By Ishaq Dan-Imam, Lokoja
ASHENEWS reports that the Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society (AIS), a non-governmental organization committed to the teaching of Islamic ethics and values for moral rejuvenation of Nigerian Muslims, has trained Muslim 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, the national Chief Imam and executive director of the Just Foundation, Fuad Adeyemi, said the training was aimed at presenting the Islamic perspective on corruption and accountability, as well as the role of Muslim leaders in leadership, especially on management of mosques finances and accountability mechanisms from the Islamic perspective.
He added that the Islamic religion is about social justice, good governance for good quality of life for everyone in line with the doctrine of virtuousness, fairness and openness that engender peace, harmony and good neighbourliness in Islamic societies and Nigeria as a country.
The Islamic scholar 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.
“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 on 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,” Fuad added.
He urged the Imams to put the knowledge acquired into practice to enable them and the followers maximize the gains of the training, while disclosing that Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society of Nigeria has acquired 50 grinding machines in partnership with Keystone Bank Limited for distribution to the less-privileged women under its women entrepreneurship development scheme.
According to him, 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, said 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 place emphasis on social justice and institutionalization of reward system to reward hard work and honesty in public service in order to build a country of high hope and pride to citizens.
Ibrahim Idris, the Director of Finance, Business and Human Development, took the participants through the principle and methodology of writing sermons to reflect contemporary global realities.
He advised Muslim the 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, 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.
