Cleric charges imams to speak truth to power
The Executive Director, Just Foundation of Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society, Imam Fuad Adeyemi, has urged imams and Islamic scholars across the country to say the truth to their high profile followers about ill-gotten wealth to rid the country of corruption. He said this yesterday in Abuja at the unveiling of Project EAT-HALAL (Encouraging Accountability and Transparency […]
Executive Director, Just Foundation of Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society, Imam Fuad Adeyemi (3rd right); Managing Director, Comerel Travel and Tours, Ustaz Abubakr Sideeq (4th right) and others at the unveiling of Project EAT-HALAL and presentation of “Sermon Guide for Imams on Accountability and Transparency” yesterday in Abuja
The Executive Director, Just Foundation of Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society, Imam Fuad Adeyemi, has urged imams and Islamic scholars across the country to say the truth to their high profile followers about ill-gotten wealth to rid the country of corruption.
He said this yesterday in Abuja at the unveiling of Project EAT-HALAL (Encouraging Accountability and Transparency through Halal) and public presentation of 137-page “Sermon Guide for Imams on Accountability and Transparency”. The event was jointly organized by Al-Habibiyyah and MacArthur Foundation.
“We discovered that most of the imams/scholars cannot face some of their well to do or high profile members to say the truth about ill-gotten wealth because they are afraid of losing their financial support or completely jeopardizing their source of income.
“Hence this new phase (Project Eat-Halal) shall be primarily focusing on empowering our beneficiaries (imams, women, youth scholars) on skills acquisition, trading and farming for economic independent and self-reliance.
“Since who pays the piper dictates the tone, the piper could decide to be financially self-sustaining so that it does not pander to the dictates of anyone and can even reject the pittance that is brought to him. That means he would be empowered to speak the truth to their congregants without worrying that it could cause a loss of income,” he said.
He said the project enrolls influential religious leaders in the fight against corruption.
The African Director of the MacArthur Foundation, Dr. Kole Shettima, stressed the importance of getting all the citizens involved in anti-corruption efforts to ensure rapid national development.