The Ghanaian Minaret

Accra – The Coalition of Muslim Organisations in Ghana (COMOG) in collaboration with the Office of the National Chief Imam will hold a two-day Muslim National Conference in Accra to find a common ground to help address challenges facing Muslims, especially the respect for the right of Muslims in the country.

The conference, which will be held from February 21 to February 23, 2020, at the Teachers’ Hall will be under the theme, “Enhancing the Capacity of Muslim Leadership for Ghana’s Development Agenda”.

This was made known by the leaders of COMOG when they called on the Muslim Caucus of Members of Parliament (MP) in Parliament on Thursday, as part of their stakeholders’ consultation to have a very successful and result-oriented national conference.

Addressing the Muslim MPs during the visit, the General Secretary of COMOG, Hajj Abdel-Manan Abdel-Rahman told the MPs that the main focus at the national conference would be to develop a Muslim leadership framework for effective governance and to consolidate Muslim women and students’ rights for the enhancement of national cohesion and peaceful co-existence.

He said the conference would also develop a national Muslim leadership framework for the approval of His Eminence, the National Chief Imam and also develop an effective Muslim Ummah for the furtherance of religious harmony and tolerance.

“We want to establish a national platform for collaboration among Muslim stakeholders to serve as a permanent reference point for executing our developmental agenda,” the general secretary said,

He stressed that the conference will also develop and adopt a system framework or policy as a guiding principle for corporate Muslim Ummah to be reviewed every four years.

According to Mr Abdul Rahman, the conference is expected to be addressed by some prominent Muslim scholars such as Dr Hudu Fusheini, senior lecturer at the University of Ghana; Alhaji Ahmed M. Gedel, senior lecturer at the Accra Technical University; Dr Zainab Baba, a medical practitioner and Muslim activist; Dr Salifu Mohammed, medical practitioner and Lawyer Shahadu Mohammed, a legal practitioner.

The minority chief whip and National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Asawase, Alhaji Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka said it was important for the coalition to develop its own constitution to guide and legitimise its activities.

He said it was important for all sects of the Islamic religion to come together to ensure that some very important rights of Muslims were recognised and enshrined in the nation’s constitution.

He however noted that  Muslims had been their own enemies because when there was any programme that was intended to address the collective needs of Muslims, every individual Muslim would be thinking about what he or she would personally gain from such a conference.

The Chairman of the Muslim MPs Caucus and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Offinso South, Ben Abdallah Banda said the caucus was fully in support of the idea and would do everything possible to ensure the national conference became a success to help address the challenges facing Muslims in the country.