Dr. Ibrahim Jalingo, the head of Nigeria’s Council of Ulama, has ignited controversy by reaffirming that Islam permits the killing of those who renounce their religion.
Writing on his Facebook page Thursday, Jalingo endorsed a Hadith stating, “Whoever changes his religion, kill him,” while strongly criticizing those who say it contradicts the Qur’an.
He called his detractors “fabricators” and accused them of spreading ignorance.
“I thank you for bringing forward what you call ‘100 Hadiths that contradict the Qur’an,’” he said, addressing a critic named Issiyaku Abdulkadir.
“This gives me a chance to expose the sheer ignorance behind those claims.”
According to Jalingo, the Hadith is not merely interpretative but part of divine revelation.
“The Prophet never said Hadith is to explain the Qur’an. Rather, he said: ‘I was given the Qur’an and something like it.’ Hadith is revelation, just as the Qur’an is.”
He backed his views with Qur’anic references, quoting verses from Surah At-Tawbah, Al-Baqarah, and An-Nisa’, all of which, he argued, support the use of force against apostates and polytheists.
Addressing the oft-cited verse about religious freedom “There is no compulsion in religion” Jalingo asserted: “That verse has been abrogated. Both the Qur’an and Hadith go beyond permitting, to actually mandating the killing of apostates in certain situations.”
Jalingo ended his message with harsh words for his critics.
“Their ignorance is layered. Their mannerisms resemble those of prostitutes and effeminate individuals.
These so-called fabricators are not worth serious attention,” he wrote.
His remarks have gone viral, attracting both applause from conservative quarters and criticism from human rights advocates and reform-minded Muslims, who say such interpretations threaten religious freedom and social harmony.