GENEVA, Switzerland, May 21, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — After bombings on 21 May in the northern Nigerian city of Jos, in which more than one-hundred people have been killed, “heart-felt sorrow and condolences” have been expressed in a joint statement by Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad of Jordan, chairman of the Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought (RABIIT).
“We strongly condemn the recent bombings in Jos, Nigeria. The location and timing of the bombings clearly were designed to cause indiscriminate and widespread casualties among passers-by, and among rescue workers who were coming to their aid,” read the statement.
Both religious leaders, who were in Jos and Plateau State in 2012 leading a Christian-Muslim delegation in Nigeria, have stressed that the horrific acts which have just occurred in Jos do not represent in any way either of their two religions.
“They have made us even more determined to find ways to support the people of Nigeria and those who are seeking to put an end to violence in the country,” says their statement.
“Peace is a blessing from God. Christianity and Islam call for peace and harmony among all of humanity, and do not condone or allow offensive warfare or aggression,” reads the statement.
The country is also in the news due to the abduction of more than 200 young women by the Boko Haram fighters, an event which prompted a “profound concern” from the WCC general secretary urging “swift and peaceful” action to restore these girls to their homes.
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