Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has assured that his administration would continue to protect the rights of the citizens to practice any religion of their choice without the fear of harassment or discrimination.
The Governor, stated this yesterday at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos where he declared open the 34th National Qu’ran recitation competition. The Governor noted that the competition would further enlighten all and sundry as well as exposing Muslim youths to the bright side of life as preached by Islam through the holy Qur’an. The National Qu’ran recitation competition was established in 1986 as an annual Islamic competition.
It is organised by the Centre for Islamic Studies, Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto to bring the Qur’an closer to the hearts and minds of young Muslims across the country. This year’s competition will run from December 27th to January 10th in the Centre of Excellence. Sanwo-Olu reminded all that now was the time Nigeria required more programmes such as the quranic recitation to re-channel the minds of the youths toward positive ventures.
He said: “As a nation engaged in the battle against extremism, this programme will, among other initiatives, promote true understanding of the religion of Islam and help make our young people less vulnerable to beliefs that are not consistent with the teachings of the religion. As you all know, Lagos State is a cosmopolitan State in which people of diverse religious, ethnic and cultural orientations have lived together in peace, tolerance, mutual respect and understanding for centuries. As a government, we will continue to protect the right of every citizen to practise every religion of their choice without fear of harassment or discrimination in this State.”
