Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem
A PRESS RELEASE BY THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF MUSLIM YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS (NACOMYO) ON THE EVE OF EIDUL ADHA, 1437 A.H.
All praise is due to Almighty Allah, the Lord of the world. We seek refuge in Him from satanic insinuations, we celebrate His praise and we bear witness that there is no other god worthy of worship except Allah and we also bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.
We beseech Him to continue to shower His mercy and blessings on him, his kith and kin, his companions as well as those who follow them in goodness till the day when naira and kobo will be valueless except those who meet their Lord with pure / clean hearts.
Gentlemen of the Press,
May the blessings and mercy of Almighty God be upon you.
The National Council of Muslim Youth Organizations (NACOMYO) felicitates with the entire Muslim World on the occasion of EIDUL ADHA (Islamic Sacrificial Festival) of this year, that comes up on Monday, 10th Dhul Hijjah, 1437 A.H. (12th September, 2016). NACOMYO enjoins all adherents of the Islamic faith to imbibe the teachings of the festival as exemplified by our noble prophet, predecessor and father, Sayyidinah Ibraheem (AS) which includes fear of Almighty Allah, total submission to the will of Almighty Allah, self-discipline, sacrifice, piety and sharing with the less privileged.
We’d like to enjoin the Muslim Ummah to emulate the good qualities of our role models Prophets Ibraheem and Muhammad (AS), and imbibe their teachings in our daily lives as well as exhibit tolerance, love and mutual understanding with non-Muslims to ensure peaceful co-existence, unity and harmony in our nation.
As the Muslim faithful offer their sacrifices to Almighty Allah on Sallah Day, we should remember that Allah has nothing to do with either the blood spilled or the meat of our sacrifice but the piety of our hearts for which a good deed will be recorded against every fibre of the fur on the body of the animal. Therefore, let us make good our intentions, feed from it the poor, less privileged and our neighbours, regardless of their religious inclinations, and seize the opportunity of these great ten days and ayaamul tashreeq to pray for our nation to recover quickly from corruption behemoth, economic recession, moral decadence and political crises.
NACOMYO’s attention has been drawn to a press release by a coalition of 22 Christian Groups led by National Christians Elders Forum (NCEF), published in The Guardian of 8th of September, 2016, where the Sultan of Sokoto and the President-General of Nigerian Supreme Council on Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, was accused of taking over the responsibility of the Federal Government by declaring 12th of September, Idul Kabeer Day, a public holiday!
In fact, this singular act of the Forum could be regarded as the peak of religious intolerance and a deliberate misrepresentation of the Sultan’s statement to cause religious disaffection!
It is trite to reiterate here that His Eminence, the Sultan has NEVER and will NEVER declare a public holiday, rather, His Eminence, in his capacity as the bona fide leader of the Muslim Ummah in Nigeria, gives directives on Islamic rites and activities as it affects Nigerian Muslims, nothing more!
NACOMYO salutes the courage of impartial pressmen that called the attention of the leader of the National Christian Elders Forum, Mr. Solomon Asemota (SAN), to the content of the Sultan’s declaration which has nothing to do with public holiday, and enjoins them to always remain impartial, fearless, just and committed to maintenance of peace and harmony in the country.
NACOMYO calls on the entire Muslim Ummah to remain calm in the face of an this blatant attempt at intimidation, aggression, deliberate attack on the personality of our amiable spiritual leader and our collective psyche. Muslims should go about celebrating their Eidul Adha peacefully, extend the hand of friendship to those who see us as their enemies and be preoccupied with glorification and celebration of the praises and names of Almighty Allah throughout the period of Eid (the day of sacrifice and 3 days after).
We pray to Almighty Allah to accept our prayers, sacrifice and good deeds during these blessed days. May He send down His succour, blessings and mercy on Nigeria and Nigerians.
Eid mubarak wa barka de Sallah in advance,
may Almighty Allah accept it from you and us.
SIGNED
Binyamin Yusuf
National Secretary-General
NACOMYO
