Bolgatanga, Sep 21, GNA - The Upper East Regional Minister, Mark Woyongo, on Monday called on the Muslim community to bury their differences and seek a better front to give meaning to Islam as a peaceful religion.

He said recent fragmentation and breakaway groups in the religion did not give a good picture of what Islam stood for and asked the community to pre-empt any divisive tendencies to strengthen the bond that exist amongst them. Mr. Woyongo said this when he addressed Eid-Ul-Fitr prayers in Bolgatanga.

He appealed to Muslims to use the occasion to pray for the nation for sustained peace and especially for peace to return to Bawku and said without peace the region could not achieve development. "Peace must exist for us all to benefit from the laudable development agenda of the government," he said. Mr woyongo said the region was already deprived with majority of the people living under the poverty line and that any additional instability would compound the already bad situation in the area. The Regional Chief Imam, Alhaji Adam Yussif who led the congregation in prayers, thanked Allah for His blessings for a successful fasting period.

He called on Muslims to continue to see Allah as most forgiving and do the same for their fellow beings who might have offended them. Alhaji Yussif called on all factions in the Bawku conflict to see Allah as omniscient and omnipresent whose love was unending and emulate His tender love and care so that they could forgive one another.