In a feature article titled “Zabzugu bans Christianity” (ghanaweb, August 21, 2007) the Sun, a newspaper or a magazine, has surfaced a very interesting intriguing subject matter that is aimed at scoring a religious point towards the agenda of Christianizing Ghana.
There has always been the argument that Ghana is a Christian country. These always incinerate argument from my Moslem brothers. My humble submission, any time I hear such fallacious argument, has been that, Ghana’s constitution draws its strength from neither the Holy Qur’an nor the Holy Bible. Parliament consults not, any of these holy books (as adherents would have everybody believe).
I would profess from the onset that I may not be the right person to do a follow up write-up on the above subject, since it bothers on several aspect of religious struggle and advocacy blasphemy against Islam. I felt the urge in the light of the stark ignorance exhibited by the Sun. I would want to hope that my little ignorance would be of little help to clear the blurred platform set by the Sun.
Religious believe is built on several psychological understanding. Believe is a state of mind and/or spiritual attachment. Religion has several concepts and ideals that the non-sharer of a similar faith would have serious difficulties understanding. How can a non-Christian appreciate and grasp the fact that the worship at the church is mainly characterized by drumming, dancing with the spiritual aspect being speaking in ‘tongues’ which nobody understands, including the tongue owner. In a similar vain, a non-Moslem would not understand why supplication to God/Allah takes the form of ‘hitting’ his face on the ground in the mosque. There are instances that could be sited by way of mismatch in counter-religious understandings.
In the article, the Sun noted: ‘…Christianity has never prevailed in the town as many have abandoned it as a result of Islamic extremism,’ this in several ways may be suggestive of the fact that the people’s psychology and sprit is in consonance with Islam. Indoctrination comes by understanding. The singularization of Moslem as being fundamentalist and in some instances extremist is welcome news. Fundamentalist is strict adherence to a set rules and regulation. In medicine, especially during surgical operations, fundamentals regarding safety are implored; the surgeon is thus a fundamentalist. In work environments, employees are expected to adhere to the HR (Human Resource) manuals as fundamentalist. Failure results in several sanctions depending on the magnitude of the flouted fundamental. It then goes without saying that, Islam is the only religion that has fundamentalist without liberty to the individual to determine his mode of supplication. The maker has determined everything through HIS books (Torah, Bible, Qur’an etc) and messengers (including Jesus and Mohammed) without any authority for anyone to flout or make changes according his will so as to have adulterations or versions.
Islam does not derive its strength from Egypt and Libya. This is a total ignorance on all scales of probabilities. The scales of probabilities, if Sun cares to know, could have been weighed on: where the prophet Mohammed (PBUH) came from; countries where people are predominantly Moslems with large population size and practice ‘Sharia’ or Islamic Law; A mandatory place where all Moslems from all walks of life would want to visit, at least once in a life time.
All these favours Saudi Arabia but that notwithstanding, Islam draws its strength not from Saudi Arabia. Egypt and Libya respectively have 75,498,000 and 6,160,000 (all UN estimate) respectively as population. Population and predominance of Islam does not favour the two countries. Indonesia has 231,627,000 population and predominantly Moslems.
Islam draws its strength in the exemplary Moslems living by the fundamental doctrinal teaching of Islam. This may account to, to a large extent, the difficulty to influence the people of Zabzugu by all manner of attempts by the church. Do we ignorantly then blame their understanding and call them names like extremist. The Sun could have done a better job in understanding how Islam has influenced their life in view of the drought or how the indoctrinators managed to indoctrinate them that much.
The spread of Islam, other than the popular Sunday school teaching that Mohammed asked people to come to Islam or face the wrath of the sword, has been systematic and diplomatic. Some joined Islam by just the conduct of the prophet and his disciples. A story is told of a man who always went round Mecca asking people for their rubbish only for him to damp it at the entrance of the prophet. This man deserved throat cutting by a man believed to just kill at refusal of an offer to join Islam; this man was not killed. When this man got sick, the prophet Mohammed (PBUH) went to visit him. The man was surprised at a man of such a high moral calibre to visit his supposed enemy. The man immediately accepted Islam. Would Sunday school teachers adopt this? Obviously no. The believe has always been Islam was spread by the sword. This is what has been sown in them by incinerators of Islam.
The intelligence of renowned pastor’s refusal to go to Zabzugu and its associated reason is also jiggled and ridiculed by the Sun. The Sun would wish to see a country where everybody is a Christian and by the contravention of that achievable target, by the renowned pastors, is tantamount to seeking incentive in the form of material gain. It is suggestive, by the mention of fuel cost, that pastors derive their strength from worldly gain purely. Islam is far from that.
Persecution has been the bane of Islam. A subject matter that really whets the appetite of the persecutors is the concept of Jihad or ‘holy war’. For clarity, I must admit that the concept is misinterpreted widely among Moslems and non-Moslems. The word Jihad conceptualizes striving in any form. The efforts of a man to defend his family from a robbery attack are an act of Jihad. For Mr. Nelson Mandela to stand firm for his people during the apartheid period is an act of Jihad. Striving for mother Ghana to be a better place to be by the citizenry is also Jihad. Islamically, the striving should be in course of Allah which takes several forms and shape including those above. This clearly indicates that purposes that could stand for Jihad are numerous but the most important element that stands in the sight of Allah is the INTENTION and manner through which the purpose is carried. The popular Jihad known to the west is ‘sword Jihad’ which has now graduated into the popular suicide bombings attributed to Islam.
During the era of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) he did go to war. All those wars, as far as my reading has revealed, were defensively oriented. How can a man who spread his religion by the sword migrate from Mecca to Medina when the religion had already gained roots in Mecca? The Prophet Mohammed, during those wars ensured, by way of directives, the following: Declaration of war The wars are carried at an allocated field called battle field, thus people living in their homes are not hurt; Women, children, slaves and the elderly are not to be touched even if they are at the battle field. Animals, belonging to the ‘enemy,’ are not to be touched;
These are the general rule that engulfed the involvement of the wars he, the prophet, had engaged in. There was a case where a slave killed one disciple of the prophet by name Hamza. The prophet forbade anyone from touching him since he is a slave and acts at the direction of his master. The slave later converted to Islam in view of that gesture from Islam.
The rift between sovereign state Israel and Palestine, which has been met with very little interest of the world powers that be, gave birth to the concept of suicide bombing by Palestinians who by their view have no defence mechanisms against the bulldozers and rockets of small but powerful state of Israel. The coverage under the shade of jihad may be assumed by many BUT the all time issue that Islam frown upon and levels heavy penalty is accounting for innocent lives. For Qur’an states categorically that, he who kills a soul is like killing the whole world and shall account for it. Nobody can therefore say for a fact that in the Sight of Allah what is happening is Jihad or otherwise. Trying to be categorical about it would amount to passing judgement.
Yes, they may be Moslems but it does not necessarily mean that it is Islam that teaches them. Wouldn’t it be very disparaging if someone alludes to the fact that it is Christianity that teaches the state of Israel to kill innocent Palestinians, killing both their old and young discriminately? The first and second world wars were all carried by pro-Christian west. Do we then say that Christianity is what thought them? Must Islam come to answer anytime a Moslem commits something wrong?
Christianity may have the best packaging and clean record since mistakes of its adherents are not attributed to it. Islam may seem to have bad followers since for every mistake of an adherent; the whole Islam goes to court.
Qur’an has been translated in many languages but the originality is maintained and no one is permitted to recite it in any other language during ‘Salaat’ or five compulsory and other optional prayers, in any language other than its original tongue. Qur’an was also compiled by record keepers mandated by the prophet to keep and thus the problem of a council to sit and decide what to include and not to include is eliminated.
It is fascinating to note that Qur’an has details of the conception of the Virgin Mary was born and then to the Messiah Jesus. No one would be a complete Moslem without believing in the Prophethood of Jesus and the great miracles the father made him perform. The records are in details than what is even recorded in Bible. The gap creation comes when the intrusions of Godly qualities are attributed to Jesus (PBUH). There has never been Mosesians, Abrahamadans and thus Moslems did not inherit the name Mohammedans.
These make Islam ever perfect even if the whole world refuses to accept. Zabzugu is thus blessed to have seen the beauty of Islam.
Views expressed by the author(s) do not necessarily reflect those of GhanaHomePage.
