Where in history have oppressed Shia Muslims become terrorists?
Shia processions have been attacked and bombed across the Middle East from Pakistan to Iraq for decades and the Shia have never resorted to terror against innocent civilians.
Saddam Hussein oppressed the Shia Muslim majority of his country for decades and they never resorted to terror against civilians. The same obtains in Bahrain today.
As the northern governors forum led by Kashim Shettima, makes unguarded statements borne out of a lack of historical and contextual understanding and cultural anthropological knowledge, it is necessary someone calls them to order against further subtle abuse of a rather tolerant and quiet group of millions of Nigerians.
When the Goodluck Jonathan government killed three of Sheikh Zakzaky’s sons, had it been any other religious or social group in the world, hell would have been let loose, but rather Sheikh Zakzaki and his millions of followers did not become a Boko Haram, but reported to Global human right organizations and the courts and determined to never let it happen to them again by being ready for self defense. They did not resort to terror which would have been the cheap and easy, cowardly option.
Indeed if the Islamic Movement decided upon terror, Nigeria’s shameful army would not likely be able to hold them back as the dedication, commitment and professionalism of the group will make a force that would sublimate the Nigerian army with its girl-fight-brave leadership.
The lack of chaos today in spite of three more of Zakzaky’s sons being murdered and the leader of the faithfuls being beaten, shot and transported to humiliate in a wheel barrow, is testimony to the character and spiritual advancement of the Shia Muslims who wholly imbibe Islamic principles of “Patience.”
We therefore advise the Northern governors to be informed and wise in their utterances. They should not fall victim to the errors the Nigerian military likely made in allowing religious and cultural differences provoke a massacre due to a lack of humanity, civility and understanding.
In addition, the northern governors used their meeting to further Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s response to the event by banning processions. However, while the choice on banning processions was up to the people and government of Kaduna, the pretense that the Zaria massacre was related to one is untrue.
While the Kaduna governor nay so wish to take advantage of this massacre to ban processions he finds distasteful. The road block for the army was mounted according to video supplied by the army because the Islamic movement complained that they felt the army wished to kill them as it had suddenly before the arrival of the Army chief, deployed a battalion of soldiers around the Husainiyah Islamic center on the same street they were heading towards without warning.
Images from Islamic Movement Burial Of Zakzaky Sons Last Year July
