Muslim Rights Concern accuses Adeleke University of forcing non-Christian students to attend church

ISLAMIC campaign group Muslim Rights Concern (Muric) has accused the Adeleke University of Ede in Osun State, of persecuting Muslim students by forcing them to attend Sunday church services.

Founded in 2011, the Adeleke University is a faith-based institution established through the Springtime Development Foundation (SDF), a philanthropic, non-profit organisation. It is closely aligned with the Seventh-day Adventist Church and its philosophy is that of Christian education.

Muric director Professor Ishaq Akintola, said that the university, was victimising Muslim students by forcing them to observe Christian values. He thus called on Nigeria's National Universities Commission (NUC) to come to the rescue of Muslim students at the university.

Professor Akintola said: “Adeleke University is a serial violator of the Allah-given fundamental rights of Muslim students. This institution forces Muslim students to attend church on Sundays and makes it mandatory for students living in the hostel to attend church every Wednesday and Saturday.

“The practice of any other faith on campus except Christianity is banned and Muslim students must not be seen observing Salat. Hijab is a taboo in Adeleke University, yet all these Islamophobic practices are smartly hidden from prospective students of the institution until they have paid the exorbitant school fees and can no longer withdraw.”

“In particular, we invite NUC to take a look at the students’ handbook of this institution, especially pages 7, 49, 50, 56 and 60. These pages, to our mind, contain rules that infringe on the religious freedom of Muslim students, so as a regulating body, NUC has a duty to intervene in this matter as part of its oversight function on Nigeria’s universities.

As things stand today, Muslim students of Adeleke University have been deprived of the spiritual component of their humanity. Religious repression is a potential threat to peace, law and order, so we therefore advise Muslim parents and students to take necessary precautions and investigate very well before picking universities of interest.

“Many private universities do not bear Christian names but they pursue Christian evangelical goals and worse still, they lack the spirit of tolerance. Muslim candidates who have already chosen private universities where they are likely to become victims of Islamophobia are, therefore, advised to apply for a change of university before it is too late.”