An ultra-modern mosque to help in the propagation of Islam and the teaching of the lifestyle of Holy Prophet Muhammad has been inaugurated for people of Gbanyamli, a suburb of Tamale in the Northern Region.
Named ‘Masjidul Hedaya’, the mosque comes with auxiliary facilities such as a one-storey school building complex, an office complex, mechanised boreholes, Information Technology (IT) laboratories, washrooms and car park, among others.
Speaking at the ceremony to inaugurate theedifice last Friday, an Islamic Scholar and Executive Director of Dawah Academy, Sheikh Ibrahim Afa-Zie,
urged Muslims to be loving and tolerant of people of different faith whose beliefs and practices differ from the teachings of the Qur’an and the hadith.
According to him, it took love and tolerance for Prophet Muhammad, the founder of the Islamic religion, to bring people who had a different faith than what he believed in, into the religion but not killing or violating their rights.
He stated that violent extremism and terrorism which involves killing people because of their beliefs and violating the rights of women and children were not Islamic, but business for those engaged in it.
While hailing the Prophet Muhammad for his tolerance of the beliefs and practices of people of different faith groups, Sheikh Afa-Zie urged Muslims to copy the exemplary lifestyle from the prophet and desist from killing innocent souls and causing destruction to lives and properties in the name of the religion.
“These has nothing to do with the Islamic religion, anybody who happens to call himself a Muslim and indulge himself with these acts, that fellow is not a true Muslim, because the holy prophet Mohammed never sanctioned that; so where do you get these acts from?” he said
“What they are doing is purely business otherwise why should a right-thinking Muslim go and bombard a church in the name of religion? Such people if they don’t repent when they die, they know where they are going” he added
Afa-Zie who doubles as Vice-Chairman for the Board of Directors of the Hedaya Islamic School, expressed worry over the misinterpretation of the Islamic religion by some Muslims to mean ritualism, adding that the school which has been attached to the mosque, would be used in teaching children the right practice of the religion and how Muslims should live their lives
He expressed gratitude to Allah and the founder of the Masjidul Hedaya and the Hedaya Islamic School for the fortitude and favour done to the Muslims.
Sheikh Afa-Ziealso thanked the chiefs of the area for their support especially in making the land available for the construction of the mosque and the school.
“We thank Allah for this favour, we also wish to thank the person behind this thing we are seeing today,” he said
He further urged parents to take advantage of the availability of the mosque and the school by enrolling their wards in the school and also ensuring that they observe prayers in the mosque and not in their homes.
The event was attended by Islamic clerics, scholars, academia, chiefs, students, teachers politicians and the general public from in and outside Tamale.
BY TIMES REPORTER
