Part 2: Exposing Pastor Reno Omokri: Mission Badda Musulmi

By: Dr. Salihu Lukman

All Muslims following Reno should understand his unequivocal agenda on Islam. That is, pushing for a narrative that Islamic practices and beliefs were simply directly copied from Ethiopian ancient religious practices. This clear narrative which he has been pushing for a long time in many of his posts implies that Islam did not actually receive revelation directly from the Almighty God to guide their practices and beliefs, which by extension means that Islam is not a true religion, but Christianity through Isa (A.S.) and Judaism through Musa (A.S.) are the only authentic paths to follow. In other words, he does not believe in the prophethood of Muhammad (S.A.W.) nor does he believe that the Qur’an was a revelation from the Almighty God to Muhammad. His disbelief in the prophethood of Muhammad is no surprise at all because he is a pastor who strictly follows prophet Isa (A.S.) and by extension believes in the prophethood of Musa (A.S.).

Someone who follows his posts would question, what about Omokri’s tons of articles defending Islam and Muslims despite him being a pastor? Yes, it’s true that pastor Omokri goes out of his way to defend Islam and sometimes to the detriment of his faith which is Christianity even though he does not accept being labelled a Christian. This act attracts to his social media handles a huge Muslim followership and I am one of them. Here is my take. Muslim readers of Omokri’s posts pertaining to Muslim practices and beliefs in particular should not take his words as the Gospel truth. Rather, they should scrutinize such posts to the fullest using their Islamic background and knowledge and consult Islamic scholars where necessary. Despite Omokri’s vast knowledge of Islam, he is NOT an Islamic scholar. In fact, my current conviction of his agenda toward Muslims after a careful review of his posts siding with the Muslims against Christians is that he is subtly hiding under his defense of Islam and Muslims to indirectly disqualify Islam as a true religion that the Almighty God sent prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) to propagate. He embodies the true definition of what the Hausas call Dan Mission or Mission Badda Musulmi or Orientalist. He is the proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Despite his being Dan Mission, I still read his posts daily because I learn a lot from them but his Muslim followers should understand his agenda on Islam which is to strip Islam of all authenticity and originality thereby casting doubts on its adherents which can ultimately lead to Muslims deserting their religions and becoming Christians. I had initially thought that pastor Reno Omokri was truly a bridge-builder between Muslims and Christians and had written on this in a 2-part series in September last year, 2023. Little did I know that his bridge is unidirectional whose goal is to convey Muslims (i.e., convert them to Christianity) from one end to the other end of the bridge where Christians reside. Non-Muslims reading this article should know that all Muslims believe in the prophethood of Isa (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), i.e. Jesus Christ. We believe that he was one of the most distinguished prophets, and did many miracles during his time. A whole chapter (Surah) was dedicated to his mother Maryam (Mary) in the Qur’an, wherein his story was narrated. You cannot be a Muslim and disbelieve in prophet Isa (A.S.). No way! Hence, Muslims don’t need to be converted to Christianity before they accept the prophethood of Isa (A.S.). But pastor Omokri should desist from trying to rewrite Islamic history in a way to deceive Muslims into believing that he is an authority on Islam, hence, everything he says on Islam is nothing but the truth. He is simply Dan Mission Badda Musulmi. Muslims should be careful!

It may surprise you to know that pastor Reno Omokri has started translating some of his posts into the Hausa language alone to strategically capture the attention of the Muslim North. To appear more appealing to the Muslims, he crafts a special message or video clip every Friday wishing Muslims happy Jumu’ah, but he never does the same thing on Sundays.

I call on you to critically analyze some of his posts that depict his so-called knowledge of Islamic history and practices and you will surely find portholes that are meant to push a deviant narrative that undermines the very essence of Islamic practices and beliefs. For a proper understanding of this article, you need to read my 1st engagement on the subject matter titled “Part 1: Response To Reno Omokri On Some Muslim Practices And Beliefs” available at:

https://salihulukman.com/response-to-reno-omokri-on-some-muslim-practices-and-beliefs/

Salihu Lukman is an assistant professor of civil engineering at the University of Hafr Al Batin, Saudi Arabia

 

Tagged : Allah / cosmos / diabetes / islam / muslim / qur'an / science / universe

Part 1: Response To Reno Omokri On Some Muslim Practices & Beliefs

By: Dr. Salihu Lukman

 

Reno Omokri’s Post:

Dear Hassan,

Thank you for your feedback. Much of what you practice in Islam was learnt from the people of Habesha.

Many Muslims are unaware that the first Hijrah in Islam was to Ethiopia, then known as Abyssinia in English and Habesha in Amharic. Many of the cultures of Islam were actually derived from the Ethiopians.

If you Google Ethiopian Christian monks, you may be surprised at how similar their dressing is to the Islamic way of dressing. Yet, they have been dressing that way for over 2000 years, as described in their holy book, Kebra Nagast, and as testified to by ancient drawings and illustrations. Islam, as revealed to prophet Muhammad (SAW) and practised by his followers, is 1400 years old. You do the maths.

The attached photo is of a Tewahedo monk. I took it myself. Does he not look like a Sheikh? My wife and daughter wear a netala (hijab) to go to church. All Tewahedo women wear one to enter the church. And they enter from a different entrance and do not mingle with men in church.

Tewahedo means the oneness of God, without a partner, equal or confederate, as revealed to Moses (Nabi Musa) in Deuteronomy 6:4. The Islamic Tawhid means the same thing. Please fact-check me: Tewahedo, as a practice, is older than Tawhid. Again, you do the math.

Prophet Muhammad’s (SAW) nurse, Umm Ayman, was an Ethiopian. She was present on the day the prophet was born and on the day he died.

Ruqayyah, the daughter of the holy prophet Muhammad (SAW), lived in Ethiopia for almost a decade with her husband, Uthman, the third Caliph of Islam.

In one of the Hadiths, it is recorded that the Christian Negus (king) of Ethiopia gifted prophet Muhammad (SAW) two items of clothing.

There are more descendants of prophet Muhammad, salla Allahu alayhi wasalaam, (these descendants are called Sayyids) in Ethiopia, than in Saudi Arabia. In fact, they formed their tribe, called the Sirte.

Harar in Ethiopia is the fourth holiest Muslim city in the world. The Muslims who returned to Medina from Habashah (as Ethiopia is called in Arabic). The word Habashah means “to collect” in Arabic. It is believed to be so called because the early Muslims collected so much from Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian king (Negus) militarily protected the Muslims from the Quraysh of Mecca, who wanted to kill them, and they flourished during their time in Ethiopia. Do the math, Hassan.

Thanks again, and may God bless you.

#TableShaker #GrowNairaBuyNaija

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Response:

To say that “Much of what you practice in Islam was learnt from the people of Habesha” is an unsubstantiated claim and a clear depiction of a lack of knowledge of the origins of Islamic practices and beliefs. You are a learned follower of prophet Isa (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and an erudite pastor, but that does not qualify you to be an expert on the origins of Islamic practices and beliefs even though you have lived with the Muslims in the Northern part of Nigeria and have read widely about Islam.

For you to conclude that “Many of the cultures of Islam were actually derived from the Ethiopians” just because of the shear resemblance of some Islamic dressings with the Ethiopians and because of the Islamic concept of Tauhid resembling the Tawahedo concept of the oneness of God which came before Islam speaks volumes of your lack of knowledge on the origins of these two important Islamic practice and belief. This sweeping and simplistic conclusion is devoid of any concrete evidence. Relying on Muslim migration to Ethiopia during the 5^th year of prophethood, an Ethiopian nurse, and a gift of clothing to prophet Muhammad (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to further support your conclusion only points to the fact you need to study the origins of Islamic practices and beliefs in greater details so that you don’t misinform your audience who might believe your every word. When you quoted that prophet Musa (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) practiced Tauhid, you never inferred that his Tauhid was also derived from the Ethiopians. The million-dollar question here is when prophet Isa (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) practiced Tauhid, did he also derive it or learn it from the Ethiopians and not from God’s revelations in the Scripture?

I am sorry to say that your assertion that “Harar in Ethiopia is the fourth holiest Muslim city in the world” is not true, because there is nothing like the fourth holiest Muslim city in the world. Muslims only know of the 3 holiest Muslim cities, i.e., Mecca (1^st), Medina (2^nd), and Al-Aqsa (3^rd) in Jerusalem because of the Sacred Mosques in these cities as illustrated in the Hadith below.

Prophet Muhammad (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “A prayer in the Sacred Mosque (in Mecca) is worth 100,000 prayers; a prayer in my mosque (in Medina) is worth 10,000 prayers; and a prayer in al-Aqsa Mosque is worth 1,000 prayers.” (Sahih al-Bukhari)

There are numerous other Hadiths similar to the one I quoted above that clearly assert greater holiness of these 3 cities compared to other places but Harar in Ethiopia was never mentioned as the fourth holiest Muslim city in the world anywhere.

You see, I follow you on all your social media handles, read posts daily like a daily ritual, and have written in your favor before and shared your posts in my articles, groups, and status because your logical and critical analyses on most topics are superb and extraordinary. However, reducing core Muslim practices and beliefs that were derived directly from the Qur’an and ancient Arab cultures and passing them off as mere appendages of some ancient Ethiopian practices and religious beliefs is at best highly misinformative and at worst extremely disinformative.

Salihu Lukman is an assistant professor of civil engineering at the University of Hafr Al Batin, Saudi Arabia

Tagged : Allah / cosmos / diabetes / islam / muslim / qur'an / science / universe