The Sultan of Sokoto‘s warning against stereotyping Muslims as criminals deserves serious attention. The issue of religious profiling can escalate insecurity if not properly handled. This is especially concerning for a country held together by fragile cohesion.
No society should expect lasting peace if its components apportion guilt to entire ethnic or religious communities. There is no religion called criminality. However, across all faiths, individual perpetrators have always found themselves on the wrong side of the law.
Sultan’s intervention deserves national attention
The Sultan urged Nigerians to refrain from actions or narratives that portray Islam and Muslims negatively. He noted that such efforts lack evidence in the Qur’an, the Hadith, or Nigeria’s diverse cultural traditions.
His intervention should kick-start a national campaign. Religious leaders must denounce criminal acts with equal resolve. They should also condemn those who falsely invoke God’s name.
Stereotyping harms security and divides society
In moments of grief and insecurity, the temptation to resort to labelling becomes strong. However, such stereotyping is unjustifiable. Fear and suspicion should never replace reason or breed prejudice.
Besides undermining the constitutional guarantee of equality before the law, this stereotyping punishes the innocent alongside the guilty. It also exacerbates social fault lines. Section 42 of the Constitution expressly prohibits discrimination based on religion, ethnicity, and place of origin.
Therefore, millions of Nigerian Muslims should not face tagging as criminals for the wrongs of a few adherents. The same principle applies to Christians and adherents of all other faiths.
Religion is not on trial in Nigerian courts
Sweeping statements that forcibly enrobe any religion with criminality are condemnable. They risk distorting reality and weakening the fight against insecurity. No religion has ever faced a dock in any Nigerian court. Individuals have.
That is because kidnappers and terrorists face trial based on evidence, not prejudice. Regardless of whether they pray in mosques or churches, justice is individual.
Public figures must choose words carefully
The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has called for curbing inflammatory narratives. This call is justified. Public figures who command large audiences must choose their words with great caution.
This is especially important in a society already polarised. Rather than improve security, religious profiling makes communities less willing to cooperate with security agencies. Their trust fractured, they retreat into resentment. This jeopardises policing and intelligence gathering.
Meanwhile, extremists wait in the shadows. They are ready to exploit such alienation for recruitment and propaganda.
Distinguishing religion from criminality
Nevertheless, rejecting religious stereotyping is not enough. The conversation must go further. There must be unwavering denunciation of crimes committed by individuals who appropriate religion to gain legitimacy.
Nigeria has borne the brunt of Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province. These groups routinely invoke Allah while committing acts that violate every moral principle their faith professes. Muslims and Christians have lost their lives. Mosques and churches have become rubble. Entire communities have faced devastation and displacement.
Invoking Islam does not make their crimes Islamic. Similarly, quoting the Holy Scriptures does not make murder an act of Christian worship. This distinction must not escape attention.
Religious leaders hold the key
The Sultan occupies a very important position. He can expose the theological bankruptcy of extremists. He can also reassure vulnerable communities that violence committed in Allah’s name betrays the Islamic faith.
Voices like his must resonate not only when Muslims face unfair profiling. They must also resonate whenever bandits and other criminals desecrate Islam. Christian leaders share a similar obligation. All religious authorities bear this responsibility.
The credibility of faith communities grows not through defending sectional interests. Instead, it grows through taking an uncompromising stand for universal principles.
What the UNDP study reveals
The United Nations Development Programme’s study, Journey to Extremism in Africa, found important connections. Violent extremism links closely to the absence of good governance. It also links to economic hardship and social exclusion.
The report also emphasises the importance of trusted local voices. Religious leaders can strengthen societies against radicalisation. They can also promote peaceful coexistence.
While military responses remain necessary, extremist ideologies cannot fall without effective community engagement and moral leadership. Security agencies may dismantle terrorist camps. However, the narratives that persuade vulnerable young people to embrace violence can only face countering within local communities.
The first line of defence
The first line of defence against radicalisation remains imams, pastors, traditional rulers, teachers, and parents. These are the people who shape values long before security agencies encounter recruits.
Religious institutions should devote greater effort to promoting interfaith dialogue. Sermons should expose those who manipulate religious texts for unscrupulous purposes. Religious bodies must also emphasise respect for human life and obedience to civic responsibilities.
The media’s responsibility
The media must shun sensationalism capable of reinforcing harmful stereotypes. Reporting should draw a clear distinction between criminals and the communities from which they emerge. Journalists bear the burden of precise language.
Political leaders should also avoid fuelling religious or ethnic anxieties. Inflammatory speeches may yield temporary political gains. However, national cohesion may never recover from the damage inflicted.
Conclusion: A balanced approach
Nigeria’s insecurity has already taken a huge toll on its citizens. Communities have crumbled. Public confidence has shattered. The country does not need another layer of division.
Terrorists, bandits, and kidnappers thrive when societies lose trust in one another. Fractured communities become easier to manipulate and harder to protect.
The Sultan’s warning should therefore stand as both a caution and an invitation. Nigerians must guard against judging entire communities by the crimes of a few. At the same time, religious leaders must intensify their collective moral campaign against the exploitation of religion for criminal ends.
Nigeria’s future depends on embracing these dual truths with equal conviction. Citizens must reject every attempt to stereotype Muslims, Christians, or any other community as inherently criminal. Justice is individual, not collective.
Religious leaders must relentlessly expose and condemn those who abuse God’s name to perpetrate evil. The law should pursue every offender without fear or favour. Society must protect every innocent citizen from prejudice and discrimination.
That is the balance a mature democracy must strive to uphold. Nigeria will become safer not when its citizens suspect one another. Instead, it will become safer when they stand united against individuals whose crimes offend both the law of the land and the God they falsely claim to serve.
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