The Sultan of Sokoto and President-General, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has appealed to Muslims to make Islam attractive by preaching love and peace, The Nation reports.
The Sultan, who inaugurated the Oluwo palace and the Wings School mosque at Iwo in Osun State, corroborated the submission of the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdul-Rasheed Adewale Akanbi, that Islamic preachers should desist from emphasising the punitive aspects of Sharia penal code, scaring people away from Islam.
Abubakar said more efforts are needed to promote Islam in this “part of the world”, expressing delight at the large turnout of people for the two events which he described as “historic”.
The monarch said religion should not be held responsible for people’s actions.
The Sultan, who explained that human behaviour does not represent Islam’s doctrine, said Islam should not be held responsible for Muslims’ actions.
He urged Muslims to love their neighbours, irrespective of political or religion differences.
In his welcome speech, Oba Akanbi said time has come for Muslims to do the “Jihad of love and peace” to promote Islam.
He explained that arrangements have been concluded to equip the new hospital in Iwo with modern equipment from Canada, stressing that he is committed to bringing sport competition back to the town.
The Oluwo said plans are ongoing to facilitate the study centre of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), noting that many successes have been recorded since his inception in the last two months.
A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stalwart, Chief Abiola Ogundokun, said the choice of the Sultan to inaugurate the mosque was to further cement the South/North relationship.
Ogundokun said the coming of Sultan during this time of political differences, being preached unjustly by some people, will further explain the need for cooperation with the federal and state government.
He appealed to Nigerians to develop the spirit of endurance and abandon tribal sentiments.
The founder of the Wings Schools, Iwo, Prof. Lai Olurode, advocated the need for better understanding and promotion of knowledge as well as more dialogue between religions.
Olurode, who was a federal commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), advised the people to show practical commitment to the promotion of cultural literacy, saying “humanity should transcend ethno-religious barrier while we struggle to retain our diverse identities”.
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