The Friday Bulletin—The National Police Service has been asked to ensure that Muslim faithful are not harassed during the forthcoming month of Ramadhan. Noting that this was a common trend during this period, the Imam of Jamia Mosque Nairobi Sheikh Muhammad Swalihu said that while enforcing security is of paramount importance, this should not be used as a pretext to harass innocent people.
He emphasized that the security officers should not harass Muslims heading to and coming from mosques especially during the special evening Ramadhan night prayers (taraweeh).
“I appeal to the Inspector General’s office and the county police bosses to ensure that Muslims do not fall victims of police officers during the month of Ramadhan,” he said.
The global Muslim community is expected to start the month long period of fasting which is expected to start either on Wednesday or Thursday next week depending on the sighting of the crescent.
At the same time, Sheikh Swalihu called on Muslims to be vigilant on matters of security and cooperate with law enforcing agencies in coating crime incidences. “It is part of our religious obligation to ensure that peace and security prevails and we all need to be vigilant and report suspicious incidences of crime activity to security officers,” he said.
He further called on Muslims to make peace and unity their priority during Ramadhan emphasizing that Islam in itself is essentially peace and Muslims should not just long for peace but also help bring about the peace as it is key to social-economic development.
The Imam urged Muslims to get involved more in good deeds so as to get the benefits which comes with the noble month of Ramadhan and reap numerous rewards during the month of spiritual purification and spiritual renewal.
“This is a time to be more generous especially to the less fortunate in the society. Ramadhan is a month to harvest Allah’s bounties, let us engage in good deeds to effectively benefit from the season of goodness,” he added.
