Participants of the seminar in a group picture
The Council of Islamic Scholars of Madina has advocated for all Ghanaians to promote peace before, during, and after the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections in December.
They made the call at a seminar aimed at exploring the role of Islam in promoting peaceful political discourse, electoral processes, and post-election reconciliation.
It was held under the theme: "Peaceful Election, Peaceful Ghana: Our Collective Responsibility."
It is also aimed at bringing together youth from the various communities in Madina under one umbrella to engage them to be peace ambassadors before, during, and after the upcoming general elections.
The seminar also brought together Muslim tribal chiefs and imams from Madina Municipality, political party representatives, the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), and the security agencies among other stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, the Secretary of the Council of Islamic Scholars of Madina, Ibrahim Mohammed Yahya stated that it is crucial that Ghanaians reflect on the value of peace, tolerance, and coexistence which are deeply rooted in the Islamic faith.
He said as the country delves into the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, there is the need to seek guidance from the teachings of the Holy Quran and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) hence, the need to engage the youth to enlighten, inspire, and unite them as one people.
This according to him will commit them to promote peace and harmony in their communities and beyond to protect the hard-won reputation of the country.
"It's our hope that at the end of the day, we will continue to live in peace and not in pieces as Ghana has already registered its name on the global map as a beacon of peace," he said.
The La Kwantanan Municipal Director of NCCE, Doris Agyemang called on Ghanaians especially social media users to at all times verify any information before passing it on to another as it will help promote peace before, during, and after the elections.
She urged the youth to live in peace and make peace their collective responsibility adding that every Ghanaian has a role to play in ensuring peace.
She said the NCCE themed this year's elections "Together We Can Build Ghana, So Get Involve."
Doris Agyemang further called on all Ghanaians to participate in promoting democracy and value the peace Ghanaians are enjoying.
The Madina Divisional Police Commander ACP Jonathan Lamptey expressed the service's readiness to deal with any form of conflict that may come before, during, and after the elections as adequate measures have been put in place to ensure a peaceful election.
He said the mandate of the police is to ensure peace and order.
He called on all supporters of the various political parties to work within the rules and regulations to ensure peace.
He added that the police are ready to arrest and prosecute anyone who will find him or herself in any form of act that will jeopardize the peace the country is enjoying.
He urged eligible voters to abide by the rules and regulations that will be outlined by the Electoral Commission and the security agencies on the election day.
On his part, the Chairman of the Council of Islamic Scholars, Sheikh Abdul Rahaman Ladan Ahmed stated that there is only one Ghana and stressed that should there be chaos during the elections there is no other place for Ghanaians to run hence the need to embrace peace.
He said the purpose of organizing the seminar was to send the message of peace to the teeming youth on the need to promote peace ahead of the election.
Islam, he said means peace, and therefore it is incumbent on every Muslim especially the youth to promote peace at all times and urged them to take peace across and make peace through their utterances and their message.
He appealed to all Imams in the various mosques to preach peace and ensure that Friday prayer sermons are based on peace before, during, and after the election adding that the Imams are sources of peace in the communities.
