Mubarak Bala, Blasphemy and the Rest of Us -By Hassan Rasheed

It was on 28th April, 2020 that the police acted on a petition filed by a Kano-based lawyer and detained Mubarak Bala over a Facebook post deemed blasphemous by people. Since then, Mubarak Bala has been in detention, and he is spending his 504 days today in prison with no sign of regaining freedom and reuniting with his family. Why is he exactly being accused of? Blasphemy? Well, even if he is being accused of this, at least he deserves a fair hearing, access to his lawyers, family and no matter the gravity of the accusation, there is no law in Nigeria that warrants detaining a person for that long without being brought to court.

As an ex-Muslim who happens to know the danger of ditching Islam for a more reasonable reality in life, Mubarak Bala is a good example of how risky it is to challenge a popular belief in a conservative region like northern Nigeria where Islam predominantly holds sway. The technology, social media have given millions of information-starved people access to troves of information from the comfort of their homes. Thanks to technology, we have discovered all the so-called truth about Islam and organized religions in general, and more and more people in northern Nigeria are ditching Islam than ever before. Some have chosen to remain anonymous for fear of losing their loved ones and family; some are reluctant to come out because they could lose their jobs, while others like Mubarak Bala and myself have the courage to publicly denounce Islam in spite of the consequences.

Blasphemy is historically used to keep Muslims in line just like treason acts are used to punish citizens who betray their country. Prophet Muhammad was a great warlord. He fought gallantly to impose Islam and he and his predecessors managed to enact blasphemy laws to scare people away from leaving Islam or doing anything that defames his prophetic status. The world has never stopped evolving. Islam legalizes slavery and sleeping with slave women for procreation, but is there any Muslim nowadays, aside from terrorists, who thinks slavery has place in this modern world? I doubt it. In the same way, blasphemy laws are no longer relevant in this world. Muslims should be at a liberty to leave Islam just like Christians, Hindus, Jews are not punished for converting to Islam.

In a place like Kano, we hear a lot about Christians coming to the mosques to accept Islam. But when a friend of mine was tired of concealing his hatred for Islam and told his parents that he was done with Islam or any organized religion, the parent expelled him and he was targeted in honor killing by his parent for bringing disgrace to his family. The fact that his assassinated father was a famous cleric in Kano, his death was covered as a car accident and he was buried according to Islamic rites. That was all.

This is the situation Islam is facing. Muslims cannot leave but others can come in. Mubarak Bala is facing the toughest days of his life. So many powerful people are behind his detention and they don’t want their names exposed. This is why it is even harder to determine who is actually behind his continued detention.

Mubarak Bala’s incarceration has made him something of a cause celebre already. He has attracted international supports with various organizations including the United Nation speaking against his illegal detention. We know how hard it is to be atheist in northern Nigeria, but the crackdown against us does not stop people from ditching Islam and freeing themselves from the apron strings of its cult fellowship.

Mubarak Bala has suffered enough already. His wife has endured more than a year of hardship and depression. His son, Sodangi needs to meet with his dad so that he can enjoy the trappings of fatherhood. The continued detention of the humanist is making a mockery of our democracy that allows everybody to practice what he believes. It is high time we stopped this charade of using blasphemy laws to persecute people especially ex-Muslims like us.

Hassan Rasheed is a humanist living in Kano