Catholic Bishops, Christian Council back ‘No fasting’ policy at Wesley Girls

The Christian Council of Ghana and the Catholic Bishops Conference have declared support for the decision of the Methodist Church and authorities at the Wesley Girls’ SHS not to allow Muslim students to fast in the ongoing Ramadan.

The two prominent religious groups in a statement said "We wish to endorse the position of the Methodist Church of Ghana”.

The Methodist Church which originally founded the school, even though it is now government-funded, has back the authorities to defy a directive by the Ghana Education Service to allow Muslim students to fast during Ramadan. They say the decision not to allow students to fast is a long-standing tradition of the school.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Learning Centre has waded into justifications given by the Methodist Church describing the arguments as unenlightened.

Founder of the Center Sheik Mohammad Mustapha and media chairman of the Ahlusunnah sect in the Ashanti Region said the school cannot detach the blanket rule from its impact on Muslim students.

Sheik Mustapha insisted the sects in the Islamic faith will take up such anti-religious rules in academic institutions, for legal redress.

He contends a ‘no fasting rule’ cannot be divorced from its effects on the religious freedoms and obligations of Muslim students.