First Lady urges Muslims to embrace all sects

Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, the First Lady, has advised the Ghana Muslim Mission to continue to observe Allah’s commandments as laid down in the Quran by embracing all Muslims irrespective of their sects.

She said Al Sunna, Tijaniyya, Ahmadiyya or Shia all profess the oneness of Allah and the messenger, Prophet Mohammed (S.A.W) and therefore, the need to accept all these denominations.

The First Lady said this a speech read on her behalf by Mr Mustapha Hamid, the Minister of Information, at the 50th-anniversary celebration of the Ghana Muslim Mission Women’s Fellowship (GMMWF) in Accra, on the theme “Ghana Muslim Mission Women’s Fellowship: Interrogation the Past Shaping the Future.

“Let us leave judgement to Allah, for only He knows who is astray and who is rightly guided,” she said.

Mrs Akufo-Addo said fortunately for us as Ghanaians, religion has not been a factor for division in our country. Christians and Muslims continue to live in peace and unity.

“Indeed, the fact that you found it necessary to invite me to this programme, tells volumes about the level of religious tolerance in our country,” she stated.

According to her, this was the only way that citizens can guarantee the cohesion of the country.

The First Lady said Khadija, wife of Prophet Muhammed (S.A.W) and the first woman to accept Islam served as a great psychological booster to the Prophets mission by spreading Islam this far.

She, however, congratulated the efforts of the Women Fellowship for the kind of developmental gains and empowerment that Muslim women continue to give to one another and how they play their rightful roles in society to help create many more Khadija’s today.

Hajia Azara Abukari-Haroun, former Head of Institutional Banking, HFC Bank, called on the Muslim Ummah (Community) to be patriotic and law abiding citizens to ensure peace.

She said one major socioeconomic challenge facing the Muslim community that needed urgent attention was poverty and she urged those who were well to do to avoid extravagant lives.

She noted that the time was, therefore, ripe for the Muslim woman to inculcate the habit of saving and investing in productive ventures to improve their living conditions.

Hajia Azara encouraged the women to learn the virtues of reconciliation with the fear of Allah and also the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) especially in this era of social media so as they would be able to monitor their children to help them become responsible leaders.

Hajia Mariama Obeng, the National Coordinator GMMWF, said the Mission was anchored on the need to empower and foster unity among Muslim women.

She, therefore, said Muslims ought to be a formidable force that defended the Islamic faith whilst harnessing the potentials of the Ghanaian Muslim woman through formal education.

Hajia Mariama expressed appreciation to the entire membership of the Mission, the National Executives Council of the GMMWF, the planning committee, the Greater Accra Regional Council and the Imams Council for their enormous support towards the success of the celebration.