The spokesperson for the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Arimiyao Shaibu has said the Muslim community does not encourage the use of condoms among the Muslim youths as it is seen a means of facilitating sexual misconduct among them.
Speaking at a Public Lecture in Ho on Friday, from the Islamic point of view on the ‘Socio-Cultural perspective of HIV prevention, treatment and care’ to mark the 2018 World AIDS Day, Mr. Shaibu noted that one of the reasons why the disease is gaining grounds among the youths, is the inability of the Muslim community to encourage the use of condoms.
According to him, the practice is conceived to be a means of propagating immorality among the sexually active group.
“We see the encouragement of the use of condoms among the youths as a means to facilitate reckless sexual behavior or we facilitate promiscuity especially among the youths”. he said.
“There is the mindset that already, the youths are sexually active but what sometimes restrain them especially the boys is pregnancy. So what it means from our point of view is that the more you allow the condom will only aggravate the misconduct, since they know that there won’t be any pregnancy issue” he added
Mr. Shaibu touched further on some other rituals within the Islamic faith that are equally accountable for the fast spread of the disease and issues that undermine efforts of curbing the prevalence of the disease.
“During the last hajj I performed, one of the observations I made was that we have a ritual of hair cutting that symbolises spiritual renewal and I noticed that most people who have traveled from different parts of the world have met and during the hair cutting they were sharing blades and hair cutting pieces of equipment.”
“I sat back and I reflected because it was not a platform I could make any change – such a huge gathering. But it was a matter of concern for me because at the time, the HIV scare was prevalent. So therefore, certain rituals in Islam within itself in my view, if not checked, considering the huge numbers involved the risk and scope of HIV transmission can be devastating if the practice is not reviewed and the best of advice taken”.
Persons from the other religious bodies also took turns to share their point of view on the socio-cultural perspective of HIV prevention, treatment and care.
Story by: Abdul-Iddrisu Faisel