In its earliest stages, the One Family Under God Campaign in Nigeria started out as somewhat of a puzzle. The campaign initially started out of an initiative following the 2013 Global Peace Leadership Conference (GPLC) in Abuja.

“We had the pieces, that was for sure, we just needed to figure out how they fit together,” reflected John Oko, the Global Peace Foundation (GPF) Nigeria Country Director. Though Nigeria faced many challenges, it had certain very powerful resources, found most especially in the deeply rooted faith of its people, already noted for being one of the most religious peoples in the world. It was in the challenge of unlocking this potential into a force for positive social transformation that GPF’s partnerships became essential. For this and many other such reasons, the Global Peace Leadership Conference played an important role in providing a values-based platform, bringing together a wide, multi-sector network of people and organizations to work for the cause of peace and development.

Drawing both lessons and inspiration from the Nigerian Interfaith Action Association (NIFAA), one of the largest Christian-Muslim collaborations in history, GPF began to work with faith and traditional rulers of local communities. NIFAA is a local grassroots collaboration to utilize the basic social infrastructures of the various faith communities to curb and prevent malaria in rural communities. To do this successfully, NIFAA collaborated with both Muslim and Christian faith leaders and traditional rulers to educate their constituents on practical ways to prevent malaria.

Bishop Dr. Sunday N. Onuoha (left) and Rev. John Hayab (right) attending the Global Peace Leadership Conference 2018 in Uganda to share best practices of Nigerian peacebuilding efforts.

Put simply, faith and traditional rulers play an inimitable role in Nigeria as well as many other societies. Oko notes, “Faith and traditional rulers are in it for the long haul; they have the authority and role in the community that simply isn’t to be found elsewhere.” Every faith community relies and depends on its faith leaders to play the role of trusted spiritual advisor. Even while we rarely associate mundane, everyday actions and behaviors with that of faith leaders, faith leaders play a practical role in the way one’s faith is lived out in the community.

To this point, when medical or healthcare workers began to try to persuade local people to use insecticide-treated nets to prevent the spread of malaria, they were met with skepticism and suspicion, despite their expertise and experience in health and medical fields. In contrast, when NIFAA began to engage faith and traditional rulers to spread this same message, people were then quick to take up both the message and the use of the nets. The reason for this kind of success is simple: local people trust their faith and traditional leaders, even in matters regarding health.

The One Family Under God Campaign in Nigeria has brought much hope in response to the pain and suffering experienced most recently by those in Southern Kaduna. Our prayer is that they are able to continue their good work well on into the future.Bishop Dr. Sunday N. Onuoha

It was this understanding and GPF’s vision and values-based platform that allowed GPF to develop an effective strategy to work towards greater peace and social cohesion in Nigeria. In the process of engaging with many different kinds of people with different needs and perspectives, the GPF team continued to garner lessons to improve their focus and delivery of the message. With additional exchanges between Co-Operation Ireland in Northern Ireland, GPF Nigeria was able to learn from others and share their own insights in what is referred to as “peace sharing” – sharing and spread the lessons of peace, which led to important breakthroughs. The initial interfaith peacebuilding retreats developed into peacebuilding and capacity building programs and began to include youth and women leaders. Today, the campaign continues to develop and adapt to the changing needs of the communities.

Bishop Dr. Sunday N. Onuoha, Executive Director of NIFAA, delivers message from former president of Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo.

Most recently, GPF’s grassroots community peacebuilding efforts led to the recognition that its approach could address the violent conflict between the migrant Fulanese herdsman and local natives in Southern Kaduna. While violence and hot conflict continues in and across Nigeria, peace has continued to hold among the communities that GPF has engaged in its peacebuilding efforts. A shared vision between all members of the community and the cooperation of both Muslim and Christian faith leaders have been critical to bringing peace to these communities in conflict. Undoubtedly, they will also play a critical role in moving from community peace to community empowerment.

Executive Director of NIFAA, Bishop Dr. Sunday N. Onuoha, acted as a special advisor to GPF in its earliest efforts and continues to bring much needed attention to critical issues between faith and tribal communities and how they might be resolved. He noted, “In Nigeria, there are equal numbers of Christians and Muslims. We can utilize this to be a positive asset for the country by enjoining them to work for the good of all people. The One Family Under God Campaign in Nigeria has brought much hope in response to the pain and suffering experienced most recently by those in Southern Kaduna. Our prayer is that they are able to continue their good work well on into the future.”

In the most recent Global Peace Leadership Conference in Uganda, key leaders of the GPF Nigeria One Family Under God Campaign continued to share the lessons learned and best practices they’ve developed in the course of working to build peace and social cohesion in Nigeria. These included discussions of both private and public sector partnerships, discussions on community-driven development, key learnings from dealing with issues related to security, conflict, mediation, media and more.

And so, the process of peace sharing continues on around the world.

The post Nigerian Interfaith Leaders Share Lessons on Community Peacebuilding at East African Peace Conference appeared first on Hyun Jin Preston Moon.

The post Video appeared first on Hyun Jin Preston Moon.

Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon, founder of the Global Peace Foundation, addressed international peacemakers at the 2013 Global Peace Leadership Conference in Abuja. The One Family under God Campaign was initiated later that year as a grassroots effort connecting faith leaders of diverse traditions to work for peace in their communities. Four years later, the program has built a reputable track-record for mitigating religious-based conflict in several communities in Nigeria, and gained the recognition of government agencies and tribal and faith communities.

John Oko, country director of Global Peace Foundation in Nigeria has been at the forefront of these efforts.

The following conversation, originally published by the Global Peace Foundation records some of the key lessons and insights that John Oko has garnered that may help others who have interest in working with faith leaders in their own community.

Question: Why do you work with faith leaders in the One Family under God campaign in Nigeria?

I believe that faith and community leaders are the most sustainable, long-term way to establish peace in a community. Faith leaders are in it for the long haul and they have the authority and role in the community that makes them natural partners in our work of building peace and social cohesion. In a country like Nigeria where – I believe – we are one of the most spiritual or religious nations in the world – working with a network of diverse faith leaders strengthens our ability to articulate universally accepted principles as well as to find new ways to build consensus around shared values.

Even beyond this, once we engage these spiritual leaders in this message and work of building “One Family under God” in Nigeria, the faith leaders play the extremely important role of basically “translating” these ideas from the context and language of the respective faiths. This is something that no other kind of leader is able to do in a community.

Question: What has been the biggest challenge in working with faith leaders?

Generally, the biggest obstacle we’ve seen comes only when there is any sense of coming to take their followers away from them. We’ve rarely had this problem but it’s worth mentioning in that it’s important to know as, in our experience, when the faith leader starts to feel this in anyway, it closes down the avenue of working with them.

So generally, our approach and message is very simple. We encourage them to become a true Christian; live by the virtues and values of Christianity. Same with Muslims; live as Muslims are supposed to live. In doing this we actually strengthening faith commitments! Because we are basically saying “be true to your faith” and so faith leaders are very comfortable with us and our approach.

Question: What would you say is the most important thing you’ve learned through the campaign?

I would say respect. We need to be disciplined, to be careful not to undermine people in their religious faith, commitments and practices. We need to have a long-term mindset about this work and to know that what we are essentially doing is relationship-building. And so, we have to approach people with real respect. There are no shortcuts in this work.

Question: Any advice to some who would like to engage in similar work in their own country?

One of the most important things I do is to try to stay focused on the long-term goal, to never be satisfied, to always “beta-test” everything and seek out advice – even criticism – because I know they can be the key to improvement. We tried many different things and I would say that some things didn’t work out in the way that we wanted it to but we were still able to come away with lessons to continue and improve our work.

I’m also so grateful to Sheikh Maraya and Rev. Hayab as our inspired, inspiring partners and my team – our family in Nigeria. Having the right partners and team make all the difference – to try to figure out, more deeply and substantially how we might build “One Family Under God” in Nigeria. This permeates every single aspect of our work: One Family under God. It will inevitably look different in other countries because the people and the cultures are inevitably different but there are lessons we can learn from each other and I hope we in Nigeria are able to offer our lessons for the global community.

The post Four Lessons from Nigeria’s Grassroots Peacebuilding Efforts appeared first on Hyun Jin Preston Moon.

“In order to meet the threat of global religious conflict, a new type of interfaith movement must appear. Such interfaith partnership is vital in coalescing faith leaders to work together as the conscience of society.” –Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon

A hotbed of religious and racial tension, Nigeria’s Southern Kaduna state has experienced an outbreak of violence over the last year that has resulted in the death of thousands.

The most recent series of ethno-religious killings and counter-killing between members of Nigeria’s indigenous populations and the predominantly nomadic, Muslim Fulani people was addressed swiftly in a consultation between Global Peace Foundation (GPF) representatives and 80 local Fulani leaders from eight local government areas in Southern Kaduna on January 17, 2016. GPF’s One Family under God campaign is being pushed to the forefront of peace-making efforts to subdue further conflict.

Fulani and indigenous faith leaders gather to participate in resolution of violence amongst religious crisis

The One Family Under God campaign, initiated in 2013 at the Global Peace Leadership Conference in Abuja, is a values-based approach to peace building that encourages substantial cooperation between diverse communities through faith leader’s training workshops, retreats, and community projects. By engaging local leaders of faith communities, the campaign creates model examples of peaceful coexistence that encourages other members of the community to follow suit.

Leaders expressed their resolve to find a resolution to what has been described as a “religious crisis.” Chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria and Kaduna State’s Interim Chairman of Jaba Local Government Area, Mr. Ben Kure, showed his solidarity and implored other leaders to partner with branches of government to encourage inter-organizational cooperation.

Pointing out the underlying issues ignited by rumors and false accusations, Chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, Haruna Usman Tuga discouraged reprisal attacks, emphasizing the sheer number of innocent lives lost in local communities.

Before concluding the meeting, Fulani youth leaders made a team resolve to work against the incitement of violent attacks. As a population largely affected by extremist actions, youth are essential participants in countering a culture that emboldens acts of violence based on religious or ethnic diversity.

The campaign is an ongoing mediation effort to end the crisis of violence taking place across Nigeria.

The original post appears on Global Peace Foundation. Global Peace Foundation is an international non-sectarian, non-partisan, nonprofit organization, which promotes an innovative, values-based approach to peacebuilding, guided by the vision of One Family under God.  GPF engages and organizes a global network of public and private-sector partners who develop community, national, and regional peace building models as the foundation for ethical and cohesive societies. Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon is founder and chairman of the Global Peace Foundation.

The post One Family under God Campaign Engages Religious Leaders to Mediate “Religious Crisis” appeared first on Hyun Jin Preston Moon.

The post Muslims and Christians find Peace through One Family under God Campaign appeared first on Hyun Jin Preston Moon.

“The threat of religious extremism cannot be resolved by political or economic solutions alone. A true and lasting resolution must be rooted in faith and expressed through practical spirituality. Faith leaders must step beyond the confines of their own sectarian or denominational traditions, and act together as true spiritual leaders, representing God’s hope for the world, not just the interests of a particular religion.”

Dr. Hyun Jin Moon, Global Peace Leadership Conference Abuja, Nigeria 2013

Second Interfaith Youth Leaders Retreat in Kaduna State. Participants hold placards saying, “Whether we are Moslem or Christian, We are One Family Under God.”

The Global Peace Foundation just posted a report highlighting the One Family Under God Campaign that has arisen in Nigeria as a coordinated effort to mitigate extremism and foster social cohesion among the religiously diverse population in Nigeria.

Religious leaders and traditional rulers have stepped up to convey the vision that whether they are Muslim, Christian or from other faith traditions, Nigerians are all, “One Family under God,” and to that end they share a common destiny and responsibility towards each other.

Below is the update:

The challenges of building social cohesion and shared agreements among a diverse, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, religiously plural society is highly visible in Nigeria today. 100 years after the amalgamation of the country and nearly 50 years since its independence, Nigeria continues the struggle to build national cohesion amidst sharp regional divisions, mounting tensions over the 2015 elections and the ongoing violence of religious extremists such as Boko Haram and Ansaru.

Kaduna State is a microcosm of Nigeria, evenly split between Muslim and Christian citizens. (Credit: UN Maps)

At the heart of Nigeria is the district of Kaduna, which has been seen as a microcosm of the country, with the population evenly divided between Christians in the south and Muslims in the North. A place that has been much violence in the past, the Global Peace Foundation-Nigeria and its partner organizations are working here to build a common vision and a robust interfaith movement to substantialize the dream of “One Family Under God.”

The One Family Under God campaign was initiated at the Global Peace Leadership Conference in Abuja in 2013. It is a values-based approach to peacebuilding and community development that taps the moral authority of religious leaders and traditional rulers. GPF Nigeria has worked to educate faith leaders and encourage substantial cooperation between faith communities through its Interfaith and Youth Leadership Retreats.

“Leave this summit with a resolve be peacemakers in our families, neighbourhood, communities, the state and the country. If each and every one of us resolves to do this, we can rest assured that peace will pervade our state and our country shall become heaven of peace once again.”

~ Her Excellency, Hajiya (Dr.) Amina Namadi Sambo

H.E. Amina Namadi Sambo presides over the Kaduna Peace Summit in 2014.

In 2014, these retreats were held in the three regions of Kaduna state during June and July, in cooperation with the Nigerian Inter-Faith Action Association and the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution. The retreats engage Nigerian faith and youth leaders of diverse religious beliefs to challenge attitudes and behaviors through dialogue and direct engagement between people of different tribal, ethnic and religious identities. As “One Family Under God,” Nigerians are challenged to build a more equitable, inclusive and cooperative society based on a common vision, universal principles and shared values.

The success of these retreats is evident in the follow up Kaduna Peace Summit held later in 2014 on October 23rd, which drew over 700 participants. The Grand Patron of GPF Nigeria, Her Excellency, Hajiya (Dr.) Amina Namadi Sambo, the wife of the Vice President of Nigeria presided over the convening and urged all the participants “leave this summit with a resolve be peacemakers in our families, neighbourhood, communities, the state and the country. If each and every one of us resolves to do this, we can rest assured that peace will pervade our state and our country shall become heaven of peace once again.”

The results of these kinds of programs hinge on the ability of participants to translate a change in consciousness into the way one lives in the day to day.

Following the Kaduna retreats, Muslim and Christian communities have begun to work together to manifest the vision of One Family Under God. Projects between the Muslim and Christian communities that developed out of the retreats have included building a local bridge, working to improve hospital security, raising funds together to buy classroom equipment for a local interfaith school, among many others. There have also been declarations by local interfaith groups who intend to prevent and stop the use of violence in the upcoming elections.

One Family Under God Campaign projects (left to right) Improving security and grounds of a local hospital. (right) Donating desks and chairs to a local school that educations Muslim and Christian boys and girls.

While Nigeria today is still far from peace and shared prosperity, there are small faith communities growing and nurturing the vision and mindset of One Family Under God. Let us work together with them in our own communities.

The original report appears on www.globalpeace.org. Dr. Hyun Jin Moon is founder and chairman of the Global Peace Foundation.

The post One Family Under God Campaign: A Growing Interfaith Movement in Nigeria appeared first on Hyun Jin Preston Moon.

“We are going to be making a pledge, by signing the Abuja declaration make this pledge your own. Make this your mission in life to make sure that there is a positive future for this nation of Nigeria and the continent of Africa.”
-Dr. Hyun Jin Moon, chairman of the Global Peace Foundation, Global Peace Leadership Conference, Abuja, Nigeria, 2013.

Bishop Sunday Onuoha adds his signature to the Abuja Declaration at the close of GPLC 2013. International delegates from over 20 nations pledging to “Create a strategic platform to promote universal principles for peacebuilding and our shared values as One Family under God.”

On November 9 2013, the closing of the Global Peace Leadership Conference in Abuja, Nigeria, faith and civil society leaders, government and international officials, and traditional rulers signed the Abuja Declaration,

•  “ACKNOWLEDGING the sovereignty of Almighty God, the source of inalienable rights of all members of the human family, and the basis for the equality, dignity and intrinsic value of all people as One Family under God;”
•  And COMMITTED to “create a strategic platform to promote universal principles for peacebuilding and our shared values as One Family under God.”

Since then, local owners of the “One Family Under God” campaign have initiated ongoing interfaith retreats, joint service projects, and educational programs as part of the “One Family Under God” campaign which aims to build cooperation and social-cohesion around shared values and universal principles of major religions.

Most recently, a unique Christmas get-together hosted by the wife of Governor Yero of Kaduna and the Global Peace Foundation-Nigeria drew together significant Christian and Muslim leaders from the state. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) was represented by Rev. Sunday Ibrahim, CAN Secretary of the Kaduna State and Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI)  was represented by Imam Ibrahim Mahe of the Kaduna State. Both made a commitment to uphold peace during the upcoming presidential elections, as heightened concerns and not too distant recollections of election related violence loom in the public consciousness.

Women leaders from around Kaduna State, both Muslim and Christian, were present at the Christmas gathering. Participants were given a holiday gift, a bag of rice, sponsored by H.E. Hajiya Amina Namadi Sambo, wife of the vice president of Nigeria, and H.E. Hajiya Fatima Ramalan Yero, wife of the Governor of Kaduna State.

Women leaders have also become significant contributors, particularly in their role in the family. The get-together host Hajiya Fatima Ramalan Yero told the women present, “All mothers must ensure that they teach their children the virtues of love, tolerance and respect for the dignity of the other person.”

The women leadership represented included Her Excellency Naomi Nuhu Audu Bajoga, wife of the Deputy Governor of Kaduna State; Hajiya Za’uma Shehu Tahir, wife of the Speaker of Kaduna State House of Assembly; Hajiya Halima Hamza, wife of the Secretary to the Kaduna State Government; Barakatu Yahaya Aminu, wife of the Chief of Staff to the Governor; Hajiya Aishatu Ibrahim, wife of the State Chairman of the ruling Political Party; and Habiba Shehu Ahmad, wife of the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.

Her Excellency, Hajiya Amina Namadi Sambo, wife of Nigeria’s vice president, and the wife of the Governor donated gifts of rice for the participants.

As Dr. Moon said, as owners of the vision of One Family under God arise from all generations of Nigerians, and make that vision into reality, “Nigeria can become a light and a true leader in the new emerging Africa, an example and inspiration for other nations to follow.”

Read the full report of the Nigeria Christmas Get-together at www.globalpeace.org

The post Local Owners of One Family under God in Kaduna State, Nigeria Pledge Peace appeared first on Hyun Jin Preston Moon.

The Kaduna Peace Summit called on religious leaders, traditional rulers and civil society representatives to work together for peace.

The One Family Under God campaign was launched with a coalition of religious, governmental and traditional leaders in 2013. The simple recognition of the inextricably connected destiny of people of all faiths and Nigerians as a whole has started gained momentum and yielded real impact in Nigeria.

Most recently, over 700 government and religious leaders, traditional rulers and civil society representatives attended the Kaduna Peace Summit on October 23, 2014. The summit reviewed the outcomes of the ongoing Interfaith Youth Leaders Retreats that have been held since the middle of the year as part of the “One Family Under God Campaign” and issue a call, particularly for religious leaders, to foster greater coordination and cooperation in the nation to secure peace as the foundation for development.

H.E. Hajiya Amina Namadi Sambo, wife of the vice president of Nigeria attended with several women leaders, including the wife of the Kaduna State governor and the wife of the deputy governor. Other notable attendees included: a representative of the Governor of Kaduna State, 230 delegates from the 23 local government areas, alumni of previous Interfaith Youth Leader Retreats, representatives of the Christian Association of Nigeria and Ja’amatu Nasril Islam, and leaders of several interfaith associations of Nigeria like the Nigerian Interfaith Action Association, the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution; and the Interfaith Mediation Center of the Muslim-Christian Dialogue in Kaduna State.

Summit chair Archbishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon, the Anglican Archbishop of the Province of Kaduna and Bishop of Kaduna diocese, fondly called, “Mr. Dialogue”.

The overwhelming message went out to religious leaders and people of faith to recognize the principles and values shared by both religions. “We have a common God and we therefore have common values,” said summit chair Archbishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon, the Anglican Archbishop of the Province of Kaduna and Bishop of Kaduna diocese, fondly called, “Mr. Dialogue. He said peace building and service are an expression of these shared values.

A number of speakers, including H.E. Amina Sambo, recognized the connection between peace and development. Noting that recent inter-religious violence has stagnated the economic and social growth of the State, while alluding to historic accounts of peaceful relations to suggest that it is possible for regions to live and work together.

H.E. Amina Sambo stressed that faith should serve as a catalyst for peace, not conflict. She said, “Although our country, Nigeria is a secular state we do know that most of us are either Muslims or Christians. The same God created us though we worship him in different ways. We are one family under one God. Therefore we should live together in peace and not use religion or ethnicity to unleash violence and kill as both religions preach peace.” Recognizing the upcoming elections next year, she said peace imperative to ensure a fair and free election.

H.E. Hajiya Amina Namadi Sambo, wife of the vice president of Nigeria addresses the peace summit.

Pastor James Wuye, co-directors of the Interfaith Mediation Center of the Muslim-Christian Dialogue in Kaduna State, put out a challenge to the summit, “My Challenge to all of us is that, let us start a competition in this state and the competition should be, who will outwit the other in doing good; is it the Muslims or the Christians? Let’s start the completion of sharing love, sharing food, sharing money and let there be a scale”.

Imam Muhammad Ashafa recognized the role of women in securing peace in the home, and directly addressed the women leaders present, “I call on our mothers to take this seriously, start from home to forgive the unforgiveable so that the future can be a better place.”The summit recognized the impact of the “One Family under God” campaign and the work of the Global Peace Foundation to foster interfaith cooperation and peace. Her Excellency, Hajiya Fatima Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, wife of the Governor of Kaduna State said, “I cannot but commend the efforts and sacrifice of Global Peace Foundation for this summit organised to foster understanding and cooperation.” She sounded her optimism for peace in Kaduna State, saying: “I am optimistic that with the help of our youths, peace organisations, associations and foundations like the Global Peace Foundation, we will overcome any obstacle that stands in the way of our continued peaceful coexistence”.

Original story appeared on www.globalpeace.org

The post Kaduna Peace Summit Calls for Interfaith Cooperation to Secure Peace for Development appeared first on Hyun Jin Preston Moon.

Bishop Sunday adds his signature to the Abuja Declaration signed by international delegates from over 20 nations pledging to “Create a strategic platform to promote universal principles for peacebuilding and our shared values as One Family under God.”

Since last year, the Global Peace Foundation has been working in Nigeria to counter the effects of religious extremism through promoting interfaith cooperation for peace and development. In November, a pivotal conference was held in Abuja where Christian and Muslim leaders and traditional rulers came together to build consensus on shared values and commit to working to tackle issues of identity-based conflict, poverty and education.

Now, more than ever, the role of true men and women of faith is needed to counter the hate and hurt propagated along religious differences and build a model of national and religious unity that can resound through the entire region.

Below is an excerpt from the address delivered by Dr. Hyun Jin Moon, Founder and chairman of the Global Peace Foundation at the Global Peace Leadership Conference in Abuja, Nigeria.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am a man of faith and I believe that God’s Providence is calling faith leaders to be the peacemakers in this age.

The threat of religious extremism cannot be resolved by political or economic solutions alone. A true and lasting resolution must be rooted in faith and expressed through practical spirituality.

To that end, faith leaders must step beyond the confines of their own sectarian or denominational traditions, and act together as true spiritual leaders, representing God’s hope for the world, not just the interests of a particular religion.

Such a movement will raise humanity to a new level of understanding of the ways of peace and reconciliation, establishing new norms that become the foundation of a new global ethic.

Nigeria stands on the frontline of the dangerous division within the Abrahamic tradition, between Islam and Christianity.

Abraham was blessed and his descendants after him, because of his faith and devotion in one God. How ironic that today many of the heirs of that tradition, whether it be with the Christian or Muslim, who accuse each other of worshiping different gods.People of faith need to step back and reflect deeply on the true meaning of the original message taught by their founders.

None of the great faith traditions teaches division, domination, and conflict, though all of them have been distorted to promote such things at times. Jesus taught, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” What higher honor could there be than that? In Islam, the very words of greeting, “As salamu alykum,” mean “peace be upon you,” and the word “Islam” itself has its roots in words meaning peace, and wholeness.

We who inherit traditions must be true to the ideal of peace under God expressed at the heart of their teachings, heal division, and bring the family of Abraham to become one.The challenge is global in scope as Christianity and Islam face each other in tense and sometimes violent relationships in many different parts of the world…

The threat that this represents is extreme and can only be countered by true spiritual leaders, true men and women of God, stepping beyond the boundaries of their own traditions, to work in common cause with those of other faith traditions, while each drawing on the deep strength and original vision of their own tradition.

This is truly carrying out the work of God, creating a world where all live as members of One Family under God, that can find peace, security and prosperity. Such a movement will transform Nigeria, and its effects will ripple out across the region, throughout the continent, into the Middle East, until it ultimately encompasses the world.

Within Nigeria itself, the impact of a powerfully active movement of cooperation among faiths will not only erode the influence of religious radicalism, but will also address ethnic and tribal divisions. It can also be a powerful force against corruption, by speaking out for the highest standards of public service and promoting and protecting those ready to uphold them. Such a faith movement can also tackle poverty, health, education, and other social needs.

Go here for the full speech.

The post True Spiritual Leaders Essential in Bringing Lasting Peace to Nigeria appeared first on Hyun Jin Preston Moon.

Dr. Moon (left) with Bishop Sunday Ndukwo Onuoha (center), President of Vision Africa and Alhaji Ibrahim Jega (right), representative of His Eminence Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, Sultan of Sokoto. (Photo credit: NewsIs)

Moral leadership is more precious for the future of a nation than gold, diamonds or oil under the soil. It is guided by a common vision that reflects the most fundamental human aspirations, conforms to the universal spiritual principles that govern human life, and is expressed in shared moral values that can ultimately form a global ethic.

That vision is the simple yet profound idea that all people, regardless of race, nationality, religion, or culture, are members of One Family under God.

This proposition has implicit within it certain fundamental principles.

First, each human being has unique value and dignity from the Creator and should be treated accordingly.

Second, since we share a common Source or Origin, therefore, in the words of the American Declaration of Independence, “‘all men are created equal and are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable rights.” These rights originate with the Creator and cannot be removed or denied by any government or other human institution.

Third, as members of one family sharing a common origin, we also share a common responsibility for one another and for the fate of our common destinies.

These principles make up the framework for  moral leadership upon which innovation can take place.

A true innovative leader develops concrete approaches to critical issues through the lens of this common spiritual vision rooted in universal principles and shared moral values, drawing upon human beings’ natural human creativity.

Excerpt from speech by Dr. Hyun Jin Moon at the Global Peace Leadership Conference 2013, Abuja, Nigeria.

For full speech visit HERE.

The post The Principles of ‘One Family under God’ appeared first on Hyun Jin Preston Moon.