By Sulaiman Jalloh
Sheikh Faruk Adam Bah, a famous Islamic lecturer in Sierra Leone has urged members of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) to study technology proper while executing their duty as journalists. He made this statement on Wednesday March 19th during the Annual Iftar organized by a cross section of Muslim Journalists from the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ).
Welcoming attendees, Mohamed Asmieu Bah, Deputy Director General, Sierra Leone Broadcasting Cooperation (SLBC), said that as Muslim journalists, they look forward to having such programmes every year, adding the program was one of the events that brought Muslims journalists together.
The theme of the event was “Ramadan in the Digital Age”. The preacher started by thanking the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists for trusting in him and for being consistent over the years in organizing the Iftar. For him, the topic is something that someone has to go and open a book for while reflecting the favours of Allah the creator of mankind.
According to him, the world of technology is a challenging age for Muslims because of the misuse of social media.
Delving into the topic, Bah discussed both the good and the bad about digital technology, noting that one of the good things in it is the easy access of information while giving an example to the sighting of the moon (Ramadan) in the holy city to Mecca through the use of technology. He said that education is easy to access through social media especially Islamic education and research including online lectures, marketing strategy among others. “We access knowledge through technology very seriously,” he added.
On the other hand, the Sheikh narrated that the negative of technology needs to be discussed in order to protect the children. “We need to protect and monitor our children from those machines” he advised. For him, people waste lots of time on their mobile phones something he said has affected most people today. He empathized the importance of verifying information before sharing as advised by the Quran.
He added the digital technology base has been in existence but in a spiritual form for ages. “If the Prophet had this social media, he would have spread Dahawa quickly” he remarked, saying the secret of the World is trial emphasizing that Allah always tries His creations. He furthered that there are three main organs that are similar to technology. He named the Ears, the eyes, and mouth, saying Allah will charge those organs but emphasized that if one uses them as commanded by Allah, rewards await the individual.
Murtala Mohammed Kamara, one of the coordinators Sierra Leone Muslim journalists while recognizing everyone who was present at the program, said this year’s event marks the eighth edition. “Our iftar is unique not just fast breaking but the lectures we received from our sheikh” he asserted while encouraging all journalists to work with the message given.
Madam Josephine Kamara, Director General SLBC, who provided the space for the event noted that the focus of the institution is to give space to members of the public despite the differences while thanking SLAJ for organizing the program at their institution for passing the word of God during the holy of Month of Ramadan. And that the theme of the event is one of the best ways of passing messages to the ordinary citizens. She encouraged that the public broadcaster should not be forgotten
Speaking on behalf of SLAJ President, Alhaji Manika Kamara the Association’s Secretary General aid the time of Ramadan is the time for people (Muslims) share things in common thus would help promote peace and democracy. He added that, the theme is very timely. “For us at SLAJ, we don’t know tribe, and religion because we have both Muslims and Christians) he remarked while thanking sheik Faruk for someone he said has been supporting the association.