Islamic scholar and National Chairman of the Council of Ulama, Dr. Ibrahim Jalingo, has ignited a firestorm online after publicly endorsing the death penalty for Muslims who renounce their faith.
In a defiant post shared Thursday on his verified Facebook page, Jalingo backed a Hadith that calls for the killing of apostates, dismissing critics as “compound ignoramuses” and defending the Hadith as divinely inspired revelation on par with the Qur’an.
“Whoever changes his religion, kill him,” Jalingo quoted from the Hadith, insisting the statement is not only authentic but supported by multiple Qur’anic verses.
The cleric directed his criticism at a man identified as Issiyaku Abdulkadir, who had presented the Hadith as contradictory to the Qur’an invertrt a list dubbed “100 Hadiths That Contradict the Qur’an.”
“This will, God willing, give me the opportunity to expose his ignorance to the world,” Jalingo wrote.
He further claimed that verses like “There is no compulsion in religion” have been abrogated, and cited Qur’anic passages that, according to him, authorize violence against apostates and polytheists.
“The Qur’an itself goes even further,” he said, adding that anyone who believes the Hadith contradicts Islamic teachings “is completely ignorant.”
Jalingo who did not stop at theological arguments, also launched a personal attack on his critics, likening them to “prostitutes and effeminate men,” a remark that has drawn widespread condemnation.
The post has since gone viral, polarizing netizens.
While some supporters hailed Jalingo for “defending Islam,” others, both within and outside the Muslim community, have slammed his comments as dangerous, extremist, and un-Islamic.
Meanwhile, human rights advocates are now calling for closer scrutiny of religious rhetoric that promotes violence, warning that such declarations could fuel sectarian tensions and vigilantism.
As of press time, Jalingo has not retracted his statement.
