The Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, has accused Christians in Nigeria of having more holidays than Muslims in the country. They made these allegations in response to claims by CAN that Christians are facing persecution in Nigeria.
MURIC, in a statement released on Friday, expressed its contention that the number of public holidays, including New Year day, enjoyed by Christians is evidence of their preferential treatment over Muslims. The statement, signed by its director Professor Ishaq Akintola, asserted that Muslims are being sidelined in the allocation of holidays.
MURIC further challenged the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to provide concrete evidence of persecution, arguing that the recent New Year holiday on January 1, 2020, exposed the alleged bias. It questioned why Christians are granted several holidays such as Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year Day, Easter Monday, and Good Friday, while Muslims only have three holidays, namely, Id al-Kabiir, Id al-Fitr, and Maulud an-Nabiyy.
The organization accused CAN of perpetuating a narrative of persecution to maintain the status quo and emphasized the need for equality and justice, particularly in the allocation of holidays. MURIC also called on the Federal Government to address the issue of public holidays, highlighting their demand for the declaration of 1st Muharram as a public holiday in parity with 1st January.