Due to the strong desire of some Northern politicians to
accomplish the Abuja Declaration 1989. - Abuja Declaration is the name frequently given to the
communiqué issued after the Islam in Africa conference held in Abuja,Nigeria between 24 and 28 November 1989.
The conference was organised by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation “at that time called the Organisation of Islamic Conference” and it agreed to set up the Islam in Africa Organisation (IAO)
The conference was organised by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation “at that time called the Organisation of Islamic Conference” and it agreed to set up the Islam in Africa Organisation (IAO)
The declaration was to the effect that Muslims should unite
throughout Africa, the curricula at "various educational
establishments" should conform to Muslim ideas, the education of women
should be attended to, the teaching of Arabic should be encouraged, and Muslims
should support economic relations with Islamic areas worldwide. It noted that
Muslims in Africa had been deprived of rights to be governed under sharia law
and they should strengthen their struggle to reinstate it. The Islam
in Africa Organisation was formally established in July 1991, also in Abuja and
it has stated its objectives.
According to John Chesworth (director of Islam and
Christian-Muslim relations at St Paul's United Theological College, Limuru, Kenya) and John Azumah (senior research fellow,
Akrofi-Christaller Memorial Centre, Ghana) have reviewed the proceedings at the
conference. On the decision to set up the IAO, Heather Deegan (senior lecturer in Comparative Politics, Middlesex University) has commented "More recently Islam has adopted a liberating
posture, presenting itself as a religion which will rest countries from their
neocolonial dependencies and ignoring the fact that it too was a conquering and
colonising force in Africa over the longue durée. The East African Centre for Law and
Justice reports the declaration verbatim but goes on to quote two other
objectives which it says were omitted from the IAO website. It also severely
criticises what it regards as the real objectives of the IAO. Raphael O Duru
(Project Director, Voice Your Vote Nigeria, Nigeria
In 1990 another declaration was promulgated purporting to be
from the 1989 conference and which Frans Wijsen (professor of World Christianity
and Interreligious Relations at Radboud University Nijmegen)
regards as a authentic because it does correspond with declarations made at the
conference. Regarding Africa, it
said, amongst other things, that only Muslims should be appointed to strategic
posts, non-Muslim religions should be eradicated, Nigeria should become a
Federal Islamic Sultanate, and western law should be replaced with sharia.
Wijsen regards this as indicating a more militant aspect of Islam in Africa and
comments that some aspects directly conflict with official Islamic teaching.
And this is what Boko-Haram is doing now. So Nigerians wake-up you are at the last
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