Pomadze (W/R), April 17, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Thursday counselled followers of the various religious faiths to accept the duty of preaching the message of peace and love.

Issues of race, religion, geographical location or gender, he said, should never be allowed to disrupt human interactions and disturb the harmony of the society. President Kufuor was addressing the opening session of the Centenary Khilafat celebration of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission at Pomadze in the Central Region.

The Spiritual Head of the Mission, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, has joined in the celebration, which is 100 years of unbroken chain of spiritual leadership. The three-day event has also coincided with the 78th Convention of the Mission in Ghana.

On hand to show solidarity were heads of different religious faiths in the country, including Peter Cardinal Appiah Turkson of the Catholic Church and Sheikh Umar Nuhu Sharabutu, the Chief Imam. Founded in 1889, it has spread across 180 countries and has a following of over 70 million.

President Kufuor said the common enemy that they all should help to fight was poverty, disease, hunger and illiteracy. This way, they would be contributing to the promotion of global peace. He lauded the Ahmadis for complementing the Government's social services delivery effort through the establishment of education and health facilities in many parts of the country.

They are now engaged in solar energy and provision of potable water supply in some rural communities. President Kufuor said these were true manifestations of the Mission's partnership with the State in development and gave the assurance that the Government would continue to create the right environment for public/private partnership to thrive.

He asked the Ghanaian Ahmadis to play their respective roles in helping to build the nation into a peaceful and prosperous one. Hazrat Ahmad drew attention to the need for all to avoid intolerance and impatience, which he blamed as the cause of the strife threatening to tear the human society apart. The world, he said, was heading towards disaster and that the Ahmadis had a duty to save it by setting high moral standards.

"You must uphold the principles of honesty, love and hard work for the progress of the society," the Spiritual Head added. Additionally, they maintain a strong relationship with Allah by remaining steadfast in loyalty and sincerity. Hazrat Ahmad, who had before his elevation to his present position served in the country, said he considered himself a Ghanaian and had great expectations from the Ahmadis in the country.

He asked them to always stand by the truth, be patriotic and work for the progress of the country. Cardinal Turkson in a solidarity message said love and peace were great virtues that all religions should espouse and uphold. Maulvi Wahab Adam, Ameer and Missionary in Charge, Ghana, in a welcoming address, said religion must be used to unite and build trust as well as progress and prosperity through mutual respect and co-operation. He said the harmony and mutual respect among the different religious faiths in Ghana were lessons others could learn from to build peace and tranquillity in their countries.