Sultan: Christians, Muslims should stop insulting one another — that’s how to live in peace

Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto, has urged Christians and Muslims in Nigeria to stop insulting one another, saying religious tolerance is essential to living in peace. 

The Sultan spoke on Tuesday in Abuja at the International Conference on National Security for Socio-economic Development, organised by Jama’atu Izalatil Bidiah wa Iqamatis Sunnah (JIBWIS Nigeria) in collaboration with the Muslim World League of Saudi Arabia.

“We must be honest with ourselves that Christians can stop insulting Muslims. Muslims can stop insulting Christians. And that’s how we live in peace,” he said.

The Sultan said Muslims and Christians should not consider themselves superior to one another, noting that all people are equal before God.

“We are not here to say we are better than anybody. We are not better than anybody. He [God] is the creator of us all. He will determine who is better. And he knows how to do it. So I am not here to say I am better than anybody,” he said.

Over the weekend, Yahaya Jingir, an Islamic cleric, said Christians would consider themselves superior to Muslims if not for the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.

However, the Sultan, who did not directly refer to Jingir’s remarks in his speech, said no religious group should regard itself as superior to another.

“We are not here to say we are better than anybody. We are not better than anybody,” he said.

He urged Nigerians to revive the culture of looking after their neighbours, irrespective of their religious or ethnic background.

“Allah created your neighbour for you. Whoever is your neighbour, you know what is required of you to do for your neighbour,” he said.

The traditional ruler expressed concern over the growing abuse on social media, saying some Nigerians make false and disparaging statements about their leaders.

He said people who knowingly spread falsehoods about presidents, governors, senators and other leaders would ultimately be accountable to God for their actions.

The monarch urged Nigerians to focus on solving the country’s problems rather than advocating its disintegration.

He cited the case of Abubakar Abdullahi, the late imam, who sheltered over 200 Christians in his mosque in Plateau during a crisis, describing the act as an example of humanity that should not be forgotten.

In his remarks, Cornelius Omonokhua, executive secretary of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), said people were not created as Muslims or Christians but as human beings.

Omonokhua said the council had demonstrated the essence of religion, which he identified as mercy, adding that the cooperation between Christian and Muslim leaders showed that the two faiths were not at war with each other.