ETHNOCENTRISM FROM THE LENSES OF ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY Ali Abubakar Sadiq

I have on different occasions, pointed clearly to my brother Bichia Maisango, the Hausa-Zalla self appointed prophet and harbinger of doom, Islam has no room for ethnic bigotry. What he, and his ilk, failed to understand is the simple distinction, succinctly discussed and explained in Ibrahim A. Waziri's article of the "What" and "Who" of identity. 

Maisango and his advocates would like to quickly submit "the time of religious manipulation is over, it is time to rise to Hausa consciousness" laughable I should say and the naked exposition of their ignorance of both what identity ought to be and what religions in general and Islam in particular came to abolish.

Islam from the get-go, promotes the Kalima (shahada) as the first step of the negation of devilry which promotes division and bloodshed, while uphelding divine unity that cement and guide us towards brotherliness and equality of all human beings. At the local level, Salah serves the function of unification of the faithful, where the king and subject, the rich and poor appear equally before their lord as one and equal. At the International level, the pilgrimage serves as a reminder that the black and white, Asian or African, European or American also appears as one delineating racial or ethnic superiority.

Towards the end of his ministry, on Mount Arafat, the prophet made his final public declaration , "All mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black nor a black has any superiority over a white except by piety and good action". Which in essence was the interpretation of God's command 

Q49:13 "O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allāh is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allāh is Knowing and Aware"

Thus our diversity should be a source for cooperation and development and promotion of the good of the human family not for it's destruction. Alas, the devils advocates always hide behind ethno-religious sentiments to promote hatred which usually ends in bloodshed.

The trio of Hausa ascendency in Language, culture and people would have been dead for centuries if people like Maisango and the likes were at the helms of Hausa civilization that stood the test of time for millenia. Their narrow and selfish agenda would have arrested the rise and spread of Hausa civilization. Hausawa were the most accommodating, industrious and refined races in the North for centuries. Even when the Sokoto Jihad usurped power from the Habe Dynasty, the Hausa assimilitated the Fulani people like me who became Hausawa first and foremost. 

The Hausa people are at a crossroad that need not only holistic but unified approach to counter the challenges of being on the top of the rung when it comes to overpopulation, poverty, illiteracy and insecurity more than any other people today on the planet. The unifying force of Islam, not the current lip service it enjoyed, is the only avenue towards that reformation. 

Anyone that claims Hausa-Zallah is either ignorant of the secret of the success of Malam Bahaushe, or a hypocrite recruited by Hausa haters to spread sedition and most certainly someone that doesn't understand Islam or is fighting against Islamic principle that advocates justice and unity impartially. The hypocrisy of Maisango's camp is laid bare when you hear them saying time for using religion to suppress Hausa consciousness is over. What consciousness are you talking about? Spewing hate and spreading divisions where non exists, while condoning the culture of having the highest number of children as Almajirai invoking religion as it's vanguard?

No, please...people wake up! Fast. The Hausa Zallah word is akin to 'Cockroaches" that maliciously led to genocide and ethnic cleansing in Rwanda in 1994. The menace of Fulani bandits must be faced by all of us and ensure its erasure by any means at our disposal, not allow it be used as a launchpad for more problems in a society that is already suffering from all angles.

God enjoined us 

4:135 "O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allāh, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, Allāh is more worthy of both.[1] So follow not [personal] inclination, lest you not be just. And if you distort [your testimony] or refuse [to give it], then indeed Allāh is ever, of what you do, Aware"

This verse is the epitome of Islamic justice as it challenged us to be equitable to one and all. Any true believer in Islam must believe in this justice system that abolished the Jahiliyya mentality of family, clan, race or ethnic bigotry. It is the greatest piece of legislation ever revealed to mankind, why even the greatest faculty of law in our times, The Harvard Law School had this particular verse posted at its entrance. Harvard, though originally a Christian institution, is now the center of atheistic intellectualism. Yet the beauty of this verse which transcend anything the mosaic law provides, is a testimony of Islamic universality and justice, that captured the imagination of the Faculty of law in Harvard. 

Northern youths, beware of the insidious hand of the devil in promoting hatred among brethren. Ethnicity should always be a point of harnessing our diversity not for it's destruction. As I said earlier, had our Hausa ancestors were full of hate with isolationists attitude like Bichia's and co. Hausa and Hausawa would have long been gone or confined in a cocoon. Both Islam and common sense denounced ethnic bigotry and we can see how in Africa, only our politicians are wise enough to realize it's disadvantages. In Nigeria today, among the ruling elites a Shehu, Chukwu and Omo has one religion and ethnicity, which is looting our common wealth. At the same time a poor man in Abakaliki or Azare, Sokoto or Sapele, Bichi or Badagary, Delta or Damaturu, suffer the same evil policies of the elites regardless of their ethno-religious differences. While the elites applied the divine wisdom to perpetuate their evil ways, the masses that needs this same unity to confront the evils our times, are using it's opposite to arrest our chances of uniting as one people to checkmate our greatest enemy, the politicians and our corrupt system.