Deputy Minister urges Muslims to publish positive Muslim values.

Accra, Sept. 12, GNA - Hajia Boya Gariba, Deputy Minister of Women and Children's Affairs, at the weekend called on Muslim scholars to come out with publications that could impact positively on the youth. "We live in an era when information is the most vital tool for the development and enhancement of all people including Muslims, yet the Ghanaian Muslim is most of the time left in vacuum concerning credible news and information."

Hajia Boya made this call in a speech read on her behalf during the launch of an Islamic Magazine in Accra. Entitled; "The Muslim News," the Magazine which is published by 2M Associates and supported by Coalition of Muslim Organizations (COMOG) and Network of Muslim Youth Organizations NEMYOG, would among other things identify some of the root causes of problems confronting the Muslim youth in the country.

The Deputy Minister condemned the engagement of Muslim youth in negative tendencies such as cyber crime (sakawa), prostitution and armed robbery and called on the publishers to highlight on these issues to discourage them from indulging in them.

She said; "With the publication of this magazine, I see hope in the horizon for the Ghanaian Muslim, especially our children and women who are the most vulnerable and I also believe you will dedicate a large part of the magazine to practical solutions of problems that affect our women, children and the less privileged in society." Hajia Boya called on parents to, in spite of their tight schedules, spend some time with their children to inculcate moral values in them to grow up to be self-reliant and responsible citizens. Major Rtd Issah Mohammed, President of COMOG, called on Muslims to participate in all national assignments that would make them stand tall in development issues. "As Muslims, we need to dialogue with other religious groups to place us on the same levels of acess to information and development." 12 Sept. 10