Anger for re-tweeting Jesus joke and apology by El- Rufai
The former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, attracted anger
from Christians on Twitter on Sunday for re-tweeting a Joke about Jesus
that was intended to be a criticism of the Jonathan’s insensitivity to
criticism of his administration’s policies.
The
former Minister who is a Muslim, is an avid user of the micro-blogging
site, where he has attracted a large following for his criticism of the
government policies. Earlier on Monday he had re-tweeted following tweet
from another social critic know as Ogunyemi Bukola with the Twitter
handle
@zebbook:
“@zebbook: If Jesus criticizes Jonathan's govt, Maku/Abati/Okupe will say he slept with Mary Madgalene.”....LWKMD.....
But
no sooner had the tweet appeared on his timeline than many of his
followers took offence describing the tweet as blasphemous.
@elrufai @zebbook I think you take pleasure in creating confusion and tense atmosphere. May God have mercy on you Mallam Elrufai.
Wrong Way 2 Correct"@Engee24:
@elrufai @zebbook I also guessed your so called Muhammad/allah slept with your mother hun..#frustrated fool""
-
@elrufai @zebbook Is dis suppose to be a joke or somethin? B careful that you don't rain curse on yourself. Ask God for forgiveness.. Else!
-
@elrufai it is quit disappointing that such a blaspheous talk comes from you:@zebbook
However,
others rose the defence of the ex-minister saying it was a harmless
joke that wasn't meant to caste jesus in a bad light;
First and foremost, that tweet wasn't sent by el-Rufai. No 2) that person wasn't insulting Jesus. C'mon!
@zebbook just read it and what is wrong with that tweet? It's not offensive at all we all need a chill pill and face this useless Govt.
@Nedunaija Besides, the joke started with an "if" which makes it hypothetical at best. What's wrong with all these fanatics?
El-Rufia did not initially directly respond to the anger directed at him as observed by this Facebook post:
The
tweet by Mallam Nasiru El-Rufa'i making such an insensitive joke about
Jesus Christ is disrespectful and highly provocative. Considering the
sensitivity of Nigerians on such issues. I am dismayed he is yet to
delete the tweet nor apologise despite criticisms on twitter.
He,however,
posted a statement on his Facebook page apologising to those that saw
the tweet as offensive. He explained that he didn't mean it to come
across that way and the tweet was taken out of context:
Hello
Friends. I have been travelling and try to catch some sleep in between
the last 24 hours and missed all the furore arising from my retweet of
Ogunyemi Bukola's (@zeebook) joke Maku eat al and Jesus. I must say I am
taken aback by the extent of desperate misrepresentation of what was
an innocuous attempt to show the godlessness of the Jonathanians to
denigrate anyone that dares to ask them to be accountable.
To those who were genuinely offended by the retweet, I apologize. I did not meant to offend anyone, neither did the
@zeebook
I know and featured as one of the Young Voices in my Friday Column.
Jesus or Isa Alaihis Salaam is a respected prophet of Islam. Every
Muslim accepts this in addition to his miraculous virgin birth. It is
therefore absurd for any Muslim believer to disrespect Jesus Christ.
I hope those in this class will see my point of view and accept my
apologies for any offense or disappointment caused. And I advise
everyone to read
@zeebook's
timeline and mine to read EXACTLY what was tweeted rather than the
second-hand reports of certain people who ALWAYS twist whatever I write
or not write to achieve their morally-repugnant objectives.
To
those in that class of liar - the political contractors who tried to
attribute the entire statement to me to destroy perceived political
capital, I say keep on doing that till the day your cups will be full.
Everything these days is reduced to posturing for 2015,but those doing
it do not even know which one of us will be alive to witness the events
of that time. I leave all those to God and their conscience.
To
the Warriors of God, who misinterpret the Scriptures (both Bilble and
Qur'an) and pretend to be capable of fighting His battles, please learn
from history. The multiple Crusades and Jihads are yet to convert the
entire human race into one religion. If God wished us all to be of one
religion, He would have made us so. So please leave God's work to Him,
and just be good to other humans.
I thank all my friends who
stood up for me in this saga. They know me better than what the
desperate Jonathanians want to paint as El-Rufai. An those that wish to
know me a little batter should please read my forthcoming book. Thanks
and God Bless.
After initially refusing to apologise as some of his followers had suggested:
That tweet WAS and IS NOT a blasphemy. I am not responsible for how anyone chooses to interpret it. No apology.
Ms Ogunyemi (@zebbook) who originally posted the tweet, later posted an apology in a series of ten tweets:
(1)
I wish to apologize a tweet I sent yesterday which has since become
controversial in which I drew an analogy using the person of Jesus.
The tweet by Mallam Nasiru El-Rufa'i making such an insensitive joke about Jesus Christ is disrespectful and highly provocative. Considering the sensitivity of Nigerians on such issues. I am dismayed he is yet to delete the tweet nor apologise despite criticisms on twitter.
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