By Uchenna Eletuo
The Chief Missioner of Nasrul-Lahi-l-Fatih Society (NASFAT), Imam Abdul-Azeez Onike, has congratulated the entire Muslim women and other ladies of the faith on the well-deserved victory at the Nigerian Supreme Court that affirmed their right to dress in accordance with their religious dictate.
Onike made the commendation on Tuesday in Lagos in a statement issued by NASFAT’s Publicity Secretary, Mr Akeem Yusuf, and made available to newsman.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the court in Lagos ruled in favour of the Muslim women Hijab (Islamic veil) wearing advocates that approached the court to enforce their rights to allow them wear Hijab in public places.
The chief missioner who described decent dressing as a tradition that portrays good upbringing and virtue for a person, urged for its promotion and sustainability.
He admonished women to maintain modesty and privacy from unrelated males by wearing the Hijab.
“It is a symbol of personal space ownership, privatisation of physical charms and bodily attraction.
“The decision to wear Hijab is a personal statement echoing that a woman’s body is her own private business.
“Scripturally speaking, the Almighty Allah says: “O Prophet, enjoin your wives and your daughters and the believing women to draw a part of their outer coverings around them.
“It is likely that they will be recognised and not molested. Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.
“Evidently, modest dressing is a sign of virtue of all religions as depicted by the images of our highly revered Virgin Mary; may God continue to bless her, not to mention the fact that, various professions and institutions have minimum dress codes for people that do not support indecency, immodesty and nudity,” he said.
According to Onike, the long unnecessary battle seemed like someone taking pain reliever for someone else’s headache, because how do you explain someone wanting to dress modestly as required by her religion and another person challenging her on that.
He said that, whereas, those who challenge women of faith for choosing to dress modestly do not see anything wrong in those who choose to dress almost naked in public places all in the name of fashion thereby creating the erroneous impression that women are beauty toys.
He added that some of the lessons from the rulings are that Muslims will always seek refuge in the state’s recognised judicial platform by going to court whenever their rights are trampled upon.
“Against opting for jungle, mob or vigilante justice. It has also reinforced the Muslims’ belief that the court remains the bastion of hope for Nigerian Muslims,” he said.
The NASFAT spiritual head also admonished Muslims to be magnanimous in victory and ensure that there is no form of abuse of this God’s support and vindication.
Besides, he called on government agencies and educational institutions at all levels to respect the rights of Muslims to worship, including allowing workers and students to observe Friday prayers at the stipulated time.
He prayed for the MSSN leadership, the team of lawyers, including the deceased lead lawyer, Chief Gani Adetola-Kaseem (SAN), and the entire Islamic workers and enthusiasts who worked tirelessly for this victory.
“May Allah add their efforts to their scale of good deeds on the day of judgement,” the statement read in part. (NAN)
