The Political Leader of the Liberty Party, Cllr Charles W. Brumskine, On Saturday March 6, 2010, paid a courtesy call on the National Muslim council of Liberia, at the council’s Old Road Headquarters. The Liberty Partry leader was welcome to the edifices of the Muslim Council by Sheikh Kafumba F. Konneh, Chairman of the National Muslim Council of Liberia. In his welcome remarks Sheikh Kafumba disclosed that though the Council was not a political entity in Liberia, it can speak on national issues and provide religious guidance to its community by showing the stance of Islam.
The Sheikh said that Muslims received their invitation to to meet Brumskine with joy and happiness because it provides them the opportunity to exchange their view and perspectives on pertinenet issues bordering on the nurturing of peace and democracy in Liberia. Sheikh Konneh said the Muslims were disturbed by the Lofa incident more than any other Liberian because more than any other segment of the society, they know what religious strife means. He said Liberians appear to be unaware of the danger of religious war.
Further more, Sheikh Kafumba Konneh also cautioned Liberian journalists to do away with sensationalism in their works. Bias journalism, he said, was counter productive to peace and stability. He disclosed that there are reports indicating that the Lofa incident actually started on Monday, but that only what happened on Friday is being reported, meaning that the conflict escalation between Monday to Friday is not being mentioned or taken into consideration or brought to the attention of the general public. Credit for any occurrence of the kind as happened in Lofa, he insinuated, should go first to those who started the violence. Without this approach, people here have refused to look at the cause, while others were spreading rumors of impending Muslim attack or mass demonstration in Monrovia.
For his part, the Liberty Party political leader, Cllr. Brumskine, expressed thanks for the warm reception accorded him and delegation. He said he hopes it will bring the two groups together, for he is told that Muslims do regard Christians as friends. He disclosed that the meeting was not about religious differences for that, according to him, are the field of the expert. The purpose of the gathering, he said, is about the two communities living together.
Besides, Cllr Brumskine has maintained that he requested for this meeting long before the Lofa episode, in the month of February. According to him, the request was made by him with the understanding that we can live together, though there are other people who, he said benefit from our disunity. “Taking as leaders people who do not believe God has effect on our national psyche. This leads to violence. Rumors fuel our conflicts as do feelings of neglect, exclusion and marginalization.”
Using religion as reason for disunity is false. To hold religion responsible for the violence is a disservice to the truth.
He called for the perpetrators to be punished and to stop collective guilt, stressing that transgression should be limited to the doer not his family or religion.
Reiterating that Articles 14 of the Liberian Constitution guarantees religious freedom and tolerance, Cllr Brumskine said that Liberians must tell their children the truth and decide whether they grow with love or hate. He said Liberians must decide what they leave with the children for posterity.
He urged his fellow Liberians to turn towards each other, not against each other. Let us begin Liberia anew, he concluded.
During the interactive meeting, the Liberty Party Political Leader was questioned about the alleged anti Muslim sentiment attributed to him. However, Cllr. Brumskine denied the allegation. Another speaker pointed out that the Lofa incient actually started on Monday, but wondered why that interval (Monday—Friday) is being ignored while the Friday episode alone is being mentioned repeatedly. He said the Imam of the Konia Mosque was beaten and humiliated in the presence of his wives and children and then the mosque of the town was destroyed by the attackers of the Imam.
