My religious liberty in an Islamic Senior High School

This morning, I think of my time as a student at T.I Ahmadiyya Secondary School (P-AMASS) at Gomoa Potsin in the Central Region of Ghana. Today’s storyline departs from the woes of attending an under-resourced school 17 years ago.

The ongoing contention at Wesley Girls’ Senior High School (Cape Coast) over the right of a young Muslim woman (a minority) to practice her Islamic faith while in school has triggered a sober reflection on the liberties I enjoyed as a young Christian woman (a minority) in an Islamic Senior High School.

It is still strange to me that having obtained aggregate 07 and having been refused at Wesley Girls, no “good” single-sex or mixed-sex Senior High School we approached would admit me. P-AMASS is the only school that immediately accepted me. I faced many challenges, but P-AMASS was the beginning and cornerstone for the development of my life’s purpose.

While at P-AMASS, I was guaranteed my religious freedom as a minor in a minority group. I was never forced to go to the mosque. I was never forced to wear Hijab. I was never prevented from going to church. I was never stopped from praying. And I was never stopped from fasting. The Muslims did their worship and the Christians did theirs too. In fact, during Muslims’ fasting season, the “poor” school made separate dining provisions for Muslims and Christians. Also, the school supported Christians who had to travel and even sleep over elsewhere for Christian programmes. We co-existed in peace.

As far as religious liberties of Christians are concerned, I CAN NEVER, FOR THE LIFE OF ME, imagine the experiences of Christian students at P-AMASS if the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission told the Christian minority that the Mission’s traditions and policies for the school demanded that Christians should not practice Christianity and instead attend mosque every time, do the 5 daily prayers every day, wear hijab, and even fast, or otherwise leave the school. After all, rules are rules.

Back to the Muslim girl’s issue: I CAN NEVER, FOR THE LIFE OF ME, appreciate the contention between that girl’s parents and the school authorities about her compliance or withdrawal from Wey Gey Hey. I CAN NEVER, FOR THE LIFE OF ME, appreciate the alleged position of the Methodist Church’s leadership on this matter.

The school should be able to accommodate the young Muslim girl and her folks. Yes, rules are rules and there are many other schools she could go to if she has to withdraw. But that’s easier said than done. The difference lies in what the school means to her. Gey Hey is probably all she wanted and what she got. Gey Hey is probably the beginning point to discovering her life’s purpose. She worked hard and earned her place at a school I still very much admire and respect. She deserves to be there and be accommodated. Rules cannot be the excuse to do otherwise.

My mother was right when she told me I went to P-AMASS not only for Senior High School education but also for an education for life. Having experienced the gains of being protected and respected as a Christian minority in an Islamic community, I appreciate the cost of being an unprotected and disrespected Muslim minority in a Christian school or as a minority anywhere and everywhere. So, for those who shout “rules are rules”, think also about the Christian boys and girls who are receiving valuable life education (not merely SHS education) in Islamic senior high schools. What would you have them do if the script flipped?