ABSTRACT
The
research is an analysis of the Role of Islamic Knowledge in Combating Crime in
the North-West Geo-Political Zone of Nigeria. The study was conducted through
the use of survey research involving quantitative method. The data was
collected from the respondents by means of Islamic Knowledge Combating Crime
Questionnaire (IKCCQ). The population of this study comprised the Muslims in
North Western zone of the country. A total of three states, Kano, Sokoto and
Kaduna, were selected. The random sampling technique was adopted. A total of 900 respondents were sampled across the three States and a test with reliability coefficient of r=0.78 was carried
out to determine the reliability of the instrument used for gathering the data.
One major research question and a null hypothesis made in the work are; how does the objective of
Islamic knowledge affect crime prevention in Kaduna, Kano and Sokoto states
respectively? And there is no significant difference in the respondents’ views
in the objective of Islamic Knowledge on crime prevention and control on the basis
of their state. A total of six research questions were answered with item
means, standard deviations, standard errors and item frequencies. Also, a total
of six null hypotheses were tested
using the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
to find differences in respondents’ perception on the basis of their state. All
hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study found amongst
others that Islamic Knowledge has attributes in combating crime in the North-West geopolitical zone of Nigeria.
It was recommended amongst others that workshops, seminars or conferences
should be organized at different levels by the different tiers of government,
Islamic organizations, NGOs to synthesize the society on the need for an
increase in the propagation of Islamic knowledge as it could have an impact in
combating crime in the region and beyond.
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
In the name of Allah, the Most
Beneficent, the Most Merciful. All thanks are to Allah who revealed the
ultimate guidance, the Qur’an, which contains everything that man requires for
the success of the two lives. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon the
seal of
Prophets, Muhammad ( سلم
و عليه
هللا صلى) who demonstrated
the most
sublime character, May Allah (SWT) also be pleased with the companions
of the Prophet (سلم
و عليه
هللا صلى) who took
the true
teachings of Islam to generation
after them.
This research is an analysis of the role
of Islamic Knowledge in Combating Crime in the North-west Geo-Political Zone of
Nigeria. It is generally assumed that combating Crime is the sole
responsibility of the Law enforcement agents. The essence of this study however,
is to provide the North Western States the best way to control crime, as well
provide quality service delivery to the general public through proper
utilization of Islamic Knowledge since Islam is the predominant religion in the region.
It is pertinent to state that the basic
aim of the religion of Islam is to instill consciousness of Allah, the Creator,
and moral values. In this regard, Islam made learning the most essential aspect
of religion. It may be said that Islam is the path of knowledge. No other
religion or ideology has so much emphasized the importance of
learning
than Islam. The Qur’an states:
محمد:
ﰓﰔ ﰕﰖﰗﰘ ﰙ ﰋ
ﰊ ﰋ ﰌ ﰍ ﰊ ﰏ ﰐ ﰑ
٩١
So
know that there is no god but Allah, and, ask protection for your fault and for
the believing men and the believing women; and Allah knows the place of your
returning and the place of your abiding, (Q47:19).
The above quoted verse emphasizes
knowledge first, before Tauhid, which is the bedrock of Islam. Perhaps the
essence of knowledge in Islam is to inculcate the consciousness of Allah and
knowledge about Him into man, as well as to guide man to moral values. The
following Qur’anic verses substantiate the statement:
ﭱ ﭺ
ﭻ ﭼ ﭽ
ﭶ ﭷ آل
ﭯﭰ
ﭮ ﭭ ﭬ ﭫ ﭪ ﭩ ﭨ ﭧ ﭦ ﭥ ﭤ
عمران: ٨١
Allah
bears witness that there is no god but He, and (so do) the angels and those
possessed of knowledge, maintaining His creation with justice; there is no god
but He, the Mighty, the Wise.(Q3;18)
The verse quoted above stresses that
those who truly know Allah among the creatures are the Angels and scholars. It
is obvious that only persons who are Knowledgeable in Islamic teachings would
know how to adjust and integrate behaviors and actions into a framework of
life. This therefore, clearly indicates that those who are conscious of moral
values and do not indulge in crimes because of their knowledge about Allah are
the learned persons. It is further revealed in the Qur’an that:
ﯩ فاطر: ٨٢
ﯥ ﯦ ﯧ ﯨ
ﯝ ﯞ ﯟ ﯠ ﯡ ﯨ ﯩﯤ
...
those of His servants only who are possessed of knowledge fear Allah; surely
Allah is Mighty, Forgiving.(Q.35;28)
Certainly,
all immoral activities are condemned in Islamic teachings. As the Qur’an
explained:
ﮀ ﮁ ﮆ
ﮇ ﮄ ﮅ
ﮈ ﮉ ﮂ ﮃ
ﭾ ﭿ ﮌ ﮍ
ﮀ ﮁ ﮂ ﮃ ﮄ ﮅ ﮆ
ﮇ ﮖ ﮗ
ﮘ ﮙ ﮚ ﮛ ﮜ ﮝ األعراف: ٣٣
Say:
My Lord has only prohibited indecencies, those of them that are apparent as
well as those that are concealed, and sin and rebellion without justice, and
that you associate with Allah that for which He has not sent down any
authority, and that you say against Allah what you do not know (Q. 7:33).
In the same vein, history has attested
to the contributions of Islam in reforming corruptible societies, making the
people in such societies become morally upright and God conscious. It suffices
to mention the efforts of Islam in the reformation of Makkah in particular,
when it was morally bankrupt, and ungodly activities were the order of the
period with people having very little conscience (Al Awabdeh, 2005), as expressed by Jafar ibn Abi Talib in his speech in
front of the Negus when he said: "we were ignorant people, we worshipped
idols and ate from dead animals. We committed all sorts of immorality and cut off the ties of kinship and mismanaged the
neighborhood and the strong among us devoured the weak" (A
Rahim, 2001). Of course, the changes
or reformations were brought not as a result of using any force or authority,
but rather through imparting the true knowledge of Islamic religion. This transformation of that the criminal phenomenon is an
evidence that Islam has mechanisms to fight against crime. Sherwani, (1993).
It is also evident that in history,
before Islam was introduced into Hausa land - the present North-west
geo-political zone of Nigeria was experiencing high rate of evil and immoral
activities and it was a period of disintegrated societies. But through the
teachings of Islam and unity of the people moral behavior were installed.
However, ignorance about the religion and deviation from the religious
teachings were promoted again and hence, corruption set in again, which later
incited the launching of the Jihad of
Shiekh Usman bn Fodiyo of 1804 (Raji, 2005). The Jihad was championed and
guided by the teachings of Islam and was successful in reforming people, taking
them back to the moral teachings of Islam.
However, when the people neglected the
prescriptions of Islam in relation to what is expected of them in their daily
living, some or most of the immoral activities were revived and hence the
societies of North-west were beset by the challenge and threat
of crime and evil again. In view of this, this research is designed to examine
the role of Islamic knowledge in combating crimes in the area of study.
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