Mombasa Governor Hassan Ali Joho and Mvita MP Abdulswamad Shariff wave to workers as they passed the dais on May 1, 2015 during Labour Day celebrations at the Mombasa Stadium.
Sunday, May 03, 2015
Christians and Muslims have been urged to unite in the fight against terrorism.
Governor Ali Hassan Joho on Friday said no religion teaches hatred as terrorists want Kenyans to believe.
“The Bible and the Koran do not support the killing of one another. It is an idea being propagated by people whose main agenda is to cause friction among us,” the governor said during Labour Day celebrations at Mombasa Stadium.
“If you walk along Nkurumah Road to Fort Jesus and Old Port, you will see the oldest mosques and churches in our county and they are just a few metres apart. This shows our forefathers were one,” he said.
Mr Joho said home-based madrasas had been turned into indoctrination venues unlike the ones attended by children in mosques during weekends.
He said some madrasa teachers do not understand the Koran and failed to interpret the holy book correctly while others misled children.
“Teaching in madrasas takes place on Saturday and Sunday but many teachers are unqualified and cannot interpret the Koran. This exposes the children to radicalisation. The Koran and the Bible must be understood to counter misinformation,” the governor said.
He added that religious, ethnic and racial diversity should be unifying factors in spite of the diversity.
INVOLVE COUNTIES
Mr Joho asked the national government to involve counties in its amnesty and de-radicalisation plans.
“Our youths have gone to Somalia. Others have come back and are living among us. Contradictory religious teachings must be countered with new ideas and better interpretation of doctrines,” Mr Joho said.
Mombasa Deputy County Commissioner Salim Mahmoud agreed with Mr Joho that terrorists lived among the residents.
“Criminals are among us. You are our eyes. You should be guided by the ‘see-something- and-say-something’ motto,” he told the gathering
Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir said insecurity was aggravated by failure of graduates to get jobs.
His Nyali counterpart Hezron Awiti said drugs were also fuelling crime and terrorism. He said police and leaders must deal firmly with drug traffickers.
“Hotels have no tourists and workers have been sent home. We must not allow insecurity to deny us jobs,” the MP said.
He added that lack of education or employment should not be an excuse for committing crimes.
Poor management of resources was the cause of low quality public services.