AS Muslims in Nigeria join their counterparts all over the world in ushering a new Islamic year, Hijrah 1446 A.H. On Sunday, the Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN) and the Ogun State Muslim Council (OMC) reiterated their call on the federal and state governments to declare Muharram 1, the first day of the Islamic calendar year, as a public holiday.
This was contained In separate statements by the two organisations.
In the statement signed by its national president, Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Balogun, the MMPN said such a declaration would be in line with the rule of law, fairness and justice to millions of Muslims in Nigeria.
The gesture, he stressed, would give Muslims a sense of belonging in the polity.
“Muharram 1 is our own January 1. We want the federal and state governments to declare it as such in the interest of religious harmony in the country,” Balogun said.
He implored the government at various levels to recognise the Hijrah calendar and use it side by side with the Gregorian calendar.
Balogun congratulated Muslims and non-Muslims alike on witnessing another new Islamic year and urged them to reflect on their deeds and activities during the past year.
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He asked Muslims to use the opportunity of the New Year to migrate from sins and renew their commitment to virtuousness in the new year and pray to Allah to guide the administration of President Bola Tinubu in piloting the nation.
The MMPN called on the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) to enter into dialogue with the Federal Government on the issue of the Hijrah holiday and other issues affecting the ummah in the country.
Similarly, the OMC, in its statement signed by the Secretary-General, Alhaji Kamaldeen Akintunde, implored “the Islam-friendly and caring” Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State to emulate his counterparts in Oyo, Osun and Ekiti states who have already declared the date a work-free day.
The council urged the governor to make a pronouncement to this effect as a gesture of fairness and recognition of Muslims’ rights under the Nigerian legal system.
The organisation implored Muslims in the country to be conscious of their obligations and duties to Allah by being righteous and committed to the cause of Islam and humanity.
The OMC noted that “righteousness exalts a nation” and implored Nigerians to be patriotic and committed to national goals.
It reminded Muslims of the prophetic saying that “the love of one’s country is an act of faith,” asking the faithful to embrace this axiom in the interest of national growth and development.
