Islamic cleric bemoans high crime rate among Moslem youths

Denu, Sept 27, GNA - An official of the Coalition of Moslem Organizations, Ghana, (COMOG) has bemoaned the rising involvement of Moslem youths in crime, saying, it was an indictment on the religion. Hajj Abdel-Manan Abdel-Rahman, COMOG Project Coordinator made this observation at a one day advocacy seminar on the Domestic Violence Law for Moslem community leaders, the youth and women from the Ketu-South District, at the weekend, in Denu. The seminar organized with UNFPA support, under the theme, "The Moslem Family Wellbeing", was to help discourage all forms of violence in the Moslem family.

Hajj Abdel-Rahman, citing a recent data collected by COMOG said, Moslem youths compared to their counterparts from other religious backgrounds, form a substantial number of inmates in the Nsawam Prisons and urged the Moslem community to strengthen their family system, to turn out well behaved youths.

Speaking on the perspective of Islam and the Domestic Violence Law, he said domestic violence, including assault and neglect, were un-Islamic, and that Islam insist on kindness in the family, as one of the important yardsticks by which Allah measured one's faith. Mr Rahid Issah, an Executive Member of COMOG who spoke on the rights and obligations in the Islamic family, including the rights of parents, the child and the mutual rights of husband and wife, said those demands were not different from the dictates of the Law. Mr Ebenezar Kondo, a COMOG official said sexual harassment, economic deprivation and assault were outlawed by the Law, which was for all, including Moslems.