The Christian Council of Ghana has condemned in no uncertain terms the US Koran burning event. General Secretary, Reverend Fred Deegbey told Emefa Apawu, host of the Big Bite, on X FM, an Accra based radio station; the event will spark a global animosity between Muslims and Christians and should be condemned.
A US pastor, Terry Jones had threatened to burn copies of the Koran on the anniversary of 9/11. Though he has put his actions on hold, there have been protest match in some parts of the world against the intended event. The US president, Barack Obama had warned that the act will be an al-Qaeda “recruitment bonanza”, while Defence Secretary, Robert Gates asked the pastor to cancel the protest.
Even though the pastor has said that his plan to burn the Koran has been put on hold, Rev Deegbey could not fathom why the pastor would come up with the idea in the first place. “I do not see any purpose that he wants to serve with his intended action. There is no point in what he is doing no matter the justification he gives to it”, he said. Rev Deegbey said pastor Jones’ explanation that “Christians must send a clear message to the radical element of Islam” does not sink in. “You do not correct wrong with the wrong, his he now waking up to what was done so many years ago? Can what he is seeking to do reverse what was done?” Rev Deegbey retorted.
He said the pastor’s intentions will cause more calamities for himself and other Christians across the globe. “We live in a world where people are fundamentally looking for a cause to engage in so many nefarious activities and so you need not trigger anything that draws religious sentiments and not expect a reaction.” Rev Deegbey said. He however assured the Muslim community in Ghana of the Christian Councils unflinching love and support saying he hopes the sentiments expressed by the US pastor not affects the cordial relationship between the two religious bodies in Ghana.
Meanwhile, a Muslim Scholar has described the pastor’s intentions as very unfair and irresponsible. Sheik Aremeyaw Shaibu says “to be able to eradicate terrorism, you should not engage in acts that that will rather generate some more violence.”
He says should the pastor go ahead to burn the Koran on 9/11, the implication could be very disastrous. “It would generate so much violence in countries around the world, especially countries where there are existing conflicts between Muslims and Christians.
Sheik Aremeyaw Shaibu used the occasion to wish members of the Muslim community a happy occasion as they celebrate their Edir-Fetr. He entreated the Muslim youth to inculcate what they studied in the month-long Ramadan period and not engage in acts of hooliganism.

Abena Asiedua Tenkorang, X FM 95.1, Accra, Ghana