The Ghanaian Minaret

Accra: Peace Media Dawah, a not-for-profit charity organisation, has supported the Hilal Committee of Ahlussunnah Wal Jamaa (ASWAJ) Ghana with three telescopes.

The gesture is aimed at supporting the committee in sighting the crescent, a crucial step in starting and ending the Ramadan fast.

The regions to receive the telescopes included the Ashanti region, the Bono East region, and the Upper West region.

Speaking at a presentation ceremony held over the weekend at Bole in the Savannah region, the Deputy Imam of ASWAJ, Sheikh Kamil Mohammed Kamil, said the acquisition of the gadgets was essential to reduce the reliance on other countries to determine the start and end of the obligatory fasting.

“It is not entirely correct that Ahlussunnah always relies on Saudi Arabia for sighting the crescent. It happens because we don’t have the logistics to do our work,” he said.

He noted that the search for the new crescent would begin on Sunday, March 10, 2024, and if unable to sight the crescent, then Ramadan fasting would start on Tuesday.

Narrating how the Muslim organisation secured the gadgets, Sheikh Amin Uthman Tanko, a Deputy Imam, said there have been discussions over the procurement of the telescope since about a year ago.

He said the organisation decided to engage Peace Dawah Media, which voluntarily provided the telescopes for the organisation.

He hinted that a fourth telescope is expected in the coming days.

The Chairman of the ASWAJ Hilal Committee, Sheikh Abdul Razak Abdullah Swallah, appealed to benevolent organisations and individuals to emulate the gesture of its benefactor to enable the committee to acquire the gadget for all 16 regions in the country.

He appealed to beneficiary regions to maintain the gadgets well.