Thiès, Jul 9 (APS) – Imam Babacar Ngom on Saturday, in his sermon on the Tabaski feast, invited voice carriers from all sides to intervene to stem the seeds of discord smoldering in the country and to appease the political and social climate.
Imam Ngom was addressing the Tound-wi field, to the faithful who had come to sacrifice at the Tabaski prayer, celebrated on Saturday by some of the Muslims of Senegal, before the other Sundays.
“We must work on everything that can guarantee peace in the country,” the imam said.
The seeds of this tension are manifesting in the religious field where people who present themselves as religious speak blasphemous words, hurting the faith of others, he said.
On the political field, the imam is sorry for the remarks that politicians exchange and which, according to him, can lead to a physical confrontation.
Imam Babacar Ngom believes that the time has come for all voice carriers in the country to call on all parties to exercise restraint.
Avoid discord which will affect not only the unjust among you, he said, quoting a Quranic verse.
He called on Muslims to redouble their efforts in the Islamic education of young people to prevent them from being manipulated because of their blind infatuation with religion.
Muslims must stand up once morest anything that aims to disrupt the family, such as homosexuality, he continued, not without castigating the repeated murders recorded each year in the country.
Islam, known to be a religion of peace, its followers must be the first instigators of this social peace in the world, he said. To achieve peace – a term mentioned 133 times in the Quran – a set of prerequisites must be met, among them justice, he argued.
We must give everyone their due, he notes.
Muslims must also arm themselves with forgiveness and indulgence, returning good for evil, as Islam recommends to them. They must also prioritize the general interest to the detriment of particular interests in their decision-making.
It calls for the use of other conflict prevention and resolution mechanisms, such as dialogue or mediation devoid of any bias, between the protagonists, to avoid irreparable damage.