A Message To Muslims ...

... On The End Of The Fast Of Ramadan

There is no God but Allah!
Allah is the greatest and to Him belongs all praise!
On the day of Eid-Ul-Fitr, as you join one and a half billion other Muslims to mark the end of the fast of Ramadan, I bring you greetings!
At this juncture in our nation’s history, Ghana needs the attention, the voice and the counsel of the people and communities of faith more than ever. I trust that during the last month of contemplation and renewal, you, my brethren spent some time considering our nation’s state.
As Allah states in the Quran (49:9) “And act justly. Truly, God loves those who are just.” Just as this is a call to Muslims to stand and to act for justice, Christians too have their calls and examples to act for justice. Thus when Jesus chased the money-changers from the temple, he was exemplifying righteous action for Christians. These calls to act in the service of justice are universal to all people of faith. Thus while people of faith must not impose our private morals on others or work for a theocracy in any way, we must live up to the justice and mercy expectations of our faith.
Today, as I write, a few months short of our half-century mark, our nation needs to be lifted up by her people of faith.
Currently, our nation is under assault by the divisive and intemperate forces of tribalism and partisanship to a degree not seen for decades. This has led to the absence of respect and charity towards even our most venerated institutions and persons.
Also, the on-going cocaine scandal has undermined our faith in our institutions and leaders by casting doubts on the ability and/or willingness of our law-enforcement organs to protect us from the scourge of drugs and thus restore our reputation in the family of nations.
Furthermore, there is a climate of lawlessness that is fuelling the twin evils of armed robbery/crimes and unnecessary deaths on our roads through a reckless disregard for our laws, rules and regulations. In addition, a few of our citizens live in opulence while the many that are poor migrate from our villages to clog our cities in search of jobs that are not there.
In response to these fundamental problems, I respectfully call upon all people of faith to unite in a historic partnership to encourage our nation to progress more speedily.
It is obvious that to join the ranks of middle income and successful countries, our nation must address not just our material deficits but also our moral deficits. A nation’s strength is measured not just in her economic assets but also her morals, attitudes and civic virtues.
Therefore, I propose that our people and communities of faith commit to the following agenda:
? To work to foster a culture of tolerance and respect amongst all our citizens.
? To work for a national culture supportive of families through the creation of jobs and the improvement of security for ordinary people where they live.
? To encourage the development amongst our leaders in all spheres a commitment to integrity and an attitude of humility.
? To foster in our nation a spirit of compassion for those who live in the shadows; the very young, the poor, the sick and the very old together with a spirit of philanthropy.
The adoption of such an agenda will lead to a more tolerant, more united, more compassionate and more prosperous Ghana in our next half-century.
Insha Allahu, we shall overcome!
EID MUBARAK TO ALL OF YOU!