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Ansar-ud-deen harps on religious tolerance, peaceful coexistence

By Sulaimon Salau
27 October 2017   |   3:52 am
Lagos State Area Council of Ansar-ud-deen Society of Nigeria has called on Muslims in Nigeria to be tolerant of adherents of other religions.This advice was given by stakeholders in Ansar-ud-deen society of Nigeria......

PHOTO: www.adelove.com

Lagos State Area Council of Ansar-ud-deen Society of Nigeria has called on Muslims in Nigeria to be tolerant of adherents of other religions.This advice was given by stakeholders in Ansar-ud-deen society of Nigeria on the occasion of the 1439 Ah Islamic New Year celebration organised recently by the Lagos State Area Council of the society.

The Guest Lecturer and Chief Imam, Ansar-u-deen Society of Nigeria, Ikorodu Branch, Alhaji Abdul-Fatah Odunayo, said hijrah is significant as it is a turning point for Muslims around the world.

He said, “Muslims should imbibe and strive to emulate the characters of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as he was a man of excellent character and above all, a unifying factor for the world. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) not only brought together Muslims but through his honesty and good neighborliness, he converted many non-Muslims to Islam.

“We should not only celebrate hijrah as just another new Islamic year, we should see it as a new phase in our lives when leave aside our religious differences as Allah has said in the glorious Qur’an that there is no compulsion in religion. We need to uphold the constitution prophet Muhammad has brought for us which is the Qur’an with the world we live in will be peaceful and our existence will be meaningful,” he said.

For the Chairman, Ansar-ud-deen Society of Nigeria, Lagos State Area Council, Alhaji Nurudeen Okunleye, hijrah is a walk away from destructive acts.
He said, “One of the lessons of prophet’s hijrah is for Muslims to be tolerant of non-Muslims. We should learn to tolerate one another as Muslims and particularly, we must learn to live as one with people of other faiths. So, hijrah is a walk out of restiveness, dishonesty, intolerance and other societal ills.

“I want to advice Muslims in Nigeria and the world to be agent of peace and engage in acts that are capable of unifying us and not be seen to be promoting acts that could disintegrate the Muslim communities. We should live our lives as true slaves of Allah having in mind that we have but a limited time to live on this earth,” he said.

Alhaji Shakirudeen Adigun, one of the vice-presidents in Ansar-ud-deen said: “For today’s Muslims, hijrah represents doing things in obedience to the commandment of Allah and ensure goodness to all creatures regardless of differences in religion and race. It represents being attentive to constituted authority. It is a turning point in our lives as Muslims to live peaceful with adherents of other religions to promote peace because Islam is a religion of peace and not of war.”

Ipaja branch, women leader, Alhaja Solape Wasiat, wants Nigeria’s political leaders to emulate Prophet Muhammad model of leadership for a peaceful and rewarding tenure.

She said, “During the time of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), he was a religious leader who did not discriminate against non-Muslims. He allowed other religions to practice. So, on this occasion of our new year, I want to call on our political leaders to adopt Prophet’s style of leadership which encompasses amongst others honesty, probity and perseverance”.

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