Accra, Jan. 16 GNA - Osofo Kwesi Dankana Quarm, a leading member of the Afrikania Mission on Friday urged Ghanaians to be tolerant of other people's religious beliefs and practices in order to promote peace and harmony in the country.

He said for far too long, we have followed the ideas of other people, which had not brought any benefits to the country. Osofo Dankana Quarm was speaking at Seminar organized by the Religious Youth Service (RYS), under the auspices of International Inter-religious Federation for World Peace (IIFWP) in Accra. The Service is a youth organization that aims at bringing together people of all religions for an inter-religious and intercultural experiences through humanitarian services.

The seminar, which had the theme: " Practicing the way of life of a peace maker" drew participants from United States of America, Nigeria, Togo and Cote d'Ivoire.

Osofo Dankana Quarm said because most of the people have been brainwashed by Western values they looked down on anything that is "African".

He said "our lakes, rivers and streams are dying very fast because the taboos that our forefathers put in place to protect those water bodies have been thrown away by the current generation". He called for measures to project the positive sides of the African traditional religion rather the negatives, "being portrayed by the western media as the best"

Dr. Samuel Dufu, Eckankar Spiritual Head in Ghana, said Eckankar is religion of light and sound, which teaches about God's love for mankind.

He said the religion helps people to rediscover themselves, who they are, what they are and what they are here for.

Dr. Dufu also said the human soul is a very unique one in many ways since it has special talents for the individual. He called for positive thoughts and actions that would exert the power that was necessary to bring a progressive change to mankind.