Let There Be Peace, Anbariyah And Nuriyah

The Author

I am a proud member of the Tijjaniyah Sufi Order. But I share, with Anbariyah and Nuriyah in Tamale, the fraternity of Sunni Islam. Doctrinally, theirs is Salafist version of Sunnah, and mine the Sufi model of Sunnah. Besides, I share with them the race of humanity and the land of ancestry. It is for this reason that I appeal to both Sunni communities to opt for de-escaltion in the face of the rising tension between them.

It is unfortunate that the unnecessary tension has been occasioned by irresponsible utterances from some elderly members of the two intra-sectarian groupings. While I do not have the capacity to blame the elderly, I do have the privilege to appeal to fellow youth - of both Sunni families - to put RECONCILIATION over aggression, UNITY over division, LOVE over hatred, FORGIVENESS over vindictiveness.

I am troubled by the quantity of insults some of the youth have heaped on Shaikh Saeed Abubakar of Anbariyah and Shaikh Ibrahim Basha of Nuriyah. Mastery of insults has never been a solution to issues in decent communities. Also, the culture of insults is unacceptable in all civilized societies. In fact, insults become more disheartening when the perpetrators are the youth, and the victims the elderly.

Permit me to state that these two leaders of honor might have insulted elderly persons in their youthful days. But today both of them have reached a stage - in age - where they are qualified for IMMUNITY from insults. Yes, they belong to the class of scholarly and elderly personalities who MUST not be insulted no matter their misconduct, perceived or real.

I commend the metropolitan political leadership that has made efforts to find a solution to the intra-sectarian wrangling. But I contend that the political authority alone may not have a lasting solution. Not even the law can provide an effective solution to the peculiar wave of aggression between the two Sunni communities.

The limitation of the law in this circumstance is that prosecution may lead to punishment of offenders to serve the interest of justice. But such a situation may sow a seed of deep seated animosity among the people that may jeopardize efforts at reconciliation and unity. That is why alternative dispute resolution is a credible option in similar situations. That also explains why criminologists and sociologists are interested in the source of crime, reformation of criminals, and reconciliation of factions.

Readers may agree with me that this is not a matter of right and wrong, weakness and strength. It is rather a matter of sacrifice and compromise, tolerance and patience. These are values members of the two factions should accept as the best tools of generating water to quench the fire.

In conclusion, I humbly remind them of the following words of Almighty Allah:

● (O Prophet), good and evil are not equal. Repel (evil) with that which is good, and you will see that he, between whom and you there was enmity, shall become as if he were a bosom friend (of yours). But none attains this except those who are patient; none attains this except those endowed with a mighty fortune. [Quran 41: 34 - 35]

It is better for the two Sunni groupings to accept unity and solidarity, as they serve Allah and humanity in the same ideology with different leaders. Supremacy is less important to any of them. What is more important is their collective relevance to society and their capacity to respond to the challenges of the contemporary world. Indeed, no sect is meaningful unless it is linked up with the total liberation of humanity from the shackles of ignorance, from the dangers of immorality, from the flames of extremism, from the confines of timidity. Fellow Sunnis, these are the challenges we must collectively conquer to maintain our relevance to the contemporary society. And for that matter, I say let there be peace, Anbariyah and Nuriyah.

By Dr. Abubakar Mohammed Marzuq Azindoo
Director of Communications, Tijjaniyah Muslims of Ghana