Mr. Stephen Yakubu speaking to journalists
FROM Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Bolgatanga
UPPER EAST Regional Minister, Stephen Yakubu, says under no circumstance should any group of people, especially Ghanaians, justify any form of violent extremism as part of any religious belief or practice in modern times.
“… Religious tolerance must not be misconstrued and overly applied. Personally, I can think of one religious practice which should not be tolerated and that is violent extremism. I don’t think such violent extremism should be justified on grounds of religious tolerance.”
He continued, “For instance, should a child be allowed to die because her parents believe that only prayers and belief in God can heal their child, despite the fact that proper medication will cure her?
Again, should any action be allowed just because it entails someone’s religious belief?”
According to him, as Ghanaians enjoy their religious rights and freedoms under the Constitution of Ghana, citizens and all residents should remember that such rights and freedoms can equally be limited for the stipulated reasons including defence, public safety, public health or the management of essential services.
Mr. Yakubu was speaking at this year’s Eid-ul-Adha congregational prayers in Bolgatanga.
Touching on the importance of education in human and communal development, the Upper East Regional Minister reiterated the need for the Muslim community and Ghanaians, in general, to prioritise the education of their children to help reduce poverty across the country so their children can contribute meaningfully to the development of Ghana.
The Upper East Deputy Regional Chief Imam, Sheikh Yussif Umar, who led the prayers, urged Ghanaians to pray for peace and a positive turnaround of the country’s economy, so as to see improvement in the lives of Ghanaians.
According to him, the hard times the country is going through has exposed many Ghanaians to serious levels of hardships, hence the need for collective contributions from all Ghanaians, irrespective of religion and socio-political backgrounds, to save the country’s economy.
“When things get better, it is not going to benefit only the government, but it will make life easier for the ordinary Ghanaians too, especially for the poor, to be able to survive in a decent way,” the Deputy Regional Chief Imam said.
Some Muslims who spoke in separate interviews, said they expect the economy to bounce back to positive so that the price of items will reduce to make next year’s celebration better.