Several Shiites attended a Christmas Church service on Wednesday at Church of the Advent, Samaru, Zaria.
Speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) shortly after the service, leader of the team, Prof. Isa Hassan-Mshelgaru, said the essence of attending the service was to promote love, tolerance and understanding among Nigerians.
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The service was conducted at Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion, Diocese of Zaria, Church of the Advent, Samaru, Kaduna.
“We came to celebrate the Christmas with fellow Christians here because we consider them as our brothers and we don’t have anything to give them than to come and celebrate this day with them,” he said.
“As they consider this day very important, we also consider it very important, we feel that we should come and visit them so that to clear some of the unnecessary imaginary boundaries that have been created.
“There are some imaginary boundaries that could not be seen that kept us far away from each other, so, we want to breach this gap, so that we come together as brothers and sisters living in the same country and same locality.”
.Hassan-Mshelgaru appealed to other Nigerians, whether Muslims, Christians or traditionalists to shun all forms of hatred, saying that religion was not all about hate but a means of bonding people together.
“You can be a Muslim, a Christian or a Traditionalist, always bear in mind that religion should be a platform for bringing people together not separating them.
“So, my appeal is that Nigerians should come together under the same umbrella as we live in the same country to ensure a united and formidable country envy of other nations,” he said.
Vicar of the Church, Rev. Isuwa Sa’idu, expressed appreciation for the visit and urged the visitors to sustain the tempo for the good of the nation.
“In fact, I am so exited that they can think of a thing like this to come and visit us on Christmas Day celebration like this.
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“When we first got the news of their coming, I was just so overwhelmed and I said I can’t wait for that day to come. Behold the day has come, the visit has really gladden our hearts,” he said.
The Shiites presented a gift to the Church as a sign of love.
