Government Charged Not To Legalize Gays And Lesbians

Imam Ishmael Okotah Badoo, the Chief Imam of Okaikwei South, has appealed to the President and Parliament not to succumb to external pressures in the legalisation of gay and lesbian rights.

He said this is a serious issue which needs to be condemned by all as the legalisation of such rights could lead to a curse on the country.

Imam Badoo made the appeal in an interview with the Ghana News Agency following a new Human Rights Watch report titled 'No Choice but to Deny Who I Am': Violence and Discrimination against LGBT People in Ghana'.

Imam Badoo said Almighty Allah through His Holy Scriptures (Quran and Bible) and even traditional norms frowns on the practice of homosexuality and God had demonstrated His displeasures on those who practiced it in the past.

He said homosexuality was not accepted in Islam and the practice of it makes one a non-Muslim, adding that if a country allows such a practice to occur then the mercy of God is taken away from that state.

However, Imam Badoo said, much as Islam frowns on the practice of homosexuality it does not give people the right to abuse such individuals hence the need to hand them over to law enforcers.

He called on the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo to be resolute on the issue to avoid further challenges.

Abdel-Mannan Abdel-Rahman, the General Secretary, Coalition of Muslim Organisations, Ghana (COMOG), also speaking with the GNA, said this was an opportunity for Ghanaians to place pressure on political authorities to defend the cultural values of the people.

He said government must be categorical in representing and defending the values of the people of Ghana on the subject of homosexuality.

Abdel Rahman said Ghanaians deserve the commitment of political leaders to defend their unequivocal position against homosexuality and same sex marriage.

He said the position of Muslims in Ghana, as firmly rooted in the teachings of Islam, was that homosexuality was not only demonic but also an abominable act that should never be considered a legitimate alternative.

Abdel-Rahman urged all political parties to demonstrate their commitment to fight against any attempt to change the laws of the country to accommodate this decadence.

The General Secretary said COMOG would collaborate with like-minded individuals, groups and Civil Society Organisations to resist any attempt to legalise the practice in the country.

'If the laws of Ghana on homosexuality need change, such changes must reflect the strong resolve of Ghanaians in uprooting the practice from the Ghanaian society,' he added.