The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
has rejected Mathew Kukah’s initiative to train almajiri children.
Kukah, bishop of the Catholic
diocese of Sokoto state, had disclosed his plans to train 10 million almajiri
children in the north.
Reacting in a statement on
Wednesday, MURIC described Kukah’s proposal as a ploy for “modern colonialism
and a potential time bomb”.
The group cautioned Muslims
elders against accepting the idea, saying they should empower people of the
same faith to cater for almajiri children.
“We all agree that something must
be done about the almajiri children. We can welcome ideas from everyone but the
implementation must be in the hands of Muslims in the region. We cannot pretend to be so naïve as to
entrust our Muslim children to the hands of Christian gospellers. As far as we
are concerned, Kukah’s almajiri dream is a Trojan horse,” the statement read.
“The devil we know is still
better than the one we do not know and we expect Rev. Kukah to know better. Can
any Christian community allow an Islamic organization to take their children
away just like that?
“Whatever the situation may be,
we wish to caution Northern Muslims, particularly the elders, never to allow it
to happen. Instead of allowing Christian missionaries to seize this kind of
initiative, Northern Muslims should empower available Muslim NGOs to cater for
almajiri children.
“We therefore advise state
governments in the region to rearrange their priorities and concentrate on the
education and welfare of almajiri children.”
The group questioned why a
foreign donor would be interested in funding a project targeted at Muslim
children since they are known “for their preference for supporting
Christian-oriented non-governmental organisations (NGOs)”.
It advised Kukah to gain the
confidence of northern Muslim by allowing Muslim NGOs to implement the
project while the reverend father and
the donors monitor how the funds are used.
“Is Rev. Kukah telling us that he
prefers to alleviate poverty among Muslims to doing same among Christians? Are
there no poverty stricken children in the Christian majority Middle Belt
particularly in Benue and Plateau? Why can’t he take his project there?” MURIC
asked.
“Another question has to do with
funding. Who will fund this gigantic project? Our guess is that the fund will
come (or has come) from one of those foreign donors. This raises another major
concern.
“Incidentally, Western donors are
known for their preference for supporting Christian-oriented non-governmental organizations
(NGOs). They dish out huge amounts of money to non-Muslim NGOs while Islamic
organizations get pittance, and that is if they get anything at all. That is
not to say we are blaming them. We have no moral right to do so.
“But we have every right to stand
up against Kukah’s almajiri initiative and question the rationale behind a
foreign donor or donors funding a project targeted at Muslim children
particularly if the project is to be executed by a Christian organization.
“This project is repulsive. It
has the tendency to portray Muslims as a bunch of unintelligent, irresponsible
and carefree people. We cannot allow such a misleading impression to remain
just like that. Muslims are responsible people, idealistic, pious,
self-satisfied and integrity-loaded.
“We caution foreign donors to
desist from exploiting our predicament. We invite foreign donors who are
genuinely interested in helping the almajiris to do so through Muslim NGOs.
“To secure the confidence of
Northern Muslims, Kukah should put his cards on the table. Who are the donors?
How much are we looking at? What is the time frame?”
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MURIC must have their Brian tested. Kukah said Almajiri children and not Muslim children. Or are they telling us that all Almajiris are Muslims.
ReplyDeleteMURIC are becoming rhetorically complacent, not even knowing the course to fight or the one to leave.
ReplyDeleteMUMURIC
Hahahahahahah
Am really flabbergasted. Are this people for real. Do they actually have a thinking brain. Have they seen the huge negative impact of almajiri in the north.
ReplyDeleteInstead of them seeing how they can work together to completely eliminate almajiri in the nearest future, they are condemning it out rightly. It's a shame to have such people as spokes men or women for anybody. It spells doomsday.