From: Laide Raheem, Abeokuta

A religious group, Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN), has faulted the alleged pronouncement by the National Christian Elders’ Forum (NCEF) that Muslims in the country had embarked on “stealth/civilisation jihad” and “violent jihad”, to impose Sharia ideology on Nigerians.

The group, also described as worrisome, the recent assemblage of retired christian generals, including, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), by NCEF, at a meeting in Abuja, where it accused the Muslims of stealthily using the dreaded Boko Haram group and murderous herdsmen, to Islamise Nigeria.

MUSWEN gave this position, on Thursday, at a press conference, held after the meeting of the group in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital.

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Speaking through its Executive Secretary, Prof. Dawud Noibi, the group noted the claim of Islamisation by both the leaderships of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), had reached a frightening dimension, which needed to be nipped on time.

On the allegation by NCEF that the introduction of Religion and National Values in the revised curriculum for basic education was to denigrate Christianity but promote Islam, via Arabic language, Noibi, submitted that: “Teaching and learning of Arabic in schools was like learning and teaching English and French languages, and not to impose Shariah Law as claimed by the Christian leaders”.

Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of the religious group, urged all Pan Yoruba socio-cultural groups, to always interface with the Muslims in the region before taking any stance on issues affecting the southwest.

According him, Muslims in the Southwest must be carried along by the several socio-cultural groups to reflect the region’s religious plurality.