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By Miftaudeen Raji

The Grand Mufti of Conference of Islamic Organizations (CIO), Sheikh Dhikrullah Shafi’i has reacted to the murder of Deborah Samuel, a student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, saying government and Islamic scholars need to be more proactive with youth enlightenment on the theory and application of Islamic Studies.  

The cleric, while delivering a Jumat sermon at Dawah Center in Lagos, Friday, described the conduct of the rampaging students as inappropriate, unlawful and inhuman, saying the actions of the students do not in anyway represent the position of Islam.

“Islam places huge value on human soul. Islam detests acts of thuggery, violence or vandalism. It is unfortunate that we experienced that extent of rage that resulted in the eventual death of Deborah Samuel,” he said.

Sheikh Shaf’ii, who picked the of his sermon from Qur’an 5 vs 32 encouraged Muslims to embark on thorough investigation whenever such incidents occur before taking a position.

Sheikh Shafi’i, who noted that the student do not have any Islamic justification for the actions, however, said the authorities in Sokoto State should identify all the culprits in the incident and make them face the full wrath of the law.

He said, “The lynching, burning and eventual killing of Deborah is not in accordance with the laws of Islam and the laws of our nation.

“We are not in a lawless country and Islam does not in any way support extra-judicial killing especially. The ideal thing is to allow the law enforcement agency and the court of law adjudicate on the matter.

“In Islam, individuals are not allowed to take laws into their hands, just as the international laws do not allow it. The implication is that action like this it could create more chaos in the society.

“The scholars of Islam differ on the penalties for blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad. Meanwhile, nobody has the right to mete out any death penalty anybody on account of blasphemy in Nigeria, because Nigeria is not a Shari’ah nation.

“Example of a countries that can exercise such penalty are Suadi Arabia, Quwait, Sudan and it’s the government that have the single rights, not individuals or group,” he added.

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