INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR INTERFAITH, PEACE & HARMONY No. 4 Kinkino Road, Off Alkali Road, Kaduna – Nigeria. Vol.1, No. 2 USING GOOD STORIES TO BUILD Supported By: WCC & RELATIONSHIPS FOR ADVANCING RABIIT PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE IN OUR MULTI-RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR C o n t e n t s INTERFAITH PEACE & HARMONY Our Contacts ..................................... 1 Address: Our Board........................................ 1 OFFICE: N0 4 KINKINO ROAD, OFF ALKALI ROAD, KADUNA Our Management ............................... 1 WEBSITE: www.iciph.org. EMAIL: [email protected], About Us ......................................... 2 [email protected]. TEL:09076160078 Vision & Mission ................................ 3 Co-Chairmen: His Eminence, Opinion .......................................... 4 Alh. Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar, CFR, mni, Sultan of Sokoto. Story No 1: Sir Ahmadu Bello’s Christmas Message ......................................... 5 His Eminence, Dr. Emmanuel Josiah Udofia, Story No 2: Yakubu Dogara’s Testimony....... 6 Primate, African Church. Story No 3: Southern Kaduna Attacks: Co-Secretaries: 29 Communities Sign Peace Pact .............. 8 Rev. Dr. Yusuf Ibrahim Wushishi General Secretary, CCN Story No 4: US, German Envoys Superintend Shaykh Dr. Khalid A. Aliyu, Peace Pact in 30 Plateau Communities ....... 9 General Secretary, JNI Story No 5: El-Rufai Commits N100m to Co-Directors: Rebuild Churches, Mosques damaged by Venerable Joshua Mallam Violence in Southern Kaduna.................. 11 (Programs) Story No 6: Peaceful Co-Existence: Muhammad Bashir Mai (Strategy and Partnership) Christian Donates Mosque to Muslims in Adamawa..................................... 12 Project Officers: Zeenatu Umar Yazid Story No 7: ’Repentant’ Cattle Rustlers (Advocacy & Communication) Become Peace Advocates in Katsina ..........13 Mrs Ruth Duniya Story No 8: Soldiers, Policemen Arrested for (Admin & Finance) Raping Women in IDPs Camps ................17 Officers: George Ibrahim Story No 9: DHQ to Punish Soldiers Accused (Front Desk) of Rape in IDP Camps ..........................18 Abdulazeez A. Biodun Conclusion: .....................................20 (ICT) 331 proposal to establish a neutral favored creation of an information-collection and interfaith center, while the archive center, ideally both remaining 5% questioned the virtually and on the ground in need for another initiative Nigeria, which will facilitate when ther e ar e many About the sharing of stories, allow inter faith organizations the voices of those who feel already on ground in the Us themselves voiceless to be c o u n t r y. D e s p i t e t h e heard and recorded and to abundance of indigenous as assist with collecting of well as foreign interfaith accurate data about incidents initiatives across Nigeria, h e i d e a b e h i n d of violence, online and findings in the field revealed establishment of a through hotlines. In a that there was still need for a Tspecialized Interfaith n u t s h e l l , t h e a i m o f specific Center, owned, run Center in Nigeria to address establishing the new Center and managed by a leading inter-religious conflicts was will be to generate accurate, Muslim Organization (JNI) borne out of a fact-finding impartial and indelible record and a Leading Christian mission undertaken in May of injustices, violence and Organization (CCN), devoid 2012 by an international atrocities which can serve not of political interference, delegation of Muslim and only as deterrent but also as working in close partnership Christian leaders led by the an honest starting point for with local and international World Council of Churches future solutions. organizations for Nigeria. (WCC) and the Royal Jor danian Aal Al-Bayt To come up with such an In line with the many Institute of Islamic Thought interfaith organization, the recommendations of the World Council of Churches [RABIIT]. According to the Consultants, WCC and (WCC) and the Royal “Fact-finding Report”, the RABIIT, in partnership with Jor danian Aal Al-Bayt d e l e g a t i o n ' s v i s i t w a s CCN and JNI decided to Institute of Islamic Thought proposed in reaction to the establish such an interfaith [ R A B I I T ] i n c l o s e numerous incidents of fierce organization in Nigeria. This collaboration with their inter-communal strives which fundamental decision led to Nigerian partners; Christian tremendously affected the t h e f o r m a t i o n o f t h e Council of Nigeria (CCN) and lives of Nigerians during the International Center for Jama'atu Nasril Islam (JNI), period 2000 to 2012, I n t e r f a i t h , Pe a c e a n d especially knowing that -at commissioned Consultants to assess viability of establishing Harmony (ICIPH), situated at least since the Bosnian war of No. 4 Kinkino Road, Off Alkali 1993 to 1995- Nigeria is the the Center, in particular the Road in Kaduna, Nigeria. Its only country in the world potential buy-in of religious office was commissioned on where most severe inter- leaders from both faiths and 19th August 2016 and since communal violence between to advice on its setting up. then, the ICIPH has been Christians and Muslims was working toward achieving the experienced. After very wide consultations, an important finding of the objectives it was set up to achieve. A major outcome of the fact- Consultants was that almost finding mission was the 95% of their respondents 2 OUR VISION: Nigeria becomes a model of interreligious peace and harmony, where people embrace religious diversity as strength and work together with mutual understanding, kindness, compassion and respect for the sanctity of life and human dignity, towards the advancement of peace, justice and sustainable development. To serve as a platform for the promotion of reconciliation, healing and peaceful coexistence among Nigerians through: Fostering meaningful interreligious partnership for harmony; Education and sensitization on peaceful co-existence; and Sharing of information on interfaith issues, stories of victims of conflicts and examples of good interfaith relations and initiatives. 3 human interaction and by extension could not bring about harmony and peaceful co-existence in any community. Besides, acts of discrimination based on the afore- mentioned negative values on persons of different group, race or Opinion religion is considered offensive in the Sight of God. e begin this Newsletter by the present generation and for likely relating to you a story of a generations to come. In trying to understand the “other” Wblind community. In a people's point of view however, we mountain community, which was cut Obviously, the blind community had stand a better chance of avoiding off from the world, sight was slowly exhibited high level of intolerance, conflicts and perhaps achieve lost in a way that was seen as logical resulting in its loss of a very valuable peaceful resolution of most of our and even a superior way of possession, which was sight. We conflicts. It is equally through existence. Ever yone in the believe that the way we live today in recognizing the “other” people's community was blind and it had our own communities is no different frame of mind that we can effectively been like that for generations. A from the philosophy of life of the respect their stance, understand one strange disease had made all the blind community. As members of our another and work for peace. By adults and the children born to the communities coming from different inference therefore, our best chance community to be blind. However life cultural, religious and educational for achieving peace in our homes, was very easy, with neither thorns backgr ounds, we ought to societies and the world at large is nor evil insects or beasts save the appreciate these natural in-born through respect for one another and gentle breed of llamas that guided differences to be able to remain for humanity in general. the sightless youngsters until they t o g e t h e r a s o n e . Wi t h o u t knew the whole valley very well. acknowledging, appreciating, In our own small way at providing a recognizing and understanding practical example in this drive, the Fate of the community remained those differences, peaceful co- ICIPH had recruited and trained 24 unchanged until one day, Nunez, a existence will continue to elude our Muslim and Christian Youths as mountain climber from the outside communities. Peace Ambassadors in Kaduna and world fell into the community and 31 in Jos. The Ambassadors have was saved. The blind community Ignorance begets intolerance or since started work in their different b e c a m e a p p r e h e n s i v e a n d xenophobia, which in turn leads to communities for the promotion of suspicious of Nunez and refused to i r r a t i o n a l i t y , b a s e d o n peace and peaceful co-existence. accept him when the community generalization, misinformation and realized that he had sight. The blind sometime fear. Intolerance on the This newsletter therefore aims at community does not understand the other hand renders people, drawing attention to proper concept of seeing let alone especially the young ones incapable understanding, accommodation, appreciate it, because all its or unwilling to move beyond the appreciation and above all m e m b e r s w e r e b l i n d f o r false generalizations and stereo- tolerance for our inherent natural generations. typing, without even making differences that tend to generate attempt to understand the real truth much conflict in our communities, Nunez struggled to be accepted as about any issue affecting their polarizing us and threatening part of the blind community with a communities. This more often than peaceful co-existence between us.