Aqsa Day 2025: Nigerian Muslims stage solidarity march for Gaza
Hundreds of Muslim faithful and pro-Palestine advocates in Nigeria over the weekend converged on the Da’wah Centre in Ijesha Lagos to mark Aqsa Day 2025 with prayers, lectures, and a mass solidarity rally calling for an end to the war in Gaza. The gathering was organised by the Muslim Awareness International (MAI) with the theme: […]
Palestinians inspect a mosque destroyed in Israeli strikes, in the southern Gaza Strip
Hundreds of Muslim faithful and pro-Palestine advocates in Nigeria over the weekend converged on the Da’wah Centre in Ijesha Lagos to mark Aqsa Day 2025 with prayers, lectures, and a mass solidarity rally calling for an end to the war in Gaza.
The gathering was organised by the Muslim Awareness International (MAI) with the theme: “Stop Gaza Genocide” coinciding with the Mawlid Nabiyy public holiday.
It also provided a platform for clerics and activists to condemn Israel’s continued assault on Gaza while urging Nigerians and the wider world to stand firmly with Palestine.
Following the Juma’h service, hundreds of worshippers poured into the streets waving Palestinian and Nigerian flags carrying placards with messages such as “Free Palestine,” “Stop Gaza Genocide,” and “End the Killing of Children and Journalists.”
Delivering the second part of his Khutbah, Imam Dr. Abdullahi Shuaib, Lead Consultant at AS & Associates, declared that the war in Gaza is a genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people.
He reminded followers of Prophet Muhammad’s teaching that they must show concern for the plight of fellow Muslims, warning that indifference to Palestine’s suffering was tantamount to abandoning the faith.
“Let your voice be heard and counted. Don’t let it be criminal silence,” Imam Shuaib charged, stressing that even without military power, Muslims had the weapon of advocacy and truth.
Earlier in the pre-Khutbah lecture, Director of MAI, Mallam Abdul Waheed Atoyebi, said the devastation in Gaza is unprecedented in modern history.
He stated that for 22 months since October 7, 2023, Gaza has bled, with over 60,000 killed, mostly women and children, and 125,000 injured, while entire neighbourhoods were reduced to rubble.
“This is not war. This is genocide,” MAI Director declared, demanding unconditional recognition of Palestine at the UN General Assembly, immediate ceasefire and sanctions on Israel, unhindered humanitarian aid to Gaza, boycott of Israeli products and severance of diplomatic ties, and stronger internal security in Nigeria to prevent external manipulation.
Above all, Mal Atoyebi urged persistent prayers for Palestine and global peace, stressing that Palestinians were not statistics but human beings.