A lawyer from Igbo Eze LGA of Enugu State, Uthman Isa Tochukwu in an interview with PUNCH NEWS correspondents revealed how it feels to be an Igbo Muslim.
Tochukwu stated that there is nothing strange about being an Igbo Muslim, noting that religion is a free thing.
He argued that a person can be from a particular tribe and choose any religion he feels contented with. The lawyer stated that his family are Muslims even though they are from Enugu state.
According to Tochukwu, some people in his region are surprised whenever he tells them that he is a Muslim. He noted that he doesn’t get any kind of discrimination at home because he comes from a Muslim family.
He however stated that he is being criticized on social media where some people claim that his family converted to Islam because of monetary benefits.
Hear him, “As we know, religion is a free thing. We are surprised that when people see Igbo Muslims, they wonder because religion is a free thing.
A tribe is one thing, religion is another. You can be from a tribe and be free to subscribe to another religion. I was born a Muslim; I was never a Christian at any time. All my family members are Muslims even though we are from Enugu.
There are other Muslims in my community; there are Muslims in all other eastern states; we can argue that the percentage is low, but there are Muslims. When I introduce myself, people ask with amazement about my name; it has become part of my life. Apart from Twitter (X) where I am bullied by some section of Igbo people who claim that my family was not originally Muslim but converted because of money.”
