Religious body should unite behind Better Ghana Agenda

Sunyani (B/A) July 4, GNA- Mr. Kwadwo Nyamekye Marfo, Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, has called for unity among religious groups in the country to ensure the realization of the goals of the 93Better Ghana Agend= a" of the government. The regional minister said this in a speech read for him at the conference of Imams in the region under the topic: 93Unity of Muslim Umma for socio- economic development 96 the role of Imams", at the week-end in Sunyani. He stressed that to sustain unity in the diverse cultures and religiou= s practices, there was the need to recognize, respect and accept different opinions.

Confusion and conflicts will only hamper the accelerated growth and development of the nation, Mr Nyamekye Marfo said and called on religious leaders to encourage good conduct and respect for opinions within religious bodies. He entreated Moslems to take seriously the education of their children and urged Muslim leaders 93to beef up efforts to arrest the imbalance in t= he proportion of our Muslim youth who attend school, especially the girl-child".

The regional minister said the government would ensure that education is affordable and accessible to all.

According to him, apart from the educational infrastructure provided, the government had also made available a total of 2,101,109 free exercise books and 92,311 school uniforms to basic school children in the region. Hajia Fati Amadu, District Chief Executive for Jaman North, advised Muslim women to desist from pushing their daughters into early marriages as the practice could jeopardize their future. She called on parents to inculcate in their children Islamic doctrines= , citing indecent lifestyles had gained grounds among Muslim youth, a trend that she described as disturbing.

Alhaji Ishak Abubakar Bonsu, former DCE for Asunafo North and Imam of Akrodie noted that though Muslims constitute about 30 percent of the world population, they still lacked behind in terms of development. The Imam noted that the Umma was faced with disunity caused by political, sectarian and tribal conflicts and this had stifled their progress and development.

He called on the Imams to preach peace and encourage Muslim youth to pursue higher education to ensure the achievement of their socio-economic development goals.

Alhaji Umar Kadir, Brong Ahafo Regional Chief Imam, in a welcoming address stressed that for the Muslim community to fully utilize and enjoy the holiday granted them by the government after the month of Ramadan, all Muslims would have to begin their 30 days fasting on the same date and end on the same date. He called on them to be united in all their activities in order to gai= n support from the government. The Chief Imam said all Moslems were enjoined to obey the commandments of the Holy Quran to achieve prosperity in life. "Knowing and accepting Allah before worshipping him, paying of tithe= s and taking part in the 30 days fasting are some of the commandments every Muslim should adhere to", he said. The Chief Imam called on Moslems to shun disturbances and to stay united for their development and the nation as a whole.