By Ishola Balogun

Sheik Halliru Abdullahi Maraya is a Muslim scholar in Kaduna State working with other religious leaders to build bridges of tolerance, understanding and respect across religious divides in the volatile state. He was Special Adviser on Islamic and Hajj Matters to two former governors of Kaduna State. He speaks to Sunday Vanguard on Islamic centres-turned-‘houses of torture. Excerpts:

Tinubu urges Atiku to join APC, channel energy, intellect to move nation forward(Opens in a new browser tab)

Doing anything injurious to human beings and animals is not acceptable in Islam. The Prophet commanded that young children should establish prayers at the age of seven and if they failed to do so at the age of ten, they should be beaten but nothing injurious should be done to them.

Now, the operation of the rehabilitation centres is illegal. It is just like an individual running a prison and admitting anybody that is perceived to have stolen or a drug addict and he passes judgment on them and keeps them in his prison in the name of rehabilitation. In fact it is worse than prison and that is not permitted by law. If there is any need for a rehabilitation centre, it must be done by the state. Government should establish rehab centres or resuscitate the moribund ones under relevant ministries. This is the practice in developed world.

Private establishment of a rehabilitation home and subjecting people to dehumanizing conditions should be discouraged. This is because neither the state law nor the Islamic law permits an individual to administer punishment on anyone. Again, you cannot just establish a hospital if you are not a medical doctor. Rehabilitation home requires expertise. Just because you are an Islamic scholar does not qualify you to establish a rehabilitation centre. Nobody is permitted to punish anybody for any perceived offence other than the state authorities.

Buhari directs security agencies to procure uniforms from DICON(Opens in a new browser tab)

In the past, government was the sole owner of rehabilitation centres; they were called social rehabilitation centres with a view to checkmating juvenile delinquency and exuberance. Islamic scholars should act only within their purview of imparting knowledge. Even corporal punishment is not acceptable any longer in many schools today, let alone putting people in chains. I repeat, if the need for punishment arises, it should be done by government.

Vanguard