Former presidential aide Bashir Ahmad has asserted that the ISWAP terrorists threatening Christians to convert to Islam or face death are not true Muslims.

In a post on his official X handle on Friday, Ahmad stressed that the group’s actions do not reflect Islam or its teachings.

DAILY POST reports that ISWAP recently released an image of a Christian village in Adamawa State burning, alongside a statement claiming that all Christians in Nigeria are legitimate targets. The group offered villagers the choice to convert to Islam or pay the jizyah tax to spare their lives.

Reacting, Ahmad said,

“The ISWAP terrorists threatening Christians to convert to Islam or face death are obviously not Muslims, and their actions in no way represent Islam or its teachings. Islam was never spread through coercion, intimidation, or violence.”

He added that the Qur’an explicitly forbids compulsion in religion, recalling that during the time of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Muslims coexisted peacefully with non-Muslims in Makkah and Madinah, guided by mutual respect, justice, and shared humanity.

Ahmad described the terrorists’ campaign as a betrayal of Islam and a distortion of its values, calling it utterly condemnable and contrary to both religion and humanity.