The Chief Missioner of Nasrullah -il fatih (NASFAT), Imam Abdul-Azeez Onike, has advised both political and religious leaders against promotion of hate speech, but should rather tolerate one another.
Onike gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos, ahead of the November 16 International Day for Tolerance (IDT) and Peace.
The IDT was initiated in December 2018 by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of United Arab Emirate (UAE).
The International Day for Tolerance is an annual observance day declared by UNESCO in 1995 to generate public awareness of the dangers of intolerance. It is observed on every November 16.
Theme is: “Prospering from Pluralism: Embracing Diversity through Innovation and Collaboration.”
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According to Onike, intolerance and hate speech will definitely bring no benefit, but will rather run contrary to objectives of the religion.
He also urged adherent of various faiths to always seek second opinion and deep understanding of their religions whenever they face any preacher promoting intolerance and violence.
Onike said that objective of Islam, was “promotion of benefits and removal of harms”.
He said: “Verily, Sharia is founded upon wisdom and welfare for the servants in this life and the after life.
“In its entirety, it is justice, mercy, benefit, and wisdom.
“Every matter which abandons justice for tyranny, mercy for cruelty, benefit for corruption, and wisdom for foolishness is not part of Sharia, even, if it was introduced therein by an interpretation.”
Onike said that knowledge of principles of Islamic jurisprudence, which deals with how laws are deduced in Islam, would aid in no small way to getting counter narratives against violence and hate speech.
He urged Nigerians to remember Nov. 16 and internalise its message.
“Tolerance is respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world’s cultures.
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“It is our forms of expression and ways of being human,” Onike quoted UNESCO’s 1995 Declaration of Principles on Tolerance.
NAN reports that Dr Fahad AL-Taffaq, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ambassador to Nigeria, had on Thursday in Abuja, underscored the need to promote interfaith tolerance to ensure peaceful co-existence.
AL-Taffaq spoke at an interfaith dialogue organised in Abuja by the Embassy of UAE in Nigeria to mark the 2019 International Day of Tolerance (IDT) celebrated annually on November 16.
The day is to promote mutual understanding and respect among people of different backgrounds.
AL-Taffaq said that interfaith tolerance had become so important that it would go a long way toward promoting tolerance as a universal concept for dialogue, coexistence, and openness to different cultures.
“Tolerance is needed in all spheres of life because it plays a vital role in establishing peace and love in all societies.
“It should be made clear that showing respect and tolerance to the opinions of others does not mean you have to compromise your principles or embrace or accept others’ ideas,” he said at the forum.(NAN)
