The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) has dismissed rumours of an agenda to Islamise Nigeria, saying that it was like any other development finance institution mainly focusing on the socio-economic development of the people in member countries.
This was made known by IsDB Director of Marketing and Communication, Dr. Thamer Baazeem, during a visit to Vanguard Regional Office, Abuja, on Tuesday.
He disclosed that if there is a need to carry out a project to develop a country, the bank carries out the project irrespective of the religion or ethnicity in that part of the country.
According to Baazeem, “Sometimes, because our name is Islamic Development Bank, some people think that we do projects to Islamise the places we operate, especially here in Nigeria, we have heard that a lot. I can assure you, this is not in our agenda at all.
“We are a socio-economic development agency or institution. Our projects can be in a Christian-dominated community, depending on the needs of the country.
“If the national development plan says we have a need here and the project went well, the project will be done there, no matter the religion or ethnicity in that part of the country.
“Even our projects in non-member countries we help Muslim communities in non-member countries but we help them in projects like schools and hospitals.
‘’These facilities are open to everyone and we help them to be better citizens of their countries because when people have better economic status, they begin to contribute to the development of their nations, no matter whether they are Muslims or not.”
This article was originally published on Naija News
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