Pomadze (C/R), Feb 25, GNA – Alhaj Ahmad Suleman Anderson, Naib Ameer II (Deputy Head) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission, Ghana has described the history of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Ghana as a testament of enduring spirit of faith, service, and community development.
He said from its modest beginnings, the Ahmadiyya Mission has grown to establish itself as a prominent religious community which had left an indelible mark on the religious landscape of Ghana.
Speaking on the topic “A Century of Islamic Revival in Ghana” at the 91st National Annual Convention of the Mission held at Baghe Ahmad (Garden of Ahmad) at Pomadze, Near Winneba he said through education, healthcare, moral training and interfaith initiations, the Ahmadiyya Muslim community was now an integral part of the nation’s social fabric, embodying the principles of peace, love and services.
“As a result of the contributions of the Ahmadiyya Community in this country, Islam and Muslims stand tall in all aspect of our national lives “he stated.
“In this country, it is a truism that all other Muslims look up to Ahmadiyyat to set the pace. And together we lead the way in the areas of education, health, and general matters affecting the welfare of Muslims in this country,” he added.
In that regard, he admonished the Ahmadi Muslims to keep playing their respective roles saying, “This is an honour we should not reject. We need to play that role and play it well, for the final victory of Ahmadiyyat will come and will come through such means.
“My brothers and sisters, this is the reason you and I should not be seen as merely professing Ahmadiyyat as lip service. We must be seen to be living lives which give honour to the Holy Prophet and the name of Islam”, he said.
Alhaji Anderson recounted Ahmadiyya’s resolve to introduce secular education among Muslims in Ghana despite strong opposition and disapproval from some Muslim clerics but had finally impacted and uplifted the image of Muslims and the Islamic community in the country.
He explained that the perception before the introduction of Ahmadiyya was that Muslims were against secular education and this was influenced by the fact that the people known to be Muslims were farmhands, labourers, and watchmen.
The religion was also seen as inferior.
However, after over a century of the introduction of Ahmadiyya and its strong propagation for secular education with Islamic teachings, the narrative had changed completely with Muslims being called to the table on several issues of national concern.
Giving the history of Ahmadiyya in Ghana, Alhaji Anderson recounted how a group of Fante Muslims under some divine inspiration established contact with the then Khalifatul Masih II through an address obtained from a copy of the Review of Religions.
He said one Adoagyir Appah who had become a Muslim somewhere around 1876, inspired by a Fante Muslim- Yussif Nyarkoh’s dream of performing Salat with some white people (Obronyi), learned of the Ahmadiyya Community from an Afro-Brazilian Muslim merchant, Abdul Rahman Pedro in the Gold Coast Port town of Saltpond.
The result, he said was that a letter was written requesting the Khalifa to send a Missionary to the then Gold Coast which the Khalifa obliged.
Chief Adoagyir Appah and his people were requested to make financial contribution towards the passage of the missionary, and it was reported that they contributed over 300 pounds to enable the missionary to be sent to the then Gold Coast.
The Khalifa then sent Alhaj Maulana Abdur Rahim Nayyar, a devoted disciple of the Promised Messiah (as) for the purpose of establishing a branch of the Jamaat of the Promised Messiah in the Gold Coast.
Maulana Nayyar was sent to West Africa in February 1921 starting his journey from Sierra Leone on 21st February 1921 on a steamed ship and landed at the port of Saltpond on Monday, February 28,1921.
At the time, the Gold Coast was the centre of Christianity with pockets of Muslims here and there.
Popularly referred to as Reverend Nayyar due to his Missionary activities, he established the Ahmadiyya Movement in the Gold Coast and finally left the country in December 1921.
Reverend Nayyar was replaced by the first permanent Missionary Alhaj Maulana Fazlur-Rahman Hakim.
GNA