Fight Moral Decadence - Religious Leaders Urged

By:Stephen Kwabena Effah
Tuesday,June 13,2006

An Islamic lecturer, Sheikh Salman Mohammed Alhassan, has asked religious leaders in the country to put their efforts together to fight the moral decadence which is plaguing the country.

He noted that nepotism, corruption and egoism among public officials and other influential leaders are gaining root in the country at a rate which needs much attention, otherwise the nation cannot move forward.

For Ghana to become a better place for its people, “its leaders must rather think about the collective interest of the people in everything that they do,” and lead exemplary lives.

Sheikh Alhassan said this at the second graduation and Qu’ran Certification Award of the Abdullah Bin Masud Centre for Memorization of the Holy Qu’ran in Accra at the weekend at which 15 students were presented with Diploma awards in Holy Qu’ran and Islamic Sciences and eight received Qu’ran Certification (Ijaaza) awards.

Sheikh Alhassan asked religious leaders in the country to “live above corruption, egoism and nepotism and teach the tenets of the Holy Bible and the Qu’ran”.

He also asked the graduates to use their leadership skills and teachings to fight moral decadence in their respective communities and the nation at large.

“If you as leaders are not upright, those learning from you will surely not be upright,” he said.

The director of the school, Dr.Muhamad Bashir Adam, said the students who came from Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria, were trained by teachers and Imams in their respective communities.

He expressed the hope that the school would be upgraded into a University College of the Holy Qu’ran where courses leading to the award of a bachelor degree in Qu’ran and Islamic Sciences would be offered.

He thanked the government of Saudi Arabia through the International Organization for Memorization of the Holy Qu’ran for its support to the school.

Greater Accra Regional Minister, Sheikh I.C. Quaye, congratulated the graduands on their efforts throughout the two-year programme and urged them to share the knowledge they had acquired with their people.

He said “memorizing the Holy Qu’ran is a great miracle since even those who write their own books cannot memorize them.”

He asked them to learn more local languages to enhance their teaching in their respective communities.