‘Allow Muslim students to worship in school’

The Sarkin Zongo of Cape Coast, Alhaji Mahmoud Dandey Mazawaje IV, has expressed concern about the refusal of some authorities of Senior High Schools in the Metropolis to allow Muslim students practice their religion.

He said reports reaching him indicated that some Muslim students were compelled to attend church services and prevented from attending Muslim events such as congregational prayers during Muslim festivals.

The Sarkin Zongo, who expressed the sentiment at the weekend, therefore, appealed to the Government to intervene to ensure that their right to freedom of worship, as enshrined in the national constitution, was not trampled on.

He made the appeal when hundreds of orthodox Muslims converged at the Holy Child Grounds to mark this year's Eid-Ul-Adha Celebration, a Muslim festival of sacrifice celebrated to mark Ibrahim’s obedience to God to sacrifice his son Ismail.

He said Islam was a peaceful religion, but such regulations in some schools had the tendency of undermining that peace. “Let us not allow what happened in 2008 happen again”, he stated.

In 2008 a final year Muslim student of Adisadel College in Cape Coast jumped from the fourth floor of a school block and died reportedly in attempt to escape from a teacher, who was allegedly pursuing other students and insisting that those hiding in the block must attend the school's Church Service.

But a committee set to investigate the issue, after it generated controversy across the country, and led to the temporary closure of the school, exonerated the teacher.

The committee said there was no foul play in the student’s death and the students were not being chased to attend service as hitherto alleged.

The teacher, according to the committee, had gone to the block, coincidently during the Church Service, to drive away some truant students, whom he had heard were hiding in the building, and their attempt to escape resulted in the death of the student.

On other issues, the Sarkin Zongo appealed to government to assist the Muslim Community to acquire a parcel of land to be used as a cemetery since their over 30 year-old cemetery was full , leading to the burial of their members in between the already buried.

''Sometimes we dig and find the mortal remains of other people...The vacant area too is waterlogged... We urgently need assistance to secure a place for burial,” he pleaded.

The Central Regional Minister, Mr. Aquinas Tawiah Quansah, condemned the prevention of Muslim students from practicing their faith, saying it was in fulfillment of the Constitution that the Muslim Unit was created in the Ghana Education Service.

He promised to hold a meeting with heads of senior high schools in the Region to enlighten them and to ensure that Muslim students were given the freedom to worship.

He urged the Muslim Community to be diligent about the calibre of people they selected for the Hajj, saying they should select people who could live up to the expectation of the "Alhaji" title.

He observed that members who were as young as 24 were selected to go to Mecca but these could not live up to the title and responsibility that came with the pilgrimage.

Mr. Quansah noted that sacrifice, which was the purpose of the celebration, was not only about the slaughtering of animals, but the dedication of one's time, wealth and whole self to the furtherance of the religion.

He urged Ghanaians to sacrifice and wait patiently as the economy would take shape and asked the Muslims not to relent in their prayers for the nation.

The minister, presented 20 bags of rice, seven cartons of cooking oil, and a cow on behalf of the President John Mahama and Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah Arthur in support of the celebration

In addition, GH¢1, 000 was presented to the chiefs, while GH¢500 was presented to the Imams.

At the Cape Coast Technical Institute Park, where the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission converged, Mr. Barton Oduro, Member of Parliament for Cape Coast North, urged Muslims to pray for the nation, especially in this turbulent economic period, so that by next year, Ghana would overcome its problems.

He presented 10 bags of rice, four cartons of cooking oil, and an undisclosed amount of money to the Mission, on behalf of the President and the Vice President, while he personally presented a bull to them.

Prayers were said at both grounds for the country, its leaders, and the economy and against the outbreak of an Ebola Virus disease.