Kumasi-Ghana Oct. 09, GNA – The National Muslim Imams have pledged to undertake public education and sensitization programmes on the need for Muslim Umah to lead in the mobilization of resources and harness the potentials of the people to promote the development of Zongo communities.
According to them, the role of Imams in local communities should transcend the religious and socio-cultural functions of leading prayers and presiding over marriages.
It should rather, be a factor of ensuring effective and efficient dealing with the development needs of Muslims in their area of jurisdiction.
Alhaji Sualla Abdallah Quanda, Executive Secretary, stated these in a communique read at the end of a two-day conference of National Muslim Imams held in Kumasi.
This year’s conference was under the theme: “the Imam, the Umah and development.”
Alhaji Quanda emphasized that, the conference encouraged all Imams at every level to endeavor to believe in societal development for the benefit of the next Muslim generation.
The conference appealed to the government through the Ministry of Education to re-introduce the recruitment of Arab teachers to ensure that Islamic schools were in good academic standards.
The conference again appealed to the government to consider adding a day each for the Eid fitr and adha festivals for Muslims.
This, according to the Imams, would make every Muslim to observe the eid prayers properly.
The conference unanimously agreed that as Muslims from different sects and socio- economic backgrounds, it was incumbent upon them to have collective strength that could help address challenges facing them.
The conference which brought together regional and district Imams from all over the country, aimed at ensuring that Imams in Ghana built their capacities to become spiritually, socio-economically, politically, and academically effective to lead in the development process of their local Muslim communities.
The National Muslim Imams conference was established under a deed signed by the national leadership of all Muslims groups in Ghana – Ahmadiyya, Tijanniya, Shia and Ahlu Sunnah, as well as Ghana Muslims Mission and the Muslim caucus in parliament.
The Ahlu Sunnah group, however, did not participate in this year’s conference.
