NGO advocates inclusion of Media in advancing religious tolerance

By Adamu Bakari 

The Zonal Meeting of Joint Interfaith on Advancing religious tolerance in Nigeria has stressed the need to include the media in the body of earlier research work on advancing religious tolerance.

In a Communique at the end of its meeting held Friday at Alheri Hotel Yola, the participants observed that media reportage of activities are faulty as they translate other category of crises into religious conflict.

The meeting which was organized by Search for Common Ground advocated training of media practitioners to address the challenge.

It also observed the dearth of media contents and programmes promoting religious tolerance and recommended media programming with contents promoting enlightenment and religious tolerance.

The meeting stressed the need for nip in the bud the mis-use of social media discourse that widens religious intolerance.

It advised religious leaders to desist from taking matters which are political or economic in nature into religious spaces just as it observed politicization of religion.

The meeting similarly called on individuals to avoid religious matter that will incite hatred or sentiment in other people.

It stressed the need to enlighten the citizenry to seek redress through law courts where there is infringement bordering on religious freedom as well as training of security and judicial officers on effective handling of situation of religious violence to curtail resort to jungle justice or self justice.

The Communque was signed by members of the drafting committee headed by Jamila Suleiman of Modibbo Adama University of Technology MAUTECH Yola.