Muslim organisations express shock at destruction of graves

Kumasi, April 13, GNA - some Muslim organisations in the Ashanti Region have expressed shock at the authorisation given by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) to M/S F.D. Fresko, a construction firm, to clear some Muslim graves at the Tafo cemetery in Kumasi recently. The organisations said the fact that the destruction of the graves was particularly confined to the Muslim wing amounted to discrimination against Islam and should cease.

This was contained in a petition signed by six Muslim organisations and addressed to the KMA in Kumasi on Tuesday. Alhaji Abdeed, Council of Ulamaus and Imams, Sheikh Mohammed Saleh Ahmed, Supreme Council for Islamic call and Research, Sheikh Mohammed kamil Mohammed, Ahlussuna Wal Jamaa, Sheikh Suleiman Bamba, Centre for Islamic Research and Propagation signed the petition. The rest are Abdul Majeed Musah, Ghana Muslim Students Association and Sheikh Adam Appiedu of the Islamic Mission.

''If clearing of the cemetery was for economic reasons and not on grounds of discrimination against Muslims, then the clearing should have been done at the front part of the cemetery and not the Muslim wing which is a bit in the interior.''

"We express our indignation at the destruction of the Muslim graves at Tafo and perceive it as inhuman anti-African for such sacred grounds to be desecrated with impunity.''

The organisations said they found it untenable that such a delicate action could be pursued by the KMA without any consultation with the Muslim community.