THE MESSAGE AND THE MESSENGER
By Femi Abbas
Prologue
The title of this article is quite symbolic. Islam is the most worthy message that requires a worthy messenger to propagate. And the messenger in this case is any worthy Muslim who is supposed to propagate that divine message in a worthy manner. Invariably, the quality of the message is often vividly reflected in the capability of the messenger.
Clarification
‘The Message’ column has noted the venomous reactions of some Nigerian Muslim brothers and sisters to the article on hijab which appeared in this column last Friday. Expectedly, some of the respondents to that article had hardly read it before hurriedly passing their usual heretical FATWA by declaring this columnist a ‘KAFIR’ (renegade).
Nevertheless, the concern of some of the brothers and sisters about the contents of the article is understandable. The writer’s conclusion in that article was seen as capable of fuelling disturbing implications especially in Nigerian terrain where religion is virtually taken for a tacit war of attrition. I must admit that the conclusion of that article was as puzzling to this columnist as it must have been to many readers. Definitely, there was an error. But the particular clause in the controversial conclusion of that article which caused a loud brouhaha last Friday is not strange in journalism. What is strange in that case was the implacable attitude of some brothers who were trying to set the house ablaze in an attempt to chase out a lizard.
This column is not a monopoly and the columnist is not a perfectionist. Despite being an alumnus of the great institution called MARKAZ, Agege, Lagos State, and despite studying in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, I have never claimed to be a scholar, out of modesty. Even when I am called a scholar I do not acknowledge it. Thus, the idea of labeling yours sincerely as an arrogant person is a figment of imagination of some people based on sheer ignorance.
Consultation
Ordinarily, I do not write this column without consulting some trusted learned scholars directly or indirectly. For instance, some highly respected scholars, not less than five, are given the privilege of reading through this column every week before it is sent for publication. If, like me, none of those scholars could sight the faulty clause in the article before it went for publication why should I be taken for an Angel now being turned into a ‘devil’ to be pestered with verbal and written missiles through the apathy of some Islamic enthusiasts? Incidentally, only nine out of 91 people who reacted to the article in question were able to decipher the clumsiness of the controversial clause and four of them were from foreign countries.
The Foreign Angle
The very first person to raise a question on the article was a brother from Belgium who had closely monitored my blog for some years and had got familiar with my style. His alert was followed by some others from Ireland, Turkey and Comoro Island. The four noticed the missing link in the conclusion of that article and promptly drew my attention to it in a responsible manner. But then, the die had been cast as the alerts came after the publication.
Brother Tariq of Turkey was particularly exceptional in pinpointing the missing link when I became confused. He identified the problem as being between my claim to “strongly believe in the use of Hijab” and the sudden advocacy for support of its ban albeit conditionally. He then advised me to go back to the original draft of the article and fish out the printer’s devil. It was only then that I realized having become a victim of that abominable cliché called the printer’s devil.
The Nigerian Angle
Here in Nigeria, about 37 brothers, five of whom are from the academic sector, also hinted me of a possible mistake in the article but none of them could actually pinpoint its place. Delightedly, all those brothers practically demonstrated the difference between education and sheer literacy as much as they exhibited the genuine spirit of Islam. Theirs was a display of thorough understanding and high level of maturity. They are qualified to be called reliable readers and worthy Messengers. God bless them.
Personal Angle
On my own, I also discovered another major error on which some respondents have deliberately preyed to score critical points. That is in the paragraph where I referred to Nigerian female cultural dress consisting of ‘buba’ and ‘Iro’ without mentioning Ibori (big scarf) which is the real equivalence of hijab in Nigeria. With such conspicuous omission, I expected some of the respondent brothers who had known me very well for a long time, to understand that as an informed Muslim of Yoruba extraction, I could not have deliberately referred to ‘Buba’ and ‘Iro’ as hijab. But that wasn’t the case.
Purpose of Errata
Making a sensitive mistake in public communication is not peculiar to Femi Abbas as a columnist. For the same reason of printer’s devil, many print media houses have had to withdraw thousands of copies of their publications from circulation. I can still recall that this once happened when I was in Concord. It also happened once when I was in Vanguard newspaper and the world did not crumble. Where such withdrawal became impossible, they simply followed up with the publication of errata. To correct any erroneous publication in a newspaper is not a big deal. The writer can easily effect such correction through the same medium by publishing erratum/errata any other day. It is only emotional readers that would want to make a mountain out of a mole hill in such error by treating it as if the world is coming to an end. Most of our brothers are known for such exaggerated reaction.
The Original Draft
In the original draft of that article, I discovered that in the process of my final proofreading, while crossing the T(s) and dotting the I(s), I inadvertently removed three words which included ‘BURQAH’, ‘RATHER’ and ‘THAN’. And that changed the entire concept and intention of the whole article. Unfortunately, this happened in the most sensitive part of that article. Here was the missing link:
“Banning Burqah rather than Hijab is not the same as banning Islam”. What appeared in the published edition was: “Banning hijab is not the same as banning Islam”. Anybody who is literate enough can clearly see the missing link which was not deliberate. That I did not notice the error until I got a hard copy of ‘The Nation’ newspaper, shortly before Salatul Jum’at last Friday, was also not strange. A writer can read his own script many times without discovering a mistake in it. If the error in this column last Friday was perceived as a sin, therefore, it must have been committed against Allah. And if there is need to apologize and seek forgiveness, it must be from Allah the ultimate Forgiver of sins. Therefore, those who were calling for apology in their reactions were only arrogantly playing God.
‘The Message’ Column
From its inception in ‘The Nation’ newspaper 10 years ago when it was renamed ‘The Message’, this column has been designed to be a participatory one in which its readers are entitled to reactions which deserve publication. But where such reactions lack decorum and are full of unprintable insults rather than meaningful corrections the columnist reserves the right not to publish. That happens to be the fate of many reactions to last week’s article.
Reflection
That after 33 years of writing an Islamic column in various newspapers and magazines locally, nationally and internationally, Femi Abbas is now being castigated as a failure and an ‘Islamic outcast’ did not come as a surprise. Even the heretical verdict of excommunication passed by some self-appointed judges was not surprising. It only further confirms the level of those who portend to be propagators of the worthy Message called Islam. I however, take solace in the words of Cat Stevens, a British musician who adopted the name Yusuf Islam after embracing the rightly guided religion (Islam), in 1978. He said: “I thank God that I knew Islam before I knew Muslims”. In the same vein, I also thank Allah that I knew Islam by information, education and knowledge before I started interacting with Nigerian Muslims at various strata of life.
Memory Lane
That I became a journalist and a columnist 33 years ago was not just by fortuity a hard decision that amounted to a great sacrifice. As a fresh graduate in my national service year in 1982/83, I had already secured three jobs before the late Bashorun MKO Abiola personally approached and passionately appealed to me to stay in Concord newspaper. One of the secured jobs was in Mobil Oil Company which came because of my Arabic language background. Another was in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which was due to the grade I obtained in my first degree as well as my proficiency in Arabic language. And the third was in the Lagos State Ministry of Education because of my previous years of teaching experience before I travelled abroad in pursuit of a University degree.
I resolved to accept Abiola’s offer not because it fetched better opportunities or higher income than the other jobs but because of two fundamental reasons that I kept to myself until now. One of those reasons was my covenant with Allah during my madrasa days. As a very young boy then, without the privilege of a formal secondary school education, I was determined to acquire the so-called Western education because I knew it would become a necessary tool for me in future. I then prayed fervently to Allah to make my life a little staff upon which many Muslims could rest with confidence in future.
The Pledge
Thus, In the process of pursuing that ambition, I decided to make a pledge to Allah that if He could assist me to succeed in my yearning for Western education I would use it to serve Him throughout my life. The other reason was that if a personality like MKO Abiola, despite his enormous wealth, could endeavor to still want to serve Allah by opening an Islamic column in a national newspaper at a time when such was not fashionable, who was I not to join his spiritual train to convey multitudes of Nigerian Muslims to the cape of Good Hope?
Ever since, the column debut in 1983, it has remained a mouthpiece for Nigerian Muslims especially in turbulent moments such as the hullabaloo over Nigeria’s admission into the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC); the King Faisal International Award won by the late Sheikh Abubakar Gumi; the dangerous Maitatsine crises; the volatile Zango Kataf religious duel; the Islam in Africa saga tagged by non-Muslims as Islamization Project and the recent declaration of Hijrah Holiday in Osun State.
Comment
Throughout those turbulent years that I stood firmly as a front line soldier for Islam and Nigerian Muslims in the media, there was never a time when Muslim readers reacted to the contents of my column as they did on this occasion. At least, I have consistently championed the media campaign for the wearing of hijab and the declaration of Hijrah holiday in Nigeria since 1984 and throughout my professional odyssey, I never received a ‘brown envelop’ (often attributed to Nigerian journalists), from anybody. I challenge anybody who disagrees with this assertion to come out with facts or conceal such facts and face the wrath of Allah.
Now, with a single major error in over three decades of service in the trenches of an undeclared religious war, my Muslim brothers are coming up with a verdict of crucifixion without trial. What an irony of life? It is a case of throwing away the baby with the bathwater, a situation that is aimed at turning Femi Abbas into a dormant lion to be taught by some proverbial dogs and puppies how to prey on victims in a familiar games forest.
I accept my fate of being called names including “an arrogant columnist, “an ignorant nonentity”, “a rusting gold” and “a sell out and betrayer of trust”. Who am I to reject such fate? After all, even Prophet Muhammad, the greatest man that ever lived was called names. The lesson in this situation is well learnt. Genuine friends are like stars. You may see them always but when the need to see them arises, they resurface to say “we are always there for you”.
