Maulvi Adams Calls for Tolerance

Bolgatanga, Sept 19, GNA - Maulvi A. Wahab Adam, Ameer and Missionary in charge of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Ghana, at the week-end called on all Ghanaians to cultivate a culture of tolerance in all spheres of life because it is an indispensable tool for nation building.

"Being tolerant of the views of others is not a sign of weakness, it rather depicts one as mentally sound and intellectually mature and balanced," he said.

Maulvi Adam said this when he addressed the 23rd Annual Rally of the Majlis Ansarullah Ahmadiyya Muslim Elders Association at Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region.

The three-day rally under the theme, ''Tolerance, an indispensable tool for Nation building,'' brought together elderly male Ahmadi Muslims from all over the country. The Ameer said intolerance was rather a sign of inferiority complex that must be discarded for one's own sake and for the sake of society.

Maulvi Adam said different views and diversity in religion, culture and other preferences was a source of beauty and an enrichment of life and urged all the participants to be worthy ambassadors of peace and tolerance and send the message by word and deed to others. He called for the revival of cinema vans that were used in educating people all over the country, saying that television and radio were not enough because some people did not have access to them. Alhaji Awudu Ahmed Yirmeah, the Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, urged the elders to use their faith and maturity to influence the youth and inspire them to participate in the activities required for national development.

He said for a multi political, religious and ethnic society such as Ghana to maintain peace, the people would have to strengthen their capacity for tolerance.

Naaba Martin Abilba 111, the Paramount Chief of the Bolgatanga Traditional Area, appealed to politicians to let maturity and diplomacy reflect in their speeches so as not to antagonise others unduly. He urged the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission to extend their services in education and health to the region.