Every Muslim must prioritise unity – Minister

Mr Haruna Iddrisu, Minister of Communication, has called on Muslims to uphold the values and teachings of the Holy Quran and the Hadith in order to forge unity of purpose.

He said: “The only way to promote unity in the Islamic society is to engage the principles of the Quran and Hadith in a more proactive manner”.

Mr Iddrisu made the call at a ceremony to climax of the eighth annual regional conference of the Ghana Muslim Mission, on the theme: “Re-activating Unity among Muslims through Practicalising the Quran and Sunnah”, in Accra.

He said unity could not be achieved on a silver platter but needed much efforts and hard work, explaining it would be necessary for all factions in Islam to have a common platform to discuss the way forward to unity.

Mr Iddrisu noted that the common practice of giving false testimony in today’s world had brought about disunity among various societies.

He, however, urged the leaders of the Islamic Society to stand firm in all Islamic issues in the country and encourage respect for all faiths to promote tolerance of the diverse religions.

“The respect of the fundamental human rights of all, peaceful co-existence, freedom of worship …will go along way to promote both inter and intra religious unity,” he stressed.

Mr Iddrisu also urged them to make a resolve to contribute to sustainable peace by upholding national ethics and the constitution, which guarantees freedom of conscience and religion.

Sheikh Seebaway Zakariya, an Islamic Scholar, said though the existence of intra religious denominations had made it almost impossible to promote unity over the years, it was very important for all to work together towards a common goal.

He said for Muslims to be pious in the sight of Allah, the time had come for them to ignore these differences and work together to achieve good results.

Mr Ahmed Armah-Atsen, Regional Chairman of the Mission, said the conference was to assess how far they had come as believers and an organisation in forging forward with unity as enshrined in the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of the prophet.

He advised them to build their faith by seeking knowledge through education to become functional Muslims.

“As believers, we need to accept that conflict is a natural phenomenon and whether we like it or not, for it is bound to happen, however, the way we handle it so that it does not degenerate into loss of lives and property is what will differentiate us as true believers,” he explained.

Source: GNA