Otumfuo Osei Tutu II , Asantehene
Members of the Ghana Muslims Students Association (GMSA) of the Kumasi campus of the University of Education-Winneba, have petitioned the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, to intervene in a land dispute between the association and the Apatrapa community.
The community is said to be interfering in the construction of a mosque on the campus.
Alhaji Bashiru Zakari, spokesperson of the student
group said that upon request, the school management allocated a
piece of land to the students for the construction of a mosque on campus.
The said parcel of land, he said, happened to be on the borders of the
school and the Apatrapa community.
He noted that when construction of the mosque began, members of the community called on management of the school to relocate the project because they feared activities of Muslims could be a nuisance to the nearby community.
He said even though the GMSA and the management of the
school had proposed signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) regarding the construction of the mosque, the school authority could not soak pressure from the community.
According to Alhaji Zakari, opposition to the mosque project is hinged on claims that Muslim population in the community would rise upon completion of the project.
The spokesperson indicated that the school management
appeared to have been influenced by the chief of Apatrapa and some other influential persons in the community.
But the students’ group said the conduct of the chief, who is spearheading the opposition is unfair, adding that the move was against their right and freedom of
religion.
Alhaji Zakari described the position of the Apatrapa
community towards the construction of the mosque as anti-Islamic
and discriminatory because other religious bodies have also been allocated land for construction close to
the proposed mosque.
He said the stance of the chief, the community and pathetic attitude of the school management who owns the allocated land in question is unwarranted and has called on Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, to intervene for the amicable resolution of the impasse in the name of peace.
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