Muslims Mark Eid El Adha

Ghanaian Muslims yesterday joined their counterparts around the world in celebrating Eid Ul Adha.

The feast of sacrifice is a commemoration of the test of faith of Prophet Abraham when God ordered him to sacrifice of his only son, Ishamail or Isamail.

The sheep, which God sent down to replace Abraham's son, has since then been symbolically slaughtered in commemoration of the scriptural event.

At the Independence Square, the National Deputy Chief Imam Sheikh Kamal u Deen, who represented the National Chief Imam, who is away to perform the Hajj in Saudi Arabia, led numerous faithful to pray.

At the end of the sermon or Khutba by the Imam, a ram is slaughtered after which all others go through the same rituals.

At the Burma Camp Mosque, Lt. Col. (Imam) Umar Sanda Ahmed called on Muslims and others to be wary of the threat under which humanity is coming under and defy those who are championing this.

'Today the family is under threat by persons who want humanity to defy the divine orders of all the great religions to procreate, nurture and raise children to live moral and spiritual lives,' he said.

He added that this has been done under the guise of freedom to choose one's sexual orientation, adding, 'mounting all at the international level to ask humanity to grant them a right to defy God.'

He charged Ghanaians and the Islamic society to celebrate the Eid with a firm belief in the survival of the family and its continuation.

At Japan Motors, Abossey Okai, hundreds prayed and listened to the Khutba of Sheikh Shuaib after which a white ram was slaughtered.

Similar prayers were held in other suburbs and for Muslims it was just convenient praying in their suburbs instead of thronging to the Independence Square.

At Alajo, Nana Akufo Addo, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) 2012 flagbearer who had accepted an invitation to join them to mark the occasion, urged Muslims in the country to renew their commitment to ensuring peace in their communities.

The flagbearer was invited to join the sacrifice of a livestock to commemorate the occasion as he charged Muslims to pray for peace next year.

'It's an important day for us… above all what days like this should do for us is to renew our commitment to a peaceful united Ghana and that the prayers that have come from here are not just for Muslims but for the Ghanaians around the world,' Nana Addo said.

Prayers offered at this time, he noted, will help him to contain what he described as the arduous task, as he prepares for the forthcoming polls.

The MP for Ayawaso Central, Sheikh I.C. Quaye also advised his fellow Muslims to allow the sense of sacrifice to permeate their lives, adding that by the Grace of God Nana Addo has won the next elections in advance.

'Ghana today is at a cross road. You all know that Ghana is at a crossroad,' Sheikh IC Quaye said as he enjoined Ghanaians to give their mandate to the flagbearer to serve them.

Similar prayers were said in other district and regional capitals across the country.