Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, Sheikh Arimiyao Shaibu and Sheikh Mohammed Ridwan Kudibaawaasaaba
Two Islamic scholars, Sheikhs Arimiyao Shaibu and Mohammed Ridwan Kudibaa waasaba, have defended the National Chief Imam’s gesture of donating GH¢50,000 towards the construction of the National Cathedral in Accra.
While speaking to the DAILY GUIDEafter an earlier appearance on some media spaces, Sheikh Arimiyao Shaibu who is the spokesperson to the National Chief Imam said “there was nothing wrong with the gesture.”
The cleric’s gesture, according to him, was informed by his experience, and spirit for the promotion of religious harmony in the country.
The gesture is also hinged upon the Chief Imam’s understanding of Islamic jurisprudence, he added.
As a mystic, the National Chief Imam’s gesture for both Muslims and non-Muslims is inspired for his exceptional spirit.
He described as insulting the questioning of the source of the donation by the cleric towards the National Cathedral complex.
Over the past years, he said the centenarian has offered scholarships and rendered support to both members of the two faiths, gestures which will live long after his him.
In a related development, Sheikh Mohammed Ridwan Kudibaa waasaba, a leading scholar of the World Islamic Call Society, has intervened in the matter saying that the National Chief Imam gesture was not a blunder.
According to him, a Quranic verse of Ayat supports the cleric’s action. Continuing, he said Allah has not created a schism between members of the two faiths of Christianity and Islam. The Ayat, he explained, demands Muslims show love to their Christian counterparts in any form possible.
“The Holy Prophet of Islam, Mohammed, May the Peace of Allah Be Upon Him, one day invited some Christian residents of Madina to his place. When they honoured the invitation as a show of love he spread his veil on the ground for them to sit down. He had invited them to convince them to be converted to the Islamic faith but they refused and said they would continue to be on the path of Christianity to which he discontinued the effort. They demanded that both sign a pact of understanding that each of them would follow their faiths without acrimony.”
Muslims, Sheikh Ridwan said, can use their resources for the cause of Christianity. “Muslims can use their resources to repair Christian places of worship,” he added.
Sheikh Mohammed Ridwan Kudibaa waasaaba is also the CEO of Alpha Radio in Kumasi.
The National Chief Imam recently donated an amount of GH¢50,000 towards the construction of the National Cathedral, a gesture which was made when trustees of the project visited him at his New Fadama residence in Accra.
The gesture has triggered varying opinions
By A.R. Gomda