Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu
Muslims of Alajo North and Kotobabi in the Central Ayawaso Constituency in Accra, celebrated the birth of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) at the weekend. The celebration was under the disguised patronage of Sheik Ali Akweteiman who represented the National Chief Imam Sheik (Dr) Nuhu Sharubutu, who was out of the country.
The function was under the chairmanship of Alhaji Abudul Ganiyu, a business tycoon of Accra.
The theme of the celebration was :- “UNITING THE MUSLIM YOUTH AND UMMAH FOR THE CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY”. Speaking on the topic, “Unity of the Muslim Ummah”, Imam Tawfick Jamal Baba of the Heba and Galadina Mosque said, Muslims are supposed to know the values and importance of uniting Muslims all over the world because that is what Islam stands for.
Imam Tawfick quoted from the Holy Quran chapter 3:103, in which God stated: “And hold he fast all together by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you) and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude. Allah’s favour on you; for ye were enemies and He joined your hearts in love so that by His grace ye became brothers.”
With this Quranic quotation, Imam Jamal Baba explained that Muslims are supposed to be united, but as the days go by, Muslims are getting more divided. This division, Imam Jamal Baba explained, was mostly based on ethnicity, regional preferences and above all sectarian beliefs in the name of Islam, which he said was uncalled for and highly unacceptable in Islam.
He explained extensively that the ancient Muslim scholars such as Imam Muslim, Imam Bukhari, Imam Tirmidhi and many other Imams and Scholars of Islam after the Holy Prophet, were non-Arabs, but none of them discriminated against each other.
Imam Tawfick seriously advised Muslims in the country to stop condemning each other for the sake of peace. He said every Muslim has the right to join any sect in Islam, because the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) prophesied that; “before the end of the world, Islam will split into 75 sects.
On his part, the Imam of Alajo Central Mosque Mallam Swala, Abukari re-iterated the urgent need for peace and unity among Muslims, irrespective of their sectarian beliefs.
Imam Swala recounted the unity role the National Chief Imam, Sheik Nuhu
Sharubutu was playing to bring Muslims together and asked all Muslims to take a cue from him, by making sure that “we abhor any kind of divisive tendencies among Muslims of all sects”.
Mallam Swala advised the audience to remember that Islam stands for peace and submission to the will of Allah and urge all Muslims to let these teachings of God reflect in their everyday lives.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Chairman of Alajo North Mosque, Retired Chief Inspector Muhammad Alidu reminded the audience that Islam is the fastest growing religion, receiving numerous converts all over the world on a daily basis.
He said it therefore behoved on all practicing Muslims to uphold the teachings and practices of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) as enshrined in the Holy Quran and the Hadith, because the Islamic religion is a special one ordained by God.
This, Chief Inspector Alidu told the audience, was even more important and relevant against the backdrop of the fact that Islam, unlike the others, was a complete way of life, as it embraced politics, history, science, basic etiquettes biology and indeed every subject on this planet.
Chief Inspector Alidu (RTD), who is also chairman of the Bassare Welfare Union, thanked all the speakers for their message on unity and urged the audience to inculcate what was preached into their lives.
On his contribution, the Member of Parliament for Central Ayawaso Honourable Henry Quatey thanked the organizers for inviting him to the function, even though he is a Christian. He said, his presence testified to the fact that there is peaceful co-existence between Christians and Muslims in the country.
Honourable Quatey however urged the youth, as future leaders of the country, to get themselves involved in employable skills than waste their precious time on irrelevant issues which ended up in conflicts.
In his closing prayers, Sheikh Ali Akweteman thanked all the speakers for their thought-provoking speeches and urged the audience to live by them.
He prayed for the government and people of Ghana for peace in the country. He also prayed for countries where there are conflicts and prayed to Allah to have mercy on those countries.
Present at the function were the Dagomba Chief of Accra Sheikh Abdul Kadri and Alhaji Moro Baba Issah – Chairman of Ayawaso Council of Muslim Chiefs.
ABDUL SALAM
(SECRETARY)