MUSLIMS, CHRISTIANS NEED DIALOGUE FOR NIGERIA'S PEACE AND GROWTH

Wednesday, September 07, 2011
In a bid to sustain peace in the country, Love A Muslim Ministry in collaboration with Risalatul-Haq Dawah Int'l recently presented Love Thy Neighbour, a public enlightenment inter-faith seminar at Time Square Event Centre, Ajao Road, Ikeja, Lagos.

Speaking on the topic, The Role of Christian-Muslim Dialogue In Sustaining Nigeria's Democracy, the two speakers, Alh. Ustaz Jamiu Adegunwa for the Muslims and Evangelist Isang Udo-Akagha, for Christians, insisted on why there was need for Christian-Muslim dialogue for a peaceful co-existence.

Alh. Ustaz Jamiu Adegunwa, popularly known as Labaika De Christ, maintained that if religious dialogue is encouraged in the North, the Muslims would understand some technical points about Christianity and Christians would also follow the same about Islam.

He described the carnage in the country by some groups as lack of knowledge. His words, 'Nigerians, especially in the Northern part of the country have experienced series of cases of religious crisis and riots where houses were burnt and human beings were murdered all in the name of religion.

'Although, before now, the world itself has experienced two major religious wars namely; the Crusader's War of the 11th Century by the Christians against the Muslims in Europe and Usman Dan Fodio Jihad in 1807, these periods have been classified as the 'Age of ignorance'. But now in this age of globalization, why do we have to experience such?' He queried.

Adegunwa further said, 'For instance, Quran 2 v 256 says, 'There is no compulsion in religion', likewise Jesus said in the book of John 6v 44, 'No one can come unto me except my father draws him.' There are also many other verses in the Bible and Quran that promotes dialogue, so why then are we destroying and killing one another for not being Muslims or Christians? What do we gain by killing one another over religious differences? The Muslim doctrine and Christian doctrines cannot be changed now, the only thing that can be done is for us to develop our knowledge by learning more and having peaceful intellectual discussions on matters of comparative religion. Instead of promoting hate over religious differences, we must learn to embrace dialogue as the only reasonable way to handle our differences.'

On his part, Evangelist Isang Udo-Akagha, also known as Friend of Muslims said, 'It saddens our heart to recall the many sad incidents of religious violence in this country and we believe that one sure way of promoting the continuance of these senseless killings and wanton destruction of live and property, is to sit back and do nothing but blame the government.

'We are compelled to sensitize the public, encourage other religious organizations and advise government to support Christian/Muslim dialogue as a means of eradicating religious violence in Nigeria.

'Dialogue is therefore the wisest way to handle our doctrinal differences, the most foolish way is to stay silent and pretend that these differences do not exist. Together Christians and Muslims comprise over 90 per cent of the Nigerian population, so the way in which they relate is bound to have profound consequences for the Christian community, the Muslim community and for the nation at large.

Thereafter, the two speakers spoke on the second topic, Was Jesus Truly Crucified? While Evangelist Udo-Akagha scripturally stressed that Jesus was crucified, Alh. Adegunwa argued that Jesus was not crucified. And if he were truly crucified, when? Was it in the morning, afternoon or evening? He asked. The lecture was moderated by Pastor David Odunayo.