IC-PAD Conducts 2-Day Training for Imams, Religious leaders in Kaduna
IC-PAD Conducts 2-Day Training for Imams and Religious leaders in Kaduna
Growing instability, insecurity and distorted teachings of Islam by extremists have undermined the development of Muslim civic space from realizing its full potential.
With the array of development program by various organizations to address highlighted challenges, little to no attention is given to the role religious leaders can play in providing alternative pathways for the development of the umma. This further has made some religious leaders to lack in the 21st century skillsets for addressing the need of their subjects and there by contributing their quota of addressing challenges faced by the Muslim Ummah in Nigeria.
This evasive approach to grassroot-level solution finding, sidelined the influence of Ulama: Imams and religious leaders with all their potential to engineer development and lead the society to propel through the challenges of the century.
The Islamic Centre for Peace Building, Research and Development, IC-PAD having identified this gap, organized for one-hundred Imams and other Islamic religious leaders, a capacity building training conducted in Kaduna State.
The training with the theme, the Scientific Qualification of Imam in 21st Century: Issues and Prospects took place at the National Teachers Institute, Rigachikun, Kaduna between October 1st and 2nd. Among other thing the training set to achieve; sensitization and capacity building of the participants on peace building, Institutionalization of Religious Centers, leadership and civic awareness and the general re-orientation of the Muslim civic space.
Declaring the event open, Chairman of the Occasion, Professor M. S. Abdullahi, Registrar of the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Schools (NBAIS), said “the program is a timely intervention because of the lack of confidence and relevant skills for Imams to propel the needed development and compete with their counterparts’’ in development of their religion and communities.
In his part, Chairman of the IC-PAD, Professor Ibrahim Ahmad Makari who gave the keynote address ‘Imam in the 21st century world’ disclosed “the Centre was established meant for the entire Muslim Ummah with no recourse to any sectarian division”.
During the two day program, seven sessions were facilitated to spur new dimension for Imamship in 21st century for continuing postering of peace and development, including keynote address: the Mosque as Institution, Endowment (waqf) and the sustainability of religious institutions, Imam and effective communications in the information age, the role of Mosque in promoting security and stability, Islam and peaceful co-existence and the sanctity of human life.
Various dignitaries attended the program including the Speaker, Kaduna State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Yusuf Ibrahim Zailani; Senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial district, Sen. Uba sani; Commandant, Nigerian Police Academy, AIG Ahmad Abdurrahman Muhammad; DG Bureau of Interfaith, Barrister Tahir Umar Tahir, Chief Imam, Sultan Bello Mosque, among others.
Participants were drawn from all the Kaduna State Local Governments and were awarded certificate of participation.