Kiir tells clerics to refrain from politicising religion
* Article
* Comments (4)
email Email
print Print
pdfSave
separation
increase
decrease
separation
separation
*
*
*
*
August 21, 2011 (JUBA) - Salva Kiir, president of newly independent
South Sudan has called on clerics to help government address the
challenges facing new the nation but warned them to keep away from
politicising religion.
JPEG - 11.1 kb
South Sudan president Salva Kiir
The president made the remarks while addressing South Sudan Muslims on
20 August during a Ramadan Breakfast organised at the Presidential
Guest House in the capital Juba.
He also urged clerics to refrain from "practicing religious corruption".
Kiir said his party, Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), has a
vision of religion freedom.
The president also chided the Akhir Lahza newspaper based in Khartoum
for what he said was false information against his family.
The newspaper claimed that a son from his fourth wife, allegedly
called John Salva Kiir, had converted to Islam from Christianity
before South Sudan become an independent on July 9th. Kiir said he
neither has a fourth wife nor a son called John.
The chairperson of South Sudan’s Muslim Council Atahir Bior narrated
challenges and problems facing the Muslim Community in the Africa’s
54th country and called on clerics from various religious backgrounds
to preach peace and justice instead of preaching politics.
“As religious leaders we should only be preaching about love and
peace. We should not mix politics with religion.” said Bior. He said
that women and children are the people who suffer the most from
political instability.
Bior said that women and children have enormous prospects to bring
about political and economic development in the new nation. The cleric
further explained that maintaining peace and justice for all in the
society is a responsibility that should be shouldered by all people in
the society.
Using political chaos in Sudan’s western region of Darfur as
illustration, Bior said women and young girls were the most vulnerable
ones because there are so many cases of rape incidents that the south
should take as a living example to improve the conditions in the
country.
South Sudan, whose population are predominantly either Christian or
have traditional African beliefs split from the Islamic dominated
North Sudan last month.
The split was the culmination of a six year long peace deal that ended
decades of civil war. One of the triggers for Sudan’s second
North-South civil war was Khartoum’s enforcement of Islamic Shari’a
Law across the whole of Sudan.
South Sudan’s secular constitution contrasts with the Islamic law
which continues to rule North Sudan.
SPLM officials asserted that Khartoum’s refusal to drop Shari’a Law
and adopt a secular constitution was one of the reasons why South
Sudan chose to opt for separation in January’s self determination
referendum.
(ST)
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD
info" group.
To post to this group, send email to [email protected].
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
[email protected].
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
