The National Missioner of Ansar-ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, Sheikh Abdur-Rahman Ahmad has disclosed that Shariah is the most fiercely attacked and maligned topic in the Nigerian media.
Sheikh Ahmad made the disclosure responding to questions at the recently held Muslim News Nigeria 2nd anniversary webinar lecture on Islam and Media.
There have been mixed reactions and heated debates in the Nigerian media over the adoption of the Islamic law in the North following the conviction of a musician, Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, by an Upper Sharia Court in Kano State, for blaspheming Prophet Mohammed (SAW).
At the virtual lecture, a questionnaire sought to know the impact of Shariah on information dissemination.
While answering the question, Sheikh Ahmad replied, “I think, it is the other way round,” as he reframed the question to, “what is the impact of information dissemination on the understanding and adoption of Shariah.”
“This is something we really need to be very careful about,” the National missioner of Ansar-ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, warned.
According to the veteran journalist, “The most fiercely attacked and maligned topic in the Nigerian media is the Shariah. To them, Shariah is equal to backwardness, injustice and wickedness and the equivalent of inequality and cruelty.
“This is what the media churns out about Shariah and this largely is having a negative consequence especially on those who don’t know and those who are borderline Muslims or who are outright enemies of Islam. It is only individuals who have risen above this parochialism and lopsided reporting that would ask questions.
“Right now, the media is having a negative impact on the understanding and the adoption of the Shariah and we all need to use the same media, especially the social media to counter the misrepresentations” he added.
