Concerned Muslims yesterday asked the Muslim Association of Malawi (MAM) National Chairman Sheikh Idrissa Muhammad to resign accusing him of favouring Malawi’s ruling People’s Party and its Presidential Candidate Dr Joyce Banda.
The grouping, gathered at Mam Headquarters yesterday where they expressed their concerns through press briefing.
The grouping ordered Muslims’ President to issue a press statement stopping Muslim women from dancing at ruling Peoples Party’s political rallies failing which he should step down.
Publicity Secretary for the grouping Cassim Anafi said they are not happy with the Chairman’s conduct of praising President Dr Joyce Banda for the good things she is doing to the Muslim community such as distribution of Maize which was donated from an Islamic country.
The group alleges that Sheikh Idrissa has been telling the beneficiaries to vote for Banda, the thing which the chairman has denied.
“When he is distributing maize he is telling people to vote for Joyce Banda. That is not what the association should do. We do not want him to represent us Muslims as belonging to a certain party.
“We want him to resign or that he should issue an press release to all media houses informing Muslim women and political parties to stop Muslim women from dancing at political party rallies. Our religion does not allow women to dance in front of men. The women also changes songs that praise God and praise a human being, that is a sin,” Anafi told reporters.
This comes after MAM has received a vehicle from the President which is currently being used by the Chairman as the head of the organisation.
However, in an interview the Chairman said he doesn’t see anything wrong with commending the President for the good things she is doing to the Muslim community saying Islam encourages its followers to appreciate when one does good things.
“Those are political mercenaries who just want to achieve their own ulterior motives. I never campaigned for somebody but I tell people that President Joyce Banda is a good person because it is a fact by looking at what she has done to the Muslim community,” he said.
Sheikh Idrissa however, said he cannot bow down to the pressure and resign, saying the grouping has no mandate to fire him.
He therefore said the issue of disciplining the women is supposed to be dealt with Majilis Ulama, not MAM.
