By Ishaq Dan-Imam, Lokoja
The Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society (AIS), a non-governmental organization committed to the teaching of Islamic ethics and values for the moral rejuvenation of Nigerian Muslims, has trained Muslim Clerics (Imams) in Kogi State, north-central Nigeria.
Speaking at the tutorial engagement on the use of the ‘Sermon Guide’ produced by the NGO for the Islamic Clerics in Nigeria, national Chief Imam and executive director of The Just Foundation, Imam Fuad Adeyemi, said the training was aimed at presenting the Islamic perspective on corruption and accountability and role of Muslim leaders in leadership especially on the management of mosques finances and accountability mechanisms from the Islamic perspective.
The Islamic religion is about social justice, and good governance for good quality of life for everyone in line with the Islamic doctrine of virtuousness, fairness, and openness that engender peace, harmony, and good neighborliness in Islamic societies and Nigeria as a Country, Adeyemi said.
He urged the participants to propagate the philosophy and ideals of Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society on knowledge acquisition through continuous training of the clerics to understand and appreciate the dynamism of today’s Muslim World and find adaptable ways of dealing with corrupt practices in the Islamic way.
“Muslims and Imams in particular must preach and work against corruption among the Muslim Ummah because the Islamic religion is purely about purity in all ramifications, and we at Al-Habibiyyah place premium on the training and re-training of the Imams across Nigeria with a view to sharpening their sermon presentation and leadership skills for greater spirituality in order to add value to the fight against corruption in Nigeria.
“We hope this training session will impact the participants and Society at large as I call on the participants to demonstrate higher commitment and vigour to the worship of God and selfless service to humanity and stay away from the temptations of corruption and Self-seekers in our daily religious interactions with fellow Muslims and non-muslims,” Imam Fuad, added.
He urged the Imams to put the knowledge acquired into practice to enable them and their followers to maximize the gains of the training as he disclosed that Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society of Nigeria has acquired fifty grinding machines in partnership with Keystone Bank Limited for distribution to the less-privileged women under its Women entrepreneurship development scheme, adding that the organization has commenced negotiations with the bank to acquire additional grinding machines for female members of Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society of Nigeria.
Earlier, the guest speaker, Dr Saheed Timehin, an Arabic Scholar at Lagos State University (LASU) who delivered a keynote address on the dangers of corruption and its social implications for Nations, says the absence of social justice breeds corruption, which according to him, is multidimensional and the root cause of societal ills in Countries of the world, where the Citizens are bereft of hope.
Dr Timehin called for concerted efforts at tackling corruption, using the Islamic approach, which places emphasis on social justice and institutionalization of a reward system to reward hard work and honesty in public service in order to build a country of high hope and pride for citizens.
Sheikh Ibrahim Idris, Director of Finance, Business, and Human Development, AIS, who took the participants through the principle and methodology of writing sermons to reflect contemporary global realities, advised Muslim Clerics (Imams) to incorporate contemporary issues of corruption, international affairs, economy, and governance into the contents of their sermons to have a broad-based message of admonition to the mosque audience.
Al-Habibiyyah Chief Imam in Kogi State, Imam Ghali Yabagi, expressed delight at the regular mentorship program of the organization and thanked its leadership for the sustained advocacy on Islamic ethics, leadership, corruption, and good governance in Nigeria.
