Aliu calls for peace in Muslim communities

Vice President Aliu Mahama yesterday expressed concern about intra-Muslim conflicts in the country and urged Muslims to live by the tenets of Islam, which is a religion of peace.

Speaking at Muslim prayers at the Independence Square attended by thousands of people to mark this year's Eid Ul Fitr, the end of the holy month of Ramadan, he noted that the country witnessed a number of disturbing incidents during the period.

The most disturbing, Alhaji Aliu said, was the conflict at Bawku where fighting between the Mamprusis and Kusasis led to the loss of dozens of lives, injury to many more and destruction to property running into millions of cedis.

"Government is now constrained to commit scarce human and financial resources to maintain peace in that area."

The Vice President said Muslim communities were the most deprived in social and infrastructure services. "Our people have limited access to education and health and other basic needs. Yet we are very quick to destroy the few facilities that we have at the slightest provocation."

The government of the New Patriotic Party has expressed its determination to reverse the imbalance in the provision of social amenities, but urged Muslims to practice tolerance to promote development and progress.

Alhaji Mahama also expressed concern about "emerging and almost entrenched" gross indiscipline among the youth saying this had eaten deep into their general conduct.

"This is a matter of concern to the government as we make efforts to provide for the training and retraining of the youth for employment. An indiscipline labour force is a danger to itself and to the economy and public order."

Alhaji Aliu said Muslims should be reminded that Islam was essentially a religion of peace and brotherhood and these should be reflected in their lives and relations with others.

He charged Muslim communities to wake up and try to seek knowledge rather than waste time on unproductive conflicts.

"Let us send our children to school ... It is through education that we can produce politicians, administrators, doctors, engineers etc., to lead our people from the present state of underdevelopment."

"Let us rededicate ourselves to the study of the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed to be guided at all times by the spiritual values ... so that peace, justice and tolerance will prevail in all Muslim communities," he told the large Muslim gathering at the Independence Square.

The Vice President asked for prayers from all Ghanaians for Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, MP for Bimbilla and former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, who is in Dakar, Senegal, lobbying for the post of Executive Secretary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

West African leaders will meet this week in the Senegalese capital to elect a new ECOWAS Executive Secretary.

A strong government delegation led by Foreign Affairs Minister, Hackman Owusu-Agyemang is already in the Senegalese capital to support Dr. Chambas for the ECOWAS top job.