URI Africa appoints Goodwill Ambassadors of the Golden Rule – Daily Trust

The United Religions Initiative-Africa (URI), Thursday, appointed renowned interfaith activists and peace makers Imam Muhammad Ashafa and Pastor James Wuye, co-founders of the "Interfaith Mediation Centre" in Kaduna, Nigeria as Goodwill Ambassador of the Golden Rule.

The appointment was made on the occasion of the launching of the United Religions Initiative-West Africa office in Abuja.

Delivering his keynote address, Ambassador Mussie Hailu, Regional Director of URI-Africa and Global Envoy and Representative of URI to UN and AU said the appointment was made in recognition of the outstanding work of the Imam and Pastor in promoting peaceful co-existence and harmony among followers of different religious through the teaching of the Golden Rule in Nigeria and the rest of the world

Ambassador Mussie also said The Golden Rule which says Treat others the way you want to be treated summarizes the basic teaching of compassion, non-violence, respect, honoring the dignity of all living beings, social justice, equal right, Inter-religious and Inter-cultural harmony and peaceful co-existence. It is the best guide we have to help peoples of the world to live together in mutual respect and harmony. It is a preventive mechanism to discrimination, violence, crime, war and the violation of human rights.

Speaking on his award, Pastor James Wuye said for me this is a validation of all the effort the Imam and I have put to foster peace and harmony in the society. For me, the Golden rule is all about the message of Christ. Christ was asked what the greatest commandment and he responded love the lord your God with all your strength and your neighbor as yourself. This is the sum of the law of the Golden rule. For me I will say, do unto others what you want done to you. We want Nigerians to know that this is a medal of honour not just for us but for the country as a whole and the world in general. As examples of that Golden rule we will take it to every nook and cranny and share this because this is the only solution to the world problems.

Imam Ashafa appreciating the award said this is an honor. To be honored with my partner a Pastor is validation. Religion has a solution to the global challenges confronting humanity as a whole. A former world President of the Parliament of religions once said there will be no peace in the world until there is peace between religions and there will be no peace in religion until there is dialogue between the adherents of different religions. In all the major religions in the world, the Golden rule cuts across all with its emphasis on loving for your neighbor what you love for yourselves. Prophet Muhammed (S.A.W) was asked, what the best way to live without blemish in a multicultural and multi religious setting. The Prophet (S.A.W) responded love for your neighbor what you love for yourself. He said, your neigbour has three rights; to protect his honour and dignity, protect property and lastly, his land is scared. For me as a Muslim, this award has given me the opportunity to re-echo to the world that we need to humanize our humanity and live according to the rules of the Golden rule.

The Golden Rule Day was proclaimed on April 5th in Ethiopia and appointment of Goodwill Ambassador of Golden Rule was initiated in 2007 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia by URI-Africa and Interfaith Peace-building Initiative (IPI) a URI member organization based in Ethiopia. Since then over 250 organizations in 123 countries joined URI-Africa in proclaiming the Golden Rule day and promoting its teaching.

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URI Africa appoints Goodwill Ambassadors of the Golden Rule - Daily Trust