Prominent
Muslims
bared their minds as they gathered at the Tafawa Balewa Square to offer
prayers for the nation. The event which was organized by the Joint
Muslim Forum was an assemblage of Muslim organisations in the region
with prominent Muslim personalities in attendance. among who are Sheikh
Ibrahim Garba Akinola, OON, the Chief Imam of Lagos state, Dr.
Abdurrahman Ahmad of Ansar-Ud-Deen
Islamic Society
of Nigeria, Sheikh Abdullah Akinbode of Nasrullah-il-Fathi society of
Nigeria, Sheikh Abdurrahman Adamgba of Qareeb Islamic Society, Sheikh
Imran Abdul Majeed Eleha, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, Secretary-General, Nigeria
Council for Islamic Affairs, NCIA among others.
Delivering a
keynote address
shortly after the prayers, Sheikh Abdurrahman Ahmad, leader of the
Forum, beseeched Allah to intervene in the socio-political situation of
the country, adding that Muslims are not terrorists as being
misconstrued by some enemies of Islam.
Prof Ishaq Oloyede called
on Muslims to unite especially those in leadership positions to fight
the scourge of unemployment, poverty, disease, hunger, ignorance,
mis-governance, corruption, tribalism, among other vices in the society.
We’re not
terrorists — Abdrrahman Ahmad
“We feel a sense of duty to pray over the situation in our country. We all know there is no
peace and security,
we all know the anger and frustration of people in the country. There
are questions to be answered and tongues are wagging. That is why we are
here to call on Allah to intervene, to give us the means to attain
lasting peace, to enable our leaders to do what is right and to be fair
and just to the citizenry.”
*Muslims at prayer
“We
are on the verge of another election and acrimony is already
manifesting, open letters here and there. It is only Allah that can
intervene on behalf of the downtrodden and marginalised.”
“This is
also to show the world that we are Muslims, we are not terrorists, we
are not arsonists. We have a duty to call on Allah, we are asking for
peace, and praying to Allah for peace is our contribution towards
attaining peace and tranquility.”
“There is no group in the country that is economically marginalised than the Muslims. We pray to Allah to intervene.”
“In
spite of the fact that we’re the object of hate and calumny, we extend
our hearts to others. We pray Allah to help touch the hearts of our
leaders; to enable us to tow the path of peace. We pray Allah to help
the politicians bury their inordinate ambition.”
On Lagos, he
stated that some certain people have started to fan the embers of
religious divide calling for a Christian governor in Lagos state come
2015. He described this as undemocratic, saying Lagosians had never
voted along religious line in history.
We must come together to banish evils — Prof Ishaq Oloyede
“For
us as Muslims, I mean true practicing Muslims, we need to join hands to
strive and provide exemplary leadership in various spheres of life and
endeavours and ultimately for the nation. We must not stay-by and watch.
We owe ourselves and Allah the responsibility to create an enabling
environment for the unfettered worship of Allah and practice of Islam in
a plural society like Nigeria without annihilating non-Muslims.”
“We
must live peacefully with our neighbours in an atmosphere of mutual
respect for one another to jointly fight common problems such as
unemployment, poverty, disease, hunger, ignorance, mis-governance,
corruption, tribalism, moral decadence, drug abuse, insecurity, rape,
religious intolerance, human right abuse, impunity, poor/non-existent
infrastructure, victimisation, election rigging and so on. To do these,
we must be involved.”
Oloyede called on Muslims in the State to
join hands to address the peculiar issues affecting them which include
hijab, new hijrah year holiday, coroner law, cremation of unclaimed
corpses, un-balanced political appointment and absence of Sharia
division in your judicial system.
Sponsored decoration
Others
are state sponsored decoration of streets and highways for Christmas,
unemployment of teachers to teach Arabic and Islamic Religious Knowledge
in public schools in the face of abundant qualified teachers, proposed
plan to scrap the department of Arabic and Islamic Studies in Lagos
State University (LASU), huge unemployment of Muslim youth, huge and
unaffordable fees in LASU, disgraceful treatment of Imams compared to
Christian counterparts, among others.
“It is disheartening to know
that at this age and time, the use of hijab by female students in
public schools is still an issue in Lagos State. It is terribly
disappointing that a state which has over 50% Muslim population with
very prominent Muslim personalities is still struggling to enforce a
right as basic as the use of hijab. I call on all Muslims in Lagos to
unite and forge a common font to banish this evil from the Ummah. In
doing this, violence must be eschewed; dialogue, wisdom, tact, and
constructive engagement must be enthroned.”
He also called on
government to respect the right of Muslims and be just in dealing with
all groups of people, adding that the government must create an
environment devoid of discrimination against the Muslims or any other
religious group.
On leadership and challenges of combating evils
in the society, Oloyede stressed: “We are all witnesses to evil acts and
the decadence in our society as well as the marginalisation and
oppression of Muslims as manifested in anti-Islam government policies
especially in Lagos State. Clearly leadership without consultation is
evil and Holy Prophet Mohammed (s.a.w) commanded us: “When you see an
evil act you have to stop it with your hand.
If you can’t, then at
least speak out against it with your tongue. If you can’t, then at
least you have to hate it with all your heart. And this is the weakest
of faith.” As Muslims I ask you “Which way have you chosen to stop the
evil acts you see around you?” Let us all remember that Allah warns His
believing servants of a Fitnah, trial and test, that encompasses the
wicked and those around them. Therefore, such Fitnah will not be
restricted to the sinners and evildoers. Rather, it will reach the
others if the sins are not stopped and prevented,” he said.
Alhaji Babatunde Fashinro
“The
potency of prayer cannot be over emphasised in the life of Muslims.
Islam enjoins Muslims to call on Allah in prayer and put their trust in
Him. Allah say in many verses of the Holy Qur’an: Call upon Me, I will
answer you. It is incumbent on us to beseech Allah in all our affairs.
In addition to taking action, Prayer is also very important in the life
of a Muslim. As Muslims we owe our leaders the duty to pray for them to
succeed in the task of governance. It is by so doing that we discharge
our obligation to support and encourage them to do what is good and
just.”
He commended the organisers of the programme, describing it as ‘demonstration of submission to the will of Allah.’
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/01/muslims-pray-nation-terrorists-ahmad/#sthash.yAoTnqhI.dpuf
