From JULIANA TAIWO-OBALONYE
President Goodluck Jonathan has said despite inciting remarks from certain politicians saying Nigeria will be disintegrated soon, Nigeria will remain one united nation. He said only mad couple divorce after 100 years of marriage and Nigeria is not mad. Jonathan spoke at the Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration 2013 Inter-Denominational Church Service, at the National Christian Centre, Abuja, with the theme: Peace and Unity.
The president said for the country to get to her desired destination, all hand must be on deck, saying government alone could not do it neither could the citizens alone do it. He said this was the time, as united nation, for Nigerians to rise in one voice and condemned terrorism and those who preached disintegration. Jonathan particularly commended the Armed Forces and other security agents for their selflessness, adding that despite the number of criticisms that trailed some of their actions or perceived inactions, they were doing all within their powers to keep the nation one and in peace, adding that the best gift we could give to them was support and prayers.
“Let me welcome you all to this special day that we are remembering those who worked for us, served us and paid the capital prize. They died for us to live. ‘We are here to remember the Armed Forces who serve within and in various parts of the world to bring peace to the world and in that process lost their lives. “Let me appreciate the church for what you have been doing over the period, for what you have been doing persistently for peace to reign in our land and the nation to develop. “Let me especially appreciate the leaders of the Christians who have on a daily basis organise various prayers for us.
“Let me especially thank the armed forces because today is their day and also the police and other services, we sleep because they stay awake. “In some cases where things happen people blamed profusely but for those of us who get reports on daily happenings about such challenges, we know that these men and women have been doing very well. “I thank them for their gallantry, dedication to service, for the work they have been doing for us and we pray that God will see them through. “I use this unique opportunity to encourage them to continue to do what they have been doing and we believe this country will get through her various challenges.
“As we remember the work the Armed Forces and other security outfits have been doing, I think the best gift we can give to them as a people, is to pray for them and in our daily activities to preach peace, love and unity. Because if we love ourselves and we live in peace and emphasis more on the unity of this country, some of our challenges we are having we probably may not have. “But if our leaders at whatever level, whether political, community or religious, talk more about those things that divide us instead of those things that bring us together, then we will be encouraging the younger ones who know little or nothing about the history of this country to do things differently and sometimes conduct themselves in a way that is clearly anti social.
“Some of the best gifts we can give to the Armed Forces and the sister organisation is for us in our various activities to emphasize the need for us to live in peace, love ourselves and unite. “Some people talk about disintegration of Nigeria, now even at political levels some people take it as weapon when they want to discuss politics. But my conviction and I believe, that most people here and those listening to us is that Nigeria will continue to remain a united nation. “Nigeria will not disintegrate. Anybody who is doing research on sociology, psychology or political science, I know Nigeria will remain one.
“In 2014, we will celebrate our centenary, 100 years in existence. It will only take two mad people to stay in marriage for 100 years and say that is the time you will divorce and we are not mad. If there are issues that have been brewing over the period and we have been managing, we will continue to manage. “We will not think about separation. I always say some nations have their own history; people question the unity of this country, especially when they talk about the amalgamation of the North and South in 1914. Some big countries have very ugly pasts. But it is not for us to begin to make history, it is for us who are alive today to shift our focus and begin to talk about those things that will bring unity, development.
“I always say that Nigeria is great not because of our oil, because we have people that produce more oil than us but we are appreciated and still reckon with because of our size and diversity both for human beings and environment. These are areas we should exploit for unity and development. “So please let us all stand up and condemn those who say otherwise about our unity, those who call for our disintegration or who make similar statements should be condemned by all Nigerians. “As a country, made up of great citizens, when we work together, when government play her role and the citizens also play their roles, surely we will get to where we want to go.
If only the government or only the people are working, and others are not playing the required role and provide the enabling environment, of course we will not go anywhere. “But when we work together, our children and our children yet unborn will be happy. God’s willing with your prayers and commitment, Nigeria will get to where she wants to go,” he said. In his message entitled: Embracing the legacies of a worthy officer, Rev. Supo Ayokunle, president Nigerian Baptist Convention, reading from the book of Luke 7:1-10, said one thing was to be given opportunity to serve but another thing was to serve very well.
He added that while some people would serve in a place for short time and left indelible mark, others, despite long service, their impact would not be felt. He said the example of the Roman centurion, an ambassador in the land of Israel, should be emulated by Armed Forces and other security services. “Though you have the power of the gun you do not have all the power, power belongs to God.”
He urged them to emulate the legacies of the Roman soldier. “One of his legacy was that he was a caring boss that took those serving under him as sons.” He charged the Nigerian officers to treat the soldiers with cares because only then will they command their respect. “Don’t abuse those under you or those in your community, you are suppose to serve them, not bully them.”
If am in Jonathans shoe i will say the same thing, but jonathan knew that Nigerians are not enjoying the marriage, lets wait and see,,,,
The best the president can do for the unity of the country not to be questioned is to distance himself from contesting in 2015. If soviet uniom could disintegrate Nigeria can equally collapse if Jonathan allows himself to be used by the fools telling to run in 2015.
Pls GEJ, with all due respect those prophecies could be regarded as doomsday but forceful marriage doesn,t have longitivity. I prefer to let my people go to their promised land.
So the president is not informed about the disintegration of Northern Ireland from Britain after one hundreds years of false marriage?. As a Zoologist he should know even animals need justice and equity to guarantee their co-habitation.
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Jonah..we both knw dt itz only in our dream dt nigeria wl outlast 2015..dis false marriaqe wl certainly cum 2 an end cos it waz nva ordaind by God..rather by satan(ibb nd his fello cohortz) so qrab as many cash u cn dt wl buy u a pair of italian shoe so dt u dnt return 2 otuoke shoeles
GEJ is a true leader, every good leader should do same but I have no dought about d division of dis country b/c there is time 4 every. If God will dat d country should divide, no one can stop it, let us all pray 4 d will of God 4 d nation
please my dear people what do you expect a leader to say? destroy the kingdom he swore to keep and uphold? Remember king louis the 14th of france apre moi du deluge he said.so we know that after Jona….whatever nija sees we take,we just pray we see good things after Jona.but as for buying good pairs of shoes….very good and brotherly advice Alaa shiga shiga!
Taiwo, he should have at least kept quite on that topic.
I have being supporting him before but anyother statement like this and he will loose my group’s goodwill
If i where in GEJ shoes i would do every thing possible even deny my due slalaries 2 make sure that ppl ar bit ok….look at our power supply;through out last week, i was in total darkness every evening,look at our roads….now i stand 2 ask…wat do we stand 2 gain from nigeria as a democratic nation? D answser is nothing,so d best and only option 2 solve nigerian problem is 2 split;we wil not continue 2 manage.
YOU ARE SAYING RUBBISH. OUR PRESIDENT IS TRYING.FOR MORE THAN A WEEK NOW,LIGHT HAS NOT BEEN INTERRUPTED IN MY PLACE. JUST BE PATIENT,NIGERIA WILL BE GOOD
Disintegration,disintegration,disintegration,people like isrealdo are fools to their necks,so you think the north‘ll survive without oil right?Well,you‘re wrong,it‘s you people that‘ll not survive without food,you don‘t even know anything about how the country is moving,are all the past northern presidents better than your God sent clueless brother?They‘re and you know that,wawa kawai,dolo,banza,jaki,dabba.
This Jonah will not cease to amaze me, first month of the year what he supposed to be telling Nigerians is about unfolding his plans and things he is planning to fulfill this year. I don’t blame him I blame Nigerians that have become mumu and blind!
Come to the US or just be paying attention to CNN, Obama is about to take oath for his second term but all is about planning, working and reforms:from health, to security,foreign policy, infrastructure, economic policies, etc., etc.
Well our president is also a prophet, were u surprised? that many scientist in Nig 2day in d name of pastors & prophets has been prophesying & yet NOTHING HAPPENS, so it is d turn of our able presido GEJ 2 prophesying, who knows, infact am in support of him GEJ that Nig. will nt break-up even if Tunde bakare+buhari force cannot break us! GOD BLESS NIGERIA
All work without pray make a Jack a dull boy. I mean that They must be invent so that history will tell. Gej is now in book of bad and good records na so. Let me tell you Gej and co, Nigerian is already disintegrate believe it or live it soon you will see the God of Vengeance. Anybody who trying to stop the people of Israel to go there promise land which God swear an oath and gave to them what happen in Egypt, will happen in Nigerian just wait and see.
All of you people are prophets of doom. The no 1 citizen of this country has spoken so you day dreamers should go and put your ass down. The earlier you begin to support the president the better for you people.
Nigeria is never a one country, It is a Georgraphical expression and not an entity called one Country. From 2014, it is no longer bidding to any section either the North and South to continue in this enterprise called Nigeria, It will not require any constitional ammendment Because it is `a PROVISOR` in the Amalgamation Document. Jonathan will add to his History as the last President of the Country called Nigeria. Let him not pretend because he knows about this and he and his kingsmen are already preparing for 2014 for Ijaw Kingdom as their New country.
BAD ATTITUDE is like a flat tyre,you cant go anywhere untill u change it.so we immersly need to change our attitude towards odas in oda to overcome sme challenges..Actually its only a bad couple can talk about divorce after 100 yrs of marriage..but d fuckin truth is dat we aint enjoyin d fuckin marriage cos sme group of people had vowed to mak tins hard for us…honestly, to understand some ple in nigeria you need to start watchin animal planet.God hlp us
Nigeria as one entity is the best thing for us ,the only problem we have is bad leadership in all areas of governance in nigeria ,coruption and insincearity
From all indications Nigeria is already disintegrated. There is no bases for one Nigeria as it’s presently constituted
This speech of President Jonathan was the BEST and inspirational speech of this decade, until after 2020, possibly Nigerians may experience powerful and awaken of the slumbered spirit of Nationhood speech. Mr president understand that the only remained institutions that united Nigerian was the arms forces so His speeches was not only inspired arms-forces but Nigerians at large. Many Nigerian are Ignorance that if GOD did not want us together the amalgamation of 1914 and the independence of 1960 will not becomes history definately it was GOD planned not by our own human power, if actually it was human power the Biafra war of 30 months could have divides Nigeria but this same arm forces sacrifices their life to keeps Nigeria together. Mr president speech should be a topic in schools/colleges as subject of unity, peace and progress of the reality of our current challenges because it entailed many lessons than school curriculoms before some unpatriotic Nigerians turned it to subject of mockery in the name politics.
Jonathan is our beloved pr aesident and Buhari is good they are all good in their seperate ways,
Wat is the gain of been in one Nigerian where her children is run up and down looking for money to eat noting to show in Nigerian as a big country better for us to be small country like 5 or 6 so that we know were the problem of this fake Nigerian comes from may be in the north
Mr President you are best Nigeria ever produced but the problem you are having with some elite is that you do not want to stain your hands with blood .them want you to use the UDI patten to fight boko haram , blood for blood but you prefer to talk them over , and this is mistaking for weekness. Come 2015 GoodLuck is my president . l know you will do something about the unemployment situation in country as that is why most Graduate are into all kinds of evil just to rise money to meet the demand.Cont .your fight against Corruption, we are you .
MY CONCLUSION: PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN’S WISDOM IS INVERSELY PROPORTIONAL TO HIS SO CALLED Phd. If I may ask, what marriage is Jonathan refering to? Is it a consensual marriage or the most unfortunate, forced marriage of 1914 by a mad man called Lord Lugard? Is Jonathan saying that if one mad man should abduct his daughter (against her will), that after searching for her for so many years without success, Mr President is going to give up and give it his blessing? The basic problem with most Nigerian politicians, including President Jonathan is that, they are very selfish, wicked, myopic and visionless. Is Jonathan now saying this because he now suddenly has a political advantage? How old was the former USSR, for instance, before it broke up? My prayer is that if opportunists like Jonathan and co don’t take their time, they will be in a foreign land, just like former President Gorbachev of former USSR, on the day Nigeria will break up. THERE IS ONLY ONE THING THAT READILY BREAKS UP A NATION, THAT IS INJUSTICE. THERE IS MONUMENTAL INJUSTICE IN NIGERIA. INJUSTICE SUCH AS WE HAVE IN NIGERIA IS WORSE THAN AGGRESSIVE, MALIGNANT FORMR OF CANCER AND FULL BLOWN AIDS COMBINED. A patient who is unfortunate enough to find himself in this position, just like Nigeria, is only bidding for time. It is only a matter of time before Nigeria is buried. This is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Why I arrived at this conclusion is that, there is no honest effort by the blind and hypocritic Nigerian politicians to remedy the situation. If I may ask again, how many of President Jonathan’s, IBB’s, Atiku’s, David Marks, Bankole’s, Obasanjo’s etc children and relations are among the over 60 milliom unemployed Nigerian youths searching for non-existing jobs? Iyke Anaebuo writes fro London.
I AM NOT AN AGENT OF DIVISION, I PREFER ONE NIGERIA TO NUMEROUS FRAGMENTS BUT THE CAUSE OF DIVISION OF THIS GREAT COUNTRY LIES IN OUR LEADERS. MARGINALISATION, CORRUPTION, UNEMPLOYMENT, INSCURITY, BH AND HOST OF OTHER VICES ARE THE THINGS THAT WANT TO BREAK MY BELOVED NATION. MR. PRESIDENT SHOULD KNOW THAT ANY FORCED MARRIAGE IS BOUND TO BREAK NO MATTER HOW LONG IT LASTED.
Something is missing about this Phd holder
People keep refering to 2015 because it was the Americans that said so. This is a feat that can even be performed by any idiot who is familiar with the Nigeria terrain. An average Nigerian knows that a presidential election in Nigeria has at least 50% chances of huge violence. We don’t need American to predict break up for us. Americans had used the psychology of fear to psych us up into violence using our election time table as an instrument. Unfortunately, we are now paranoid about it, and that’s what they want. America is our biggest customer in the oil market and in the event of violence or war breaking out, they stand to benefit from oil-for-arms deal if all things go well as planned. That is where they are going. America can never be interested in your case except something is up for grab. Our duty is to call their bluff and prove them wrong. But, what Jonathan should do as a patriotic citizen is not to put himself up for the 2015 presidential election again so as to ease some tension in the polity.
mr usman, should buhari put himself up in 2015? If your answer is yes, then you are a hypocrite and a dreamer
Chairman, you asked a question and you attempted the answer yourself; you must be a funny looking guy. By the way, what chances does Buhari have against a PDP candidate?
… to me, professionalism for any concept is not on paper, rather is on pragmatic exhibition. Not just by talking the question remains; what are the laid down strategies to sustain the co-existence of Nigerians?
Jonathan is wicked and a high profile pretender,i wish God on vengance wil strike on him.
It is sane for the evil couple to be using their children for breakfast, lunch and supper, abi ? Truly, no such evil couple will like to break up but nature has made us to understand that evil has a very short life span. I believe in a united state of nigeria (U S N) not forced union of nigeria (FUN).
Nigeria has more of it’s nationals outside their homeland after india and china.the later two have populations counts in billion each.
Why is nigeria trying to amend constitution before 2014?It’s because they want to give it an elected govt coloration just to be able to defend the forced marriage as a consented one once the separation wave starts to hit up the polity in 2014.The 2014 liberation clause exists belle et bien in the amalgamation script.
Everybody that’s really interested in discontinuation of this evil called nigeria must start acting now before it’s late.Cos it’ll be more difficult once this constitution’s out and signed into law.Be aware that Nigerian govt have been making consultation with specialised international jurists on international law concerning a possible way of defending the forced union incase a popular unrest force them to UNO demanding freedom from this union.
So every persons interested is freedom should start learning on how the north africans utilised social media to stage their movement and share it online forums.justice detained is justice denied.
Gej is even d’accord that our politicians are favorable to partition.what’s next,we only need a popular movement for it to realise.
The Irony of GEJ ‘s speeh is that a marriage that is being held together by Armed Forces and other security agents is a a bad marriage. Actually is a rape case!!!
Nigeria has to face the reality and free themselves from mental slave.
I am strongly believe that all regions and ethnic groups of this country stand the chance to gain from one another. The underline problem remain injustice. Injustice in all spheres of our lives. Why must certain region believe they are more superior to rule than the others. Why must we believe that certain part of the country do not deserve to have any Federal infrastructure. Why do we neglect the chickens that lay the golden eggs. Few examples are oil producing states that cater for well over 80%of the nation’s income. Neglect of roads to Lagos ports which generate billions of naira monthly into the nations treasury, etc. If we balance all injustices, no any African nation can match us.
Inasmuch as all these problems continue, the yeaning for breakup will continue. President GEJ knows that Nigeria is fast approaching to the end…but it can be averted through good leadership and justice. If throughly Nigeria can breakup, that does not mean that will happen in year 2015. 2015 is a reference point predictors use because of violence that always characterized with our national elections. Those who say it is impossible for Nigeria to breakup at this time may need to rethink. No one ever knew that former Yugoslavia and USSR can be break up into several units. If we must part ways, I pray we choose the way of USSR non-violence instead of Yugo method.
Concerning divison of Nigeria, i donk( have opinon on it. My own believe is that, if breakup of Nigeria is de only thing that will gurantte my children their future, so be it. Another point is that nobody however powerful de person or people may be can stop Nigerians from excising their fundamental right, that is to say Nigeria should disolve. Which ever way Nigeria go , i know south west Nigeria will always be Nigeria light.
No Nigerian in his right sense would want Nigeria to disintegrate. It is not possible to disintegrate without blood shed. And again, the analogy of the President is not appropriate in the sense that the word marriage is inapplicable to Nigeria situation. Amalgamation is not marriage in any sense. The President and his party should also not help disintegration in the way they govern.
I just hope all of you preaching disintegration of Nigeria are ready to pay the price because when the trouble starts you can never know where it will end so you may as well be consumed by the fire that may rage. Don’t think you will always have the opportunity to sneak away to safety abroad with your family.
It’s easier to talk about the country’s break up as a solution to all our problems but this a country where the Ibos do not like themselves. Some Igbo States have been known to send others packing because they do not for example come from Abia, Enugu etc. So forget about Igbo country. The Yorubas differentiate amongst Oyo State and Oshu State etc and even the Ijubus and the Egbas do not agree. There are differences between the Ijebus and the Remos. Ekiti the most linguistic state say one is Ekere and other Ados. In the north it’s the same. There are Hausas and there are Fulanis, Kanuris etc talk much of Tivs.
Therefore how exactly are you going to divide the country to secure the peace the disintegration will be?
It’s unfortunate that while other people are doing everything to come together all Nigerians are concerned about is to your tents oh Israel.
As far as I am concerned, the quicker we learn to live together be you from the north, south, Christian, Muslim or whatever the better for us. Even in the Muslim world today, war is raging among-st the Sunnis and Shies e.g. Iraq etc. See what’s going on in Pakistan etc. There is no other viable alternative.
And for those preaching that we have to define the way to live together, you must remember too that every tribe, every section, every religion etc has its own grievances. Don’t even imagine you are the only one who feels cheated in one way or the other.
@kola amodu,for once me and u should be saying the same thing.It truly pains me of missed chances to build a national bridge of unity.I really (sincerely)think igbos,southsoutherners and yorubas should remaine one,cos we can still reconcile if we are to tell ourselves the bitter truth.I strongly believe that north should not be part of the new union.not because they’re mostly moslims,but cos we’re truly incompatible.Ahmadu bello made it clear that he want the north to be for northerner clear and not with southerner.
But I think that if a total partition is the answer,then so be it.I wish there be either a southern Nigerian govt or Biafra and Oudua republic living in peace.The two can even decide to form a new confederal union,who know.
But the truth is that the effort to hold igbos down is wearning nigeria.it’s the base of all the nigerian malaise.
I sincerely think that we need to part.
IF WE DIVIDE,WILL JONATHAN LED US IN THE SOUTH?BECAUSE I FORESEE US DIVIDING THE WAY WE WERE IN 1914 BEFORE THE MERGER BY LORD LUGARD,IF OBJ AND JONATHAN ARE THE KIND OF LEADERS WE THE SOUTH CAN PRODUCE THEN I WILL WANT MY STATE OF ABIA TO JOIN THE NORTH,AFTER ALL ALASIKA STATE IN USA WAS PART OF USSR BEFORE THEY JOIN USA,FROM 1960 IF WE ARE HONEST AND SINCERE THE NORTHERN LEADERS HAVE DONE BETTER THAN OUR SOUTHERN LEADERS SENTIMENTS APART,ALL THAT WE HAVE TODAY EVEN THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT WERE CREATED BY THEM,YET OUT PEOPLE ARE CRYING UNBALANCE,IRONISI WAS THERE FOR SIX MONTHS YET HE DID NOT CREATE ANY STATE OR LGA,BUT MURITALA CREATED 7 STATES IN 6 MONTHS,OF A RESENT WE HAD OBJ THERE FOR 8 YEARS AFTER HIS MILITARY RULE OF ALMOST 4 YEARS YET HE COULD NOT BALANCE US BY STATE CREATION,INFACT HE MISSED IT DURING HIS LAST TENURE BECAUSE OF HIS SELFISH AMBITION FOR THIRD TERM.JONATHAN IS THERE ALL FOR HIS SELFISH INTEREST AND AMBITION FOR ANOTHER TERM,IF GIVEN 20 YEARS THERE IS NOTHING HE CAN DO FOR US,HE HAS LOST CONTROL OF EVERY THING,HIS HOME REGION[SOUTH SOUTH],HIS HOME STATE[BEYASA],HIS PARTY [PDP]AND HIS SO CALLED GOVERNMENT PLUS THE NATION AT LARGE,SO OUR SOLUTION IS NOT DIVISION BUT ALLOWING AND SUPPORTING A GOOD LEADERS TO TAKE OVER TO LED US WELL,LEADERS LIKE GENERAL M BUHARI,SENATOR TINUBU,SENATOR CHRIS NGIGI,CHIEF OGBONNAYA ONU,BISI AKENDE,GENERAL BUBUA MARWA,GOVERNORS FASHOLA,ADAMS OSHIEMOLE,ROSCHAS OKOROCHA,FEYEMI AND ARIGBESOLA
@sayDtruth..i fully concore wt u
GEJ isnt wrong at all. Disintergration maynt place us at a vantage point at all. We hv varied differences. If we wont glory in the prevalent setting ‘Unity in Diversity’ then we could end up having up to 50 fragmented countries. That’l be a shame. Our greatness is in our togetherness. Leaders should be people-centred.
My humble sumission is dt “D strenght of dis country in d world is in our diversity” May Gods will prevail.
THE CAUSE OF TO BREAK OR NOT TO BREAK IS BECAUSE NIGERIA AS A NATION HAS NOT DISCOVERED HOW BEST TO STRUCTURE THE FEDERATING PARTS SO THAT THE CENTER DOES NOT LORD IT OVER THE FEDERATING UNITS. BEFORE THE SO-CALLED 2015, THE SOLUTION AND BEST WAY TO STRUCTURE AND GOVERN NIGERIA MUST BE KNOWN, ALL I NEED FROM YOU GUYS IS TO AGREE OR DISAGREE ON SOME OF THE SOLUTIONS HIGHLIGHTENED. IN UNITY I SEE OUR STRENGHT.
Jonathan just echo his Masters, only two days ago IBB and Abubaka talk about indivisible Nigeria so it not come as a surprise for Jonathan to echo them. Whereas the best legacy Jonathan can leave behind is to drive servant away from top of the horse of our destiny. O yes bible talk about injustice in this world. Servant riding a horse, master trecking. I pray that that day will never come when like that woman cried to the king for help. The king looked at her eye ball to eye ball; me help you; if your lord can not help you, who am to help you. I pray N/D or Southerners as whole will not get simlar response from Hausa/Fulani terrorist in the nearest future.
I will kill again January 15, 2013 at 6:13 am
Most Muslims believe: “Islam would never support killing innocent people. Allah of Holy Quran never advocated killings. This is all the work of a few misguided individuals. The real Islam is sanctified against violence. Islam means peace. Islam means tolerance.”
But is it true? Does Islam really preach peace, tolerance and non-violence? Those Muslims who perpetrate crimes in the name of Allah think differently. They believe that what they do is a Jihad (holy war). They say that killing the unbelievers is mandatory for every Muslim. They do not kill because they break the laws of Islam but because they think this is what a true Muslim should do. Those who blow up their own bodies to kill more innocent people do so because they think they will be rewarded in Paradise. They hope to be blessed by Allah, eat celestial food, drink pure wine and enjoy the company of divine consorts.
Are they completely misguided? Where did they get this distorted idea? How did they come to believe that killing innocent people pleases God? Or is it that we are misguided? Does Islam really preach violence? Does it call upon its believers to kill the “non-believers” ? We denounce those who commit acts of violence and call them extremists. But are they really extremists or do they actually do what the Holy book of Quran tells them to do? What does the Quran really teach? Have we read the Quran? Do we know what kind of teachings are there? Let us go through some of them and take a closer look at what Allah says.
What Qur’an Teaches:
Quran tells us to: “not to make friends with Jews and Christians” (5:51), fight them “until they pay the Jizya (a penalty tax for the non-Muslims living under Islamic rules) with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued” ( 9:29). “kill the disbelievers wherever we find them” (2:191), “murder them and treat them harshly” (9:123), “fight and slay the Pagans, seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem” ( 9:5).
Quran says that all those who disbelieve in Islam go to hell (5:10), they are najis (filthy, untouchable, impure) (9:28), and orders us to fight the unbelievers until no other religion except Islam is left (2:193). It prohibits a Muslim to befriend a non-believer even if that non-believer is the father or the brother of that Muslim (9:23), (3:28).
It says that the “non-believers will go to hell and will drink boiling water” (14:17). It asks the Muslims to “slay or crucify or cut the hands and feet of the unbelievers, that they be expelled from the land with disgrace and that they shall have great punishment in the world hereafter” (5:34). And tells us that “for them (the unbelievers) garments of fire shall be cut and there shall be poured over their heads boiling water whereby whatever is in their bowels and skin shall be dissolved and they will be punished with hooked iron rods” (22:19-22) and that they not only will have “disgrace in this life, on the Day of Judgment He shall make them taste the Penalty of burning (Fire)” (22:9).
Quran says that “those who invoke a god other than Allah not only should meet punishment in this world but the Penalty on the Day of Judgment will be doubled to them, and they will dwell therein in ignominy” (25:68). For those who “believe not in Allah and His Messenger, He has prepared, for those who reject Allah, a Blazing Fire!” (48:13).
As for him who does not believe in Islam the Prophet says that after he dies it will be announced with a “stern command”: “Seize ye him, and bind ye him, And burn ye him in the Blazing Fire. Further, make him march in a chain, whereof the length is seventy cubits! This was he that would not believe in Allah Most High. And would not encourage the feeding of the indigent! So no friend hath he here this Day. Nor hath he any food except the corruption from the washing of wounds, Which none do eat but those in sin.” (69:30-37)
The holy Prophet prescribes fighting for us and tells us that “it is good for us even if we dislike it” (2:216). Then he advises us to “strike off the heads of the disbelievers”; and after making a “wide slaughter among them, carefully tie up the remaining captives” (47:4). Our God has promised to “instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers” and has ordered us to “smite above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off them” (8:12). and “to strike terror into (the hearts of the enemies” (8:60).
He has made the Jihad mandatory and warns us that “Unless we go forth, (for Jihad) He will punish us with a grievous penalty, and put others in our place” (9:39). Allah speaks to our Holy Prophet and says “O Prophet! strive hard against the unbelievers and the Hypocrites, and be stern against them. Their abode is Hell,- an evil refuge indeed” (9:73).
He promises us that in the fight for His cause whether we slay or are slain we return to the garden of Paradise (9:111). In Paradise he will “wed us with Houris (celestial virgins) pure beautiful ones” (56:54), and unite us with large-eyed beautiful ones while we recline on our thrones set in lines (56:20). There we are promised to eat and drink pleasantly for what we did (56:19). And have sex with “boys like hidden pearls” (56:24) and “youth never altering in age like scattered pearls” (76:19)
As you see, Allah has promised all sorts of rewards, gluttony and unlimited sex to Muslim men who kill the unbelievers in his name, not forgetting even those with pedophilic inclinations. We will be admitted to Paradise where we shall find “goodly things, beautiful ones, pure ones confined to the pavilions that man has not touched them before nor jinni” (56:67-71).
In the West we enjoy freedom of belief but we are not supposed to give such freedom to anyone else because it is written “If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah), never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter He will be in the ranks of those who have lost (all spiritual good) (3:85).
As for women, the book of Allah says that they are inferior to men and their husbands have the right to scourge them if they are found disobedient (4:34). It advises men to take a green branch and beat their wives, because a green branch is more flexible and hurts more. (38:44). It teaches that women will go to hell if they are disobedient to their husbands (66:10). It maintains that men have an advantage over the women (2:228). It not only denies the women’s equal rights, it decrees that their witness is not admissible in the courts of law (2:282). This means that a woman who is raped cannot accuse her rapist unless she can produce a male witness. Our Holy Prophet allows us to marry up to four wives and he licensed us to sleep with our slave maids and as many ‘captive’ women as we may have (4:3) even if those women are already married. He himself did just that.
[A word of warning for those who may find their version of Quran is translated differently from those appearing in this article: Almost all the translators of Quran have deliberately tried to soften the harsh verses of Quran. Yusufali especially goes out of his way to twists the meaning of the words and hide the harshness of Quran. For example he translates the verse (38:44) that says "take a green branch and beat your wife" as "take a little green grass and strike therewith". Or when he translates the verse (4:34) that says "beat your wife" he cannot help it but to add the word (lightly) in parenthesis.]
Dear fellow Muslim: Is this the Islam you believe in? Is this your Most Merciful, Most Compassionate Allah whom you worship daily? Could God incite us to kill other peoples? Please understand that there is no terrorist gene but there could be a terrorist mindset. That mindset finds its most fertile ground in the tenets of Islam. Denying it and presenting Islam as a religion of peace similar to Buddhism to the lay public is suppression of truth. The history of Islam between 7th and 14th century is riddled with violence, fratricide and wars of aggression, starting right from the death of the Prophet and during the so-called ‘pure’ or orthodox caliphate. And Muhammad himself hoisted the standard of killing, looting, massacres and bloodshed. How can we deny the entire history? The behavior of our Holy Prophet as recorded in authentic Islamic sources is quite questionable from a modern viewpoint. The Prophet was a charismatic man but he had few virtues. Imitating him in all aspects of life (following Sunnah) is firstly impossible and secondly dangerous in the 21st century. Why are we so helplessly in denial on this simple issue?
When the Prophet was in Mecca and he was still not powerful enough he called for tolerance. He said “To you be your religion, and to me my religion” (109:6). This famous quote is often misused to prove that the general principle of Quran is tolerance. He advised his follower to speak good to their enemies (2:83), exhorted them to be patient (Q. 20:103) and said that “there is no compulsion in religion” (2:256). But all that changed drastically when he came to power. Then killing and slaying the unbelievers was justified in innumerable verses with harshness and without mercy. The verses quoted to prove Islam’s tolerance ignore many other verses that bear no trace of tolerance or forgiveness. Is it normal that a book revealed by God should have so many serious contradictions?
The Prophet himself set the example of unleashing violence by invading the Jewish settlements breaking the treaties he had signed with them and banished some of them after confiscating their belongings massacring others and taking their wives and children as slaves. He inspected the youngsters and massacred all those who had pubic hair along with the men and those who were younger he kept as slaves. He distributed the women captured in his raids among his soldiers keeping the prettiest for himself (33:50). He made sexual advances on Safiyah a Jewish girl in the same day he captured her town, Kheibar, and killed her father, husband and many of her relatives. Reyhana was another Jewish girl of Bani Quraiza whom he used as sex slave after killing all her male relatives. In the last ten years of his life he accumulated a score of wives, concubines and sex slaves including the 9 year old Ayesha.
These are not stories but records from authentic Islamic history and the Hadiths. It can be argued that these behaviors were not unknown or unusual for the conquerors and leaders of the mediaeval world but these are not the activities befitting of a peaceful saint and certainly not of someone who claimed to be the Mercy of God for all the creation.
There were known assassinations of adversaries during the Prophet’s time, that took place at his behest. Among them there was a 120 year old man, Abu ‘Afak whose only crime was to compose a lyric satirical of the Prophet. (Kitab al Tabaqat al Kabir, Volume 2, by Bin Sa’d, page 32) Then when a poetess, a mother of 5 small children, ‘Asma’ Bint Marwan, wrote a poetry cursing the Arabs for letting Muhammad assassinate an old man, our Holy Prophet ordered her to be assassinated too in the middle of the night, which was carried out while her youngest child was suckling from her breast. (Sirat Rasul Allah (A. Guilaume’s translation “The Life of Muhammad”) page 675, 676).
Dear conscientious Muslims: Question yourselves- isn’t this compulsive dogma of following a man who lived 1400 years ago, leading us to doom in this changing world? Who are we deceiving? See how our Umma (people) have sunk into poverty and how we lag behind the rest of the world? Isn’t it because we are following a religion that is outdated and impractical? In this crucial moment of history, when a great catastrophe has befallen us and a much bigger one is lying ahead, should not we wake up from our 1400 years of slumber and see where things have gone wrong?
The hatred has filled the air and the world is bracing itself for its doomsday. Should we not ask ourselves whether we have contributed, unwittingly, to this tragedy and whether we can stop the great disaster from happening?
Unfortunately the answer to the first question is yes. Yes, we have contributed to the rise of fundamentalism by merely claiming Islam is a religion of peace, by simply being a Muslim and by saying our shahada (testimony that Allah is the only God and Muhammad is his messenger). By our shahada we have recognized Muhammad as a true messenger of God and his book as the words of God. But as you saw, those words are anything but from God. They call for killing, they are prescriptions for hate and they foment intolerance. And when the ignorant among us read those hate laden verses, they act on them and the result is the infamous September 11, the result is human bombs in Israel, massacres in East Timor and Bangladesh, kidnappings and killings in Philippines, slavery and genocide in Sudan, honor Killings in Pakistan and Jordan, torture in Iran, stoning and maiming in Afghanistan and Iran, violence in Algeria, terrorism in Palestine and misery and death in all Islamic countries. We are responsible because we endorsed Islam and hailed it as a religion of God. And we are as guilty as those who put into practice what Quran preaches and ironically we are the main victims too.
If we are not terrorists, if we love peace, if we cried with the rest of the world for what happened in NYC, then why are we supporting Quran that preaches killing, that advocates holy war, that calls for murder of non-Muslims? It is not the extremists who have misunderstood Islam. They do literally what Quran ask them to do. It is we who misunderstand Islam. We are the ones who are confused. We are the ones who wrongly assume that Islam is the religion of peace. Islam is not a religion of peace. In its so-called pure form it can very well be interpreted as a doctrine of hate. Terrorists are simply doing that and we the intellectual apologists of Islam are justifying it.
We can stop this madness. Yes we can avert the disaster that is hovering over our heads. Yes we can denounce the doctrines that promote hate. Yes we can embrace the rest of humanity with love. Yes, we can become part of a united world, members of one human family, flowers of one garden. We can dump the claim of infallibility of our Book and the questionable legacy of our Prophet.
Dear friends, there is no time to waste. Let us put an end to this lie. Let us not fool ourselves. Islam is not a religion of peace, of tolerance, of equality or of unity of humankind. Let us read the Quran. Let us face the truth even if it is painful. As long as we keep this lie alive, as long as we hide our head in the sands of Arabia we are feeding terrorism. As long as you and I keep calling Quran the unchangeable book of God, we cannot blame those who follow the teachings therein. As long as we pay our Khums and Zakat our money goes to promote Islamic expansionism and that means terrorism, Jihad and war.
Islam divides the world in two parts: Darul Harb (land of war) and Darul Islam (land of Islam). Darul Harb is the land of the infidels, Muslims are required to infiltrate those lands, proselytize and procreate until their number increase and then start the war and fight and kill the people and impose the religion of Islam on them and convert that land into Darul Islam.
In all fairness we denounce this betrayal. This is an abuse of trust. How can we make war in the countries that have sheltered us? How can we kill those who have befriended us? Yet willingly or unwillingly we have become pawns in this Islamic Imperialism. If this sound to you abhorrent, we ask you how can you support a doctrine that is so deceiving, so cunning and so ruthless? Let us see what great Islamic scholars have to say in this respect.
Dr. M. Khan, the translator of Sahih Bukhari and the Quran into English wrote: “Allah revealed in Sura Bara’at (Repentance, IX) the order to discard (all) obligations (covenants, etc), and commanded the Muslims to fight against all the Pagans as well as against the people of the Scriptures (Jews and Christians) if they do not embrace Islam, till they pay the Jizia (a tax levied on the Jews and Christians) with willing submission and feel themselves subdued (as it is revealed in (9:29). So the Muslims were not permitted to abandon “the fighting” against them (Pagans, Jews and Christians) and to reconcile with them and to suspend hostilities against them for an unlimited period while they are STRONG and have the ability to fight against them. So at first “the fighting” was forbidden, then it was permitted, and after that it was made obligatory “[Introduction to English
translation of Sahih Bukhari, p.xxiv.]
Dr. Sobhy as-Saleh, a contemporary Islamic academician, quoted Imam Suyuti the author of Itqan Fi ‘Ulum al- Qur’an who wrote: ?The command to fight the infidels was DELAYED UNTIL THE MUSLIMS BECOME STRONG, but when they were weak they were commanded to endure and be patient. [ Sobhy as_Saleh, Mabaheth Fi 'Ulum al- Qur'an, Dar al-'Ilm Lel-Malayeen, Beirut, 1983, p.269.]
Dr. Sobhy, in a footnote, commends the opinion of a scholar named Zarkashi who said: “Allah the most high and wise revealed to Mohammad in his weak condition what suited the situation, because of his mercy to him and his followers. For if He gave them the command to fight while they were weak it would have been embarrassing and most difficult, but when the most high made Islam victorious He commanded him with what suited the situation, that is asking the people of the Book to become Muslims or to pay the levied tax, and the infidels to become Muslims or face death. These two options, to fight or to have peace return according to the strength or the weakness of the Muslims.” [ibid p. 270]
Other Islamic scholars (Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi, Ga’far ar-Razi, Rabi’ Ibn ‘Ons, ‘Abil-’Aliyah, Abd ar-Rahman Ibn Zayd Ibn ‘Aslam, etc.) agree that the verse “Slay the idolaters wherever you find them” (9:5) cancelled those few earlier verses that called for tolerance in Quran and were revealed when Islam was weak.
Can you still say that Islam is the religion of peace?
Conclusion:
We know too well that it is not easy to denounce our faith as it means denouncing a part of ourselves. We are a group of freethinkers and humanists with Islamic roots. Discovering the truth and leaving the religion of our fathers and forefathers was a painful experience. But after learning what Islam stands for, we had no choice but to leave it. After becoming familiar with the Quran, the choice became clear: it is either Islam or it is humanity. If Islam is to thrive, humanity has to die. We decided to side with humanity. We are still Muslims culturally but we no more believe in Islam as the true religion of God. We are humanists. We love humanity. We endeavor for the unity of humankind. We work for equality between men and women. We strive for secularization of Islamic countries, for democracy and freedom of thoughts, beliefs and expressions We have decided not to live anymore in self-deception but to embrace humanity, enter into the new millennium hand in hand with people or other cultures and beliefs in amity and in peace. We denounce the violence that is eulogized in Quran as holy war (Jihad). We condemn killing in the name of God. We believe in sacredness of human life, not in the inviolability of beliefs and religions. And we invite you to join us and the rest of the humanity and be part of the family of humankind with love, camaraderie and peace.
Faith Freedom International
Allah the moon god
My main body of work has focused on the origins of religious ideology dating back thousands of years. For the past several millennia, there have been two main religious groups predominant in much of the world: One that significantly represents sun worship, and another that revolves largely around moon worship.
As I demonstrate in my books, the main solar religions/cults thriving today are Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism, while Judaism and Islam are lunar. (Buddhism follows a largely lunar calendar, but its main character and many of its doctrines and traditions are solar.) I have brought forth thousands of pages of serious, well-documented research to support these contentions of a nature-worshipping or astrotheological origin of much religious thought in currency from antiquity to today.
Although Islam is presented as a “new, divine revelation” straight from God, in reality many of its tenets and traditions – as well as some of its main characters – possess lunar characteristics and attributes. Many millions of people are familiar with the Islamic logo of the crescent moon and star, a prominent and obvious reflection of Islam’s lunar origins and aspects. Why did Islam’s creators and shapers decide upon such a blatant symbol of moon worship and astrotheology? (The term “astrotheology” represents the reverence for and worship of the celestial bodies, including sun, moon, planets, stars and constellations found around the world for thousands of years.)
Allah as moon god
Over the centuries, there has been a huge debate within the field of Islamic studies about the nature of the Koranic god, Allah. In the Koran/Quran, Allah is depicted as speaking repeatedly and directly to Mohammed, revealing that “he” has a distinct personality, even though Muslims may claim him to be an aloof and “pure” spirit. Moreover, it is contended that this god was simply one of many in pre-Islamic Pagan Arab culture, appearing in a pantheon, for example, in the shrine at Mecca, which, it is alleged, was established by the biblical patriarch Abraham. Abraham himself can be shown to have astrotheological underpinnings, but that is another story.
In any event, it is claimed by a number of scholars that Allah was a moon god – indeed, according to some “he” was Allat, the moon goddess:
“[Allah:] Late Islamic masculinization of the Arabian Goddess, Al-Lat or Al-Ilat – the Allatu of the Babylonians–formerly worshipped at the Kaaba in Mecca. It has been shown that ‘the Allah of Islam’ was a male transformation of ‘the primitive lunar deity of Arabia.’ Her ancient symbol the crescent moon still appears on Islamic flags, even though modern Moslems no longer admit any feminine symbolism whatever connected with the wholly patriarchal Allah.”
The contention of Allah as originally a Pagan moon god has been hotly debated, with the total denial of such a notion by Muslim apologists, who redirect our attention to the fact that in the Koran Allah is depicted as the creator of the moon, rather than the lunar orb itself. Another fact will remain, however, that such a distinction is often made even within patently obvious astrotheological religions such as the sun-worshipping cults of old: In the solar religions, the god (or goddess) is both the solar disc and the power behind it.
Ditto with lunar cults, such as within the Egyptian religion, as concerns Osiris, who is lunar, representing the light in the moon, as well as the night sun, the Nile, water and so on. Yet, he is also the life and power behind all natural phenomena, just like so many other deities, including those of the Jewish and Arab tribes, i.e., Yahweh and Allah respectively. In this regard, then, Allah is little different from these other gods.
What all of this exploration reveals is that “Allah” as depicted in the Koran is not the God of the cosmos but yet another cultural artifact – one of thousands of deities from around the world – created this time through the minds of not Chinese people, not Indians or Europeans but Arabs of the 7th century, fierce desert dwellers living in primitive conditions.
Islam is a lunar cult
Among many other evidences that can be put forth as concerns Islam essentially representing a Pagan lunar cult looms largely the Muslim calendar, which is undeniably lunar. As many know, the dates of certain holidays such as Ramadan are dependent on phases of the moon, and some seem to be wholesale readaptations of previous Pagan lunar holidays. One of these pre-Islamic Pagan holidays still celebrated by Muslims may be the observance of Chaand Rat or “Moon Night,” celebrated in 2010 on the new moon of September, the 8th. The astrotheological nature of this fest, which revealed itself nicely to me while I was creating my astrotheology calendar, becomes obvious when one considers that “Chandra” is the name of the Hindu moon god. Factoring in the ubiquitous ancient nature-worshipping religion, logic would dictate that “Chaand Rat” is in reality a remnant of the Pagan moon-worshipping cult.
In the ancient world in several places, a deep schism formed over the millennia between the nomadic, desert lunar cults and settled, agricultural solar cults. The solar cult or “day sky” people established villages, towns and cities based on agricultural knowledge that included the movements of the sun. The lunar/stellar cult or “night sky” people spent much time traveling during the coolness of the night, moving by the stars and following the phases of the moon. Over the thousands of years, these two distinct cultures have clashed mightily.
Long before Islam, desert nomadic, lunar cult/night sky people would hide in the hills and wait until nightfall, thereupon descending into the solar settlements, slaughtering the men, women and children, except for the war booty of virgins, and looting, pillaging and destroying the village. The bloody chronicle of the Old Testament – reflecting the violent, genocidal Israelite conquest and destruction of Canaan – serves as evidence of this brutal and predatory development. One solar settlement after another fell to the stealthy lunar cultists led by Moses, Joshua and others. This night-sky conquering behavior was not only continued into Islamic times but also essentially codified in and validated by the Koran.
Today, the whole world represents the rich, plump and juicy settlement waiting to be invaded, plundered and destroyed by stealthy lunar cultists lurking in the hills. The sooner we all understand these ancient and ongoing dynamics, the better off the world will be.
Say de truth, i personally respect u for saying what u said about my comment. U see we have to find a way out of this problem, do we really want to break this country up n if de answer is yes, what come after that?. There will be serious problem. This what i mean, u want to tell me there is no bad blood between Abia state n Imo state, what about between Anambra state n Enugu state n de Ebony state, likewise among de Hausa / Fulani n de rest of northerner, what about de Yorubas, there is bad blood also among de Yorubas btw Ijebu n Egba, de Ijesa n Oyo, Ekiti n Ondo. This is what is given me concern about disintergration of nigeria.de momment Nigeria is broken up, say de truth i can assure u that another problem will arise cos there will bad blood among brothers. Is that what will really want. I believe we can still savage this Nigeria. All we need to to is to make sure we jetsion i mean we bypass 60yrs n above Nigerians from leading us. Afterall they all led us into this sorry state. Two we can decide to go back to de System of govt which our Zik,Awo n Sardauna asked for. Which is regional govt. In fact i believe this is de solution to our problems. Say de truth , i want u to believe that there is great benefit in been big. Look at China today n look at USA. We Nigerian must also use our size to our advantage. Having said this, if de only thing that will gurantte my children future is for Nigeria to breakup, so be it.
Sir,pls how many marriage have lasted for 100years?name
any one for we to believe what you are telling us.
Secondly,Sir,may be you may not know.the truth is Nigeria is more than mad starting from the top to the lowest. courtesy of bad leadership.a country that their leaders both past and present never learn any thing.if you don’t know sir when next you visit US President,UK PM,Canadian PM,other Europe’s President and PMs and some African heads of States watch them closely when you are discussing with them.you will discover that they are not paying attention to whatever you may be telling them.simple because they have seeing Nigeria as a mad nation including their leaders and their people. they
will only be nodding their head just for you to finish and
leave them alone.one example of madness:in a country where millions are sleeping under bridges,open places
school children seating under a tree in FCT,the same
country is spending 19 billion or over 100million dollars to build a private residence for the VP.Such amount can
build houses for 100,000 people.i close my case sir.the big ? will U ever read some of the comments.yr adviser will never allow you.