IN the wise words of an English-American journalist who worked as a foreign news correspondent for The New York Times, Anne O’Hare McCormick once quoted, “The foundations of the world will be shaky until the moral props are restored.”
This profound statement echoes through the halls where the Ahmadiyya community’s leaders from across Sub-Saharan Africa have convened in Tanzania for a pivotal two-day (Sub-Saharan Africa National Amila Ansarullah) seminar that focuses on addressing the escalating concerns of immorality in their respective countries.
The assembly began on Saturday and other two issues that will be discussed during the event are the intimidating global insecurity and the need for regional and international collaboration.
Delegates from a diverse array of nations, including the UK, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, the Congo Republic, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Zambia, are participating in the discussions. On his remarks, the Tanzanian president of Majlis, Ansarullah Ahmadiyya, Dr Swaleh Pazi, said the seminar aims to remind participants of the key roles of serving people on the grounds of humanity.
“The world’s current tribulations necessitate a significant contribution from spiritual leaders to progress,” Dr Pazi told ‘Daily News’.
“Several calamities are reported in different corners of the world, including war outbreaks causing a huge scare of insecurity, the growing erosion of ethics and the disruption of diplomatic relations among the countries,” he added.
He said participants’ understanding will be strengthened to enable them to efficiently carry out their spiritual roles in serving humanity, as well as improve the world’s security and make the world a better place to live. “There is no room to properly worship in the absence of peace.
Ongoing disputes in the Middle East could be easily resolved if a table of negotiations could be opted for as a medium of resolution,” he said.
“We are here to establish and strengthen means of maintaining peace to enable us to conveniently preach our religions, provide education to our people, and adopt other programmes that will benefit humanity,” he added.
He said the seminar will come up with recommendations and implementation strategies for execution by various leaders for the community to achieve the intended goal.
“Issues of homosexuality, alcoholism and the growing use of illicit drugs need a comprehensive discussion to rescue the youth. Emphasis will be put on strengthening parenting at the family level,” said Dr Pazi.
“We recognise President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s efforts to fight ethical erosion in the country, but clergymen have a great role to complement these efforts at the family level to build a better nation,” he added.
The community’s representative from its headquarters in the UK, Mr Abdul Talukdar, said the event aims at inviting the world community to focus on peace as they are called to do.
ALSO READ: 119,796 girls in Mtwara to get HPV vaccine to combat cervical Cancer
“We recently held a peace conference in London that highlighted the way forward. This is for whatever religion, because peace is preached by all faiths for the world to be secure,” he said.
Echoing these sentiments, Mr Abdulaziz Gakuria from Kenya and Mr Abubakar Mugaya from Uganda voiced their concerns over the moral challenges exacerbated by technological advancements and social media.
They called for a united front to guide the younger generation towards upholding societal values and preventing ethical degradation. A Kenyan participant, Mr Abdulaziz Gakuria, said they have identified challenges facing different parts of the world due to people’s choice to follow their own ways of life.
“Consensus should be found to enable them to understand the presence of God. Technological advancement, especially the presence of social media, has prompted growing challenges in children’s upbringing,” he said.
“They have led to the presence of same-sex marriages, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ), therefore calling on the elders to restore morality in our countries,” he added.
A Ugandan participant, Mr Abubakar Mugaya, said morality is lacking in every aspect of society’s life, including politics, economy and social welfare, leading to different vices including corruption and homosexuality, among others.
“We must therefore guide the young generation to prevent societal erosion. Through this workshop, we will come together and properly guide the youth in our respective countries,” he stated.
The seminar is expected to conclude with a comprehensive set of guidelines and initiatives aimed at reinforcing moral integrity and security across the participating nations. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community are Muslims who believe in the Messiah, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908) of Qadian. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad founded the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in 1889 as a revival movement within Islam, emphasising its essential teachings of peace, love, justice, and sanctity of life.
According to reports, today, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the world’s largest Islamic community under one Divinely appointed leader, Mirza Masroor Ahmad (b. 1950). The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community spans over 200 nations with membership exceeding tens of millions.
No comments :
Post a Comment