Working with religions for social cohesion in Chad

. TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An article by Rimteta Ngarndinon in Tchad Infos (translation by CPNN)

Oxfam and several of its partners are organizing a workshop on June 15 to review and adopt a religious argument for social cohesion in Chad.

In its mandate to contribute to peace, Oxfam, leader of a consortium of NGOs (CARE, International Alert, H.E.D, Tamat, ARDEK, and Help Tchad) has been implementing for more than three months, the project “Strengthening resilience and social cohesion in the border areas of Chad and Niger (RECOSOC)”.

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(Click here for a French version of this article.)

Question related to this article:
 
How can different faiths work together for understanding and harmony?

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In this context, studies have shown that the misuse of religious precepts is one of the causes of armed conflict and violent extremism. To do this, the project has adopted a religious argument for social cohesion, peaceful coexistence and the culture of peace because all religions advocate peace and all communities aspire to live in peace.

Given that the main religions are the same in Chad and Niger, the project wants through this workshop to make a rereading of the argument of Niger by the Chadian religious leaders before its adoption. Thus, representatives of the Higher Council for Islamic Affairs (CSAI), the Entente of Evangelical Churches and Missions in Chad (EEMET) and the Catholic Church take part in this workshop.

Specifically, says Watadé Nadjidjim, monitoring-evaluation, admissibility and learning coordinator within the project, it will be a question of proofreading this reference document which includes the suras and biblical verses. “At the end, we have to see which verses or suras are related to living together, peace and social cohesion. And we’re going to make good use of it.”