President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday called on Muslims in the country to embrace peace as they begin this year’s Ramadan.
His appeal came as the United States President Barack Obama, and the British Prime Minister David Cameron urged Muslim faithful to be committed to justice, peace and common good.
Jonathan’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, conveyed the President’s Ramadan message in a statement.
He said, “As they join the global Islamic community in undergoing the spiritual purification of Ramadan, President Jonathan urges all Nigerian Muslims to offer special prayers during the period for greater peace, security, unity and rapid socio-economic development in the country.
“The President calls on all Nigerians, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, to strive to imbibe in greater measure, the virtues of piety, self-discipline, tolerance, equity, fairness and sympathy for the less privileged which the Ramadan fast promotes.
“President Jonathan also urges all persons of the faith who may have been misled by extremists and agents of international terrorism into taking up arms against their fellow countrymen, women and children to re-open their minds, during this Ramadan, to Islam’s true lessons of love and peaceful co-existence with others.”
Obama urged Muslims to be committed to “peace, justice, equality and compassion towards our fellow human beings.”
These attributes, he said were basic principles that bind people of different faiths.
He lauded the contributions of Muslim-Americans to the socio-economic development of the US.
Obama said, “In the US, Ramadan is a reminder that millions of Muslim Americans enrich our nation each day — serving in our government, leading scientific breakthroughs, generating jobs and caring for our neighbors in need.”
Cameron said Ramadan was a “shining example of how humanity can come together in a positive way for a common good.’’
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, advised Muslims to pray for peace, unity and progress of the country.
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Mallam Imam Imam, Tambuwal said service and good governance could only make meaning, when those in positions of authority see themselves as leaders with responsibility to serve the people.
Punch
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