Ramadan In Tamale......

Taming the guns, a time to unite. Only like yesterday we have another opportunity to welcome a distinguished and cherished guest. An exalted guest in who abounds endless blessings. It is my prayer that all of us see the arrival and departure of this blessed guest. And for those who have left, may Allah make their hereafter better than the Duniya. I usually like to see the arrival and departure of this guest while at my home base of Tamale. Tamale usually provides the needed environment to sustain this guest. The city comes alive with the springing up of all manner of koko and kooshie joints, the abundance of dates and other fruit merchants, the chorus call for prayer and the subsequent response by Faithfull’s who line up in total submission to their creator and maker, Allah . The almost rhythmic fufu pounding at dawn in homes which hardly had fufu as a stable becomes common place. An outstanding activity that swells my little Muslim chest with ‘pride’ is the gathering of people of all walks of life before their Imams to listen to Tafsir, the interpretation of the holy Quran and its broadcast over the radio. This activity is intended to help believers better understand the Quran, strengthen their faith and improve on their practice of Islam. One cannot help but admire the unanimity of activities, the show of love and the readiness to share whatever is available. Ordinarily, one expects Muslims as individuals and Islam as a religion to have the highest form of visibility and attractiveness and also serve as a period for a unity of purpose. This is hardly the case. What seems to be happening rather is the apprehension and fear of the veiled and sometimes naked ideological attacks by the very people who are supposed to be leading us and cheered on by the discordant voices of the yet to be salvaged ummah. It saddens my heart that instead of the regional minister and his security chiefs going to sleep because we are in the holy month of Ramadan, it is the period they instead go on third degree alert because the Muslims will be at it again. This has been going on for many years and there seem to be no end in sight. The race to claim tuff and prove whose ideology is wrong seems to be the preoccupation of many an Imam rather than bringing the people closer to their maker and helping them increase in faith. We have in the past missed the opportunity to showcase the beautiful and perfected religion that we have been bestowed with and have potently armed the enemy with lethal ammunitions to destroy us. The events of 2012 and the near fatal disaster are still fresh on our minds. But for the various roles played by the security, some media houses, chiefs and some imams who exercised self restraint we would still have been counting our losses. I pray that this year things will change for the better. There are basic practices of the religion which many practicing Muslims including myself are still struggling to understand and appreciate and I entreat all Imams to make this their concentration instead of the ideological differences. If there is the need at all to raise these issues they must be done with tact, diplomacy and consideration of the other sect so as not to invoke counter attacks. It is also important for the followers not to unnecessarily try to court the favour of their leaders by misrepresenting facts and deliberately lying. If an Imam’s attention is drawn to anything of the sort they should be thoroughly investigated. They could even ask for the recording and if found to be true the Imams could talk at their own level for retraction to be done in the same medium as it was first carried. The role of the radio station and host of such programmes is also very important. Radio station managers, host and their production crew should be present at each recording of Imams who use their stations for such purposes to satisfy themselves that no one is attacking the other and if on any particular day something untoward is being said they could engage the Imam on editing those portions before airing. Some Imams and sheiks deserve commendation for how they have conducted themselves over the years without getting into the fray of counterproductive sermons. Many examples abound. It is important that only “qualified” Imams carry out these interpretations instead of the new craze for leadership which has led many into saying and doing acts which are alien to the religion. Tamale is the town to be during Ramadan and we should do everything possible to make it remain the destination. Some Imams have either decided to pull out of the town or not stage Tafsir this year because of the events of 2012. Should they carry out their intentions we will ultimately be the losers because we will miss the opportunity to learn from them and also the deprive our mothers and sisters who usually sell around such facilities of the needed income. Welcome Ramadan. Jumma Mubarak. BY: Iddrisu Abdul Rashid {Manager Diamond FM)