General News of Friday, 24 January 2003
Source: gna
Ashongman (Greater Accra) - President John Kufuor on Thursday appealed to Ghanaians to adhere to the messages of the campaign against indiscipline in the society to bring peace and unity, which the country needs to develop.
He said the campaign was a challenge for the nation to change "and for this to happen, the citizens need to change their attitudes first before we can achieve our goals". President Kufuor said this in a speech read for him by Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Minister of Information and Presidential Affairs, at the 74th Annual National Convention of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission (AMM), Ghana, at Ashongman, near Madina.
The three-day convention under the theme: “Curbing Indiscipline in Society - The Role of Religion,” was to take stock of the Mission's activities of the past year and to consider other ways to enrich society and members physically, mentally, morally and spiritually.
President Kufuor acknowledged the contributions of the Mission in the areas of human resource development and its role in the fight against HIV/AIDS. He said the theme was well chosen and timely for the people to identify the need to be disciplined.
“When we are all disciplined, the nation will be a disciplined nation,” he said, and urged both Muslims and Christians to disseminate the message to make Ghana a disciplined country.
“Leaders do not change people but they can only inspire people. Meanwhile, they can only change themselves.” He, therefore, urged all Ghanaians to make the decision to change to make the country a peaceful one.
Maulvi A. Wahab Adam, Ameer and Missionary-In-Charge of AMM, Ghana, said indiscipline formed part of the major causes of the problems facing the country. "From all indications, we are all heading towards the abyss of national self-destruction unless urgent steps are taken to arrest the situation."
He said the war against indiscipline launched by the Vice President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, was an effort towards orderliness and good sense and deserved the active support of the entire citizenry.
Maulvi Adam said the belief of blasphemy among a section of Muslims had regrettably contributed to the creation of disharmony in relationships between Muslims and non-Muslims at both national and international levels.
He said a lot of violence had been perpetrated and a lot of blood spilled in the name of God, ostensibly to punish blasphemy. “If there is any religious book that prescribes punishment for blasphemy in the world that book is not the Holy Quran,” he said. Maulvi Adam described the recent carnage in Kaduna, Northern Nigeria, during which more than 200 people were killed in demonstrations against what was perceived as blasphemy as “senseless killings.”
The riots occurred after Mulsims considered an article in a newspaper on the abortive Miss World contest in Nigeria as blasphemy. He said Islam did not advocate the punishment for blasphemy in this world nor does he vest such authority in anyone.