Muslims snub Bingu on Friday holiday

The Friday holidays for Muslims declared today by President Bingu wa Mutharika during the independence day celebration has been given the brush-off by Muslim fraternity.

Mutharika, in his address at an independence celebration rally at Kamuzu stadium in Blantyre, declared that Friday’s starting a week tomorrow, will be non working day for Muslims from noon, to allow them observe their day of prayer.

But Muslim Association of Malawi (MAM) says the holiday is not required.

“As Muslims, on Friday’s we don’t need a full holiday, we only need two hours for our prayers and we do revert to our toil,” said Dr Imran Sharif, secretary general of MAM.

Sharif told Nyasa Times in an interview that what the Muslim community need from government is the declaration of holidays to celebrate the traditional Muslim festival of Eid-ul-Qurban and the day for the birth of their Prophet Muhammad.

He believed the declaration was political appeasement for Muslims who have long blamed the Mutharika government for marginalising them.

“Any political move is a sort of appeasement. He (Mutharika) is trying to achieve something. He wants to get sympathy from Muslims,” remarked Sharif.

A Malawian Muslim in UK, Rhodrick Junaid Kalumpha described the move as “very ill-advised”.

“We don’t need a holiday for this; even the Holy Qur'an does not say that we should rest on Friday. Rather, it exhorts us to go and work after the prayer,” said Kalumpha.

He referred to the verse from the Quran, Chapter 62, and Verse 9-10: “O you who believe (Muslims)! When the call is proclaimed for the Salât (prayer) on the day of Friday (Jumu'ah prayer), come to the remembrance of Allâh [Jumu'ah religious talk (Khutbah) and Salât (prayer)] and leave off business (and every other thing), that is better for you if you did but know!

“Then when the (Jumu'ah) Salât (prayer) is finished, you may disperse through the land, and seek the Bounty of Allâh (by working, etc.), and remember Allâh much, that you may be successful.”

He said the holiday will have negative economic impact on the country.