By GRACE ALEGBA

The Nasrul-lahi-li Fathi Society of Nigeria (NASFAT) says it is planning an arbitration centre for application of Sharia to resolve disputes between disagreeing parties in the South West.

Alhaji Ayodeji AbdulRauf, NASFAT President, Worldwide, said this while taking questions from journalists at a press conference in Lagos, to flag off its 30th anniversary programme.

AbdulRauf said the organisation was mindful of the multi-religious status of Nigeria and was adopting a different approach that would be beneficial to other religions.

?NASFAT is already coming up with what we call an arbitration centre. We don?t want to name it NASFAT.

?It will be an arbitration centre, arbitration centre or Muslims, for non-Muslims to come and then we dialogue on certain things, and in the process, we apply our Sharia law. There must be an adaptive way.

?The approach of some of our members, of some of our Muslims, is not adaptive to what NASFAT is doing,? he said.

He said tolerance would be achieved when people understand the law, citing the hijab as an example of lifestyle some female members imbibed voluntarily after gaining more knowledge.

?NASFAT selects what we fight for because we understand Islam and the Sunnah,? he said.

He urged journalists to always verify information directly from the association and also take advantage of full scholarship programmes to study for Islamic studies.

Chief Missioner, NASFAT Chief Missioner, Imam Abdul-Azeez Onike, assured that the planning arbitration committee would apply the sharia principles without infringement on state laws and rights of other religions.

?Sharia is peace. Sharia is blessing. Sharia is mercy. Sharia is goodwill. There are too many ways to promote your good, your policy, without infringing on the law of the land.

He said NASFAT was planning a certification programme for those who want to become arbitrators and also set up arbitration committees,? he said.

Onike insisted that Nigeria is a multi-religious country and not a secular country.

?Secular means Godless. Are we Godless? This is a multi-religious country. We pass the message of Islam, of course, without creating ulamas,? he said. (NAN)

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