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The National Chief Imam deserves
this honour and many more
By Dr. Michael J.K. Bokor
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Folks, while concentrating on hardcore politics, we
shouldn't lose sight of the fact that our kind of politics
is more divisive than unifying. We shouldn't deceive
ourselves that all is well. There is a lot to worry about,
especially if we consider the perpetual enmity between the
various political parties and the entrenched positions taken
by their leaders not to see eye-to-eye on anything for fear
of losing grounds.
The events that have characterized elections (whether intra-
or inter-party) indicate that our kind of politics is prone
to danger. Now that some are preaching violence if the
voters register is not renewed for Election 2016, the stakes
are really high and danger looms.
Voices of reason have tried to calm nerves. The Ghana Peace
Council has been doing well to preach peace. So also has the
Chief Imam, Alhaji Osmanu Nuhu Sharubutu. Truth be told,
this is one Muslim leader that I cherish and highly admire
and respect for his composure and stated desire to preach
peace and bring heads together for peaceful co-existence.
Over the years, he has stood out as a force to be reckoned
with. I am happy that he is respected by the Muslim
community and all those who value peace!!
At a time that religious extremism (or fundamentalism) has
wrought terrorism among those abusing Islam, it is worthy of
note that we in Ghana are lucky to have strong Muslim
leaders who know how to manage affairs so no miscreant can
abuse the faith to cause the kind of mayhem that has engaged
world attention. It takes principled leaders to have grips
on the situation.
Boko Haram is operating in Nigeria. Al-Shabbab is doing so
in Somalia. These locally grown terrorists are affiliated to
mainstream terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and Islamic State.
Much of what fuels their terrorism is politically motivated.
That is why the fear exists that if our politicians prey on
disaffected elements in the religious faith, they could
become a terrible menace to us. And it takes a strong leader
to ensure that the faith is not turned upside-down and
abused for political purposes. Alhaji Sharubutu has been
strongly doing so through is constant messages of peace and
interactions with all those who matter to pull the strings.
No need to itemize his contributions to peaceful
co-existence, whether among the Muslim community or between
Muslims and Christians or followers of traditional African
religion(s). His constant preaching of messages on peace is
acknowledged.
I am, therefore, not surprised that he has been honoured by
the Prophets and Spiritual Churches Council, Ghana. (See
http://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/November-21st/prophets-confer-peace-honour-on-chief-of-imam.php).
Such a religious leader deserves our support so he can
succeed in his efforts. I am happy that he is being
recognized and honoured as such. Indeed, he has proved that
religion is not meant to separate us but to bring us
together to live in peace and be each other's keeper. The
bottomline is that nobody can fight God's battle for him.
Religion is only a tool to be used to find meaning to our
lives in this wretched, troubled, sickened world, even as we
look forward to the Judgement Day to account for our
stewardship on earth.
Alhaji Sharubutu is not the kind to be swayed by any
politician to toe his line. We know how politicians in the
NDC and NPP have often interacted with him on many occasions
and how they wish such interactions would translate into his
use of his status to get Muslims to root for them. They wish
they would use him for a wholesale political harvest. So
far, he has remained neutral and given no doubt to anybody
to suspect him of partiality.
That is not how leaders of some Christian churches are
behaving. They have sold their conscience to the
highest-bidding politician and are all over the place
infuriating us with their prophecies of doom for the
political front that they hate. They have created the
mistaken impression that their brand of religion is highly
politically motivated, which is one main source of tension.
No prophecy has come from Alhaji Sharubutu either about
which political party will win or lose elections. On the
contrary, the so-called Men-of-God have gone astray to
expose their political interests. Such characters are
dangerous because they use their calling to divide the
society. Only God knows why they do so.
By remaining uncommitted and by not making any utterance in
favour of any political party---and by insisting on
peace-making---Alhaji Sharubutu stands tall. There are many
sects within the Muslim community in Ghana and it has to
take someone of Alhaji Sharubut's calibre to ensure that
conflicts don't crop up to add more woes to Ghana's
problems.
Whether it is the majority orthodox Muslim sect or the
minority ones like Ahmadiyya, Tijaniyya, Al-Suna, or
whatever else, the influence of the Chief Imam is so strong
as to eliminate any tendency toward abusing doctrinal
differences to cause mayhem. It is not so in other
countries. Clearly, it has to take good leadership on the
part of the majority Muslim sect to hold the fibre together.
And the Chief Imam does just that. Honouring him on that
score is a matter of course.
Congratulations, Alhaji Dr. Sharubutu on being so
acknowledged. I hope others will learn useful lessons from
you. Through your sterling leadership, no conflict has
erupted between Christians and Muslims as happens in other
countries. Thank you for setting the pace.
I shall return…
• E-mail: mjbokor@yahoo.com
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