Muslims in Ghana to begin fasting

Accra, Oct. 21 GNA - Sheikh Mahmoud Mohammed Gedel, Acting Chairman of the National Hilal Committee (NHC) of Ghana on Tuesday urged Muslims to be on the look out for the Ramadan moon on Friday October 24. He said if the new moon is sighted anywhere in Ghana, Saturday, October 25 would be the first day of Ramadan otherwise Sunday the October 25 would be the day for the commencement of the Fast. Sheikh Mohammed Gedel announced this at a press conference in Accra to inform all Muslims in the country about the commencement of this year's Ramadan-Fast.

He said: All Muslims are by this briefing encouraged to make it a sacred duty to sight the moon and report to the appropriate quarters." Meanwhile the 9th National Ramadan Conference (NRC) of Imams, Ulamau and Chiefs held at Koforidua in the Eastern Region has come out with five resolutions.

The resolution called on Muslims to settle their differences on matters of inheritance within the tenets of Islam as Allah Himself had prescribed in the Holy Koran.

The declaration also supported the government's initiative in the establishment of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIC). The conference recognized the need for sustained peace for the nation's development.

On HIV/AIDS, the resolution said it was real and total abstinence from immoral acts was the only solution to the problem. Delegates at the conference agreed that Muslims should be advised to voluntarily take the HIV/AIDS test as pre-condition for marriage couples.

The resolution urged all concerned people to contribute their quota to the National Islamic Trust Fund instituted by the Conference for accelerated development.