If West is not ashamed to support oppressive Israel, we are not ashamed to support oppressed Palestine – CIO

*As Sheikh Thanni, Rafsanjani, Maishanu, Ajala, others storm Lagos

*Rallying support for Palestinians against ‘oppressive Israel’

*Nigeria has history of standing with Palestine – Mufti Shaffi

*Says President Tinubu should make clear statement on matter

*Amnesty Int’l stand for oppressed in Palestine, globally – Rafsanjani

By BASHIR ADEFAKA

The Muslims of Nigeria have come out clearly to assure that the world that they will not be ashamed to stand with the oppressed to the best of their capacity, since some other people among them religious and others are not ashamed to stand with oppressors.

This was made known in an opening remark of the Secretary General of the Conference of Islamic Conference (OIC), Engr. Luqman Balogun, during a rally in solidarity with Palestine and the people of the country against invasions of their territory of Gaza Strip by Israel, held in Ojota, Lagos on Saturday.

Engr. Balogun spoke at the rally that was attended addressed by other scholars from across country namely Professor Isa Maishanu, Dean, Faculty of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto and Adviser to Vice Chancellor of Afro-Asian University, Somalia; Executive Director, Civil Society and Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Country Head of Transparency International, Mallam Auwal Ibrahim Musa a.k.a. Rafsanjani; Chairman Council of Ulamau of Nigeria, Sheikh Abdul-Fattahi Thanni, Sheikh Moshood Ramadan Al-Ketuwiyy, Mudiru Markaz Sallam, Lagos-based Islamic scholar and broadcaster, Amir Qamardeen Ajala, Osogbo, Osun State-based Ustadh Qamardeen Bello, among others.

Speaking at the event, the CIO’s chief scribe, Engr. Luqman Balogun, gave an insight into “why we are here”.

He said, “It is binding on us, as Muslims, to support the oppressed anywhere on the surface of the globe, Muslims or non-Muslims. Moreso, if it is the Muslim that is being oppressed, it becomes our religious duty to support our brother,” he said quoting the Qur’anic line in verse that says, “Definitely all believers are brothers.”

Going forward he said, “We support Gaza, Palestine because there are others who are supporting the oppressors.  And if there is no shame to stand up to support the oppressor, there should not be any shame to support the oppressed.

“Injustice in the history of humanity is not starting today, it was not yesterday. It started at the beginning of the history of mankind, when Adam (a.s.w.) had two sons and out of greed, selfishness, one killed the other.

“And thereafter, thousands of years Fir’aun (Pharaoh) thought he had power, oppressed the children of Israel killing their males and burying their females and criminals like him, Kharoon, others supported him, but what was the end? The all-powerful defeated all of them. So also shall the Fir’aun of our time be defeated.

“We have our messages. It is high time that those who started this oppression in the history of mankind: Britain, it is high time to do something to correct the wrong done. How do you give what does not belong to you to somebody else? It is great injustice. And to America, know that power is not perpetual.

“So, therefore, the people of the world are not only watching now, rather the people of the world are standing up for justice, for the oppressed, for the weak against the oppressors and we shall win, Inshaallah,” Engr. Luqman Balogun, the CIO’s Secretary General said and then ushered in Professor Isa Maishanu to read the meeting’s Declaration to the International Community led by the United Nations (UN).

Reading the Declaration, Professor Maishanu, who also the Leader of Muslim Solidarity Forum, Sokoto, started by saying the Declaration was reached after the meeting of the very important occasion on the happenings in Palestine and in Gaza and then read the 14-point Declaration.

He read: “Arising from our deliberations today Saturday 21st, October, 2023 following a deep study of the crisis in all its ramifications, the Pan-Nigerian Front for THE Support of Palestine do declare and demand thus:

“1. That the international community led by the United Nations should prevail upon Israel to cease its bombing campaigns of Gaza and other areas which has brought horror not just to the Palestinians but to the world.

“2. That the United Nations should lead efforts at creating humanitarian corridors and ensuring that aid and relief packages have access into Gaza and other places.

“3. That any interim peace process MUST as a matter of necessity, incorporate the lifting of the siege of Gaza.

“4. That we consider as irresponsible, reprehensible and barbaric the show of support by the duo of the United States and the European Union for Israel and we hold them complicit and culpable in this human tragedy happening before the global audience.

“5. That ICC should commence a prosecution of the war crimes committed by Israel both now and prior to this time taking into consideration its violation of all extant international law including failure to protect the people under its occupation as written in the Geneva Convention.

“6. We affirm that Hamas is not a terrorist organization , but rather an elected representatives of the people engaged in arms insurrection against an occupying force as allowed by international law, rationality and necessity.

“7. The international community led by the UN must retrieve the peace process from the monopoly of the United States which has become part of the Israeli occupation machinery.

“8. The world must work to bring Israel to the Two-States solution, compel it to halt settlement building and lift its siege of Gaza.

“9. We call on the Arab League, The African Union, and other regional governments to exert pressure that will change the apartheid character of the Zionist state of Israel and make it conform to international laws and norms.

“10. We SOUND THE NOTE OF WARNING TO ARAB STATES WHO HAVE NORMALIZED OR ARE HOPING TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS WITH ISRAEL TO HALT FORTHWITH as this is the CREDENTIAL that Israel needed to wipe out Palestine as Netanyahu made clear in his speech at the recent United Nations general Assembly session.

“11. We encourage the global audience horrified by this genocide being committed by Israel to patronize the BDS: individuals should boycott ALL Israeli products and those of its affiliates; corporate entities should divest away from any outfit having anything to do with Israel and governments should impose sanctions on the apartheid state.

“12. In this vein, we demand that the Nigerian government put on hold ALL diplomatic relations with Israel until the Two-States resolution is achieved.

“13. We also encourage all nations on the African continents to put on ice relations with Israel as sufferers of the brutality of colonial occupation in their history.

“14. Lastly, the support groups gathered here, unanimously agree that this shall be a permanent FRONT that gears to action till FREEDOM and STATEHOOD is achieved for Palestine,” Prof isa Maishanu read.

In his remarks, Rafsanjani, who also stood in for Amnesty International at the rally, said: “Amnesty International condemns in totally these ruthless attacks on the innocent people in Palestine. We condemn the oppression of the people of Brazil and we call for total liberation of the people Palestine and Gaza and everywhere oppressors have been oppressing people, even in Nigeria here.

“We condemn oppression of the Nigerian people by those powerful and those evil people.  Wherever they are, they have the same nature.

“Amnesty International is in solidarity with the victims of genocide, attacks and suppressions by the powerful forces in the world led by Israel. We condemn this act and we would continue to expose the human rights abuses that is going on in Gaza and everywhere in the world.

“Amnesty International will continue to demand for justice to continue to ensure that human rights protection and promotion are happening not only in Gaza but all over the world.

“I want to conclude by saying that Amnesty International stand for Nigerian people, stand for the organizers of this meeting and will continue to stand for the Brazilian people who are being oppressed by powerful forces in this world,” Rafsanjani passed the message of the Amnesty International at the rally meeting.

Sheikh Zikrullahi Shaffi, the CIO’s grand mufti, in his own remarks, noted that there would no cause for fear because the case of Israel and Palestine is a case of declaration of war against Allah and that Allah’s victory against the oppressors will come.

“In the recent history that we have had from the past, Nigeria has always stood with Palestine. It was only in the time of Goodluck Jonathan that the United Nations needed just one vote to free Palestine and Jonathan went and voted against it.

“The current government has stood for Palestine but we are urging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to come out clearly in support of Palestine and condemn the over 70-year-old oppression of the people of the country,” he said.

Sheikh AbdulFattahi Thanni, also speaking, expressed hope that victory for Palestinians and Palestine is near as he said the rate at which the world is standing up for them against Israel now is unprecedented.

Other photographs from the event: