Hassan ole Naado, the SUPKEM chairman.
The Supreme Council of Kenyan Muslims (SUPKEM) wants the state to enact a law creating religious crimes but punishable with the secular law.
The Council said the crimes should target inviduals who misinterpret religious doctrine to radicalize innocent followers.
In a meeting with the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on Shakahola deaths, the Council said the question of determing teachings that constitute indoctrination and radicalization is controversial and proposed that each religious organisation puts up a doctrinal committee composed of religious scholars.
“Their work will be to independently and expertly review teachings and preachings of respective religion and guide their followers accordingly,” said Hassan ole Naado, the SUPKEM chairman.
Similarly, the Committee will facilitate registration, conduct background checks on the doctrines and advise the relevant government authorities on the appropriateness of preachings and teaching when whenever preachers go outside what is acceptable.
The proposal on religious crimes created an excitement within the committee which is investigating circumstances under which the deaths in Shakahola occurred.
Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana, who chairs the committee, said the proposal was important and challenged Supkem to proposal the kind of punishment that will come with it.
“What should be the punishment on those found guilty of religious crimes and who should mete out such punishment,” senator Mungatana asked.
He described the proposal as a good idea and challenged the Council to propose what in their view will be the appropriate punishment to be meted out to those found culpable.
But the Supkem bosses ducked the question arguing that it was not appropriate for them to ascribe such a punishment as Kenya is a secular state.
“This can be discussed and legislated so that it doesn’t appear as if one religion is dictating what should be done,” he added.
He however maintained that since there is no state religion punishment should be meted out on the basis of existing secular law.
SUPKEM accused the state of bias against Islam loudly wondering why the ODPP is dilly dallying in prosecuting Pastor Mackenzie who is believed to have masterminded the killings in Shakahola Forest in which 265 bodies have been recovered so far.
He said the state has slept on the job with regard to Macklenzie activities this allowing deaths to occur.
“Kenyans have reached dangerous levels of socio economic desperation to the extent they are too gullible to religious misadventure as an escape from their desperation,” said Ole Naado, adding that the security laws and policies on religious extremism have been applied selectively against Muslim and that is why nobody cared to check out what mackenzie was doing.
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