Municipal and District Chief Imams in the Eastern Region have been directed to prioritise education on the dangers associated with substance abuse and other harmful drugs in their Friday sermons (Jummah prayers).
Such a move, they believe, will enable many young people in the zango communities who engage in the practice to better understand the harmful effects of dangerous drugs and desist from them.
The substances, which Islam forbids Muslims from using, include hard drugs, tramadol, "red", weed, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, inhalants and alcoholic beverages, among others.
Menace
The directive, issued by the Nsawam-Adoagyiri Municipal Chief Imam, Alhaji Mohammed Wahib Siba Adam, is intended to help address the menace in zango communities and the country as a whole.
Alhaji Adam gave the directive while addressing a three-day annual conference of municipal and district chief imams, their public relations officers and secretaries, as well as Muslim women, held at Bunso in the Abuakwa South Municipality of the Eastern Region on June 28, 2026.
Maiden conference
The conference, the first of its kind to be organised for municipal and district chief imams in the region, was on the theme: "Effective Leadership, An Essential Ingredient for Sustainable Development".
Friday sermons
Alhaji Adam, who spoke on behalf of the Eastern Regional Chief Imam, Alhaji Yussif Amudani Sulemana, said the chief imams should make it a point to educate congregants on substance abuse, its causes and its effects during their Friday sermons.
Testimonies
He said the chief imams should also invite people who were formerly involved in substance abuse but had managed to stop because of its devastating effects to speak at their respective mosques so that the youth would understand the consequences and refrain from such acts.
Alhaji Adam said such testimonies would also discourage other Muslim youth from taking dangerous drugs and other harmful substances.
Dangerous drugs
He said it was unfortunate that many Muslim youth in zango communities had become addicted to dangerous drugs and other harmful substances.
"Most of the addicts can be seen sleeping while standing or walking, or becoming motionless, which renders them inactive at certain periods.
"At times they also become violent, and such behaviour becomes dangerous to society, especially where they live," Alhaji Adam said.
Directive
He therefore directed the respective chief imams to educate their congregations on the dangers arising from substance abuse in zango communities to help safeguard the future of the youth.
Divorce
On the issue of divorce among many married Muslim couples in zango communities, the Nsawam-Adoagyiri Municipal Chief Imam attributed the situation to inadequate counselling before and during marriage to help couples better understand their responsibilities.
Sustainable peace
Speaking on peace within Muslim communities in the region, Alhaji Adam called on Muslim chiefs and imams to co-operate with and respect one another in the interest of their communities.
He said it was wrong and against Islamic teachings for any Muslim chief within the municipalities and districts to remove an imam from office, or for an imam to destool a chief in their respective jurisdictions.
No removal
"No imam or chief in the zango communities has the right to remove the other from office or destool the other because of personal interest, hatred or dislike.
Divisions
"When such incidents happen, they affect the development of those communities and create factions, tension and divisions because both the imams and the chiefs have supporters," Alhaji Adam stressed.
Alhaji Adam also said chief imams should recognise and support one another to promote unity and the development of Muslim communities in the region.
He reminded both chief imams and chiefs that they were accountable to Allah (God), who would one day call them to account for how they discharged the responsibilities entrusted to them.
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