Nigerian cardinal, Muslim cleric emphasize that religions must work for peace
August 30, 2013
Speaking at an interfaith youth seminar at Abuja National Mosque, Nigeria’s leading prelate emphasized that religious believers must work for peace, the Catholic News Service of Nigeria reported.
The Islamist terrorist movement Boko Haram has claimed an estimated 4,000 lives in northern Nigeria since its founding in 2001.
“The great value in every religion and in every human society is to go beyond coexistence and to work for cooperation and solidarity,” said Cardinal John Onaiyekan. “All of us who in Nigeria take religion seriously, have to work for religious harmony, peaceful coexistence and solidarity. Only in this way religion is not a curse but a blessing that comes from God.”
Alhaji Karshi, chief imam of a mosque in Nigeria’s capital, “also used the occasion to warn politicians not to interpret the scriptures to suit their political ambitions as the consequences could be disastrous,” according to the report. “He emphasized that anyone who destroyed lives and property in the name of protecting Islam is not a true Muslim.”
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Further information:
- Christian, Muslim Youths Urged to be Agents of Peace and Stability (Catholic News Service of Nigeria)
- Boko Haram (Wikipedia)
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