Islamic scholar, academic, politician and former Minister of State, Shaykh Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid
Islamic scholar, academic, politician and former Minister of State, Shaykh Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, has dismissed claims that Muslims in Ghana have a grand agenda to Islamise the country, arguing that the voting pattern in the 2024 general election provides clear evidence against such an agenda.
Speaking during the 2026 Liberty Lecture Series of the Danquah Institute at Alisa Hotel on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, under the theme “One Nation, Many Faiths: Emerging Threats to Religious Tolerance in Ghana,”Mustapha Abdul-Hamid said political actors had exploited developments in the preceding weeks to create fear and suspicion around the prospect of Ghana electing a Muslim president, suggesting that such an outcome could trigger the Islamisation of the country and lead to religious conflict similar to developments in Nigeria.
“Political mischief makers took advantage of the happenings of the last two weeks to poison the atmosphere and to suggest that voting for a Muslim president would trigger the Islamization of Ghana and set the country aflame, as has happened in Nigeria,” Abdul-Hamid said.
He said the political choices made by Muslims in Ghana did not support the claim of a coordinated religious agenda, stressing that if such an agenda existed, the 2024 presidential candidature of then-New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, would have provided the clearest opportunity for Muslims to mobilise behind a Muslim presidential candidate.
“From the political choices of Muslims in Ghana, it does not seem to me that there is a grand agenda or a collective aspiration of Muslims to Islamize Ghana,” Abdul-Hamid said.
He said the failure of Muslims to vote overwhelmingly for Bawumia, despite his Muslim faith, demonstrated that religious identity did not determine the political choices of Ghanaian Muslims.
“The fact that Muslims in 2024 did not rally wholesale behind a Muslim candidate shows that no such agenda exists,” Abdul-Hamid said.
He cited several Muslim-dominated constituencies, including Ayawaso East, Ayawaso North, Asawase, Ejura, Tamale North, Tamale Central, Tamale South and Sagnarigu, which he said voted massively for former President John Dramani Mahama, a Christian, against Bawumia.
Abdul-Hamid contrasted that voting pattern with Bawumia’s performance in some Christian-dominated constituencies, where he said the former Vice President obtained more votes than some Christian parliamentary candidates on his ticket.
“The most prominent one being Assin South, where he beat his parliamentary candidate, who is a Minister of the gospel,” Abdul-Hamid said.
He also rejected the suggestion that Bawumia’s pursuit of the presidency was motivated by an intention to alter Ghana’s religious character.
“Mahamudu Bawumia is not seeking the presidency of Ghana to re-order the religious destiny of our country,” Abdul-Hamid said.
He said Bawumia’s educational and professional background demonstrated that his principal focus had been economics and the development of solutions to economic challenges.
“From Zimbabwe to Oxford University, to the Bank of Ghana, to the vice presidency of Ghana, his lifelong occupation has been propounding solutions for the health of economies and nations,” Abdul-Hamid said.
He pointed to initiatives associated with Bawumia’s tenure as Vice President, including medical drone delivery, the national identification system and the gold purchase programme, saying these initiatives were intended to benefit Ghanaians irrespective of their religious affiliations.
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