Participants in a group photograph
A newly-established Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), Interfaith Dialogue For Peace Building (IDPB), has organized a workshop for selected youth from a number of tertiary institutions in the country.
The workshop, which took place at the Islamic University College, Ghana, drew participants from the Institute of Professional Studies, Accra Polytechnic and the Accra College of Education and was themed “Strategies For Interfaith Dialogue and Dispute Resolution Among Religious People In Ghana.”
Alhaji Hussein Ibrahim, a lecturer at the Islamic University College, charged participants to be open-minded and learn other religious traditions in order to appreciate the views of others and promote understanding and peaceful co-existence among all Ghanaians.
Utterances by some Imams and Pastors, he observed, could impact negatively on the peace we are enjoying in the country today, describing them as irresponsible.
Ghanaians, he went on, considered themselves as belonging to the same family and it therefore behooves on leaders to ensure that peace is maintained and even improved upon.
Participants engaged in group discussions on factors that impede interfaith dialogue.
They identified prejudice and misconceptions that people hold about their neighbours in other religious as being responsible for this situation.
Participants agreed that government and religious leaders must create awareness about the need to bury minor differences as members of different faiths and embrace the common elements that bind them as compatriots.
The Secretary and Founder of the NGO, Kasim Mohammed Ameen, expressed gratitude to the participants, the main speaker, Alhaji Hussein Ibrahim and Dr. Ahmad Ali Ghane, President of the Islamic University, Ghana for making the workshop possible.
By A.R. Gomda
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