Immanuel James Ibe-Anyanwu, author of best selling book, Under Brigde says Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the dreaded Islamist group, Boko Haram is actually right to say he’s working for God.
Ibe-Anyanwu who is also a political analyst and social commentator in a post shared on his Facebook page said every religion believes itself the ultimate truth, all others false. None leaves room for doubt.
Shekau had in a 30-minute video seen by HumAngle in response to the Nigerian Army’s fresh manhunt for him, said he cannot be arrested because he was doing the work of God and ‘He will protect him’.
The Nigerian Army had on Wednesday, November 11, kicked off a fresh manhunt for Shekau and some of the top Boko Haram commanders.
A banner showing the pictures of Shekau, Abu Mus’ab Albarnawy, and Ibrahim Abu Maryam, who topped the most wanted list, was unveiled by Babagana Zulum, governor of Borno state, and Tukur Buratai, Chief of Army Staff.
Shekau, who spoke in a 30-minute video seen by HumAngle in response to the Nigerian Army’s fresh manhunt for him, vowed that the war against the government would continue even after him.
In the video, the Boko Haram leader was shown sitting circled by two of his fighters holding guns in a less spacious room.
He said, “Nobody can apprehend me because I’m doing God’s work. He will protect me like those doing similar work and seeking His protection.
“I’m very sure God will protect my commanders. We are all doing God’s work.”
Ibe-Anyanwu post read…
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau is actually right to say he is working for God. This is philosophy but I will try simplify it.
An article I wrote in 2013 was cited in a European philosophy journal over a trite claim I made: that the “arrogance of truth” in religion is fundamentally responsible for Islamist terror.
Every religion believes itself the ultimate truth, all others false. None leaves room for doubt. Each believes it knows precisely how phenomena evolved, how we got here, and where we are headed. Each knows the mind of God, except that they all cancel out each other. Now here’s where the problem comes.
God wrote a book which cannot be edited regardless of the changes in the world. For Abubakar, that book is the Holy Koran and has already made things clear as to what God wants. Anybody trying to “modernize” what God has said is an enemy. There are no two ways about it. But that’s even not the main problem.
The headache is that religion is structured in a way that you believe your faith in true and innocent conscience. You sincerely believe you are right and the other guys don’t get it. I mean, if your conscience validates your path, how are you going to change that from it? That would be to offend God and your conscience. So in essence, to renounce terror is to submit to error. This is why the federal government’s “rehabilitation” of Boko Haram members is nonsense. By its very existence, secular government is inferior to God and cannot win the argument.
This is not some special wisdom. I squandered my youth studying religions—reading fat volumes on at least 7 different faiths, and also practising some out of curiosity. The truth war is the foundation of Islamist terror.
Note that I wrote ‘Islamist’ not ‘Islamic.’ The Islamist is impatient: he cannot wait for the world to end so that his opponents can burn in hell. He does not evangelize except with bombs, which are louder than megaphones.
There is no way to convince the world that one religion is the truth, others false. Historicity can be subjective. Even if you philosophize and arrive at the “truth,” somebody who has “experienced God” spiritually in their own faith will not listen to your worldly talk. He can feel it, he knows it—the truth—and his conscience has stamped it correct. Though a product of socialization, the conscience is the highest tribunal in these matters.
If that person is Abubakar Shekau, he is working for God and you don’t get it.
