The Minority Chief Whip and Leader of the Muslim Caucus in Parliament has cautioned that they will not watch on for any religious group to plunge the country into chaos.
Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak on JoyNews’ PM Express on Monday expressed his frustration that the Christian Council and the Catholic Bishops Conference had thrown their support behind the Methodist Church and Wesley Girls’ SHS decision not to allow Muslim students in the school to observe the Islamic ritual of fasting.
The Asawase MP said, the act has exacerbated the situation.
“We won’t allow any Imam or any pastor to lead this country into chaos. This is a country for you and me. We must speak out. We won’t allow any disintegration, whether coming from the Christian, Muslim or Buddhist communities.
“We are one unit within a unitary state. We all subscribe to live by the Constitution of Ghana so we must respect it. Let us try to dialogue and cool the temperature in our country,” he stated.
The Muslim Caucus in Parliament has been engaging in a series of dialogue with the Methodist Church and the Ministry of Education to resolve the matter.
Meanwhile, a Ghanaian US-based Attorney and an Old Student of Wesley Girls’ SHS, Samira Sulemana has revealed that not only is her former school barring Muslim students from fasting, she alleges that the school does not allow them to observe their five daily prayers-Fajr (sunrise prayer), Dhuhr (noon prayer), Asr (afternoon prayer), Maghrib (sunset prayer), and Isha (night prayer).
“The issue these girls are facing goes beyond just the fasting. I am surprised that all that is being talked about is the fasting. They [Muslims] are not allowed to pray, they are not being allowed to even talk to each other as Muslims.
“And so the concentration on only fasting kind of baffles me. Wesley Girls’ has never given due recognition to Muslim students,” she stated.
But in a spirited defense, immediate past National Vice President of the Old Girls Association of the School, Harriet Wereko-Brobby says her Association is troubled that the School’s name is being dirtied over its decision.
She maintained that the decision of the School not to allow fasting is not a religious decision but one borne out of previous experiences regarding students suffering health conditions after doing so.
