Religious Leaders Harp on Promoting Peace Through Dialogue among People of Different Faiths.
Religious leaders in Gombe State has said that dialogue is key to promoting peace among people of different faiths.
They stated this in a one-day sensitization workshop on Conflict Resolution/Mediation among Youths and Women Group Faith of the six LGAs in Gombe State organised by Munzaifad Care Foundation in collaboration with Cardinal Onaiyekon Foundation for Peace.
Delivering a paper titled, Promoting Peace Through Dialogue among the Community of Different Faiths, at the event, Dahiru Usman Abubakar said that disagreements and differences between people are natural just as conflict is an inevitable phenomenon in life. He opined that dialogue is the key to having sustainable peace among all religions in the country. Furthering, he enumerated the benefits of dialogue to include, peacebuilding, teamwork, mobility, visibility, among others.
Dahiru Usman stated that the most enduring principles of peacebuilding or conflict resolution are dialogue, the wisdom to plant in a child what he/she can contribute positively to the next generations.
Concluding, Dahiru said that conflict has never brought success or progress to a person, community, or nation, pointing out that it is only dialogue that leads to peace and happiness. His words:
“Disagreements and differences between people are natural, likewise, conflict is an inevitable phenomenon in a social setting and, therefore, not peculiar to any part of the world, developed or developing country. However, the nature, dimension, consequences, and management of conflicts vary from one country to another.
Dialogue has contributed to peacebuilding and to calm down conflicts, exemplifying the question of how it would have been without interreligious dialogues in Bosnia. According to Bryn, dialogue creates mobility, visibility and builds relationships. Dialogue can lead to a review”.
Speaking during the sensitization program on a topic, Inter-faith Dialogue on Violence/Peaceable Living, Pastor Ven Philip Bature, of the Anglican Church Bolari Gombe, said that Christians are called upon to live in peace with everyone, adding that to succeed in handling violence in the society, there is need for dialogue between the Christians and Muslims.
Continuing, he explained that dialogue is a potent weapon for conflicts and violence resolution. His words:
“According to the teaching of Bible which is the word of God, Christians are called upon to live in peace with everyone. For us to succeed in handling violence, there is a need for dialogue between the Christian and the Muslim. Dialogue is a veritable tool in resolving conflicts or violence. God wants us to live in peace with one another.”
Religious Leaders Harp on Promoting Peace Through Dialogue among People of Different Faiths
