Hisbah: Islamic police ban ‘Black Friday’ in Kano
The Kano State Hisbah Board has told a radio station the name and day “Friday” is holy and exclusive to Muslims and should so not be desecrated.
Hisbah is an Islamic police operating in many states in the northern part of Nigeria where Sharia law has been embraced. The religious police routinely destroys bottles od alcohol.
Black Friday is an informal name for the Friday following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, which is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.
The term is used worldwide to mean a day for promotional sales where goods are sold at discounted prices. But Kano’s Islamic police disagrees.
The Hisbah board wrote a letter to 96.9 Cool FM, warning it to stop using the term “Black Friday”.
The letter was signed by Principal Executive Officer II, Abubakar Ali, on behalf of the Commander-General.
In it, Hisbah stated that Friday is regarded as a holy day in Islam and tagging it as “black” is derogatory and would not be tolerated.
The letter titled, “Letter of Introduction”
reads in part:
“I am directed to write and notify you that the office is in receipt of a complaint for the conduct of ‘Black Friday Sales’ on November 27, 2020.
“Accordingly, we wish to express our concern on the tagging of Friday as ‘Black Friday’ and further inform you that the majority of the inhabitants of Kano State are Muslims that consider Friday as a holy day.
“In view of the foregoing, you are requested to stop calling the day ‘Black Friday’ with immediate effect and note that the Hisbah Corps will be around for surveillance purposes with a view to avoiding occurrence of any immoral activities as well as maintaining peace, harmony and stability in the state.”
Meanwhile, popular Islamic cleric, Ismail ibn Tata Menk, alias Mufti Menk, says there is nothing wrong with marking Black Friday. He adds that Allah will even reward Muslims who tell others about cheap Black Friday deals.
Watch the video below:
