The Grand Mufti of the Fatwa Council of Liberia, Sheikh Abubakar Sumawolo, has called for unity amongst Muslims acrsss Liberia.
He said unity is necessary as it is an essential part of Islamic principles because it brings peace and tranquility in the organization thereby referring to those who sow seeds of disunity as viruses that also appear amongst Muslims stressing that they must be denounced.
Delivering the Eid Mubarak Message at the Gurley Street Mosque over the weekend in central Monrovia, Sheikh Sumawolo, urged Muslim leaders to always preach the messages of peace as well as respect for authorities to their followers.
“Let us fight against terrorism and or any form of rebellion because those vices have the propensity to destroy the fabric of our noble religion in Liberia,” he pointed out.
According to him, this year’s Ramadan is unique because the 23rd day which is considered as the holiest day during the fasting and prayer season came on Friday similarly the Eid celebration is also on Friday; so that signifies that Allah will double his blessings on the people of Liberia and doubles his mercies on Muslims globally.
“I urge Muslims in Liberia to seize the opportunity to present their needs and problems to Allah including the development needs of the country as he is ready to positively respond to those requests and also open the gate of development for the country,” the Imam indicated.
He further stated that Muslims were always in disagreement when it comes to carrying out their religious activities for more than 20 years but through the concerted efforts of some philanthropists, the Imam Council, including the Supreme Council of Fatwa and others, they unanimously agreed to end the fasting and prayer on the same day this year which is laudable.
The Grand Mufti however encouraged Muslim leaders to educate their followers to register relative to the importance of the forthcoming elections during the final phase of the process because according to him, that is their civic responsibility to elect their leaders who are capable of finding solutions to the development needs of the country and also address the needs of the people including protecting their rights.
“I admonish Muslims to continue praying for peaceful campaign activities that will eventually lead to free, fair and transparent elections so that the results can be a credible mandate of the people and accepted by all for the sake of the country,” he added.
The Muslim cleric then extended thanks and appreciation to President George Weah and the Government of Liberia on behalf of the Muslim communities in Liberia for the construction of a state of the art, Emirate Hospital in Bopolu City, Gbarpolu County which according to him, is the traditional headquarters of Muslims in Liberia even before the arrival of the pioneers in 1821.
The grand Mufti maintained that President Weah has indeed been kind to Muslims by the annual donations of thousands of bags of rice along with cash to enhance their Ramadan celebration noting that he also appointed the first Islamic Advisor in his office in the history of Liberia.
“Beside that the government has allowed Muslim workers to leave their various offices and go for prayers at mosques on Fridays during working hours. Female students of the Islamic Religion are also permitted to use the scarf during school hours at the Monrovia Consolidated
System (MCSS),” he added.
“So, this is a clear demonstration that the President Weah believes in religious tolerance,” he indicated.
He then urged Liberian Muslims to be grateful to the President for his generosity and to appreciate him as they are working with him so that other projects can get underway and be completed like the construction of a central mosque and the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.
