In the name of God

Yesterday marked the first day of the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan – a time when members of the Islamic faith in good health are enjoined to fast from dawn to dusk.

It is a religious obligation – one of the cannons of the faith and steeped in discipline. This year’s month of fasting in the Islamic faith comes at a time when the country is marching towards watershed polls. As a nation we are encountering motley challenges arguably unprecedented in our contemporary history, most of them attributable to acts of individual and governance indiscipline.

So many negative things have happened to the nation, all of them with disturbing repercussions on the socio-economic life of our motherland.

Muslims constitute a respectable segment of the population: it is our position therefore that when members of the faith adhere strictly to the demands of the Holy month and become Godly in their doings and continue on that pedestal, even after the exercise in line with their religious tenets, our country would be transformed spiritually and physically.

It is not for nothing that God included fasting among the cannons of the faith: it is one means by which man would appreciate hunger and understand how the hungry man feels. Those who find it difficult to stretch a hand of support to the hungry are those who are unable to imagine the pangs of hunger.

The spirit of charity which fasting teaches is something we must not underestimate. When the financially endowed support the needy in our communities, society would be better off.

. Fasting as an important discipline elevates us on the spiritual ladder and increases our understanding of our Maker. Such knowledge reduces our propensity to engage in those tendencies which retard societal progress.

It is our prayer that the heightened level of discipline attained during the Ramadan month would touch the hearts of the wayward to steer clear of bad deeds such as doing the bidding of bad politicians.

We are excited at the level of tolerance existing between members of the two great faiths of the world in the country. The goodwill exhibited to Muslims by their Christian counterparts is one which promotes harmonious existence between them. Christians have sent wishes of goodwill to their friends in the Islamic religion which is a good sign for inter-faith relationship.

We must count ourselves lucky that we have this attribute in our part of the world. The Islamic religion we are told, supports such cordiality: the Prophet of Islam is said to have been on good terms with persons outside his faith.

We have taken note of the message of goodwill message the flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Nana Akufo-Addo, sent to Muslims as they embark on this important religious journey.

President John Mahama, a Christian, we can bet, would do same if he has not done so already. We at the DAILY GUIDE use this opportunity to wish our Muslim friends Ramadan Kareem and to ask them to remember Ghana in their prayers.