Muslims in Iwo, Osun State, on Sunday, staged a peaceful protest against ritual killings in the community, calling on the government to ensure that anyone caught in the act was duly punished.
The protest commenced at the Iwo Central, as the protesters, bearing placards with inscriptions such as, ‘Ritualists are not among alfas’, ‘We reject ritual killings in Iwo and environs’, ‘Islam is against ritualists’, among others, moved round the community, denouncing the act.
The protesters, who gathered under the aegis of the Coalition of Islamic Scholars and Organisations, were led by the Ameer, Ansrul-Huda Islamic Organisation, Shafi’i Bello.
According to Bello, Islam harbours shedding of human blood.
He said, “This is our collective stand. If we see anyone who engages in killing humans, buying or selling human parts, they are not to be regarded as Muslims.
“This is because the law of Islam says we must not kill anyone without justice and except those Islam has said we should. God himself frowns at killers.”
Also speaking during the protest, the NASFAT Missioner in Iwoland, Sheikh Tajudeen Bilal, condemned ritual killings and declared that no serious Muslim would involve in such acts.
He said suspected ritual killers caught in the past who claimed to be Quranic scholars were liars.
Lamenting the recurrence of ritual killings in the community, Bilal said, “This (ritual killing) has become rampant among the wolves in sheep’s clothing; those who are calling themselves alfas.
“They are not true Muslims because Al-Qur’an has made us know that every form of killing is a sin. It also made us to know that whoever kills a soul, it is as if he kills the whole world.””
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