ICERM President and CEO, Basil Ugorji, Joined the World to Honor the Imam and the Pastor from the Northern Nigeria
The ICERM President and CEO, Basil Ugorji, joined the world at the California State University, Sacramento, on April 23, 2016, to honor Imam Muhammad Ashafa and Pastor James Wuye of the Interfaith Mediation Center, Kaduna, Northern Nigeria. They are religious leaders with two different religious ideologies –  Islam and Christianity. However, they are committed to a joint project for peace and harmony. This event took place during the 25th Peace Awards Dinner.
On April 21, 2016, two days before the awards dinner, Basil Ugorji presented a paper on Ethno-Religious Conflict in Nigeria: Phase One Analysis at the 25th Annual Africa/Diaspora Conference organized by the California State University’s Center for African Peace and Conflict Resolution, Sacramento.
Basil told the participants at this conference that the collaborative work of Imam Muhammad Ashafa and Pastor James Wuye of the Interfaith Mediation Center, Kaduna, Nigeria, is a confirmation of the goal of the 2016 Annual International Conference on Ethnic and Religious Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding holding on November 2-3, 2016 in New York. The theme is “One God in Three Faiths:
Exploring the Shared Values in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.”
The theme and activities of the 2016 conference are highly needed by the conflict resolution community, faith groups, policymakers, and the general public, especially at this time when the media headlines are saturated by the negative views about religion and the impact of religious extremism and terrorism on national security and peaceful co-existence.
This conference will serve as a timely platform to showcase the extent to which the religious leaders and faith based actors from the Abrahamic religious traditions —Judaism, Christianity and Islam – work together to foster a culture of peace in the world.
