23 August, 2026, Lagos.
The Muslim Public Affairs Centre (MPAC) Nigeria has observed, with deep concern, the wave of hostile and Islamophobic commentary that has trailed the celebration of Maryam Ibrahim Dan’Azumi’s victory at the 46th King Abdulaziz International Qur’anic Competition. Rather than a moment of unqualified national pride, her achievement has become, for a section of the online public, an occasion to disparage her faith, question her ethnicity, and diminish the value of Qur’anic scholarship itself.
We have reviewed the pattern of reactions directed at Maryam. Some commenters dismissed her achievement as economically worthless, asking what value it adds to the nation. Others suggested, with thinly veiled contempt, that her success is meaningless unless replicated in mathematics, science or engineering- as though excellence in one field must be diminished to be tolerated. Still others reduced her identity to ethnic suspicion, speculating on her “Fulani origin” as though that were relevant to her accomplishment, or mocked the nation itself in terms that used her success as a pretext for broader derision.
This is not isolated commentary. It is a familiar and recurring pattern: whenever a Nigerian Muslim excels- whether in religious scholarship, academia, business, or public service- a portion of our public discourse responds not with celebration but with suspicion, mockery, or an implicit demand that the achievement justify itself in terms alien to its own value. When a Nigerian child who memorises the Qur’an is asked what economic value their achievement contributes to the GDP and no Nigerian child who wins a global spelling or robotics contest is asked whether they are “also being guided in Tajweed and Tafsir,” this is a deliberate double standard, and it is corrosive.
MPAC states clearly: this is Islamophobia, and it must be named as such. It is a societal ill that cannot be excused as harmless banter or robust debate. It reflects a prejudice that treats Muslim identity and Islamic scholarship as inherently suspect, foreign, or unworthy of the same national pride extended to every other Nigerian achiever. A 17-year-old girl who mastered the entirety of the Qur’an- its memorisation, recitation, Tajweed and Tafsir- against competitors from 132 countries, deserves the unreserved admiration of every Nigerian, irrespective of faith. That she has instead been made a target of ridicule and ethnic baiting is an indictment of the intolerance that persists in parts of our national conversation.
The Qur’an itself instructs believers: “O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you” (Surah Al-Hujurat, 49:13). This achievement should have united Nigerians in the very spirit this verse commends- mutual recognition and respect across difference- rather than exposing the fault lines of prejudice.
We call on all Nigerians of goodwill, of every faith and background, to confront this pattern honestly. A nation that claims to value all its citizens equally cannot permit one community to be subjected, with impunity, to hostility of this nature every time one of its members succeeds. Social media platforms, civil society, and religious leaders across faiths all have a role to play in rejecting this bigotry whenever it surfaces.
MPAC also takes this occasion to speak directly to Muslims across Nigeria, and especially to students pursuing Islamic education: do not let the noise of bigotry diminish your pride in your faith, your traditions, or your pursuit of knowledge. The scorn directed at Maryam says nothing about the worth of what she has achieved and everything about the prejudice of those making it. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever treads a path in search of knowledge, Allah makes easy for him a path to Paradise” (Sahih Muslim). This tradition of seeking knowledge- religious and worldly alike- is one Muslim students must continue to embrace with confidence and without apology. We urge them to remain rooted in their identity, proud of their heritage, and steadfast in the pursuit of excellence in every sphere of life: in the Qur’an and the sciences, in scholarship and in enterprise, in service to community and to nation. Islam does not counsel a choice between faith and achievement; it demands both.
The Nigerian Muslim community will not be silent in the face of this recurring hostility. MPAC will continue to document, expose, and challenge Islamophobic rhetoric wherever it appears, and we call on like-minded Nigerians- Muslim and non-Muslim alike- to join us in insisting that our shared national life be governed by fairness, mutual respect, and the equal dignity of all citizens.
Maryam Ibrahim Dan’Azumi has done Nigeria proud. Nothing said about her diminishes that truth.
-End-
Disu Kamor
Executive Chairman
Muslim Public Affairs Centre
Kamor.disu@mpac-ng.org
www.mpac-ng.org
MPAC had previously issued a message of congratulations to Maryam and her family who are raising exceptional custodians of the glorious Quran:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Hz2wDMLjZ/