Veep calls for end to religious extremism to avoid conflicts
Vice-President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur has underscored the need to stamp out religious extremism from the country to avoid plunging society into needless conflict.
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Expressing worry over the creeping level of intolerance into the Ghanaian society, which he described as a recipe for chaos, the Vice-President said: “All people are a creation of God and we owe it a duty to live in peace.”
Mr Amissah-Arthur expressed these sentiments when he addressed the 84th annual National Convention (Jalsa) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission, Ghana at Pomadze in the Central Region yesterday.
The three-day convention, which is on the theme: “Tolerance and peaceful co-existence, a prerequisite for progressive nation-building”, has in attendance Ahmadis of the Muslim faith resident abroad.
Peaceful co-existence
On the need to uphold the prevailing peace in the country, Mr Amissah-Arthur told the large gathering that Ghana was a nation of shared values and that tolerating one another’s views devoid of conflict ought to be the guiding principle on which to co-exist.
He remarked that deep animosity polarised the population when legitimate dissenting views were not tolerated, for which reason he lauded Ghanaians for being successful in terms of maintaining peaceful co-existence, in spite of the many tribal groups in the country.
The Vice-President entreated religious bodies to continue to inculcate religious education and morals in the youth in order to shape them into becoming responsible adults.
Suicide bombs
Referring to religious extremism that had resulted in deaths in some parts of the world, he expressed concern over the 94 Ahmadis who were killed in cold blood, together with the 120 others who sustained various injuries, in Pakistan on Christmas Day last year.
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He wondered why Muslims could attack one another, with Christians doing same to their own, coupled with the broader scope of inter-religious conflicts that had bedevilled the world over the years.
“Muslims are not violent, neither are Christians, but a few misguided people from the two sides have always fomented trouble to denigrate religion,” Mr Amissah-Arthur intimated.
The Vice-President stated that the government would continue to ensure the even distribution of the national cake and added that areas that were not well endowed were equally being catered for to ensure that they were not left behind.
He lauded the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission for its commitment to promote peace and tolerance in the country and urged Ahmadis to use the convention to pray for the nation for peaceful elections later in the year.
Ameer in charge
Earlier, while welcoming delegates to the convention, the Ameer and Missionary in charge of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission, Ghana, Alhaji Maulvi Mohammed Bin Salih, whose address dwelt on peace and tolerance, called on politicians in the country to “stop the pettiness and come up with innovative programmes to help create a peaceful environment”.
He explained that if religious groups, out of patriotism, could cooperate in the interest of the nation, there should be no reason for political parties not to do same in the collective interest of the citizenry.
Alhaji Salih expressed worry over the already charged political atmosphere in Ghana, characterised by what he described as “barbaric, immoral unprintable acts” that hitherto were unknown in the country.
On the upcoming polls, the Muslim cleric said the world would once again expect Ghanaians to demonstrate how democratically mature they had become by conducting the elections peacefully.
There were solidarity messages from other bodies, including the Ghana Education Service, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and the Ghana Revenue Authority.
Writer’s email: sebastian.syme@graphic.com.gh