By Samuel Aruwan
Kaduna
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) yesterday rejected purported conversion of some female students to Islam from Christianity by the Boko Haram sect.
The group also stated that the conversion was not acceptable in Islam as it forbid compulsion into the religion.
In a statement issued by its spokesman, Professor Ishaq Akintola, it said:
“Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, has released a video showing some of the girls kidnapped at a government secondary school in Chibok, Borno state on April 14, 2014. In the video, Shekau announced that the kidnapped girls had been converted to Islam. He also threatened not to release them until some of their members in Nigerian jails are set free.
“We reject the purported conversion of the kidnapped girls. It is cowardly, shameful, ridiculous and preposterous. It is sacrilege. We affirm authoritatively that such conversion does not hold water in Islam because a non-Muslim can only be converted on his or her own free will.
We have no iota of doubt that the girls ‘converted’ under duress. Such ‘conversion’ is null and void under the Shari’ah. The Glorious Qur’an is very explicit in this regard as it says, “There is no compulsion in religion…” (Laa ikrahun fii ad-diin” (Qur’an 2:256).”
It further said the said conversion is baseless, unfounded and of no validity whatsoever.
It called for prayers, saying: “All churches and mosques to pray. We charge the Nigerian Army to go back to the drawing board and evolve more potent strategies for crushing this renegade group. To crush Boko Haram is a task that must be done. The Muslim Rights Concern urges the federal government to dismiss Shekau’s offer of exchange of Boko Haram prisoners for the kidnapped girls.”