If you read the statement by the Consul General which are presumably his own direct words, he said (categorically) that he has entered churches on many occasions:
"I wish to point out, for the avoidance of doubt, that since my arrival in New York, I have had the pleasure of attending meetings, dedications, baptismal in churches not only in New York but in other states under the Jurisdiction of the Consulate General. I never ever told Mr. Onyeani that "I can never enter a Church". I have had the pleasure, both in Nigeria and USA, of joing my friends in all their events held in churches. But I have never attended a church service. This statement can be checked with the leadership of the Organisation for the Advancement of Nigerians, (Organisers of New York Parade) and others whom I have had the pleasure of joining in their events organized in various churches. I have never been, and will never be, a Religious bigot. Anybody that had ever had any direct contact with me will vouch for me on this."
Ayo
Ayo
I invite you to follow me on Twitter @naijama
--The allegation made against Nigeria's Consul General (NCG) in New York is that he categorically stated that he will never enter a church even in the course of his well paid employment. The familiar arrogance and unprofessionalism of some of Nigeria's senior public servants cause one to believe that some of them are very capable of such a reckless statement.What the NCG needs to do now if he wants more Nigerians and others to believe his denial of the allegations, is to make clear whether or not he would enter a church or other place of non-Muslim worship if his current employment calls for him to do so in the future.Then again did the NCG reach out to the victims' families or/and their immediate community before the church service or after? Has his office assisted them in any meaningful or practical way? His office is after all a consular office.One hopes that more of Nigeria's government employees everywhere now know if they did not before this time, that they are employees of the Nigerian people regardless of each Nigerian's class, ethnicity, profession, or religion.oa
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of OLUWATOYIN ADEPOJU [toyinvincentadepoju@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2012 6:47 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Muslims And Entering A Church
Religious Bigot, I Am Not! - Consul General of Nigeria, New York
On Wed, Aug 15, 2012 at 12:41 AM, OLUWATOYIN ADEPOJU <toyinvincentadepoju@gmail.com> wrote:
Please lets know when your Rumi book comes out. Rumi is sublime
On Wed, Aug 15, 2012 at 12:40 AM, OLUWATOYIN ADEPOJU <toyinvincentadepoju@gmail.com> wrote:
i will post the official's response
On Tue, Aug 14, 2012 at 7:05 PM, Abdul Bangura <theai@earthlink.net> wrote:
--Muslims and Entering a ChurchAbdul Karim BanguraAs Mwalimu Toyin Adepoju has put it, no one can know everything. Thus, it is with sincerity that I ask whether anyone on this forum is aware of any precept in the Qur'an or the Hadith that prohibits a Muslim from entering a church, as I am quite baffled by the Nigerian official's refusal to enter a church, especially when citizens of his country he is representing are bereaved. While I pride myself as an avid student of the Torah, the Bible, the Qur'an and the Hadith, I might have missed such a prohibition.I lean more toward the great Sufi Rumi or Jalaluddin Balkhi on matters dealing with Abrahamic connections. As I state in my book in progress tentatively titled Rumi on Judaic-Christioan-Islamic Connections, Rumi's reverence for all faiths is captured in the poem titled Only Breath as follows: "Christian or Jew or Muslim, or Hindu, or Buddhist, Sufi, or Zen all belong to the beloved...."As I also note in the work, in the midst of the crusades and violent sectarian conflict, Rumi said "I go into the Muslim mosque and the Jewish Synagogue and the Christian church and see one altar." As I further mentioned, in December of 1273 when Rumi died, representatives of every major religion---the Pope, etc.---attended his funeral.
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