President Goodluck Jonathan has debunked claims that brutal killings being carried out by terrorist groups like Boko Haram and ISIS have anything to do with Islam.Specifically he said “Boko Haram killing innocent children and women in market places, in mosques, schools definitely has nothing to do with religion.”
He made this remark when Muslims led by Vice President Namdi Sambo paid him Sallah homage in Abuja.
“A number of things that (have) to do with our belief system (are supposed ) to encourage us to see our neighbour as ourselves. What is happening globally now has no religious basis. Only yesterday, a British Aid worker was slaughtered by ISIS and that is not Islamic”,Jonathan said
“For us as a nation, this period we should use it to charge ourselves, call on ourselves, encourage ourselves to continue to pray for the forgiveness of those who are doing things that are not religious and for Allah to see us through.
“I believe in this country, I believe that Nigeria has a lot to offer not only to Nigerians but to the world and that surely we will get to where we want to go.
The president described eid prayers as “ quite unique, We just watched the people who are performing on television, you see that everybody ( is ) the same thing, it showed that the kind of ranks we give to ourselves here are for the earthly journey.
“There, no president, no messenger. That should teach us that we should be humble and be kind to ourselves in the spirit of the moment, giving gifts and that reminds us about the significance of the moment when Abraham was to sacrifice his son, the only one he had, of course, the angel replaced it with a ram. That is the essence of this period.
Jonathan also the significance of the coincidence of this year’s Arafat day .”This year is quite significant in terms of celebrating Sallah, the Arafat coincide on a Friday and from what I was told it takes a long time to have that coincidence and remembering the fact that 2014 is our centenary year, that shows that something good is happening to this country. We may have our challenges as other nations but when things begin to happen in a particular way, I begin to see light at the end of the tunnel.
He believes “Whatever obstacles we see are very ephemeral and part of history of nation building, if you read the history of all nations, there is no nation that does not pass through some challenges but they got over it and move ahead, I think we are getting over our problems
“Thank all of you, thank all Nigerian Muslims and Muslims all over the world, congratulate them for this special occasion” ,the president said.
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