Trouble Brews in Muslim Front Over Hajj Council

WITH BARELY seven months for Muslims to embark on the sacred pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, tensions have started mounting over which recognized body in the country would have the sole prerogative to see to the organization of Muslims in the country who would be making it to the sacred city this year.

After several calls and appeals to the President of Ghana for the dissolution of the current five member board of the Hajj Council were unsuccessful, the office of the National Chief Imam and the Council of Regional chief Imams have threatened to institute their own independent body to steer the affairs of potential pilgrims.

At separate press conferences organized by the Muslim leadership in Accra and Kumasi on January 16 and February 6, 2007 respectively, the body accused the five-member Hajj Council of its inability to facilitate the trip for over 499 pilgrims to embark on the 2006|2007 edition of the annual holy journey.

They expressed concern about the poor organization that characterized the Hajj and the excruciating experiences Muslim pilgrims in the country went through to observe the Hajj.

The Muslim leaders blamed the Hajj Council and called for its dissolution to enable a comprehensive programme to be established. However after months of waiting without any results, the office of the National chief Imam led by Sheikh Usman Nuhu Sharbutu and the Council of regional chief Imams said they were presenting their final proposal to the government on the institution of a new body to manage the affairs of Hajj pilgrims in the country.

At a press conference held in Kumasi on Monday, the Muslim leadership called for the restructuring of the Hajj Council to cover the various Muslim sects and associations to ensure fair representation.

According to the spokesperson of the group, Alhaji Mohammed Gazali, the body is proposing the increase of the current number of five to twenty-one, which would be made up of an executive director, representatives of all the10 regional chief Imams, three members of the National Hajj Council, two members of the Ghana Muslims Agents Association and a representative each from the various Muslim movements in the country including the Tijjaniya and the Ahlul Sunna Wal-jamaa to ensure a full representation of all Muslim sects in the country.

It also suggested the inclusion of a member each from the Federation of Muslim Councils and the Federation of Muslim Women Associations of Ghana.

Alhaji Mohammed Gazali explained that with the composition of the council, the body would have offices in all the ten regions in the country and would be answerable to the National Chief Imam adding that, the body shall have free hand to carry out its mandate while ensuring adequate decentralization of the Hajj's organization.

He stressed that the office of the National Chief Imam and the Council of regional chief Imams were also calling for a change in the name of the body from the National Hajj Council to either Ghana Pilgrimage Committee or the Ghana Hajj Board to give the body a new outlook and image.

Asked what their position would be if their demands were not met, the spokesperson replied that the Muslim leadership would institute its own committee to oversee the organization of this year's Hajj.

Furthermore, the leadership called for steps to be taken to ensure that the Hajj fee is reasonably kept within the means of patrons to enable a substantial number of Muslims to embark on the journey.

They also wanted the amount of $2,100 charged in the 2006/2007 edition, slashed down to $2000.

Meanwhile, other groups within the Muslim fraternity are angry over what they see as a ploy by some influential people to have the current Hajj Council retained.

The claim is that due to the underhand ploys to retain the Council, the content of a report by a Committee that was set up to go into the work of the current Council, has still not been made public.

Speaking to The Chronicle yesterday, Alhaji Abdul Razak Khailani, Chairman of the said Committee confirmed that the content of his Committee's report had not been made public yet.

He stated that he and the members of the Committee had done their job and submitted their findings to the stakeholders who appointed them and it was the responsibility of the stakeholders to either disclose or not to disclose the content.

Meanwhile the Head office of this paper is still investigating the veracity of reports about some top politicians who are seriously lobbying to have the current Council retained.