COMOG wants parties to address challenges
The Coalition of Muslim Organisation, Ghana (COMOG), an umbrella of muslim organisations, say they will only vote for a political party that has proven in its manifesto that it can address the myriad of challenges facing muslims across the nation.
Advertisement
According to the General Secretary of COMOG, Alhaji Abdei-Manan Abdel Rahman, none of the political parties had so far been able to address the major challenges confronting muslims in Ghana in their various manifestos.
He said this at a press conference held by the coalition in Accra last Wednesday.
Worship in schools
Alhaji Rahman said the parties should be clear on how they were going to address the issues of freedom of worship, as well as dress code of muslim students and health sector workers in public institutions.
He lamented that most school authorities had denied muslim students the right to observe prayers on campus but rather compelled such students to attend church services.
He continued that most schools had also refused to allocate a place of worship for muslim students, compelling the students to observe their five daily prayers in open spaces.
With regard to dress codes, the general secretary of COMOG said they were not allowed to dress as muslims to school and to their workplaces.
He said the dress code for girls and women was not an imposition but an obligation according to the Quran.
Management of Hajj
COMOG also charged political parties to outline plans on the management and statutory locus of government control on Hajj.
He explained that muslims, with the help of christian groups, kicked against the government’s plan to set up a National Pilgrims Authority (NPA) to supervise the management of religious pilgrimages in the country.
He indicated that once Hajj was a sacred islamic institution, its organisation should be the sole preserve of muslims.
Islamic banking and financing
In addition, the coalition also sought the commitment of all political parties on measures they would take to ensure the passage of the right legislation to allow Islamic banking and financing in Ghana.
He was of the view that any political party that would ensure that the needs of the islamic communities were met would be voted for in the forthcoming Presidential polls.
