News Guide Africa

Tag: Ghana muslims

  • Two Private Member Bills Submitted to Parliament To Make Substantial Changes To The Public Holiday In Ghana 

     

    Muslims at prayer center

     

     

    Two new private member bills have been submitted to the Clark to Parliament on Wednesday, 29th November, 2023 and currently being processed. 

     

    The Bills include Tashreeq (a day after Eid-al-Adha Festival) and Shaqq (a day before the Eid-al-Fitr) as Public Holidays and provide for related matters. 

     

    The Bills which seeks to amend the Public Holidays Act 2001, Act 601, forms part of efforts to realize the achievement of a more progressive and productive and inclusive society. 

     

    The Public Holidays (Amendment) Bill, 2023 (No.1) has a primary purpose of ensuring effective use of public holidays to ensure productivity seeks to amend the Public Holidays (Amendment) Act, 2001, Act 601, to remove the power of the President to declare additional public holiday, grant authority to the President to merge public holidays, postpone celebration of public holidays on productive days to Friday, remove criminal sanctions for non-observance of public holidays, and provide for related matters.

     

    When passed public holidays that fall on days between Tuesday and Thursday shall be observed on Fridays. A substitute public holiday is an ordinary day that is treated like a public holiday instead of the actual public holiday. The basis for this proposal stems from the fact that productivity may be at its peak in the middle of the working week, say on a Tuesday or Wednesday. 

     

    The proposed amendment also gives relevant power and authority to the President to by Executive Instrument merged in a particular calender year the celebration of any two public holidays in the public interest and in the interest of productivity. 

     

    Currently, by practice, pubic holidays that fall on weekends are not marked as such, but such public holidays are postponed to Mondays, which fall on a working day, which contributes to loss of revenue by the State. By this amendment such practice would be done away with.

     

    Also, the proposal seeks to abolish the regime of criminalizing conducts associated with public holidays by a repeal of the Offences and penalties provisions under section 5 of Act 601.  

     

    “The Public Holidays (Amendment) Bill, 2023 (No.2) seeks to extend the period of public holidays for Muslims from the current one (1) day each to two (2) days for each Islamic festivity”, Hon Francis -Xavier Sosu (ESQ), MP for Madina Constituency said in a statement issued after the submission of the Bills. 

     

    “The amendment seeks to include Tashreeq (a day after Eid-al-Adha Festival) and Shaqq (a day before the Eid-al-Fitr) as Public Holidays and provide for related matters.”

     

    The Deputy Ranking Member , Constitutional Legal And Parliamentary Affairs Committee Of Parliament noted that, “the right of every Ghanaian to freedom of religion is a fundamental one. In Article 21(c) every Ghanian has the freedom to practice any religion and to manifest any religion. Being the 2nd dominant religion in Ghana, Ghanaian Muslims must have equal opportunities when it come to celebration of religious festivals. After 40 days of mandatory religious obligation of fasting, practitioners of Islamic Religion deserve an additional day for rest and to prepare for full activities. 

     

    “As such, the proposed days are the day before the Eid-al-Fitr which is observed by Muslims as the Shaqq day (a day before the end of the holy month of Ramadan in which Muslims mark the end of the fast), and the Tashreeq day (a day after the Eid-al-Adha in which Muslims remember the unwavering trust by Prophet Ibrahim to offer his son as a sacrifice). The religious significance of these holidays is to afford Muslims the opportunity to fully manifest and observe their faith, and offer gratitude to Allah for all that He has done, granted them, and continues to do; as well as for them to fully place and restore their trust in Allah and His abundant care, Grace and wisdom.”   

     

    Article 17(1) of the 1992 Constitution provides that “All persons are equal before the law”, and (2) states that “A person shall not be discriminated against on grounds of gender, race, colour, ethnic origin, religion, creed or social or economic status. Also, Article 26(1) states that “All persons shall have the right to freedom to practice any religion and to manifest such practice.” 

     

    Also, Article 2 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights provides that “Every individual shall be entitled to the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms recognized and guaranteed in the present Charter without distinction of any kind such as race, ethnic group, colour, sex, language, religion, political or any other opinion, national and social origin, fortune, birth or other status.”

     

    “Under the current regime, it is unfair, discriminatory, and does not allow for the full manifestation of the Islamic faith by Muslims as enshrined and guaranteed by the 1992 Constitution and other international laws and treaties”, the Human Right Activist juxtaposed. 

     

    When passed, this Act will go a long way to promote religious tolerance and help realize, promote and guarantee a more open, progressive, inclusive and secure society. 

     

    Hon Francis -Xavier Sosu (ESQ)

    MP, Madina Constituency 

    HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER AND ACTIVIST

    DEPUTY RANKING MEMBER, CONSTITUTIONAL LEAGAL AND 

    PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE OF PARLIAMENT 

     

  • National Muslims Conference and Matters Arising…. What is Behind the Agenda?

    National Muslims Conference and Matters Arising…. What is Behind the Agenda?

    An Episode from Adnan Adams Mohammed

    We one day woke up to a bell of a new Muslim so-called “mouthpiece” birthed in a grand style with much assurance of a new Ghana for Muslims.

    A year is gone yet, the new era for Muslims right in Ghana has no new voice in stories, except the old chapping voices, which have been championing the national interest of Muslims.

    Much questions are begging for clarification and answers in the “New Era of a New Mouthpiece and Voice for Muslims”:

    1. Are we for unity for the interest of Muslims in Ghana? Or, we are for an agenda to champion a political and or tribal interest?
    • I thought the some of the promoters of the “Mouthpiece and Voice for Muslims in Ghana” know COMOG; in fact, I want to believe that some of them were part of the journey that started and arrived at the destination of the creation of COMOG! Is it that COMOG does not represent the unity of Muslims in Ghana, so much so that Muslims in Ghana stand in need of another group of Muslims to come out with a UNITY PLATFORM for Muslims?
    • What happened to the Wesley Girls’ SHS “No Prayer, No Fasting, No Islam on Campus” brouhaha? We all laid low because all Muslims were told to stay off and wait for the intervention of our honorable Muslim Caucus in Parliament. A year is gone past, but nothing has been heard of from the Parliamentary committee meetings that we were told were taking place; if there was any meeting at all!
    • Our own school, Islamic SHS in Kumasi had some of their students brutalized, tear-gased and humiliated when all they demanded for was action to be taken on the highway in front of their school to stop the loss of precious young lives of students as passing vehicles impatiently knock and run over them rampantly. This became a national issue and the discussions raged on. Yet, the “burgeoning New Mouthpiece and Voice” for Muslims was not heard. The quiet silence beggars belief! Our very Muslim MPs who are supposed to be our defenders when it comes to Fundamental Human Rights as enshrined in our 1992 Constitution chicken out and left us all looking on sheepishly like orphans with no one to look to for a justice society that respects proper human diversity.
    • The “Mouthpiece and Voice of the new era Muslims” have been missing on the LGTBQ+ advocacy. Are the “Mouthpiece and Voice of the new era Muslims” afraid to be heard on this serious national issue which Islam vehemently prohibits?
    • Can the affairs of Muslims in Ghana be run like a political party? Whose interest are we seeking and serving? That of Muslims and Islam, or that of some politicians?
    • We were assured of financial stability and support for Islamic activities and projects! One year is gone! What is the story?
    • Are we as Muslims allowing ourselves (parochial and tribal interest) to be continuously humiliated as if we are foreigners in Ghana?

    What is going wrong?

    Who else has sharper eyes, wider ears and longer nose to see clearer, hear and smell the unpleasant future drawing nigh on Muslims in Ghana!!!

    Had I known, is always at last!!!

    Must we always seat, wait for the unpleasant things to happen before we start wailing, lamenting, complaining and blame-gaming?

    Proactiveness and tactfulness can win Muslims a lot of the continuous humiliating battles in Ghana.

    Thank you.

    A Patriotic and Activist Muslim

    Adnan Adams Mohammed (+233 24 465 3664)

  • Maiden National Muslims Leadership Consultative Forum Takes off On Sunday, July 3

    Maiden National Muslims Leadership Consultative Forum Takes off On Sunday, July 3

    Press Statement

    30th June 2022

     National Muslims Leadership Consultative Forum

    The Coalition of Muslims Organizations, Ghana (COMOG) and its collaborators; National Council of Zongo Chiefs, Conference of Regional Chief Imams, Tijaniya Muslim Community, Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama’a and Shia Muslim Community are organizing a National Muslim Leadership Consultative Forum scheduled for Sunday July 3rd, under the theme *”Islamic values and Identity in Ghana:  Challenges and Strategies”.*

    The Forum, organized under the auspices of the His Eminence the National Chief Imam, will take place at the Cantonment Police Mosque Conference Hall. It is planned to start at 8.30am and ends at 4pm without press coverage.

    Some of the main objectives of the forum are as follows: To review and reinvigorate inter-faith dialogue which will promote peaceful coexistence in Ghana; To examine issues surrounding the relocation of the Accra Central Mosque to Kanda, in order to bring the debate to a closure; and To develop guidelines that would serve as a blue print that will guide and ensure that, all actions and omissions of public, quasi public, private institutions that threaten the person secular status of the country.

    Thank you.

     Signed

    Bro Shaibu M. Shamsu

    Chairman, Media, Research and PR Committee.

  • Woes of a Muslim Pilgrims Under Bawumia unbearable… Pilgrims are to pay GHC40,000

    Woes of a Muslim Pilgrims Under Bawumia unbearable… Pilgrims are to pay GHC40,000

    Mustapha Abubakar writes..

    What am I hearing? That Hajj fare is now *GHC40,000*? What a wow! In an economy where our living conditions continue to deteriorate?

    Under President Mahama, Hajj fares was pegged around *GHC11,900* ($3,450×3.45) per Pilgrim in 2016. Let me round it up to Ghc12,000. Then President Mahama also made sure that the rising cost of Hajj fares resulting from the exchange rate was not passed on to the pilgrims as he absorbed the difference to cushion them. That was a caring President!

    But what do we see today under a *Muslim Vice President, Dr Mahmud Bawumia*, Hajj fares moved from *GHC12,000* in 2016 to *GHC19,500* in 2019 and now, its *GHC40,000 ($5000)*. That is over *225%* increment.

    What happened to the promise Bawumia made in 2016 to help our Muslim Umma when he gets elected? What happened to our exchange rate which has ballooned to GHC8.0 to a dollar? And what am I hearing again; that those who paid their monies before March 2020 but couldn’t go for Hajj because of Covid, would be made to pay a difference of GHc2,000 and those who paid after March would be made to cough extra Ghc19,500 to add to the already Ghc19,500 they paid (twice the amount) before they embark on the Hajj? You punish Pilgrims after using their monies all these years?

    Don’t we fear Allah!

    My question is, was there a decision not to increase any fare for those who paid two years ago but couldn’t go? Well, lets wait for an answer.

    Is it also true that Pilgrims from the Northern part of Ghana cannot fly from the Tamale Airport this year? I pray its not true.

    I cringe for my fellow Muslim brothers and Sisters who are to cough out this outrageous amount of GHC40,000 to go and worship Allah.

    Why should Muslims continue to suffer rather under a Muslim Vice President?

    Like President Mahama has always said, Posterity will judge us all.

    May Allah make it easy for us.