Nigerian man writes open letter to Muslim friends

In the wake of the religious intolerance in the northern part of Nigeria, an anonymous writer who chooses to be identified simply as O.F., has written a letter to Muslims all over the country.

In this piece, he noted that although he loves his Muslim friends, and cares a lot about them, he does not believe conversion to any religious divide has to be done by force.

Dear Muslim Friends,

I write to you to speak to your receptive hearts. I honestly love you and want you to know some few things that have been on my mind. I am not going to try to defend my faith as a believer of Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith. And I am not seeking to bash the Islamic faith. This is simply from me to you, no filter.

Let me be straight. I am a Christian and I believe non-Christians are unbelievers. You are Muslims and you believe non-Muslims are unbelievers. Same can be said about Buddhists, Agnostics, etc, and even atheists.

Anyone who is not of a particular faith/belief is simply an unbeliever of that particular faith/belief, even grammatically speaking. So no need to pretend I don't see you as unbelievers and you don't see me as an unbeliever.

File Photo: One of the houses burnt down during the recent riot in Southern Kaduna.

I want to do things to get you converted by your will, through my speech, deeds, and testimony/witnessing. Is that same for you? Is there a place in your holy book that encourages forceful conversion of unbelievers to Islam or else, death? Jesus is insulted and ridiculed everyday but I believe he is able to defend himself without me fighting for him to the loss of lives because rather than it being a blessing, if I do so, I will be dealt with by God.

Is there a place that validates killing of unbelievers of Islam for the sake of Allah with rewards attached to them? Is there a place that encourages killing or physically attacking any unbeliever that insults prophet Muhammad (whether intentionally or unintentionally)? Is there a place that says you should support those who fight for the cause of Allah, either by sponsoring them, saying little or nothing about their killings, or suggesting that the killings have little or nothing to do with religion, while looking for other examples that will support your assertion? (of course non-Muslims do the latter but that is not the point here).

If all the above have a place in your holy book, I ask, is Islam really a religion of peace? Or by peace, you mean for only adherents to Islam? And if they have no place in your holy book, I ask, why is over 70% (modestly speaking) of world terrorism attributed to Islam?

Truly, I have known some of you one on one and have seen that you are generally peaceful. So I ask, are you sure you are true Muslims? Beyond what you or I have been told in our respective faiths, can we be open minded and ask questions beyond our religious space? Even in our religious space, do we confirm the truth about the teachings given to us and assess the fruit of obedience to such teachings, on humanity?

Some Nigerians have been made to suffer following unrest in the northern part of the country.

I want you to be Christians, and I believe you want or would not mind me becoming a Muslim, but how can we have a chance if we cannot tolerate one another and live in peace so we can have discussions and experiences that could win me to your faith or vice-versa?

The truth is, by experience and not just what you have been taught, you can confidently live in a place surrounded by Christians, generally speaking, but I cannot say that for me living in a place surrounded by Muslims because though they might be peaceful for a while, a level of provocation could make them act violently to the point of taking lives and you wonder if these are the people you have always known.

In our present day Nigeria, the truth is, if you see a violent Christian ready to kill a Muslim, it will more likely be as a result of bitterness caused by the killing of such Christian's loved one(s) by Muslim(s) because of a religious cause (not talking about non-religious reasons) or as a matter of defense, and not as a fulfillment of a religious instruction by God. Can same be generally said about a violent Muslim wanting to kill a non-Muslim or non-true-Muslim for whatever cause?

I am not interested in "Christianizing" Nigeria because not all Nigerians are Christians and that will negate the very principle of reaching out to unbelievers with the gospel of Christ. I prefer a secular country where conversion to any religion will be by the will of any individual Nigerian. Do you honestly want same or you are in support of the idea of "Islamizing" Nigeria? If you want same, how have you shown that from your speech, deeds, and reaction to people who are protagonists of "Islamization" of Nigeria ideology?

My Muslim friends, let's call a spade a spade, being quiet or indifferent about the killings in various parts of the country especially the North is evil of us. Being supportive is of course evil. Being in denial of the religious motivation of most of the killings in the North and pockets of places in other areas of the country is not helping matters. This is not denying the fact that ethnicity and other causes exist, but religion is major.

If the present situation is as a result of a fundamental foundation that implies the country as Islamic from onset, now that reality is not the case, shouldn't efforts be made towards dealing appropriately and humanely with the situation?

My friends, no matter the reaction to or negligence of this letter, I simply want to tell us to do the right thing (as human beings who would only do to other human beings what they want to be done back to them) and to explain that not everyone is ignorant of what is happening.

Truth is, many loved ones will be concerned about me and my life because of this letter, and my question is, why?

I love you all because Jesus loves you.

Your loving unbelieving friend

Signed

O.F.