According to the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), the New Year’s Day celebration is a Christian colonial creation intended to elevate and rubber-cushion the pomp and pageantry of Christmas.
The group demanded that the first day of the Islamic calendar (1st Muharram) be declared a Hijrah holiday in order to justify the Federal Government of Nigeria’s annual designation of the 1st January Gregorian holiday.
Only the acknowledgment of the first day of the Islamic new year, according to MURIC, will restore equilibrium and promote equity, justice, and fairness.
For the sake of peace, the Muslim rights group stated the Federal Government should evaluate “this Christian colonial heritage.”
According to the group, “if the government thinks this demand is unreasonable, FG should stop declaring 1st January as a holiday. That is when we will know who has been benefitting from it and who has been losing and hurting.”
MURIC’s demand was made on Friday, 7th January 2022 by its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
