Christianity and Islam are both Abrahamic (from Abraham) and monotheistic (believe in one God/Allah)
One of the very intriguing questions we were asked at Catechism in preparation for
baptism in the Catholic Church was “Yɛbetumi ate saa nsɛm yi ase?” (Can we understand these words?)
Answer: “Yenntumi nte ase nanso yɛgye di efiri sɛ Onyankopɔn no ara na w’ayi akyerɛ yɛn.” (We can’t understand them, but we believe because it is God Himself who has revealed them to us).
How can you, in your knowledge of biology, believe that a virgin, call him Yaa, who had
known no man, can conceive and beget a son call him Anto? How can Anto claim he is
the son of God, sent from God to redeem mankind, “consubstantial with the Father”, and we eat the body of Anto world-wide… yes, we believe them because God himself has
revealed these to us!
The humble submission of faith to divine mysteries to which human minds cannot comprehend; acknowledging the spiritual truths of God which goes beyond human wisdom -the prayers, the creed, et al. Jesus Christ in the Trinity (Father–Son–Holy Spirit) came on earth 2,026 years ago, and the Bible later became the instrument of preaching.
In 1844, Karl Marx in a Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right wrote “Religion is the
opium” (opiate) of the people (masses) while Hegel argued that “The existence of the state is the presence of God upon the earth”.
He justified authoritarianism and totalitarianism, thus; it is the way of God in the world that there should be a state – the divine unfolding of history. David R. Parke of Marquette University Law School notes that: “Human beings have the distressing habit of killing one another because of religious differences, and some of our most religious citizens wear the biggest of blinkers”. Thus, religion acts like a pain killer for the poor and suffering people that numbs the pain of hard lives and gives false hopes of better lives (in heaven) after death – thus, stopping people from fighting against the glaring social problems; the proletariat versus the bourgeosie.
Islam, the Islam religion, founded by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH- Peace Be Upon Him) in Saudi Arabia around AD 610. The Quran (Koran) is the holy book. Muslims believe to be the holy literal word of God revealed to Muhammad (PBUH) per the angel Gabriel (for their daily lives, the Hadith is the guide). Muslims “Shahada” – no God except Allah, and Muhammad (PBUH) as His messenger; “Salat” – performing ritual prayers five times a day; “Zakat” – giving charity to the poor and needy; “Saum” – fasting in the holy month of Ramadan; “Hajj” – doing pilgrimage to Mecca, at least once in one’s lifetime, if one is able to.
Muslims are expected to preach “salaam” (peace). Before Christianity and Islam came to Africa, our forefathers/foremothers had their own religion, the African religion of various ethnic dimensions passed on orally through songs, festivals, narratives and myths.
Traditional Ghanaians believed in a supreme being: Onyame, (Akan) Mawu, (Ewe)
Nyɔnmɔ (Ga) Nyamenle (Nzima) led by Okomfo, fetish priests…
Religious practices are varied: for example, Christianity insist on one man one wife
(monogamy), Islam preaches one man [with] many wives (preferably 4). Traditional
religion – polygamy. (unlimited number of wives). Sundays are generally holy days for
Christian worship (some insist on Saturdays); Islam has Friday as holy day for worship.
Traditional religions have cyclical systems, market weeks or dedicated days for local
deities, taboo, specific weekdays (Fofie, Awukudae, Akwasidae).
The Constitution of Ghana (1992), in Article 21(1)(c), protects the freedom to practise any religion and to manifest it in worship, teaching, practice, and observance. Article 26
prohibits cultural or traditional/religious practices that dehumanise or injure physical and mental well-being.
On August 13 this year, Apostle Daniel J. Y. Adjei made some derogatory and offensive
comments about Islam on social media. Police arrested Daniel Adjei, and while being
taken to an office at a police station, in handcuffs, a Muslim cleric Sibamay Zakaria hit him on the neck from behind.
Was Daniel Adjei exercising freedom of speech? Why can’t people respect other people’s right to worship as they choose? Why should a Christian attack Muhammad (PBUH) and those who believe in Muhammad (PBUH) – using filthy words of him? And how would a Christian behave if a Muslim should use unprintable words against Jesus Christ? And why should the Muslim cleric slap Pastor Adjei and call him “foolish”. Pastor Adjei is demanding public apology and compensation from the police for standing by and getting assaulted while he was in the hands of the police.
Ghana has been a blessed country – not to have had any serious religious conflict,
because we went to school together, ate food – fufuo, ampesi, tuo-zaafi, akyeke, akple ati
fetri-detsi prepared by Christians and Muslims alike; and, to some extent, we inter-
married. But, most importantly, we give mutual respect to one another, tolerating and
respecting one another’s religion.
And the Muslim cleric preaching that any Muslim who kills anyone who insults Muhammad (PBUH) commits no sin gets grilled by the Muslim leader Sharabutu. Do not refer us to the Crusades – a series of religious wars backed by the Catholic Church between 1095 and 1291. The war was started by Pope Urban II who captured Jerusalem (in the First Crusade), followed by the Second Crusade (1147–1149), the Third Crusade (1189–1192) where King Richard the “Lion-Hearted,” fought Muslim leader Saladin; the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) where the Crusaders failed in their attempt to capture Egypt or the Holy Land. The fall of the city of Acre marked the end of Christian rule in the territory. In the end, the power of the Pope and the European monarchs grew, leading to a diminishing power of the Byzantine Empire.
Boko Haram (Hausa: Western education is a sacrilege) – began in northern Nigeria, in
2002 under Yusuf.
The group resorted to kidnappings, bombings and taking over towns under a radical
[leader], Abubakar Shekau, upon the death of Yusuf. When in 2014 Boko Haram captured 276 school-girls from the town called Chibok (Borno State), we in Ghana were praying for the affected school girls; more than eighty of the school girls have not returned. Some of the school girls were raped by the jihadists and got married to them.
One part of Boko Haram is now affiliated to ISIS, and began to be re-named “Islamic State West Africa Province”. The other part calls itself “Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna
Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS)”.
We read “The Satanic Verses” by Salman Rushdie as students of literature and
philosophy, not to be swayed by the contents of the book. The book is full of
controversies: calling Muhammad by the old medieval Christian term, Mahound; a lot of Muslim clerics view the characters names as blasphemous. Also considered blasphemous is the adoption of names of wives of the Prophet Muhammad for figures in a brothel…
Rushdie argues that he uses those names for mere characterization, not an attack on faith.
In 1989, Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a “fatwa”, a
religious decree which enjoined Muslims to look for, and assassinate Salman Rushdie…
Rushdie went into hiding, and was protected by the British authorities. Rushdie has been noted for controversies about his writings – as for example “Midnight’s Children”, which angered India’s Prime Minister, and India banned it.
When Artemis [crew] in a NASA mission of the U.S.A. (Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover,
Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen) flew towards the moon, the Christians were expecting a tale of “Heaven” by the astronauts. They were disappointed, and many decided to have a different view – a different orientation – towards their religion. So, we watch what IGP Yohuno will doo…
