Tackling communal violence in Nigeria.TWO NIGERIANS spoke side by side of their work to reconcile Muslim and Christian in Kaduna, northern Nigeria--after having taken part in inter-religious violence themselves. Imam Muhammad Nurayn Ashafa, the Imam of Kaduna, and the Rev James Movel Wuye, are the Joint Directors of the Inter-Faith Mediation Centre in their city. 'We were two militant religious activists,' said the Imam, 'but now we are working to create space, not just for peace, but also for the transformation of society.' Movel Wuye continued, 'We were programmed to hate one another, to Islamize or evangelize e·van·gel·ize v. e·van·gel·ized, e·van·gel·iz·ing, e·van·gel·iz·es v.tr. 1. To preach the gospel to. 2. To convert to Christianity. v.intr. To preach the gospel. at all costs. This threatens the very existence of Nigeria.' 'We were both victims of the situation that we had both had a part in creating,' Nurayn Ashafa added. His spiritual master and two brothers had been killed by Christian militias; Movel Wuye had lost an arm in the violence. 'What motivated us to transform hate into love, vengeance into reconciliation?' the Imam asked. 'In our hearts, we were weeping weeping said of frozen meat on thawing; the fluid that runs away as thawing proceeds. It contains myoglobin, salts and protein and is fluid leaked from muscle fibers ruptured by the formation of crystals during the freezing stage. The amount of weeping, and it can represent 2. , but we were still full of hate.' A turning point had come when he heard another Imam preaching in the mosque mosque (mŏsk), building for worship used by members of the Islamic faith. Muhammad's house in Medina (A.D. 622), with its surrounding courtyard and hall with columns, became the prototype for the mosque where the faithful gathered for prayer. at Friday prayers about the power of forgiveness, and the example of the Prophet. This had led to a war within, he said. Then embracing Movel Wuye beside him, he added, 'he is no more an enemy but a friend.' Movel Wuye said that it had taken him three years to overcome his hatred and to start to trust the Imam. The process had started when Nurayn Ashafa had visited him after his mother died. An American evangelist evangelist (ĭvăn`jəlĭst) [Gr.,=Gospel], title given to saints Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The four evangelists are often symbolized respectively by a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle, on the basis of Rev. 4.6–10. had told him that you cannot preach preach v. preached, preach·ing, preach·es v.tr. 1. To proclaim or put forth in a sermon: preached the gospel. 2. to someone you hate. 'He was radiating ra·di·ate v. ra·di·at·ed, ra·di·at·ing, ra·di·ates v.intr. 1. To send out rays or waves. 2. To issue or emerge in rays or waves: Heat radiated from the stove. love, but I'd been blinded by hate and pain,' he added. Now they were working with other spiritual leaders, 'to create space for peace and understanding'. |
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