-“The Christian Council Should
Read The Holy Bible Well”
Contrary to demands by the Christian Council of Ghana and the Catholic Bishop Conference that government should return the two former Guatanamo Bay detainees, National Chief Iman, Sheikh Dr Osman Nuhu Sharubutu says the Muslim community is ready to accept them.
Wondering why the leadership of the Christian community “can’t show love to our Muslim brothers?” spokesperson of the Chief Imam, Sheikh Arimiyaw Shaibu said the two detainees are welcome to worship in the national chief Imam’s mosque.
He described the council’s attitude as “Xenophobic” – and questioned the Christianity in them – “Why can’t they show love to our Muslim brothers?”
Reacting to concerns raised by the Christian Council and the Catholic Bishop Conference, Sheikh Dr Osman Nuhu Sharubutu said “As far as I’m in Ghana, I don’t have any fear. Ghanaian Muslims are peace loving people. As an Imam and a sermon giver, I will open up to them if they want to come to my mosque and pray.”
According to him all he has to do is to inform his congregation of their coming because it is their right to know the coming of such people.
“I will alert my congregation of their coming and make them aware that they have been cleared of any charge of terrorism, they are humans, they are harmless, we are trying to infuse them back into the society on bases of our love, compassion and sympathy, we acknowledge their right to live as human beings and so they are coming to pray with us as God wants us to do”, he stated.
The John Mahama-led administration brokered a deal with the Obama government to house two ex detainees of the dreaded prison camp in Ghana over a period of two years.
The Council expressed worry over the pact which they say has been shrouded in secrecy - “The whole process lacks transparency,” the CCG pointed out in a statement.
“We are of the strongest view that, the inadequate public consultation and broader consensus building by government is exposing our nation and the entire sub-region to terrorist attack, and must be reversed,” the Council noted.
“According to FoxNews, one of the two prisoners brought from Guantanamo Bay to Ghana, in the person of Bin Atef “is an admitted member of the Taliban and fought for Usama bin Laden, while [the other] Al-Dhuby trained with Al Qaeda in Afghanistan,” the statement added.
But, the spokesperson of the national chief Imam said there is no proof that they are terrorist and that they are suspects who were detained for 14 years and cleared after there were no evidence against them.
"Ghana as a loving country should not be like other countries who do not want to receive them because every country has got its own value, we should think of security measures that will be in place for them, it should be noted that, the sin one commits is what we don’t accept and not the person" he said.
“Even the Bible speaks of the prodigal son who was later accepted by his father. We should as a country be thinking of the counseling we will give to them to embrace their new community after being detained for a long while.”
Sheikh Arimiyaw noted that even though Ghana is Christian dominated, it is not a Christian country, "Ghana is not a Christian country, the Christians dominate but this country is not a Christian country."
With additional files from Maame Yaa Emefa and King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/ Twitter: @Washman5/ Instagram: Washman007
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