Promote Peaceful Religion for Quality Health and Entrepreneurship: Religious Peace Is Determined by the Worshipers.
Religious Peace for Quality Health and Entrepreneurship, Happy Eid-ul Fitri, 2026.
By Benjamin Pulle Niriwa, 20.03.2026.
Figure 1: No One Is Perfect: Forgive if Your Neighbour Steps on You and Apologize.
Life on earth is like walking every day! As people walk around, they leave footprints! Whether you walk forward or backward, it would be impossible to completely clean all your footsteps without leaving anyone of them. This is a big lesson that can guide humans to be very careful about how we treat each other. The footsteps or footprints that we leave behind daily represent our everyday interactions with others. People are not perfect like God, everyone has a “but” or a bad side; irrespective of how nicest the person might be. People also have their preferences or choices in life, which mostly differ even amongst twins (Klopper, 2021; Medium.com., 2023).
The only person who not want to walk is a lazy one! To achieve many things in life, one must be will to live and continue to walk. So, just as one cannot just stop living life, so can no one decide not to continue walking life. But as people walk, there is the probability that others would step on their colleagues’ toes. This is similar to the daily interactions in life where people could offend each other willingly and by mistakes. The Holy Books serve as guides for reconciliation between people (Figure 1).
Allah/God mostly bless and protect people who practice religious teachings with purity of hearts. There is no religion that inherently promotes violence and intolerance: almost all three major religions promote justice, which is in line with having a pure heart as a believer. The top two major religions which are the lights of the world, must therefore compete in the common good or doing good to depict exactly what the Holy Books preach (Hebrews, 11:6; Quran., 5:9; Quran 2: 82. Quran 45:30). Paraphrasing my statement in 2024, no genuine believer, in normal circumstances, would plan evil against his/her neighbor without a cause.
One Surah that I like most in the Noble Holy Quran is the verse that encourages people to be tolerant about their religious differences. This verse says that: “There is no compulsion where the religion is concerned” (Quran, 2:256). This Quranic Surah is no different from what Jesus himself was telling the Pharisees lawyer who secretly planned to entrap him by asking him questions. Jesus did not use a blood relation of the Pharisees lawyer as his neighbor; rather he used someone who, in those days, was supposed to be his worst enemy as neighbor (Matthew 22: 34-40).
The parable given by Jesus agrees with many verses of both major Holy Books – the Holy Bible and Holy Quran. The Holy Bible teaching Christians to love everyone and even their enemies (Matthew 5:44-47) to the extent of providing them with food when they go hungry (Proverbs, 25:21) is not different from the Holy Quran teaching Muslims to be religious tolerance (Quran, 2:256). The Holy Quran practices “… The ways of peace” (Quran 5:16) where believers are always encouraged to reconcile (Quran 4:128) for peace, since Allah do not like violence and encourages peaceful co-existence (Quran 2:205).
Quran 56: 25-26 says that true believers do no use abusive words on each other. They only preach “peace” (Steinhauer, 2016). When being peace loving is turned into hatred, human dignity becomes a mere mirage! Both major Holy Books preach about tolerance where believers are taught to accept their differences and love even their enemies (Matthew 5:44-47).
If the world was still doubting the reality of Ghana as a role model for religious PEACE, the 2024 general elections has proven this. Unlike in some parts of the world where religious minority are mostly maltreated, in Ghana religious difference must not be a justification for violence. For the first time in Ghana’s history, we had the Presidential Candidates for the two major political parties being Christian (NDC) and a Muslim (NPP).
In some nations this combination would have been like putting a broom into fire! But, in Ghana, we say why not. With the exception of some isolated minor cases where religious politics was recorded, in general, the campaign was professionally done without religious politics. What I admired most was that, on the elections’ day both Christians and Muslim were seen communicating peacefully at the polling centers where they casted their votes without any religious discrimination.
Though Ghana inter-religious relationship is admirable, there are still some issues that need to be addressed for absolute religious peace. Open display of negative religious hypocrisy is still very common! Religion must be a solution to world’s problem but not a tool for division and discrimination. If your religious affiliation makes you discriminate against others, then it can better be described as a tool for promoting violence but not a religion. All religions believe in the existence of Heaven and Hell but if people properly apply the teachings of the Holy books, majority of people can have a feel of Heaven on earth. We can all help make this world a better place for everyone if we mostly engage in a healthy competition. Negative competition creates enmity and turns the relationship between people into a bitter one. In very decision in life, think PEACE, think development!
To be cont.
Thank you for Reading! I wish all Muslims globally a Happy Eid-ul Fitri. Alhamdulillah!
References
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Hebrews. (11:6, KJV, 1611). THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE HEBREWS. In K. James, The Holy Bible, King James Version (KJV) (p. 1118). London: Cambridge University Press.
Klopper, B., J. (2021). Walking is like Life – A Metaphor. (2021, March 13). Retrieved from Healing, Life Story, Saving Grace, Small Miracles: Retrieved on 20.03.2026 at 9:27 PM from; https://www.testimonytreasures.co.za/walking-is-like-life-a-metaphor/#:~:... etc.
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Medium.com. (2023, Jun 25). The Power of Walking: A Life-Changing Journey. Retrieved from Medium: Retrieved from; https://medium.com/@mwamorton51/the-power-of-walking-a-life-changing-journey-d583dca041d5 on 20.03.2026 at 9:44 PM
Otten, K. (2022). Human Competition Is Not Lower If Competing Is Socially Wasteful Instead of Socially Beneficial. Sci Rep, Sci Rep. 12:10740. Doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-14891-7. Retrieved from; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-14891-7#citeas on 10.04.2024 at 8:35 PM.
Proverbs. (25:21, KJV). The Proverbs. In K. James, The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments (p. 635). London: Cambridge University Press.
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