“Let him go and show how
brilliant he is in court. He and his fans laughed at us when we complained
about his provocative and vulgar video. But there is no doubt that he who
laughs last laughs best”, Ishaq Akintola, the group leader said in a statement on Monday.
The Islamic group stressed that
NBC should ensure that the video remained banned until the artist removes all
the offensive parts.
MURIC explained that the banning
of Falz’ video may not be unconnected with a petition it sent to the National
Film And Video Censors Board (NFVCB).
It said: “The petition which was
sent by courier to both the Abuja and Lagos offices of the agency was dated
11th June, 2018.
“The video portrayed Fulanis and
Muslims as killers. It also showed women in hijab engaging in the notorious
‘Shaku Shaku’ dance. Although reactions to similar provocative works of art had
been violent in the past, MURIC as an elite Islamic group decided to adopt
dialogue.
“We asked Falz to withdraw the
video or we would sue him. Instead of showing remorse he dared us. We knew he
could delay the court case for years because he is a lawyer and he would use
every trick in the books to frustrate us. That was why he was boasting.
“Therefore, instead of going to
court, we decided to ambush him by sending a petition to the video board. This
week, the NBC banned the video and others like it. He should be the one to go
to court now if he likes.
“It is hoped that Nigerian
artists will borrow a leaf from this episode. We Muslims have been the laughing
stock of Nigerian artists for some time now. They associate every dirty job
with a Muslim name. It is no longer going to be business as usual.
“We also love works of art and we
respect artists who come out with brilliant ideas. We recognize the right of
every artist to produce. But the right of an artist to produce whatever he
likes stops where the rights of other citizens begin.
“Like all other citizens, we
Muslims have the right to the dignity of our persons. Nobody can take that
right from us. Our right is our right. The law is very clear about that.
“Fela Anikulapo Kuti used his
songs to fight military dictatorship and other ills in the Nigerian society.
But he never attacked Muslims or Christians. Neither did he incite Nigerians
against any ethnic group. He criticized religious groups but never in a vulgar
manner and he never exposed Muslims or Christians to ridicule.
“We want Nigerians to know that
MURIC is inculcating a new culture of dialogue and informed response as the
only civilised alternatives to spontaneous violence. We engaged Falz in
dialogue instead of inciting young Muslims to start violent demonstrations.
“Muslims would have been called
all sorts of names if we had started demonstrating or if we had been violent on
the issue of Falz’ vulgar video. The image of Islam would also have been
tarnished. But MURIC decided to be faithful to its avowed motto which is
‘Dialogue, not Violence’.”
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