๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฆ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ช๐ฒ๐น๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ป๐ด๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐
๐ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ช, ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ป๐ด๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ฒ, ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐๐ป, ๐๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐๐๐
In a decisive move to uphold national harmony, the Ministry of Social Welfare, Government of Sierra Leone, convened an emergency #interfaith engagement at its New England Ville office in #Freetown. The urgent meeting, bringing together #Muslim and #Christian leaders, was prompted by a controversial public statement from a religious figure. The controversy stemmed from social media videos in which a Muslim preacher declared that Muslims who celebrate #Christmas would face condemnation. The statement triggered a public outcry, drawing the immediate attention of key government officials and MDAs.
Addressing the gathering, ๐๐ซ๐ฌ. ๐๐๐ฅ๐ซ๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ โ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐จ๐ ๐๐จ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ซ๐, explained that the meeting was urgently called despite the holiday period, underscoring the governmentโs commitment to preserving peace. She thanked the religious leaders for their strong turnout, describing it as a clear sign of their investment in Sierra Leoneโs peace and development.
The Minister acknowledged the widespread discomfort caused by the statement made around Christmas. She revealed the personal impact of the fallout through intense public reactions and #socialmedia pressure but stressed that dialogue, not silence, is the nationโs strength. Reaffirming Sierra Leoneโs reputation for #ReligiousTolerance and coexistence, she noted the historical harmony between Muslims and Christians. She condemned any speech attacking another faith as unacceptable and contrary to the nationโs core values.
While acknowledging that mistakes occur, she emphasized the need for clear and sincere apologies, a principle guiding the engagement held with the Inter-Religious Council. She highlighted that the government, including the Vice President and President of #SierraLeone, had distanced itself from the divisive statement, sending a unified message that โno religion, tribe, or politics would be allowed to divide the nation.โ
In her closing remarks, she urged all religious leaders to be mindful of their words, especially in the age of social media, and to continue correcting one another with love to preserve the nationโs legacy of unity.
On his own part, the Muslim cleric at the center of the controversy publicly apologized to the nation. He expressed deep regret for the hurt and division caused and reaffirmed his personal commitment to peace and interfaith harmony. In a spirit of reconciliation, other prominent religious leaders from both faiths present graciously accepted the apology. They emphasized forgiveness as a core tenet of their religions and collectively called for strengthened unity, mutual respect, and continued collaboration among all faith communities.
๐ ๐จ๐ซ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฌ, ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฌ๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐๐๐ญ:
๐๐๐ฅ๐ซ๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐, ๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ซ
+๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ | ๐ข๐ง๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ.๐จ๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ซ.๐ฆ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฐ@๐ฆ๐จ๐ข๐.๐ ๐จ๐ฏ.๐ฌ๐ฅ