Bishops want Sharia summit

Nigeria’s Roman Catholic bishops have called for a meeting of religious leaders to resolve the lingering crisis in the country over the introduction of Islamic Sharia law by some states, ‘The Guardian’ newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The Lagos daily reported the head of the Nigerian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop John Onaiyekan, as saying the introduction of religious law by some northern states was politically motivated. Therefore, he urged religious leaders to avoid being used by politicians to achieve their narrow goals.

“The Sharia controversy is still waiting to be resolved along the line of dialogue among the major religions,” he was quoted as saying. “We pray that it will be possible, during this new year, for authentic religious leaders of Christians and Muslims to meet in dialogue and give a common religious advise to government and politicians.”