By Abubakar Hashim
Presidents of both Sierra Leone and Liberia, Maada Bio and Joseph Boakai, both devout Christians, exhibited religious tolerance at yesterday’s Eid Ul Fitri celebrations in Freetown and Monrovia.
President Bio performed the two rakaha prayers with fellow Muslims at the Presidential lodge in Freetown, while President Boakai issued a touching statement to fellow Liberian Muslims, preaching religious harmony, ending his speech with “Alhamdullilahi, Allah Akbar. “
The two symbolic gestures send a strong signal to neighbouring West African countries, like Nigeria, where religious tensions are rife, and religion is used to promote terrorism and other mayhems, derailing economic activities and development.
What the two leaders did yesterday at the Eid celebration, should be exported to other countries in the region, to promote religious harmony
I saw, at first hand, President Bio shaking hands with different people of different religious backgrounds, after performing the Eid prayers at his residence yesterday
Recall, past President Ernest Koroma did the same, by entering and performing prayers at mosques while in power.
There was same gesture in Liberia when former President George Weah was in power
In Sierra Leone, Muslims are married to Christians, couples attend churches and mosques, almost simultaneously, during weddings, hitch free.
Yesterday’s messages from the two presidents should be emulated by others in the region
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