By Ibrahim Bah AbdulRahman
Tema, Aug. 4, GNA – Alhaji Khuzaima Mohammed Osman, the Executive Secretary, Tijjaniya Muslims Movement of Ghana (TMMG), said religious tolerance is the only way to ensuring world peace and unity.
“It is an offence to burn or destroy any religious edifice, flags, Quran, Bible, or any other sacred symbol of religious faith, whether in private or in public,” he said.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Tema, Alhaji Khuzaima said being raised in a Muslim home and in a community dominated by Moslems, he was psyched up to believe the Nordic countries were anti-Islam societies due to past incidents of burning the Quran and curbing the heights of minarets in their countries.
However, as he attained the age of maturity and found himself on the corridors of interfaith and intercultural relations in Ghana, he was inducted into embracing people’s faiths, backgrounds, and cultures to an appreciable level of mutual respect, cooperation, dialogue, and understanding.
“I wouldn’t be able to recollect my past feelings and thoughts on any country, community, or people about their faith, culture, and background.”
Alhaji Khuzaima, who is also a member of the Greater Accra National Peace Council, encouraged individuals to show love and care, tolerate, respect, understand, and value every religion just like theirs.
The fundamental teaching of every religion was peace and, thus, focusing on such a message would bring unity to the world, Alhaji Khuzaima said.
“Religious tolerance is necessary for individuals within society to get along, especially when a variety of cultures and people with different religious beliefs live in the world.”
“When religious tolerance is practised, unity and consistency exist in the world,” he said.
“It is the catalyst that opens people’s minds to understanding others and embracing our differences so we can complement each other and contribute towards a greater good”.
GNA