Imo chief imam: Igbo Muslims battling discrimination in south-east — nobody wants to marry us

Suleiman Njoku, chief imam in Imo state, says the activities of bandits and Boko Haram insurgents in the north are influencing various misconceptions held by the Igbo about Muslims.

In an interview with PUNCH, Njoku spoke about the challenges faced by the Muslim faithful in the south-east, including their struggle to find partners.

“In Igboland, there exist various misconceptions held by the Igbo regarding Muslims. These misconceptions primarily stem from the character and actions of certain bandits in the northern region of Nigeria, such as Boko Haram, as well as negative practices associated with some Muslims in that area,” he said.

“Unfortunately, as a result of these experiences, our people tend to mistakenly believe that all Muslims are the same. Nevertheless, it is crucial to recognise the fallacy in this generalisation. Every individual, irrespective of religious affiliation, possesses unique qualities and behaviours, both positive and negative. Such individual differences should not be erroneously attributed to an entire faith or religion.

“Due to experiences with particular individuals in the northern part of the country who engage in harmful activities, our people have come to believe that such behaviour is what Islam advocates or encourages. This misguided perception is the reason why, when someone embraces Islam, they are often called upon to attend a meeting where they warn them against acts of violence or any attempts to introduce Boko Haram-related activities into our community.”

The cleric said the discriminations manifest in various ways; one of which is the difficulty in getting employment opportunities from the state government.

“Even as a Muslim you can’t get any job from the state government, meanwhile, the Igbo go to places where Muslims are living and they get jobs easily without any form of discrimination,” he said.

“But in Imo state, once they see you’re bearing a Muslim name, they will remove your name from the list of jobseekers and ask you to go to the North for jobs, but God commanded us to love them and we do. Also, our ladies cannot wear hijabs because of the fear of attack. If they wear hijabs they will be called Boko-haram, but I usually tell them to shun any form of distraction and follow the commandment of God to rule their lives.

“The Igbo don’t like marrying Muslims and they discourage anyone who wants to marry Muslims.”

The cleric however praised Hope Uzodimma, governor of the state, for showing “exceptional support” for the Muslims in Imo, saying he sponsored 200 persons to Mecca for the 2023 Hajj pilgrimage.