South East Muslims of the Igbo race have felicitated with the Muslim Ummah of Nigeria and the world over the month of Ramadan and have urged the wealthy among the Ummah to utilize the month to feed the poor, support the needy and strive to ease the Islamic obligation on the less privileged.
The
group under the aegis of South Eastern Muslims of Nigeria (SEMON) also
congratulated the leaderships of the Ummah, led by the Sultan of Sokoto
and President General of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs
(NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’adu Abubakar II, for guidance which has led
to the unity of the Muslims of Nigeria in observing the holy month
without differences.
A
statement released to the press and signed by the chairman of the
organization, Muhammad Obiahu Ajah Jr. and secretary, Abdurrahman
Nwabueze Urama, applauded the spirit of brotherhood exhibited by Muslims
during Ramadan. The group appealed for the continuation of the Islamic
atmosphere after Ramadan so that the privileged Muslims can go on giving
special attention to the poor as commanded by Allah and exemplified by
the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW).
SEMON
enlisted prominent Muslims of Nigeria to come to the aid of the Muslims
of the Southeast in terms of economic empowerment and alleviation of
their educational and health challenges. They called for particular
attention to the challenges faced by the Igbo Muslim women and
girl-children.
They implored
the Sultan and all the Muslim leaders in Nigeria to continue to provide
proper guidance to the Muslim faithful under their domains to ensure
the practical unity and progress of the Ummah in a multi-religious
society like Nigeria.
“We
plead with our leaders to continue as always to guide us. Muslims
through their guidance have lived in harmony with other citizens of
Nigeria. There is the need to ensure good parentage to guard against the
stray extremists who have been misrepresenting the image of Islam in
the name of fighting globalization. There is no compulsion in Islam and
no Muslim, for any reason, has the right to take the life of any human
being without a ruling by a competent court.”
“On
that note, we also call on our Muslim and Islamic leaders to look
towards the Southeast geopolitical zone of Nigeria in order to assist in
alleviating some of the challenges faced by Muslims especially the
vulnerable women and female children.”
“We
also join in appealing to the Federal Government to as a matter of
national interest employ all security measures to safeguard the citizens
across Nigeria and to bring any perpetrator of criminality against
humanity to book. We also commend the government for its strong stand in
fighting financial recklessness and for all efforts in recovering the
nation’s wealth by past administrations and political office holders. We
also pray for Nigeria and her peoples and wish them progress, unity and
peace at all times.”
“Lastly,
we use the medium to again call on the Federal Government to include
Muslims of Igbo race in the ongoing composition of board memberships of
the federal agencies and parastatals as means of ensuring equity and
fairness, as well as giving the sense of belonging to the minorities of
Nigeria”.
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