Professor Salisu Shehu, presiding judge of the debate between Sheik Abduljabbar Nasiru Kabara and the Ulama’ (Kano scholars), have given a final verdict at the end of the debate.
Okay.ng understands that the debate was organised by the Kano State Government after the Islamic Scholar, Sheikh Abduljabbar, appealed to challenge allegation against his method of teaching.
The scholar had been accused of making derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and his companions which stimulated controversies among the Islamic scholars in the state.
Abduljabbar was subsequently prevented from preaching in the state on the grounds that his activities were capable of triggering violence.
Following the debate on Saturday, the judge, Professor Shehu speaking in Hausa language, declared that at the end of the debate the sheikh avoided all the questions raised.
He said: “At any point, Mallam Abdujabbar dodged all the questions raised without giving an answer.
“At first he said there was no enough time. The second issue he raised was that one topic should be addressed before jumping to another, while he was actually the one who jumped from one topic to another without addressing the questions raised.
“Once a question is raised and he is requested to provide reference from his books, he would complain that there is no enough time for that.”
Responding to the verdict, Sheikh Abduljabbar said he would have made his input if he knew the guidelines before the debate.
In his words: “The problem is that they did not give me the guidelines in advance. I advised that the topics should be debated a-piece, and that enough time be given to us.
“Our aim is not just to win an argument, but to find the truth. Our hope is to have a successful debate, and my hope is for us to be on the righteous path in our religion.”
