How Muslim clerics greeted Kaduna Christians at Easter amid COVID-19

To break the lockdown barrier created by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Muslim clerics yesterday felicitated with Christians in Kaduna State, urging them to use the season to pray God to end the plague.

As the Christians celebrated the Easter indoors with members of their families due to the lockdown, the Islamic clerics sent text messages and used social media platforms to felicitate with them.

The Muslims said the gesture was to strengthen cordial relationship, religious tolerance, better understanding, peace and unity among Nigerians.A leading Islamic cleric, Abdulrahman Bichi, told journalists yesterday that he sent many greeting through Short Message Service (SMS) to all Christians he knew, wishing them happy Easter celebration.

He could not go to the houses of his Christian friends as he used to, hence he resorted to electronic messages.Sheikh Nuraini Ashafa from Interfaith Mediation Centre, Kaduna, also felicitated with Christians and urged them to pray God to heal the planet of COVID-19.

In her own message, another interfaith personality, Hajiya Ramatu Tijjani, congratulated Christians worldwide for the successful completion of the 40 days prayer and fasting, which culminated in the Easter celebration.
She called on Nigerians to always tolerate each other and pray God to tackle all critical situations facing humanity.

Tijani advocated more educative programmes on radio, print media and television on COVID-19, to sensitise both the rural and urban residents.

Meanwhile, Yohanna Buru, one of the pastors close to Bichi, commended all the Muslim clerics that sent him Easter messages through various social media platforms, saying he received over 2,500 text messages from Muslim youths and clerics from Nigeria and other countries.

“Though this is the first time we celebrated Easter at home, we are grateful to God,” he added.