The Borno State Government has appointed a renowned Islamic scholar, Sheikh Sheriff Saleh, as the chairman of the new Islamic Preaching Board.<\/p>\n
The State House of Assembly had in August passed a bill regulating open space preaching and called for the establishment of a board to oversee the activities of preachers.<\/p>\n
That was in the aftermath of the July 2009 Boko Haram Sectarian crisis which claimed over 800 lives.<\/p>\n
Governor Ali Modu Sheriff, who announced the appointment at a meeting with the council of Ulamas yesterday in Maiduguri, also named the Chief Imam of Maiduguri,\u00a0 Sheikh Ibrahim Ahmed, as the patron of the board.<\/p>\n
The Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Ibu Garbari, is the grand patron.<\/p>\n
Sheriff said the board is to regulate the activities of Islamic preachers and prevent the recurrence of the Boko Haram crisis.<\/p>\n
He said the board would be inaugurated next month.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe board will no doubt operate within the confines of the law, but it will have power to sanction individuals and groups who violate its provisions\u201d, Sheriff said.<\/p>\n
The governor appealed to individuals to observe this year\u2019s Ramadan night prayers in mosques close to their homes to ensure security of lives and property.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough we have been able to crush the Boko Haram Sect, we do not want to take chances on any eventualities.<\/p>\n
\u201cGovernment does not wish to deny individuals their rights to practise their religion, but the security implication of allowing people to move to long distances on the night is enormous,\u201d Sheriff said.<\/p>\n
He said the government would ;provide adequate security in mosques throughout the prayer period.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Borno State Government has appointed a renowned Islamic scholar, Sheikh Sheriff Saleh, as the chairman of the new Islamic Preaching Board. The State House of Assembly had in August passed a bill regulating open space preaching and called for the establishment of a board to oversee the activities of preachers. That was in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n