Ensure incident free Eid-ul-Fitr - Moslems urged

Accra, Oct. 11, GNA - The Ghana Muslim Academy a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) dedicated to the education and development of the Muslim youth has called on followers of the religion especially the young ones to ensure an incident-free Eid-ul-Fitr celebration this year. A statement issued in Accra on Thursday, signed by the President of the organisation, Brother Seth Ibrahim Owusu said, "As Muslims, we must give up the discomfort we cause to other road users in the name of celebrating the occasion. We give a different meaning to the celebration when we cause traffic jams, carelessly ride and drive our motorbikes and cars".

It noted that true Muslims shunned many social activities that could lead to sin such as close engagement with the opposite sex except one's own wife or husband and dressed provocatively during the Holy month of Ramadam.

The NGO in the statement wondered why Moslems especially the youth indulge in activities that defeated "the essence our faith fortified during the Holy month of Ramadan". "We must celebrate the occasion in the spirit and letter of the reason we observed the fast", the NGO said. "It is about time we put into practice the call of the Holy Prophet, on fortunate Muslims to ensure that every one is made holy on the day of the occasion".

"This we could do by reforming our ways of celebrating, the occasion. There is much joy and the one's inner self feels satisfied when we celebrate the occasion by paying visits to the orphanages, hospitals, prisons and all other people forgotten by the society". This would also be a positive response to the call of the Holy Prophet to make our "unfortunate, brothers and sisters happy and protect ourselves and other innocent road users also happy and spare Islam the bad image we give it on this memorable occasion," the statement added. 11 Oct 07