By Politico staff writer
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in Sierra Leone ended their 58th annual conference in Bo on Sunday and by his admission they wowed president Julius Maada Bio who was their guest of honour.
The three-day event at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Secondary School ground hosted more than two thousand Ahmadis both from Sierra Leone and other parts of the world.
In his opening remarks, the new and first Sierra Leonean Amir of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in the country, Lawyer Musa Mewa, highlighted the contributions of the mission to Sierra Leone, especially in Education and Health.
He said the mission has 309 schools across the country. He however said that some people still held the negative perceptions about their faith, insisting that they believe in Allah only, whose powers “are unlimited”.
Giving a global history of the Ahmadi denomination, he said some of their members in some parts of the world had been forced to renounce their faith failing which they were humiliated or killed
Speaking at the conference, President Julius Maada Bio said Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat had contributed and continued to contribute to the development of Sierra Leone, adding that they had their members in top leadership positions in the country with a membership spreading across the world.
President Bio described Ahmadists as disciplined and peaceful people, and marveled at the way they had comported themselves at the conference despite their large numbers.
Therefore, he pleaded with them to take the peaceful messages epitomized by their members across the country and instil discipline into others.
He used the occasion to urge Sierra Leoneans to be peaceful as the country braces up for elections in June, saying that people should choose their candidates by voting instead of fighting.
In his statement, the Minister of Energy, Alhaji Kanja Sesay who is an ex-pupil of Ahmadiyya Muslim Secondary School said the school taught them to be respectful and peace-loving. He urged all Ahmadis to continue to maintain the peace at all times.
Dr. Usman Jesse Fornah, Secretary General of Inter Religious Council commended the mission and its members for their outstanding role in spreading Islam in the country and the world. He encouraged them not to relent in spreading the word of Allah despite the challenges they're going through.
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