
MP for Asawase, Mohammed Muburak-Muntaka,
The Muslim Caucus in Parliament has called for self-restraint and goodwill as efforts are being made to resolve the ongoing impasse at Wesley Girls’ High School in Cape Coast in respect of fasting by Muslim students.
The call was contained in a statement signed by the Member of Parliament for Asawase constituency, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka.
The father of a first-year Muslim student had accused the school’s authorities of preventing his daughter from engaging in the Ramadan fast, which is obligatory for every healthy Muslim.
The decision by authorities of the Cape Coast-based girls’ school not to allow Muslim students to partake in the annual spiritual exercise attracted criticism from a section of the public, particularly the Islamic community.
As a result, a delegation of Muslim MPs and some leaders from the Muslim community met with the leadership of the Methodist Church to discuss the issue with the objective of resolving the problem amicably last week.
The Methodist team, which was led by the Presiding Bishop, Most Rev. Dr. Paul Kwabena Boafo, after cordial discussions on the issue, assured the Muslim delegation of their commitment to resolving the issue within a couple of days.
Drawback
According to the Muslim Caucus in Parliament, whilst the issue was still being deliberated upon, they were taken aback by a statement issued by the Methodist Church.
The Methodist Church rejected a directive from the Ghana Education Service (GES), permitting Muslims in Wesley Girls’ High School and other schools to observe the Ramadan fast.
“The statement appeared to be a response to the directives given by the Ghana Education Service. The leadership of the Muslim stakeholders under patronage of the National Chief Imam is still waiting to hear from the leadership of the Methodist Church on the outcome of the meeting as we were assured,” the statement said.
However, the Muslim Caucus in Parliament has appealed to the good people of Ghana and the Muslim Ummah, particularly Muslim students and youth, to continue to remain calm “as Muslim leadership continue to engage all stakeholders connected to the matter, including the Methodist Church of Ghana, the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service (GES), to cordially resolve the matter in the interest of our country”.
Consolidate peace
They added that Ghana’s peace, despite the various religious groups, remains the envy of many nations and so efforts must be made to protect it at all times.
“Ghana has been an oasis of peace within the sub-region and indeed across Africa due to the peaceful co-existence and mutual respect that exist among various religious groups in the country, and especially between Muslims and Christians,” the Caucus said.
“We also wish to entreat fellow Ghanaians, especially our non-Muslim brethren who wish to comment on the matter publicly, to exercise restraint in their choice of words and avoid politicising this matter of genuine concern to Ghanaian Muslims in the interest of peace and harmony,” the statement read.
The statement added that despite the setback, it still has confidence in the leadership of the Methodist Church, the Minister of Education and the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, together with the Board of Wesley Girls’ High School, to resolve the issue without allowing it to degenerate into anything untoward.