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Peace Rally Held in Mombasa
Saturday, October 14, 2006
The Mombasa Peace Rally of October 14, was attended by imams, pastors, representatives from the government, NGO officials, and youth leaders. Mombasa, the second-largest city in Kenya, is predominantly Muslim and is located in the coastal province of Kenya. The Muslim community has responded very well to the Universal Peace Federation.On October 8, we had received instructions to prepare for the Peace Rally in Mombasa, and the fact that the conference was able be to held in the city with one week’s notice was a miracle in itself.
We first had to look for a suitable venue to host the event. We found a conference hall in the Summerlink Hotel that had just been built, and this was the first conference to be held there. Then we were blessed to have a large number of our Muslim brethren attend this event during the holy month of Ramadan.
The event was slated to start at 3:00 pm, and people began streaming in at about 2.30.Gracing the occasion were several Ambassadors for Peace, including the chairman of the Muslim Council of Mombasa, Sheikh Juma Ngao; the youth chairman and founder of the Youth Association (YAA); pastors; and other dignitaries. More than 70 people packed the hall to capacity, and there was even an overflow.
Mr. E. Nganga gave the opening prayer. Sheikh Ngao was requested to give a brief explanation about peace. He explained that according to the Qur’an, Islam means peace and total submission to the command of God and His will. He went on to say that Jesus was a peaceful person and thus his followers also should be peaceable.
The keynote address, “God’s Ideal Family and the Kingdom of the Peaceful Ideal World,“ was read by Rev. Fredrick Rangala. He was eloquent and put a lot of heart into the reading. The audience read along silently. Attentively they turned the pages almost in unison. There was pin-drop silence save for the turning pages and the voice of the speaker.
There was a large round of applause at the end of the reading. Rev. Rangala then led the married couples in the audience in affirming vows of lifetime fidelity and then with one representative couple offered a prayer of marriage blessing.
Ambassador for Peace certificates were then awarded to 13 local leaders. Newly appointed Ambassador for Peace Sheikh Abudulrahim offered some thoughts about peace and said based on the Universal Peace Federation perspective, he would begin to focus on peace at many levels, beginning at the individual level and expanding from there.
The closing prayer was offered by Sheikh Sineno. Then our Muslim brethren left for prayers to break the Ramadan fast. They came back to join the others for refreshments after 6:15 pm.
To read a message delivered at UPF peace rallies, click here.