Bolonguidu Town, Lofa County — Muslims in Lofa’s Bolonguidu Town, Quardu Gboni District on Friday, March 26 inaugurated a 5,000-capacity mosque, the first in the town since its establishment 20 years ago.
Thousands of Muslims from the county’s seven districts and around the country attended the Friday prayer, marking the official opening of the mosque located on the outskirts of Voinjama District.
The inaugural prayer was performed in the presence of the Chairman of the opposition Liberty Party, Musa Hassan Bility, former Associate Justice, Kabineh Ja’neh and other personalities including the political leader of the opposition Alternative National Congress (ANC), Alexander Cummings.
“This is not the home of Mandingo people, it’s the home of all Muslims. Let’s unite to give a better image to our religion,” Bility said.
Bility said the unity demonstrated by Muslims in constructing the mosque should be applied to politicians who have ignored Muslims but will be craving for their votes in the 2023 presidential and legislative elections.
His words: “How many of our politicians can dare come to these kinds of occasions because they feel doing so would stigmatized them. But we are grateful that Mr Alexander Cummings traveled from Monrovia to grace this occasion. We are grateful to him,” he said.
“Muslims around Liberia must now wise up to begin identifying with politicians in elections who identified with time before and after election seasons.”
The mosque, which has prayer rooms and hosts over 5,000 people, was funded by Muslims and Cummings, according to Amara Kamara, who was responsible for the construction of the mosque.
Kamara said the cost of the mosque is US$ 150, 000, and was raised from contributions, which according to him, Cummings contributed a huge part of the money.
‘Cummings will go down in history’
Kamara recalled how Cummings was instrumental in the construction of the mosque from the start to the end. “Mr. Cummings, I want to use this program to publicly appreciate you for your role played in helping us construct this mosque. This mosque is truly an undeniable symbol of our Faith. Everyone knows the role you played in making residents of this time achieve this dream. You will forever be remembered, ” he said.
“At certain point during the construction of this mosque we thought hope had been lost but when we visited you for additional contribution you responded without hesitation. You’re the real “Talk and Do”, he said.
Cummings: “It was a joyful moment”
In his remarks, Cummings said he and his wife Mrs Teresa Cummings were pleased to see citizens of the Islamic Faith have a place of worship in their town.
The religious communities have historically played a pivotal role in bringing citizens of Liberia together under an umbrella of peace, unity, and harmony – they were also a leading voice that brought an end to the country’s 14-year civil crisis.
“That was the motivation behind my contribution to the construction of the worship center,” Cummings said.
Cummings, at the same time, called on the Imams and all the worshipers to rekindle the spirit of advocating for the rights of citizens in the town and other parts of Liberia.
” All religious leaders are expected to always serve as moral voices in our society. You must strive to live in an upright way so that other Liberians can emulate the good examples you set,” Cummings said.
He added: “You all know that God Almighty is just; therefore, we must all work to ensure there is justice for everyone – whether rich, poor, educated, or uneducated, Muslims, Christian.”
The ANC political leader said Muslims should remain vocal about issues affecting Muslims whether in Bolonguidu and in other parts of the country.
“And you must also be vocal about issues affecting non-Muslims because whatever affects one Liberian must catch the attention of all Liberians,” he said.
“Kindly use your role in this community to bring everyone together. Fight for the weak and those that are lacking. You must always be willing to lend a helping hand. The prophets set good examples for us, so let’s set similar examples for our children and future generations,” Cummings said.
Cummings’ trip to Lofa on Thursday, March 25 began in Beyan Town, an area bordering Bong and Lofa Counties, where he interacted with residents of the town. He donated two sets of jerseys and a football to the Bryan Town Football Team as part of preparations for their match with neighboring Fatu Town.
At the Curran Lutheran Hospital in Zorzor, an honoring program was held Thursday, March 25 at the Curran Lutheran Hospital in Zorzor, Lofa County, as more than 100 staff of the hospital paid their respects to Mr. Alexander Cummings for making available US$ 5,000 to employees of the hospital few months ago.
Nurses, Physicians, Support Staff and doctors were all present. It was a solemn act of recognition to Cummings, political leader of the opposition Alternative National Congress (ANC), by employees of the hospital who had not received salary from government for seven months and were at the verge of protesting before the intervention of Cummings.
“Mr. Cummings, we, the staff of the Curran Lutheran Hospital here in Zorzor, would like to bestow this honor on you for identifying with us when we needed you the most. It can be recalled that you made available the sum of US$5,000 or its equivalence of 1 million Liberian dollars at the time we had not taken pay from governor for seven months. For someone who is a private citizen to make such a huge donation, needs to be recognized and honored. That’s is why we have decided to honor you today,” said Amani Seraphin, medical doctor of the hospital.
Cummings completed his two-day visit to Lofa County on Friday night with a live radio interaction with people of the county on Voinjama-based Radio Kintoma, promising to help respond to more people-driven projects as he is doing in other parts of the country.