A Muslim group, popularly called Shiites, attended a Christmas church service on Saturday at the HEKAN church in Zaria, Kaduna state, as part of an effort to strengthen religious tolerance and peace in the state.
The Muslim group also presented a gift to the church as a token of love.
In an interview with reporters shortly after the service, the team leader, Isa Mshelgaru, said that the essence of attending the service was to promote love, tolerance and understanding among Nigerians.
He said: “We decided to attend this church service today because today is Christmas Day, a day when the birth of Jesus Christ is being celebrated around the world and we feel that we also have our concern to share with them the feelings of the day. . Jesus was born.
“The coming of Jesus to this world is a blessing for everyone, so we want us to come and celebrate this glorious day with them.”
He said that, as Muslims, they considered Christians as their brothers and sisters in humanity, and emphasized that they were in the church service to join them in celebrating and sharing the joy of this day with them.
“As they (Christians) attach importance to this day, we also attach so much importance to the day and that is why we came today to clear all the unnecessary imaginary boundaries that have been created between Muslims and Christians.
“This is important now that the country faces multiple security challenges that require all hands to be on deck to overcome them,” he said.
In his message to other Nigerians, Mshelgaru warned that Nigerians must unite regardless of religious, tribal or political divisions to save the nation.
In her comments, Hakila Darmah expressed her appreciation for the visit, adding that it is a milestone that would open a new beginning and will remain memorable for a long time to come.
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He asked for a sustained relationship to keep the spirit of brotherhood floating between the two religious.
“In fact, I’m so excited that they can think of something like this to come visit us in celebration of Christmas Day like this,” he said.
Darmah appealed to Nigerians to emulate the kind gesture of the Shiite group in order to further strengthen tolerance, understanding and brotherhood among Nigerians. (YAYA)