Tuesday, 26 September 2006 (Front Page)
ONE hundred and sixty days after the March 29 solar eclipse and four days after the annular eclipse, there was yet another phenomenon yesterday in Accra.This time, it was at Maamobi, predominantly muslim suburb of Accra where a mysterious image allegedly appeared in a Mosque and three rooms in various houses.
Significantly, it was three days after the start of this year’s Ramadan by Muslims.
The alleged appearance of the mysterious golden image attracted hundreds of residents in and around Maamobi.
They thronged the area to catch a glimpse of the image believed to be similar to the holy cloth used to cover the ‘kaba’ (the most holy structure in muslim located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia towards which muslims face when praying).
The strange imageThe image which was allegedly sighted in a room in the area around 4.30 am with some Arabic writings could better be seen through louvre blades.
When the Times got to the various scenes around 10:30 am, one of the houses which reported the appearance allegedly lost it People from far and near, young and old, students and traders alike were seen struggling to peep through the windows of the various locations where the phenomenon reportedly appeared, as all the entrants to the rooms, including the mosque, were closed.
Salim Alhassan, an eye-witness, who allegedly witnessed the phenomenon in his father’s room, told the Times that he was in the room at about 4:30 am when his grandmother entered to serve his father a cup of tea, and upon seeing the image which had then started developing, she started screaming.
He said that upon questioning, she pointed to the image with some Arabic writings on it, adding that at first, it was not very visible but gradually became clear and visible.
He said information about the image spread very fast and people started thronging the area to view it.
The Imam of Eakaza Mosque, Dzazaudeen Abubakar, told the Times after watching the image at all the four location that the only difference between the phenomenon and what is in Mecca is that the one in Mecca is black in colour while what appeared at Maamobi was shiny.
Asked of its significance to Islam, he replied: "It makes us believe that Islam is a good religion on the earth".
A young lady, who gave her name only as Saddia, thinks the appearance of the image is a blessing from God, considering the fact that they are in the fasting period.
"It has strengthened my believe that Allah is great and is really there for us," she said.
Sheikh Shaibu Arimiyao, Greater Accra Regional Manager of the Islamic Education Unit, when contacted, said that even though he had not seen the image, the basis of people’s belief in it needed to be established.
He cautioned Muslims to exercise maximum restraint "in order not to be misled into a belief that is alien to Islam".
He said: "We in Islam do not believe that an object that is sacred and situated at a particular place (Mecca) can appear elsewhere" he added.
Sheikh Arimiyao noted that there were satanic forces that could deceive people into some imaginations, hence the need for the Muslim faithful to be cautious about the image.
When the Times contacted the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Nuhu Sharubutu, he said he had not heard about it and so could not comment on the matter.
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