Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu and Imam Ahmed Umar Sanda during the function
Let us not allow religious hotheads to plunge the country into disharmony was the call by a former Imam of the Ghana Armed Forces, Lt Col Umar Sanda Ahmed (rtd).
Jesus Christ or Isa, he said, belongs to the Abrahamic faiths of Christianity and Islam. According to him, Jesus holds a special place in Islam, adding that it is sacrilegious for any Muslim to use derogatory language against men of God such as Isa or Jesus Christ.
He was speaking during the 70th birthday prayers and party for the former Executive Secretary of the Lands Commission, Alhaji Suleimana Mahama yesterday in Accra, event which had in attendance well-wishers from both the Islamic and Christian folds.
While condemning the recent exchanges of vitriolic by some persons from Islam and Christianity, he called for religious tolerance in the country since, after all, the two faiths belong to the monotheistic Abrahamic religions.
What happened in the past week or so, according to him, was religious nonsense being fanned by ignorant persons from both religious divides.
Majority of Ghanaians, he said, want peace, adding that only a few persons indulge in this incendiary exchanges and they must be stopped.
Imam Sanda, as he is fondly called, and now Ghana’s Envoy to Mali, called on members of the Abrahamic faiths, Christianity and Islam to shun those who make inflammatory statements.
It is those who do not know the consequences of war who would indulge in flammable statements which have the potential to spark conflicts and war.
As an Abrahamic scholar, he said he was fascinated when during his service in the military he saw Palestinian Muslims keeping the place of Jesus Christ in Palestine, adding that “they were no different from their Armenian Christian counterparts.”
“Instead of talking about poverty which is the lot of many Ghanaians, we engage in religious insults which do not ameliorate our daily challenges,” he pointed out.
We should be thankful to God for the National Chief Imam, who he said has intervened in many instances of religious tension, recalling the recent Police Headquarters meeting occasioned by the exchanges between a pastor and an Islamic cleric, the flames from which were successfully doused.
The National Chief Imam, he recalled, had cause to be at Christ The King’s Church in Accra during one of his birthdays, and Father Campbell prayed for him asking that this should be a lesson for all of us.
It is for good reason that in the Armed Forces interdenominational service has a special place, as it boosts interfaith harmony, he said.
Interfaith harmony received a boost from the envoy and the Chief Imam’s spokesperson, Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu, who also spoke about the importance of peace in Islam.
Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu expressed concern about how the youth are wasting their lives on trivial things instead of doing productive activities to guarantee their future.
Turning his attention to social media, he took a swipe at the rising tide of young persons insulting men and women the age of their parents in total negation of God’s dictate.
Between violence and peace, Islam, he said, is for the latter, adding that Allah enjoins us to remain silent if what we want to say will not bring peace.
Regarding the exchange of vitriolic, he said the Holy Quran demands of Muslims “not to insult that which they worship, lest our God is treated in like manner.”
He referred the hotheaded religious extremists to how Prophet Mohammed received Christians even in the confines of the mosque, a perfect example of the importance of religious harmony.