Blasphemy: Did Sheikh Abduljabbar Ask to be Persecuted?

Blasphemy: Did Sheikh Abduljabbar Ask to be Persecuted?

Claim: 

Following a debate between Sheikh Abduljabbar Kabara and other scholars in Kano State over allegations of blasphemy, incitement, and sundry offences during his sermons, a hausa based news medium claimed that the controversial scholar has admitted guilt and asked to be prosecuted. Other northern based platforms syndicated the report with the same headline. 

Verdict: 

An online examination of the embattled Sheikh Abdujabbar Nasiru Kabara’s public comment revealed that he did not make any direct comment admitting guilt to blasphemous allegations nor did he ask to be prosecuted on that premise. However, a content analysis of the full video of the debate revealed that he was quoted during the debate proceeding, albeit out of context. The clip reveals that what he actually said was “india ba za a yi adalci ba, a hukunta ni” which literally translated to “if there would be no justice in this proceeding then I should be prosecuted”, and this was in response to one of the question posed on him by a co-debater, Malam Kabir Bashir Abdulhamid. The claim therefore is MISLEADING. 

Full Text:

Following a debate between Sheikh Abduljabbar Kabara and other scholars in Kano State over allegations of blasphemy, incitement, and sundry offences during his sermons, a hausa based news medium claimed that the controversial scholar has admitted guilt and asked to be prosecuted. Other northern based platforms syndicated the report with the same headline. 

The report in hausa language claims Abduljabbar said, “na amsa laifi na, a yi mun hukunci” which literally translates into english as, “I have admitted guilt, I should be persecuted,” 

Sheikh Abduljabar the Kano-based Islamic cleric famous for his controversial religious commentaries and statements that are regarded as statements mortifying the companions and sacrilegious to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) has been charged to court for blasphemy by the Kano State Government.

A statement issued by the commissioner for information, Malam Muhammad Garba indicated that the development followed the receipt of the First Information Report from the police by the Office of the Attorney General and commissioner for justice which prepared charges against the cleric. Abduljabbar was subsequently arraigned on Friday, July 16 before an Upper Sharia Court Judge, Kofar Kudu, Alkali Ibrahim Sarki Yola, where the charges that included blasphemy, incitement, and sundry offences were mentioned.

Verification:

An online examination of his public utterances before the debate reveals that he made no such comment. However, a content analysis of the full video of the debate revealed that he was quoted during the debate proceeding, albeit out of context. The clip reveals that what he actually said was “india ba za a yi adalci ba, a hukunta ni” which literally translated to “if there would be no justice in this proceeding then I should be prosecuted”, and this was in response to one of the question posed on him by a co-debater, Malam Kabir Bashir Abdulhamid.   

After the debate, the cleric released a video in which he claimed the blasphemous comments linked to him were not fabricated by him but certain discoveries he made from the Islamic literature, stating however that he has withdrawn the statement. 

Following his later submission, the Kano State Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Dr. Tahir Adamu aka Baba Impossible, said the state government will not accept his repentance. He was subsequently arrested and arraigned for blasphemy. 

Web wise, a free information, advice and resources platform to help parents, teachers and students address internet safety issues, argues that misleading headlines are headings that portray stories that are not completely false but can be distorted using misleading or sensationalist terms. These types of news can spread quickly on social media sites where only headlines and small snippets of the full article are displayed on audience newsfeeds.

According to full facts, a UK independent fact-checking charity, the media must stop using misleading headlines because often the article doesn’t actually say what the headline promised. Sometimes the contradiction between the headline and the rest of the piece hides in plain view.

Both in newspapers and on social media, headlines serve as a kind of menu, allowing us to judge from brief descriptions which articles we want to read. In the process, we get snippets of information about many different things, but nobody has time to read them all in detail.

There’s a certain amount of research supporting this. For instance, a survey of 1,492 American adults in 2014 found that 58% did not watch, read or hear any news beyond the headlines in the previous week. 

Conclusion: 

Headlines may only be a tiny part of the article, but they are often the only part that people read. This makes them real misinformation capable of real harm. Despite withdrawing his statement and seeking forgiveness, claims therefore that Sheikh Abduljabbar has admitted guilt and asked to be persecuted, is MISLEADING. 

The researcher produced this fact-check per the Dubawa 2021 Kwame KariKari Fellowship partnership with PRNigeria to facilitate the ethos of “truth” in journalism and enhance media literacy in the country.