The Presiding Prophet of the Genesis Global Church, Prophet Israel Oladele Ogundipe, has explained the reason behind his recent trip to the Holy city of Mecca and Madinah.
His response is coming at the wake of days of attack from different social media accounts after pictures of the trip surfaced online.
Prophet Genesis, in response to the attack, said that the trip was not about religious conversion, competition, or comparison, but was a journey of understanding, humility, heritage, and humanity.
He said, “As a little boy, my upbringing was shaped by love, prayer, and faith. My mother, a devoted Muslim woman, consistently prayed over my life. One of her heartfelt prayers was that, when I grew up, God would grant me the grace to visit the Holy Land. ”
At the time, I did not fully understand the weight of that prayer—but God did. Decades later, I stood in Madinah and Mecca, and in that moment, I realised that prayers, when sincere, transcend time, denomination, and human limitations. ”
My visit to Madinah was filled with calmness, order, and a sense of deep reverence. It is a city that teaches discipline, patience, and community.
Mecca, on the other hand, humbles the soul. Watching millions of people from different races, languages, and cultures moving in unity was a powerful reminder that before we are labelled by religion, tribe, or nationality, we are first human beings created by God.
”I chose to go because exposure brings understanding, and understanding births peace. Ignorance fuels hatred, but knowledge dissolves it.
There is a necessity in today’s divided world for leaders—especially spiritual leaders—to see beyond the walls of their own doctrines”.
According to him, the trip is another form of religious exploration, which is not a crime ”It is not a crime to explore another religion — in most parts of the world, including the United Kingdom, freedom of thought, belief, and religion is protected by law.
”Under the Human Rights Act 1998, which incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights (Article 9), every person has the right to: Hold a belief, Change a belief, Explore a belief, Practice a belief, Or choose not to believe”, ”If you go to Jerusalem, the Holy City of Christians, you will see that there is religious tolerance there, as most of the items being bought there are sold by Muslims, and also there is also a mosque beside the Wailing Wall where a lot of Christians assemble to pray. We need to embrace one another and stop stoking tension”, he added.
