Professor Iliyasu Usman, the first Igbo Muslim to be appointed as Chief Imam of the Abuja National Mosque, has said that he accepts the good aspects of Igbo culture while rejecting the bad ones that are not in line with his Islamic faith.
Usman stated this on Tuesday during his unveiling ceremony as one of the Imams of the National Mosque, Abuja, alongside four others, by the Secretary-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede.
Usman, who is the first Professor of Arabic in Igboland, hails from Enugu State.
The other four new Imams are: Prof. Luqman Zakariyah (Osun State), Dr. Sheikh Abdulkadir Salman (Kwara State), Bar. Haroun Muhammad Eze (Enugu State), and Prof. Khalid Aliyu Abubakar (Plateau State).
Clarifying that he has not lost his Igbo roots despite being a Muslim, Usman noted that every tribe and individual has a culture, adding that these cultures have both positive and negative aspects.
“I want to say this unapologetically. Actually, every tribe has a culture and every individual has a culture whether you are Muslim or Christian. In every culture, there are positives and negatives. For instance, in Igbo land, there was a time when twins were killed because they were seen as abominations in society, and we know that even a practising Christian would not accept this kind of culture.
“For instance, as a Muslim, my religion prohibits me from indulging in alcoholism, and I know that part of my culture is that whenever we have festivals, alcohol is consumed. As a Muslim, this kind of culture is an abomination because my religion prohibits it.
“So in every tribe, there are good and bad cultures. I accept good Igbo culture. In the Southeast, we have good communal relationships where we are our brothers’ keepers. I accept that.
“When a brother, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, has a problem, I assist; this is a good culture. But any culture that has to do with idol worshipping, for instance, even our Christian counterparts don’t accept that. I am a Muslim and Igbo man who will always try to foster a good Igbo culture that is in line with the teachings of my religion.”
Performing the unveiling, Oloyede said the NSCIA, since the establishment of the National Mosque in 1984, has been appointing, in succession, qualified Muslims who are worthy in character and scholarship to oversee the spiritual activities of the faithful.
He said the appointment of the five additional imams was part of the measures to strengthen the religious affairs unit of the National Mosque and to further harness its vast potential as a centre for worship, training, learning, and scholarship.
Oloyede said the clerics were unveiled after their consideration by the General Purpose Committee and endorsement by the National Fatwa Committee.
“So you can see that we are not just appointing an imam from the Southeast, South-South Zone; we are indeed appointing two imams from that zone. That shows clearly that in Islam, it is about qualification,” he stated.
