TANZANIA: Religious Leaders Holding a Conference on Peace Building Say Ecumenism Is Key to Building the Nation
Religious leaders in Tanzania have held a peace building conference from 24th -25th in Dar es Salaam.
The conference was organized by the Interfaith Committee in the country which includes the National Muslim Council of Tanzania (Bakwata), Tanzania Christian Council (CCT) and Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC), was sponsored by the Norwegian Church Aid.
In the conference, religious Leaders have called for unity among religions for peace building especially when the country is approaching Local Government Elections in November 2019 and National elections in October 2020.
The Conference which is guided by the theme ‘Building peace, responsibility and social justice’ aims at urging the Tanzanians to be patriotic and build one nation rather than building their own religious and ideologies.
They said ecumenism is a must and important in nation building in the world.
Giving his presentation at the Congress, Shekhe Issa Ziddy from Tanzania Island of Zanzibar called on the religious leaders to work for unity and make positive contribution in the community so that the Interfaith Committee may fulfil its expectations.
“Every member should understand the objectives of the Interfaith Committee.
Our goal is not to change the religion of a person but to promote the understanding of one another as religions, to develop a sense of understanding of oneself, to show social cohesion, to develop a mutual respect and to promote good relations among us.
If we shall have understanding of each other we shall stop making unrealistic statements about other people’s religion, in the Mosques or churches,” he said.
He insisted Tanzanians should elect a good leader not by his/her religion but by qualifications of being a good leader.
Pastor David Kalinga, Inter-governmental Relations Officer from CCT, said that peace and national unity are the main focus of religious leaders in the country.
He has called on various religious leaders to work with the government to educate their believers who are also citizens of the nation to love, respect, tolerate other religions and so build one Tanzania.
“As we move towards local government elections and next year’s General Elections, we should not elect leaders based on religion, ethnicity or ideology. We must elect leaders who will build the nation, respect our unity, patriotism and bring prosperity” he said.
On behalf of TEC Rev. Likoko said that, basically, peace is a right and property of all, everyone in the community has a duty and responsibility to respect it.
“But we need to broaden the scope of the peace we talk in our society not only to those who belong to certain religions but also to non-believers. Peace must be preached to all starting from children in family to schools,” he insisted.
He has called on religious leaders to create sustainable peace building by establishing independent platforms for people to express their views on issues of peace. He argued that Religious leaders should start having forums that bring them together with their believers talking and share peace issues.
He also warned Religious leaders not to use religious platforms in churches or mosques to criticize and abuse other people’s religion because that divides Tanzanians.
He appealed to government to strengthen the sense of security especially at the borders of the country to prevent the arbitrary interaction of people or foreign nationals that sometimes result in aggression and breach of peace.
He has pointed out that on several occasions it has been revealed that religious extremists have had political agendas to rule. So Religious leaders should be very careful in dealing with politics especially during election periods.
He has called upon the Government and security agencies to be close to the religious leaders.
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By Sarah Pelaji
