Blasphemy: Where Do We Draw The Line?

In the past few days, an angry mob has been calling for the head of Fakhrriyyah Hashim, owner of popular twitter handle @FakhuusHashim.

The mob is none other than her supposed “brothers” and “sisters” from the north. Her crime? Calling on us all to recognise our shared humanity.

Fakhrriyyah on The Yahaya Sharif-Aminu Case

Yahaya Sharif- Aminu, a 22-year-old was sentenced to death in Kano state for allegedly blaspheming against Prophet Muhammad.

Fakhrriyyah Hashim tweeted, “Nothing and I mean nothing should ever warrant the killing of anyone for anything they’ve said. This is repulsive and regressive. Death sentencing for blasphemy are a human rights violation and the FG must act to stop the sentence from being carried out.”

Whether Fakhrriyyah has received a response from the Federal Government is a question that remains unanswered.

Governor Ganduje and The Hypocrisy

A few days later, the Governor of Kano state – Abdullahi Ganduje – vowed to sign the death warrant of Yahaya.

Ironically, there is a video on the internet of Ganduje stuffing wads of dollar bills in his pocket. He was caught on camera, allegedly receiving money from suspected contractors. As a result of that scandal, many believe that he does not stand the moral ground to mete out punishment to another.

Abdullahi Buhari vs The Mob

Just on Saturday night, another twitter user – Abdullahi Buhari, @ambuhari – successfully made it to the Kano mob’s most wanted persons list. His name now stars alongside Fakhrriyyah’s.

He tweeted: “It’s permissible for Muslims  to mourn the death of a non-Muslim who’s not openly antagonistic to Islam, was inlvolved in charity or did good works or is related to one. The Rasul mourned his mother..……”

His tweet could very likely be a reference to the reception of the death of Chadwick Boseman. Many have called on Buhari to withdraw his tweet.

Bright minds have engaged him with knowledge, referring to the Quran, Sunnah and Ahadith. The not-so-bright ones have cursed him and his family. They have gone as far as calling him ‘asarar haihuwa’, a term which loosely translates to ‘useless child’.

Death Threats For Fakhrriyyah Hashim

In response to the Sharif-Aminu saga, Fakhrriyyah retorted, “ My only deduction from these unfortunate comments is that, violence rules some of your lives……”

I couldn’t agree more.

This issue – when looked at from the surface – appears like a typical social media debacle that will eventually fizzle away. But not this one. Since Fakhrriyyah’s tweets, she has received death threats and threats of violence.

Radio stations have been calling her out and some unfortunate individuals have also taken it upon themselves to stop by her family house in Kano.

Religious Fanaticism & Human Rights

When analysed closely, the issue opens up many serious conversations about religious fanaticism, extremism, and violence inherent in the hearts of Nigerians.

But the issue at hand here is one of human rights and its violation thereof: the life of a Nigerian in danger because she has called for the preservation of the life of a fellow countryman.

Indeed, Where Do We Draw The Line?

Back to the question, where do we draw the line? In a situation where there is a clear violation of human rights, should we even be debating?

To begin with, Nigeria is not an Islamic state!

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Furthermore, no right thinking scholar should defend this. A simple call from any of the celebrated ulamas/scholars to the populace to ‘fear Allah and not kill that which they have not given life’, will put extremists in their place. However they have chosen to say nothing, thereby endorsing it. We must note that in this matter, silence is complacence. Cowardly and sinful.

Fakhrriyyah the Activist

Fakhrriyyah Hashim has been accused of being an activist for self-gain. She obtained international recognition as the woman who sparked the #ArewaMeToo movement.

However, she is now receiving death threats and the perpetrators are determined on making Kano difficult for her to go. Were she to gain asylum in a foreign country, would they not have done the job for her?

A Legacy of Religious Intolerance

Northern Nigeria, especially Kano, already has a reputation for religious intolerance and it looks like they are struggling with every fibre to uphold that reputation.

On the issue of Abdullahi Buhari, for centuries young Muslims have been asking scholars about the fate of the Prophet’s parents. These questions are usually met with stark warnings, silence or guilt trips. The questioner would be encouraged to seek Allah’s forgiveness that such a question even formed in their mind in the first instance.

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Most of these questions are valid. But Nigerian Islamic scholars, (especially those from the north) have a long history of evading questions. In a bid to control the populace, they are dismissive. Therefore they become guilty of lying by omission.

But questions never die. And silence does not answer them. If anything, it breeds even more curiosity.