June 5, 2018
By Ibrahim Tarawallie
Vice President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, last Thursday joined Muslim members of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) to break-fast.
The Iftar, which was hosted in the conference room of the association, was witnessed by members of various Muslim Jamaats in tertiary institutions across Freetown.
The Vice President commended the organisers of the event and pledged his unflinching support to its convening on a yearly basis.
“I am happy to be in your midst and to break-fast with you. Let me commend the organisers for inviting me to this Iftar programme,” he said.
Also, Coordinator of the Organising Committee, Murtala Mohamed Kamara, said they decided to host the event every year in the Month of Ramadan to bring Muslim members of SLAJ together to share food.
Kamara stated that they initiated the idea in 2016 and have organised it with contributions from members and their Christian colleagues.
“We are using this Iftar programme to educate our colleagues about the dos and don’ts of the religion. We are improving every year on the organisation of the programme,” he said, while appealing for more support to enable them expand on the annual event in the coming years.
Speaking on the importance of Ramadan, Sheikh Umar Adam Farouk Bah said the interaction in the past years has been great, adding that the blessings of the Holy Month of Ramadan was not new to Muslims.
He said when Allah Almighty wanted to talk about fasting, His first approach was recommendation by calling on the believers of the religion.
“If Allah called on us with faith and belief, He wanted us to understand two things: appreciation and claiming faith,” he said and added that with complete faith one would have hope.
According to him, fasting in the Holy Month of Ramadan is important because of the golden package, which is forgiveness.
He added that Muslims were always opposed to the Sharia laws of the Islamic faith but respected laws made by mankind.