The World Organization for al-Azhar Graduates branch in Mali held a lecture themed: “Citizenship and Patriotism…Protection Against Extremist Ideas” at Niono School in Niono City. The lecture was delivered by Amadou Ibrahim, a member of the branch, who stressed that the Holy Quran describes a person’s homeland with the word “Diyar” (abodes), and considers expelling a person from his/her homeland as a major crime and great tribulation, which Quran equated with killing an innocent soul.
Additionally, he pointed out that a person’s departure from his/her homeland is like the soul leaving the body. Indeed, the Prophet (PBUH) established citizenship among the residents of Medina – Muslims, emigrants, supporters (Ansar), and Jews – despite their different tribes. The Prophet (PBUH) considered this citizenship – meaning to live in one homeland – as the basis for social contracts and dealings among everyone. After his migration, he made an agreement with the Jews of Medina, which was included in the well-known “Constitution of Medina” (Sahifa) as mentioned in the Prophetic Sirah.
Further, the lecturer explained that the Prophet (PBUH) built the Constitution on the basis of peaceful coexistence, mutual support, and shared cooperation in peace and war between Muslims and their Jewish neighbors, considering them all citizens of the new Medina state, despite the different religions they belonged to and the different ethnicities they descended from, but rather based on the homeland they all belonged to. The lecturer noted that the extremist groups recruit the youth and spread the extremist ideas among them.
