Ekumfi Essarkyir (C/R), Jan 16, GNA - An amount of 15.1 million cedis was raised at the annual conference of the Muslim community in the Ekumfi Traditional Area at Essarkyir for the establishment of a Senior Secondary School at Ekumfi Dunkwa.

Addressing the conference, Sheikh Abdul Karim Abubakar a Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Islamic Studies in Accra said the best legacy parents could leave for their children was education and urged Muslims to see it as an investment.

He urged them not to look down on culture as fetish and said they should rather help in reforming aspects inimical to the growth of religion and society.

Sheikh Abdun Nasir Abubakar, Central Regional Imam asked them to support development projects, adding that, it was enough for them to "only pray and fast".

He advised against frowning on the religion of other people since Islam forbids it and said they should pray and offer alms to the people affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami in south East Asia and some parts of Africa.

Sheikh Yacoub Abban, Imam of Ekumfi, appealed to religious leaders to depart from the culture of what he called, "Collect and keep" to "collect and share," adding that, "what they collect in the name of religion must be used to promote the work of God and to relieve the sufferings of the people".

The sharing of what is collected in the name of God among religious leaders for their personal use is a sin, he said.