Knowledge of other faiths will promote peace in Nigeria – Sultan

The Sultan of Sokoto and president-general of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, has asked adherents of the Islamic religion to seek knowledge about people of other faiths in order to promote peaceful co-existence in the country.

He also admonished Muslims to acquire “knowledge about the words of God and work with them in order to become better people.”

The Sultan spoke yesterday in Ilọrin, the Kwara State capital, during the 10th annual Usman Dan Fodio Lecture.

The programme was part of activities to mark the annual Usman Dan Fodio Week, which started in Sokoto State.

According to the Sultan, the purpose of the annual lecture was to encourage Muslims to acquire knowledge and share such wisdom to strengthen Islam.

He said, “Sokoto Caliphate was founded on knowledge and not illiteracy; hence it is an obligation on all Muslims to seek knowledge, bequeath such on their children and spread the right knowledge about Islam to check the trend of fake news.”

The Sultan said the choice of Ilorin for the lecture was also deliberate to demonstrate that Muslims are “one big family.”

“We are here to educate ourselves about what our forefathers did to strengthen Islam. They didn’t bring Islam to the world, they followed the word of God and strengthened it,” he added.

He praised the choice of the lecturer, who he described as an international scholar of repute, and urged the participants to share the knowledge acquired and work with the word of God.

Dr Zakir AbdulKarim Naik, a Malaysia nationale, who delivered the lecture, spoke on the topic: “The Concept of God in Major World Religions.”

Other dignitaries at the event were the Grand Khadi of the Kwara State Sharia Court of Appeal, Justice Mohammed Kamaldeen, who represented Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq; Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari; the registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), and secretary- general of the NSCIA, Prof Is-haq Oloyede, and the Chief Imam of Ilorin, Sheikh Mohammed Bashir Salihu, among others.