Accra, Sept 20, GNA – Nana Alhaj Yussif Fanyanamah, Forum Chairman, and Acting President of National Council of Zongo Chiefs and Paramount Chief of Wangara has called for unity among Muslims and their groups at all times to achieve development among themselves.
“I have taken the subject of unity as a personal concern, which is a value I will like to urge all of us Muslims to always endeavour to promote for a better society”.
Speaking at Muslim Ummah Consultative meeting in Accra, he said Islam could not be discussed without relating its foundation and survival to the contributions of Local Chiefs and Local Imams, be it at the Regional or District levels.
“I am inclined to believe that, the exclusion of these important groups in some deliberations in Islam is the cause of the high level of suspicion among the Muslim Ummah in recent times.”
Nana Alhaj Fanyanamah commended the efforts of all the Leaders of the Sects in Ghana for exhibiting a high sense of unity among themselves.
“Indeed, the peace we have in Ghana cannot be discussed without acknowledging the contributions of our Muslim Sects and their leaders. Again, it is important to appreciate the collective struggle for Unity among the Muslim Ummah in Ghana. May Allah reward us all.”
He said the formation of the National Muslim Conference and other associated activities that had taken centre-stage in the religious space in Ghana would take a sudden nose-dive if the implementation was grounded on some suspicious platforms.
“I do not intend to pre-empt the significance of your contributions, but it is important to visit the elements of the Deed produced at the first National Muslim Conference held in July 2021 to situate our objective of developing Islam in Ghana.
“In my sincere opinion, the affairs of Islam must not be tainted with political undertones and therefore Parliament or its Actors cannot be the ideal institution to determine the affairs of Islam in Ghana. I hope your contributions will relate this argument to the relevant constitutional provisions”.
He said the Deed Draft which was supposed to have been made known to the stakeholders to appreciate its content was hidden until the last hours during the conference before it was presented for ratification.
“This cannot be in the best interest of the Muslim Ummah, dwelling on the obligation for sincerity and trust.’
He commended the Executives of COMOG for providing the Muslim Ummah with the platform of unity to evaluate the emerging Politico-Islamic activities vis-á-vis their impact on Muslims and peace in Ghana and urged all to evaluate the activities on the face of Islam in Ghana and proffer the relevant measures that could be taken to promote unity and development for Muslims and Ghanaians.
Meanwhile, communique after the meeting signed by Hajj Abdel-Manan Abdel-Rrahman President of Coalitions of Muslim Organisations in Ghana(COMOG), urged Muslims to ascertain the system of choosing Imams by individual communities and incorporating same in the constitution to guide the process of selecting Imams to ensure that there was peace in the Muslim communities.
“The promoters of a proposed Executive Instrument (EI) or Legislative Instrument (LI) for Muslims in Ghana must be transparent and share their proposals for approval by the Muslim Stakeholder Organizations and Institutions (MSOIs) before presenting same to the President or Parliament, respectively, for possible consideration of enactment into a law”.
The Stakeholders also agreed to present a representative each to serve on the Board of Governors of the Conference of Regional Chief Imams of Ghana, which is slated for inauguration at the forthcoming National Conference of Regional Chief Imams in Tamale on the 24th to 27th of October, 2022.
GNA