Nigerias Top Muslim Leader Vows to Counter Christian Evangelism
ICC Note:
According to leader of Nigerian Muslims the increasing activities of western evangelical organizations have made it all the more urgent that the message of Islam shall be heard loud and clear,
Thu, Jul. 05 2007 Nigeria (Christian Post)
The spiritual leader of Nigeria s 70 million Muslims has vowed to counter the rise of Christian evangelism in the country with the message of Islam.
The rise of secularism and the increasing activities of western evangelical organizations have made it all the more urgent that the message of Islam shall be heard loud and clear, he said earlier this week.
The sultan called on the Muslim group Jamaatu Nasil Islam (JNI), which he is president general of, to establish a Muslim evangelism agency and take advantage of media technology to respond to these challenges.
Saad, although not a religious leader himself, acts as a representative of the regions Muslims on important issues. He is also someone Nigerian Muslims look to for leadership and guidance.
Political leaders at the meeting, though encouraging Muslims to spread Islam, warned that extremists could misinterpret the sultans message and destabilize the country. Other political leaders called for moderation and inter-religious dialogue during the spread of Islam.
Elsewhere in the country, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Christian ministry, Evangelism Through Sports Ministry (ETS), announced this week of its plan to host a national U-16 soccer tournament slated for later this year. The CAN National Unity Cup will feature teams from 16 states of the federation with the aim to preach the good news of the Gospel through sports, according to the Nigerian newspaper This Day.
Nigeria is the most populous nation in Africa with its 140 million people nearly evenly divided between Christians in the south and Muslims in the north, with members of both religions living where the other faith is dominant.
Sectarian tension between Muslims and Christians has long been a problem in Nigeria .
Nigeria has a record of at least 15,000 deaths due to religious, communal or political violence since democracy was restored in 1999, according to BBC.
