The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi, has condemned the religious profiling of bandits as Muslims, insisting that criminals should not be identified with Islam.
In a statement issued on Saturday by his Chief Press Secretary, Ibrahim Alli, the monarch said bandits lacked the basic attributes that qualify an individual as a Muslim, stressing that wearing a turban or bearing an Arabic name does not make anyone a follower of Islam.
According to him, bandits neither observe the mandatory Islamic prayers nor exhibit the religious practices expected of Muslims.
He said, “I condemn in totality the religious profiling of bandits as Muslims. Real Muslims are not bandits. You cannot see a mosque in the den of bandits. The herdsmen don’t equally have mosques in their abode (Gaa). They have no identification of Muslims in all ramifications.”
Oba Akanbi further argued that turbans were not exclusive to Muslims, stating that many non-Muslims living in desert regions also wear them.
He also dismissed claims that the Arabic spoken by some bandits was proof of their religion, explaining that Arabic is spoken by people of different faiths.
Oluwo said, “Bandits have no religion. Have you ever seen where bandits observe solat (Islamic mandatory prayers)? They might be wearing turbans, but not only Muslims wear turbans. People in the desert who are not Muslims also wear turbans.
“Many churches in Arab countries use the Arabic language to preach. We have people in all Islamic-populated countries who are not Muslims but speak Arabic.”
The traditional ruler described the continued association of banditry with Islam as unfair, attributing the activities of some bandits to the failure of past governments rather than religion.
He urged Nigerians to stop linking banditry to Islam and called on the government to take legislative action against social media commentators whom he accused of using online platforms to discredit Muslims.
