Easter: Faith Leaders Urged to Promote Tolerance, Shared Values

As Christians worldwide commemorate Easter, people of all religious faiths have been urged to take advantage of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion to reflect on the imperative of sacrifice and religious tolerance in serving God and promoting love among the diverse people of the world.

Chairman of Guild of Interfaith Media Practitioners (GIMP), Mr. Abdulkarim Abdulmalik in his goodwill message, said Good Friday is a day of remembrance and also an occasion that calls for peace, understanding and shared human values amidst diversity.

He said the beauty of diversity calls for the universal recognition of interfaith harmony as the common denominator of the quest for world peace.

Supporting the position of the World Council of Churches (WCC) that Good Friday should be a time for Christians to reflect on their faith and show respect for the beliefs and practices of other religious communities, Abdulmalik noted that other faith leaders should complement the council in spreading the message of glad tidings.

He observed WCC’s call for peace and tolerance among the Christians, Jews and Muslims urging a spirit of unity and respect in Jerusalem, and faith leaders in Nigeria should replicate this call by admonishing adherents of their respective faiths to eschew religious hostility and bigotry.

According to him, GIMP was formed to promote interfaith peace and harmony through the mass media as he called on media professionals in Nigeria to join hands with the guild in advancing this onerous ethical social responsibility.

Abdulmalik urged journalists and religious leaders to join hands with the government in fighting insurgency, banditry and kidnapping in Nigeria.

According to him, the attack on hapless victims is a pointer to the need for a strong interfaith collaboration with the government for a precision fight against criminality in the country.