Nigeria: Point of View | Sunday Islamic activities are not obligatory

...[C]onflicts dwell in the mind. If we all learn to respect one another, realising that even if we are not united by creed, we are united by humanity, conflicts will not have a safe haven in our midst. The only true religion is the one that preaches love.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff |
Source & Credit:The Guardian | Nigeria
By DR. SAHEED TIMEHIN, Lecturer in Foreign Language Departments, Lagos State University, Ojoo, Lago
& Co-chairman (Muslim) of  Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC)

MUSLIMS worship everyday. There are two types of worship in Islam - obligatory and superogatory. The five daily prayers and the Friday prayer are obligatory forms of worship. The superogatory ones can be done at anytime and or any day. The choice of Sunday is only a matter of convenience since Muslims do not have free Fridays. Muslims hardly have the opportunity of worshiping together with members of their families. The only free day is Sunday because we work during the week and at times, on Saturdays. Apart from that, Saturdays are generally reserved for social functions and the traffic is usually heavy.

As regards managing conflict where Christians also worship in the same area, the responsibility is that of the clerics of both faiths.

What type of messages do they preach? What do they tell their congregation about the other faith? This is very important. Conflict begins at the level of perception. Wrong perceptions create wrong attitudes and wrong actions follow. In addition, there is legislation in Lagos against noise pollution. Though it is yet to be properly enforced, I believe that it will go a long way in minimizing conflict since neither the noise nor the intolerant aspects of a cleric's messages will get to outsiders.

However, conflicts dwell in the mind. If we all learn to respect one another, realising that even if we are not united by creed, we are united by humanity, conflicts will not have a safe haven in our midst. The only true religion is the one that preaches love.

In my own community, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, our slogan is 'Love for all, hatred for none.'

'In Islam, The Essence Of Creation Is To Worship Allah And This Is Done All The Times'

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