It’s Just A Simple Altercation; Not A Religious War!...No Politicking In Religious Issues

I refuse to call what appears tobe a brouhahabetween Muslims and Christians war as most people, especially politicians, have unknowingly but successfully done through the media. To do that will be totally fallacious and myopic! Have Christians and Muslimsnot been gregarious before all eyes in broad day light and even in the current darkness at every sunset?Why the hullabaloos and fuss over this trivial issue,that authorities of mission schools are preventingMuslims to freely and confidently pledge their allegiance to Allah?

What keeps my heart trembling is how politics is gradually digging its way into the issue so as to dabble in an issue that needs just an amicable discussion between leaders of the two sides to untie any knot of the devil. Perhaps education and religion are indirectly related but I don’t see any linkage betweenreligion and politics, considering the great disservice some politicians have done this country over the years.

What has always been accepted as the normal is gradually developing into a sacrilegious act simply because politicians are making the Muslim sect feel that authorities of some second cycle institutions are not only frowning upon their most cherished beliefs but are also crashing their fundamental rights under jackboots.

Fortunately, our country has highly competent and dependable religious leaders who are on top of such issues so it is advisable that politicians leave the matter and get on with their political games.

A fundamental human right and freedom?

Perhaps the Muslims have a good case but how justified are their claims? Our fundamental human rights have been succinctly defined in Chapter 5 of the1992 Constitution. Article 17(1) and (2) states that “All persons shall be equal before the law” and “A person shall not be discriminated against on grounds of gender, colour, ethnic origin, religion, creed or social or economic status.”Even aperfunctory look at this act will reveal that not only Muslims, but all religious sects reserve the right to practice their faith at all times without any discrimination.

Of course, we all have the freedom to join any religion or educational institution of our choice. The problem, however, becomes evident when we attempt to practice some doctrines of our faith in every educational institutions in which we find ourselves.

It is natural and logical that all institutions, including educational ones, have codes of conduct and one’s decision to join any of such institutions implies that he/she has willingly embraced its standards, no matter how unpleasant such standards may seem. Hence, thisperson will be cutting off his nose to spite his own face if he attempts to deviate from any of the institution’s codes.

Qur’an 24:31 says:“And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests and not expose their adornment except to their husbands…”This means that the Qur’an expects women of the Islamic faith to wear the veil (hijab) so as to remain chaste by avoiding eye-contacts with men. But what happens if these women find themselves in institutions that require them to wear uniforms?

The nursing profession, for instance,requires that a female in the profession wears an apron over her uniformand put on a cap that barely covers her hair. It is even more rigid in the military service as both sexes are made to dress in the same fashion. Soldiers and policemen/women are obliged to don the “seb)-seb)” and the “akor)ma” camouflages respectively. This follows that our educational institutions, to a greater extent, determine our dress codes.

The passionate and somewhat forceful call by Muslims,aimed at convincing authorities of second cycle institutions to permit female Muslims in such institutions to dress in the Islamic fashion and probably skip church activities, is rather unfortunate and quite unjustifiable. We must bear in mind that Christianity and Islam are not the only religions in Ghana and it is highly possible that there are students who belong to the Traditional religion, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shintoism etc. How sure are we that students of these less popular religions won’trequest that they are also permitted to dress in a fashion they deem ethical? Perhaps some of them would even want to walk barefooted to class or even sit on the floor or stand while lessons are on-going? Others might as well want to exhibit their nudity, all in the name of religion. In this situation, the idea of ‘uniform’ becomes completely meaningless. Religion appears to be the most powerful tool that controls all aspects of human beings and if we choose to be followers of Buddha who claims that “Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, man cannot live without a spiritual life”, we must be cautious of the educational institutions we join!

The issue becomes stickierand more complicated when we consider the fact that some of these second cycle institutions were established byChristian missionaries with the main aim of spreading Christianity. It is therefore not surprising that until recently, Christian Religious Studies was a major and compulsory component of the curricula of some of these second cycle missionary institutions. Our fathers say that, “It is the drummer who determines the pace of the dancers”. The missionary schools reserve the right to train Muslim students in the Christian way. They are also justified to compel Muslims to partake in all school gatherings (church activities inclusive). In the same way, they may choose to prevent Muslims from practicing their faith in their premises. I say this because if I am a northerner who abhors snails, why should I permit an Ashanti man who eats such ‘dirty creeping creatures’ to carry them into my house, let alone boil them in my pot? One man’s meat is indeed another man’s poison!

Fortunately, it is not a case that Muslims are being prevented from worshipping Allah in suchSenior High Schools. I dare to add that authorities of a good number of missionary Senior High Schoolspermit Muslimsto worship without any form of interference.Kumasi Academy, St. Louis, St. Thomas Aquinas and Opoku Ware are the few names that readily come to mind. Interestingly, some of these schools have mini-mosques in which Muslims worship. The classrooms usuallyserve as alternative worship centres for both Christians and Muslims in most of the schools.

As a former student of Kumasi Academy, I know for a fact that the various religious groups in the school, including the Ghana Muslims Students’ Association, meet in different classrooms to worship on Saturdays. On Sundays, students gather in the assembly hall and have a joint church service in consonance with the doctrines of the Baptist church. All religiousgroups,together with our cherished atheists,are obliged to attend.

Although I had reservations about this practice during my school days, I swallowed them because the school was founded by the Baptist missionaries. Besides, I had every right to forgo my admission andchoose a different school after my Basic Education Certificate Examination, but that was the choice I made.I guess the situation is not different in other schools, and Christians who find themselves in Islamic schools like T.I.Ahmadiyya learn some doctrines of Islamin one way or the other against their interest.

It is advisable that not even a single soul is allowed to escape school gatherings; dormitories must be locked! All students must consider their religious backgrounds before they choose any institution of higher learning or accept admission from any educational institution.

Let’s remain peaceful
Being a staunch Christian stays at Mamobi (an area dominated by Muslims), I see true beauty in our peaceful co-existence with Muslims.All and sundry should visit thisneighbourhood and see how mosques are sandwiched by churches. Oft, on Friday evenings, while the churches’congregations get drunk in tongues of prayer, the Islam brethren in their mosquesloudly recite the Qur’an in unison, leaving the atmosphere charged with millions of voices.

Since politicians have perpetually but intentionally failed to find a permanent solution to the power crisis of this country, we no longer rely on the alarms of our cell-phones to wake us up; it is the consistent cry of the Muezzin at each dawn that reminds some of us (Christians) to do ourquite-time.And after eating the “tubani”, “TZ” and “Bambara beans” from the same bowl with ourMuslim brothers, we find “fula”, “sobolo” and “lamougi”invaluable companions while we discuss relevantnational issues, usually after our Sunday church service.

Once politicians have refused to solve problems thatthey have absolute control over, they should learn to keep mute over spiritual matters. Yes, Professor Emmanuel Martey got it right- religious issues mustindeed be devoid of dirtystinking awful politicking!WHOSE RELIGION IS IDEAL AND THE FINEST? LET ONLY GOD DECIDE!

Darius Adjong (The King’s lens)
[email protected]

0207824434