The Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society (AIS), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) has trained Muslim Clerics on the dangers of corruption in the society.
Speaking at the tutorial engagement which took place in Kogi State, north central Nigeria, the national Chief Imam and executive director of the NGO, Imam Fuad Adeyemi, said the training was aimed at presenting the Islamic perspective on corruption and accountability and role of Muslim leaders in management of mosques finances and accountability mechanisms from the Islamic perspective.
He added that the Islamic religion is about social justice and good governance in line with the Islamic doctrine of virtuousness, fairness and openness that engender peace, harmony and good neighborliness.
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 while finding 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,” Imam 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 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.
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.
Dr Timehin called for concerted efforts towards tackling corruption, using the Islamic approach which places emphasis on social justice and institutionalization of reward system to reward hard work and honesty in public service.
Sheikh Ibrahim Idris, Director, finance, Business and Human Development of the society, 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.
