NASFAT urges terrorism groups to embrace dialogue
The Deputy Missioner, NASFAT, Abdul-Azeez Onike, gave the advice during a special prayer to commemorate this year’s Maolud Nabiyy (birth of Prophet Muhammad) in Lagos on Thursday.
He said it was condemnable for any group to disrupt the peace of the country in the name of religion.
Onike said, “Islam encourages dialogue. It is in the Quran that we should seek dialogue and consultation. It is only when they give room for a roundtable discussion that there will be solution. Dialogue will enable them to register their grievances in the right manner. I implore them not to be faceless.
“No matter their grievances, they should come out. God, who has made us to belong to different religions, has a reason for doing so. We need to cohabit with one another and for those who create problems with religion, may God give them the patience, intelligence and wisdom to allow us leave peacefully as a nation and as a people.”
Onike, who urged the Federal Government to create a platform for different groups in the country to express their grievances, wondered why the terrorism sects had refused to embrace the teachings of the religion they claim to be defending.
He said, “Why should anyone treat people from the opposite religion like nonentities? It is the responsibility of everyone to ensure peace. During the time of the Prophet Muhammad, there was peace regardless of the different religions. The prophet had warned that ‘a person whose neighbours don’t have rest of mind because of him/her is not a Muslim’.
“Nigeria needs a roundtable discussion. The challenges are now everywhere. It is going beyond Boko Haram and terrorism; kidnapping, pipeline vandalism, among others. If there is need for a national conference, I think we had better do that.”
culled from: THE PUNCH NEWSPAPERS
January 25, 2013 by Sodiq Oyeleke
Written by NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE
Sodiq Oyeleke is a Media, Human Resources, Project Management and Public Relations Practitioner
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