"It is indeed sad that Muslims are being tagged as terrorists in the media" - Sultan of Sokoto

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar III while speaking with journalists during a dinner in his palace in Sokoto on Sunday night, stated that Islam abhorred terrorism and the taking of life of innocent people without due process, adding that there was no plan whatsoever to emasculate any religion in the North.

The Sultan maintained that there was no compulsion in religion, and as such, no true Muslim would use force to compel others to convert to Islam.

"So, if anybody wants to wage a war to compel others to convert to Islam whereas Almighty Allah said in the Holy Quran that there is no compulsion in religion, then that person is not a true Muslim and not acting for Islam.

"Therefore, I want to call on all those who think that what is happening in the North in particular is a plan to exterminate other religions, to have a rethink because there is no plan to emasculate any religion.

"It is indeed sad that Muslims are being tagged as terrorists in the media in this country. I have never heard of Christian terrorists but all we hear in the media is Muslim terrorists, when it happens to be a Muslim. This issue is everywhere in the world where people are tagged Islamic fundamentalists.

"As long as we continue to label other people negatively because of the religion they belong to or certain activities being done by a particular religion, then we will continue to have a problem. Why not treat such terrorists as common criminals and deal with them according to the laws of the land?".