IMC to tackles Muslim communities’ distress

Coalition to build cemetery, orphanage homes, others

In an attempt to end challenges facing contemporary Muslim communities, Island Muslim Coalition (IMC) has created a structure that would impact positively the Muslim Ummah. The group resolved to raise funds to build a cemetery, orphanage and skill acquisition centre as well as, old people’s home

“IMC is a coalition of Muslim communities and mosques in the Island and Lekki axis. It is an initiative to strive on Muslim structure, ideas and for peaceful co-existence in secular society,” the coalition said.

Speaking during the introduction and get-together of IMC, the Secretary, Alhaji Idris Taiwo, said it was established out of a deep passion for the worship of Allah (SWT) and the silent yearnings of Muslim communities to serve and prepare a better environment for Muslims to live and practice their Deen appropriately.

“For a better understanding, it is paramount to get a historic perspective of IMCs emergence. From a subconscious thought to a conscious effort to improve on the challenges encountered by the Ummah generally in contemporary secular society. The need for various Muslim compliant facilities and structures to serve our Islamic purpose cannot be overemphasised and has been long coming for the Muslim Ummah habiting along the Lekki corridor (Lagos Island) in general. A cemetery facility has been particularly lacking amongst others thus, it became an exigent starter for our actualisation journey.”

He noted that the general objectives of this coalition are to collectively deal with concerns and needs of the Muslim Ummah in the spirit of the brotherhood preached and practiced by belove prophet Muhammad (SAW).

“We lack in areas such as schools, orphanages, cemeteries, halal food outlets, markets and health facilities amongst others to facilitate our togetherness better.

“The journey is for all of us to achieve collectively, while we travel through life in this temporal world. The ownership belongs to all Muslims, IMC will In’shaa Allah function and remain a body to structure, strategise as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for better achieving our set objectives now and in the future,” he said.

Chairman, Board of Trustees of IMC and Deputy President of the Muslim Ummah of Southwest Nigeria (MUSWEN), Alhaji Rafiu Ebiti, said the youth development centre would specifically target the engagement of youths to stem the tide of restiveness in the society.

The Muslim leader stated that the Island Muslim Coalition, an initiative to strive on Muslim structure and ideas, would be playing its part through the building of the entrepreneurship centre in Osapa along the Lekk-Epe Expressway.

He said, “we have a donation of a hectare of land in Osapa to build an entrepreneurship centre so as to train Muslim youths on different skills and make them useful to themselves. When you are young, you think it’s about money.

“But when you grow older, you understand it’s about wealth creation. Wealth creation is a vast area. It’s not only money, it includes endowment, skills, knowledge, commitment and transfer.

Also speaking, a Trustee of IMC, Ariyo Olushekun, described IMC as a platform to strengthen the collaboration among the Muslim faithful in the Island axis.

He said, “IMC is not another organisation in the real sense of it. There are several Islamic organisations and communities that exist on the Island. This is only a coalition of those organisations so that it enables them to come together to work as one for us to achieve synergy.

“So, if every organisation is trying to do one thing or the other on their own, it takes a long time to achieve success and for it to be effective. But when they all come together and pool resources, they can achieve success in a faster way.

“Generally speaking, we are looking forward to working on projects that will benefit the Muslim ummah. Two have been identified to start with. One is a cemetery; a Muslim cemetery that will be properly mapped out and established. For instance, the corpse in the cemetery should face the qiblah, but many of the ones around are not always so. There are also ways of preparing the grave. All these are not present in the ones available. And besides, what is available now is not sufficient.”