Unity Week lecture begins in Bauchi

By Khalid I. Doya
The Annual Unity Week Lectures has started in Bauchi on Wednesday the 30 of Dec 2015. The First lectures was delivered by Sheikh malam Hamza Idris and Sayyid Abdullahi Ashura at Games Village Conference Hall, Bauchi. 

The Annual programme is organised by the Islamic Movement in Nigeria where Scholars, Academics and thinkers are invited to speak on the importance and necessity of Unity of the Ummah. he maiden unity week programme organised by the members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria under the stewardship of Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky continues in Bauchi.



The programme is solely meant to foster unity among various Muslim groups that are sharply divided by ideological differences. The leader

of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky used to organise this programme in Zaria where various Islamic scholars were being invited to deliver sermons about the contemporary challenges that deprive Muslims of unity and how to unify the the divided Umma.



Due to the ongoing persecution of Shi’as in Nigeria, it was decided that every state should organise its own programme.



The programme which takes place at Games Village, Bauchi, comprises Sunni, Sufi and Shitte clerics who came from Bauchi. Malam Hamza Idris, one of the keynote speakers, cautioned Muslims Umma against succumbing to the enemies’ traps, saying Muslims should tread softly when it came to insulting his fellow Muslims just because they differ in something ideological. "The prophet ( saw ) preached love and unity, he did not preach violence and hate throughout his lifetime. To me, so long as you claim to be a Muslim, you escape from any verbal or physical harm from" he added in his paper titled " The Imperative of Unity  A Key to Surmounting the Contemporary Challenges".



Sayyid Abdullahi Ashura also delivered a very important speech titled " Test in the cause of Allah: An Insight from Sunni scholars". According to the speaker, Malam Ashura, every success that Allah offers his servants is usually attached to hardship and adversity which serve to test his patience, endurance and commitment to his cause.



He stated this by taking his cue from the Zaria massacre and calling on brothers and sisters to summon up courage, and step up the struggle because without patience and commitment, they will not succeed. He further said that whoever lived long enough, he would bear witness to his prognostication by Allah’s willing.



The programme was attended by representatives from various mosques. It is interesting to note that every participant in the programme is

passionate about the unity of Muslims especially in Nigeria which is at stake. They participants also condoled with Shias over the Zaria

incident and prayed that Allah accept their martyrdom and also give the victims’ families the fortitude to bear the loss.

pictures by Khalid Idris Doya