Spread message of peace, harmony — Christian Council
The General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana has appealed to pastors and church leaders to spread the message of peace and harmony as the country heads to the December 7 general election.
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Rev. Dr Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong said religious leaders generally should use their positions and influence in society to champion the crusade for peaceful elections.
He urged the religious leaders to educate their members that politics was about choices, development and not about violence and mayhem.
Speaking at an inter-faith youth dialogue meeting in Wa in the Upper West Region, Dr Opuni-Frimpong said politicians and their followers were always part of Christian and Islamic congregations who looked up to their leaders for counsel and inspiration.
“Those who are into politics are not strangers to us; they are not outsiders,” he said.
“The President and his vice, ministers of state, parliamentarians, party executives and foot soldiers are all members of our churches and mosques, so we cannot behave as though they are some strangers in our midst,” he stressed.
The inter-faith dialogue meeting is the product of an initiative by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) to sensitise society to the need for peace in the run-up to the December 7 general election.
It has the Christian Council and the office of the National Chief Imam spearheading the campaign to preach peace to members of society.
The Wa event was attended by members of the clergy, youth leaders in churches, political party representatives, Muslim leaders and traditional rulers.
Politics is not dirty
According to Dr Opuni-Frimpong, “politics is not dirty, politics is clean. It is only when dirty people get into politics that it becomes dirty,” he said.
He argued that politicians worshipped at churches and mosques before becoming politicians, and said they could, therefore, not become dirty overnight.
He said politicians were related to members of congregations at churches and mosques, and should not, therefore, be embraced as normal members of society.
“How can we distance ourselves from party faithful and treat them as trouble causers? They are not. It is only when we distance ourselves from members that they become a danger to society,” he said.
“Churches and mosques benefit from politicians so the churches and mosques should not distance themselves from politicians,” he stressed.
He said politicians were still useful members of their religious congregations by contributing in offerings and tithes, development funds and other projects to the growth of their respective churches and mosques.
Heterogeneity, not segregation
A Muslim scholar, Alhaji Baba Adam Musah, said peace was not necessarily attained on the basis of singleness of tribe, language or religion in a society, but on the basis of tolerance and understanding.
He cited Somalia – which even with just Arabic and Somali as its only official languages remains devastated by war – as a reason for tolerance among Ghanaians who have diverse religious, ethnic and dialectic backgrounds.
Further dialogue meetings will also be held in Greater Accra, Volta, Ashanti and Northern regions in an effort to diffuse tension ahead of the polls.
