Leadership is a very crucial component of our daily lives. Be it socially, traditionally, politically and Islamically for that matter. As Muslims we are obliged to obey people in authority if they go by the tenets of the faith (i.e. as Allah and the prophet commanded)
The Muslim community in Ghana consists three major sects which are the Tijaniyya, Ahlus Sunnah (Sunni) and the Ahmadiyya Movement. But of these three, the National Chief Imam (Sheikh (Dr.) Uthman Nuhu Sharubutu) is the overall leader at National level.
Aside his national stature as leader of Muslims, he also doubles as leader of the Tijaniyya sect. The Office of the National Chief Imam (ONCI) thus serves the dual purpose of serving Muslims chiefly and administering affairs of the Tijaniyya sect.
In both cases, the National Chief Imam serves as the LEADER.
Tijaniyya as Body Corporate
In keeping track with corporate procedures and administration, the Tijaniyya sect was registered by law as; “the Supreme Council for Tijaniyya Islamic Affairs,” (SCTIA) in 2011.
Its registration and the caliber of people who appended their signatures to the registration documents showed the very powerful and influential nature of the group.
Documents in our possession show that majority of regional Chief Imams were signatories to this document as well as other influential members of the sect, who were seen as major players to the growth and advancement of the sect.
We are in possession also of the SCTIA’s Certificates of Incorporation and Commencement of Business (Nos. GS-36,822) issued on 3rd and 6th of June, 2011 respectively. (Photocopies are attached to this release)
Tijaniyya Sufi Sect: Parallel office to SCTIA
Events at the 47th Annual Mawlid of the Prophet held in Kumasi weeks back surprisingly birthed a new President (Zaeem) of the Tijaniyya here in Ghana. One Sheikh Abdul Wadud Haruna.
An accompanying release stated that the conferment done by the Chief Imam was done with consent of clerics responsible for such decisions and based in Madina Kaolak.
Our intrigue as a group of young Tijaniyya Muslims are as follows:
a. Where does the position of a President of Tijaniyya leave the Chief Imam, who is the Supreme Leader in the case of SCTIA?
b. How come decision makers did not include regional Imams who are signatories to SCTIA but some Sheikhs in far away Senegal?
c. What is the operational framework of this new leadership and from where is it going to operate?
What happened to SONSET Fund/IPASEC?
We ask these questions against the backdrop that we have over the years seen how the high office of his Eminence, the Chief Imam has been drawn into the formation of groups that have more often than not, withered away too soon.
The Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu Education Trust (SONSET) Fund is one such. After years of soliciting funds for an education trust fund, how far has it gone and what is its current status?
The formation of IPASEC (Islamic Peace and Security Council) was one such groups that was formed with the blessings of the National Chief Imam and like the SONSET Fund, one wonders what IPASEC is up to currently.
We wish to state that the spate at which our Chief Imams’ name and image is being used is increasingly becoming nauseating especially in the wake of it being linked in the recent past with visa racketeering. A needless dent on the noble man’s image.
Again we ask;
a. When was this new Tijaniyya Movement formed; were regional Imam’s sidelined and if so why?
b. What becomes of the current administrative structure of the Chief Imam’s office?
c. Is it not a duplication of the work of the Imam’s office and in whose interest could it be?
The Way Forward/Conclusions
With a fully registered entity as the SCTIA, which’s structure incorporates the day to day administration of the Chief Imam’s office, we DO NOT and CANNOT see the need for another presidency for the group.
Having said that, we are certain and are backed by law with registration documents earlier alluded to, that Tijaniyya’s leadership is known and no amount of efforts to change it would be countenanced in any shape or form.
We wish to also caution especially public office holders and especially politicians to also be measured in the way and manner in which they conduct themselves in matters of this nature.
Finally, we wish to make a clarion call for Muslims sects in Ghana to as a matter of urgency start putting together processes to establish a Ghana Muslim Council. Such a body is long overdue and we as Muslims cannot continue in this manner at least for the foreseeable future.
We are most grateful for your audience, we wish to call for sober reflection by all involved in this current situation. We wish our Imam well, we wish Muslims well and we pray Allah continues to bless our homeland Ghana.
Authored by: Dan Gaskiya Al Haqq
