, and broadcast Gospels in stations in various languages.

All this is taking place, and the Muslims are in disagreement, envy and hatred:

"For such the heart melts from sadness,

If there are Islam and faith in that heart".

Written in Arabic by

Sheikh Adam Abdullahi Al-ilory.

From the book Islam in Nigeria.

Translated by S.A KOLAYO.

©️www.qatru.com

5 likes 1,975

share :