Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has said his government will continue to promote religious harmony as a way of ensuring peaceful co-existence in all parts of the state.
Speaking during a courtesy call on him by the Chairman of the state Musaabaqah organization, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Aliru Momoh, Ikelebe III, Otaru of Auchi, and other members of the committee, the governor said no faith promoted hatred and violence, maintaining that Islam was synonymous with peace.
He said: “I believe that in trying to understand the suspicion between Muslims and Christians from time to time, the misrepresentation of what the two religions represent can only be removed by educating our people about the true meaning of Islam and the true meaning of Christianity.
So, I believe that looking at the long term challenge of building inter-religious harmony in Nigeria, the Koranic Recitation Competition is something that should be supported and promoted. It encourages more people to get familiar with the doctrines of Islam, the injunctions in the Holy Koran and all the other revelations by Prophet Mohammed, I believe that a lot of the misconceptions will be addressed.
“I was in the US a year ago and I visited a Catholic school and the Principal told me, at the heart of peace study, that he takes time to study the Koran and the Bible and as a priest, he is very much at home with the Bible. But he said that many people, including Americans and Europeans have too little knowledge about Islam. According to him, if they truly understand what Islam represents, their views will change and the only way to promote understanding and deepen the knowledge of people about Islam is to include it in our school curriculum because you cannot talk about something you do not know about.
“So I believe that in Nigeria, it is something that has to be properly articulated and maybe taken over at some other level because the reality today is that we have two main religions in Nigeria. We have Islam and we have Christianity.”
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