Minister goofed over NPP Muslim comments - A/R Chief Imam

Sheikh Abdul Mumin Haroun, an Islamic Clerk and the Ashanti Regional Chief Imam has rejected claims by Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Eric Opoku that Muslims must do away with elephant because it is not a good creature.

He explained that, it is wrong for anybody to suggest that the Holy Quran admonishes Muslims to stay away from persons or group of persons that have elephant as their emblem .

He said muslims only know the elephant as an animal created by God but do not have any bad history about it.

“The only history on elephant in the Qur’an is that, there lived a king called Ibrahim from Yemen who tried to destroy a place called Karlbbar but God intervened on his arrival at the place. The king travelled by land with an elephant,” he revealed.

“The history tells us that it was not the elephant who took that decision but rather the king. This means the elephant is not a wicked animal according to Islam,” he added.

He further stated that, even Prophet Mohammed in his narration on receiving the fifth commandment of Islam used an elephant ear to describe leaves and other things he observed at the place. Muslims value elephant as a unique animal amongst mammals in the world.

“God never told any Muslim to do away with elephant or getting close to elephant makes you a fake Muslim,” he stated.

Sheikh Haroun could not fathom why Eric Opoku would make such pronouncement involving Muslims in politics and advised politicians to be careful in their speech and stay away from such religious politics.