The Ghanaian Minaret

Accra: Sheikh Mohammed Salman, the Imam of Madina West in the Madina Constituency of the Greater Accra region, has urged Muslim students within the Zango communities to consider mosques as places of learning.

He observed that most households in the Zango communities are not conducive for learning as there are no study spaces for children.

The situation, he said, has affected the learning culture of most zongo communities and also caused most students to waste time on unproductive television programmes and activities.

“We are Muslims, and Allah has blessed us a lot. Let’s look around all our Zangos; we have a lot of mosques. Between two and three houses, there is a mosque. Why don’t we take advantage of and make use of these mosques that we have in our communities?

“If the muazzin knows you are a student and you want to be in the mosque learning, they wouldn’t lock the mosque,” he said, addressing Muslim students at a seminar on strategies for success in examinations.

Sheikh Salman said studying in the mosque also provides an opportunity for students to form a study group where they could learn together.

He noted that doing so over a long period would go a long way towards improving the academic performances of students in the Zango communities.

“When you meet at the masjid, you can give yourselves the timetable and say that whenever we meet, we are going to use the first hour to study the core subjects together, and afterwards, everyone will be doing his electives,” he said.

The cleric advised students to remain focused on writing and passing their exams well so as to help them take advantage of opportunities that come with a good education.

He cautioned against abandoning school in pursuit of greener pastures that may be elusive, adding that “at this age, stop thinking about money.”

“Education shouldn’t be pursued because you want to be rich. We are educating ourselves because we are Muslims, and we must be educated. With education, even if you are going to learn a skill, you will do it and do it better,” he said.

Headmaster of Hudai Tiwnikli International Senior High School, Abdul Rahman Botwe, who served as the chairperson of the event, advised Muslim students to actively participate in the activities of the Ghana Muslim Students Association (GMSA) to rekindle their faith in Islam.

He urged them to sacrifice and commit their time to their studies, as that was the surest way to be academically successful.

The event was organised by GMSA Greater Accra.