Muslims celebrate Eid across regions

Muslims across the regional and district capitals, towns and villages yesterday celebrated the Eid-ul-Fitr with the offering of prayers in appreciation to God for successfully seeing them through a fasting period.

From Accra to Wa, Muslims gathered in their numbers to pray and celebrate with Imams and elders of the faith.

Political authorities of various regional and district localities also used the opportunity to engage Muslims on development issues.

Tamale to guard peace

From Tamale, Mohammed Fugu reports that the Northern Regional Minister, Mr Salifu Saeed, and the Deputy Minister of Energy, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, joined hundreds of Muslims at the Jubilee Park to offer prayers to mark this year's Eid-ul-Fitr celebration in the capital of the Northern Region.

Mr Saeed, on behalf of the government, commended the Muslim community for going through the Ramadan period successfully.

He also commended all the Muslim Ummah in the region for praying for the peaceful resolution of the protracted Dagbon chieftaincy dispute and the subsequent installation of a new Yaa Naa, which had ushered in a new dawn of hope for the kingdom and the region at large.

He urged them to remain steadfast and jealously guard the peace in the area to enable them to benefit from the numerous interventions initiated by the government.

Mr Saeed reiterated the government's commitment to fulfilling all the campaign promises it had made to Ghanaians, and, therefore, urged them to continue to pray for sustainable peace in the country.

The Northern Regional Chief Iman, Sheik Alhaji Abdulai Abdul-Salam, in a sermon, stressed the need for Muslims to show love and care to one another and support the needy in the society.

Christian Mayor celebrates at Tema

Benjamin Xornam Glover reports from Tema that the Metropolitan Chief Executive of Tema, Mr Felix Mensah Nii Anang-La, a Christian, joined Muslims to celebrate the day as they converged on the Tema Sports Stadium to offer prayers to mark the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting.

The Eid-ul-Fitr prayers were led by the Metropolitan Chief Imam, Alhaji Abubakar Adam.

Alhaji Adam called on Muslims to live together in peace and unity with one another and with persons of other faiths.

"We are truly a people with a common destiny. Like a human body contains different types of cells in different numbers, the Muslim Ummah too is made up of people of different nationalities from different parts of the world.

So regardless of colour, nationality and gender, we should be united," he said.

Nii Anang-La gave thanks to Allah for leading the Muslims through the period of fasting, cleansing and rededication.

Bolgatanga against extremism

From Bolgatanga, Vincent Amenuveve reports that the Upper East Regional Minister, Madam Paulina Abayage, expressed regret about recent happenings globally with some individuals engaged in suicide bombings and attacks on innocent people to taint the peaceful religion of Islam.

According to her, “Jihad is not about intolerance, bloodshed and the culture of hate; rather, Jihad is about promoting peace, logic and the practice of moral, spiritual uprightness".

Madam Abayage, whose speech was read on her behalf by the Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Frank Fuseini Adongo, equally entreated Muslims to learn to imbibe Allah's consciousness.

That, she noted, would promote love for one another, which was needed for national unity and integrity.

She used the occasion to reiterate the government’s efforts in addressing issues of inequality in Zongo communities with the establishment of the Zongo Development Fund.

The Regional Chief Imam, Alhaji Adam Yussif, led the prayers and called for unity among Muslims for the accelerated development of the country as a whole.