The Soun of Ogbomoso recently appointed a palace Imam. Subsequently, an Islamic human rights organization, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) questioned the rationale for this.
In a statement made on Saturday, the Executive Director of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola said his group was ready to build a mosque for the Soun if only the latter would show the space where he intends to site it.
Akintola said:”The Soun of Ogbomoso recently appointed Habib Ayilara as his palace Imam. Although we welcomed this action we still wondered how the palace Imam would function without a mosque in the palace. We therefore advised the Soun to build a mosque inside the palace.
“Our advice is a very sincere one, no satire intended, because such a mosque will benefit Muslims working inside the palace and those residing there.
“However, reports reaching us indicate that there has been no sign of any preparation to build a mosque within the palace up till this moment. The palace Imam needs a structure where he will be leading both the five daily prayers and the weekly Jumu’ah prayer for Muslims who live and work inside the palace.
“We hereby volunteer to build a mosque for the Soun inside the palace. The revered monarch only needs to show us the portion of land within the palace upon which he intends to site the mosque. MURIC assures the king that workers and equipment will be mobilised to the site within 30 days of identifying and approving the location. It is sheer humanitarian gesture. We mean this, Your Majesty. Still, no satire on our mind.”
