In an interview with the Press TV website in connection with the 34th anniversary of the passing of the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky paid glowing tribute to him.
“I have been saying that Imam Khomeini is still alive and that the Ummah should adopt his thoughts,” the leader of the IMN and one of the disciples of the late founder-leader of the Islamic Revolution.
Sheikh Zakzaky is widely followed and revered by Muslims in Africa in general, and Nigerian Muslims in particular, for his revolutionary political ideals and struggle for truth and justice.
The Nigerian cleric and his wife have faced persecution from Nigerian authorities for years, with both suffering from multiple life-threatening ailments and prevented from traveling abroad for treatment.
Since December 2015, when Sheikh Zakzaky was brutally tortured by Nigerian government forces and his house was razed to the ground, he has spent over five years in illegal incarceration.
The renowned cleric has often spoken about the Islamic Revolution led by Imam Khomeini and how he took inspiration from Imam Khomeini’s struggle against the arrogant and corrupt powers of the time.
“His ideology is not restricted to Muslims alone but is meant for all of humanity. No matter what your religious beliefs are, whoever loves injustice,” he told the Press TV website.
Sheikh Zakzaky, who founded the Zaria-headquartered Islamic Movement in Nigeria that focuses on non-violent resistance to local and foreign arrogant powers, said Imam’s thought inspired him.
“That is the Imam’s thought. It is meant for everyone. We stand in solidarity with anyone who is oppressed, wherever they are,” he asserted, referring to Imam Khomeini’s political ideology.
The Nigerian cleric has over the years gained a massive following in Nigeria and other African countries for his brave stance on human rights and democratic processes and for speaking truth to power.