An Islamic preacher, Sheikh Yelma’e, said he would never pray for the late popular actor, Murphy Afolabi, as a result of the roles he used to play in movies when he was alive.
The cleric said Murphy Afolabi usually promoted traditional beliefs forbidden by the Islamic religion in most of the films in which he took part.
Sheikh Yelma’e, in a video clip reposted by @mufasatundeednut on Instagram on Thursday, made this assertions.
He furthered that only hypocrites would pray for Afolabi’s departed soul as he mostly played the character of herbalist in his films which is against the preaching of Islam.
He said, “What we posted yesterday was that we cannot pray for (late) Murphy Afolabi because in the movies he usually acts, and particularly Yoruba movies, it has a lot of forbidden things including traditional sacrifices and it is rare for the actors not to be involved in such traditional sacrifices.
“They might be acting that way with the thinking that they are joking but anything that has to do with Almighty Allah should not be joked with. Acting like herbalist, witch, or wizard, is against Islamic teachings and Islam is against such actions.
“What will make a Muslim start using what nonbelievers do to make people laugh? It is common in Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo films, but mostly in Yoruba films. I feel it is time for religious teachers and students to start looking into these issues.
“When any of these actors with a Muslim name acts like herbalist in Yoruba movies and later dies, it becomes hypocritical for people to expect us to pray for them. As for Murphy Afolabi, I won’t pray for him, and neither will I curse him because he might not know.”
In his reactions to Sheikh Yelma’e ‘s stance, a lecturer in Film and Media Arts, Department of Theatre Arts and Music, Lagos State University, Dr Femi Olugboji, noted that many scholars have pointed out that Islam does not kick against education using human images.
He said, “They (scholars) said Islam does not forbid education through the portrayal of human images but what Islam forbids is the way human beings, especially women, are portrayed through their mode of dressing, and as well as the content that misleads the public.
“What is the intent of Murphy Afolabi’s acting roles in line with what the cleric mentioned? Is it to correct society? Were his actions in those films to correct the ills in society or was it to mislead the society? We need to be very objective by taking a deep look at his works to see what he was trying to achieve or achieved through the actions he displayed in his films.
“The cleric to some extent may be wrong; if for example I assume a role of an herbalist and through that role I used it to correct something wrong in society, does it mean I have committed a sin? What exactly does the cleric know about the media and media content? He is looking at the issue from his personal belief and not Islamic religion.”
