Muslims are ready to combine forces with the government to improve the security situation in the country.
The Deputy Imam of Jamia mosque Nairobi, Sheikh Juma Amir said Muslims like other Kenyans are keen to see an improvement in the security situation and are ready to work closely with the government in ensuring the safety of all Kenyans.
“We are not refusing to acknowledge the presence of a few bad elements in the society. In this regard we want the government and security officers to rightfully pursue them without condemning the whole community,” said the Imam.
In his last week’s Friday sermon (khutbah) at the Mosque, Sheikh Juma condemned the recent killings of innocent Kenyans in Mandera and the spiraling insecurity in the country arguing that Kenyans have been saddened by the rate at which lives of both ordinary citizens and security personnel have been cut short.
He further distanced the religion from the killing of innocent lives noting that it is contrary to the teachings of the religion urging Kenyans to ignore individuals whose aim is to divide the nation along sectarian lines.“Whoever kills an innocent soul has killed humanity and whoever taints our image by committing evil is not one of us,” he said while referring to the Qur’an and the hadith, traditions of Prophet Muhammad SallaLahu aleyhi wasallam.
In his sermon Sheikh Juma stressed that Muslims have been commanded by Allah to respect and peacefully co-exist with people of other faiths.
He raised concerns over the blanket and collective punishment approach employed by security officers in the fight against radicalization and terrorism adding that such tactics alienate the community and is counterproductive to the war against terrorism.
The Imam faulted the recent raid and closure of four mosques in Mombasa by police officers saying the police should have gone after bad elements without violating the sanctity of the mosques.
Reacting to the removal from office of Joseph Ole Lenku and David Kimaiyo as Interior cabinet secretary and Inspector General of Police, the Imam called for the overhaul of the security system saying that their dismissal does not guarantee security unless further measures are implemented to address the spiraling decline on the security situation in the country
