Muslims to hold National Conference to address Ghana’s Development Agenda

The coalition of Muslim Organizations, Ghana (COMOG) is collaborating with the Advisory Board of the Office of the National Chief Imam, to organize a two-day national conference aimed at enhancing the capacity of Muslim leadership.

According to COMOG, the conference slated for 7th to 9th of February, 2020 at the Teachers’ Hall in Accra will “address the needs of the Muslim community and contribute to Ghana’s development agenda.”

They noted that Muslims in the country continue to face basic challenges, “such as discrimination against Muslim women at work and students in educational institutions,” while the nation  continues to reap “very little benefits from Islamic values and approach to achieving sustainable development”,

COMOG is hopeful that “following this conference, there will be cluster meetings in the future, which will culminate into national meetings ” to champion the interest of all muslims.

Read the full statement below:

NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF MUSLIM REPRESENTATIVES

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

The Coalition of Muslim Organisations, Ghana (COMOG) in collaboration with the Advisory Board of the Office of the National Chief Imam, is organising a two-day national conference of Muslim representatives to establish a stakeholder platform that will work towards enhancing the capacity of Muslim leadership to address the needs of the Muslim community and contribute to Ghana’s development agenda.

While Muslim organisations (active associations and NGOs) championing the interest of Muslims in Ghana are estimated to exceed 200, the absence of a common national platform to regularly deliberate and synergise their efforts has undercut the impact of their efforts on the national developmental agenda. Muslims continue to face basic challenges, such as discrimination against Muslim women at work and students in educational institutions. At the same time, our nation has reaped very little benefits from Islamic values and approach to achieving sustainable development. Thus, the need for regular national stakeholder meetings of all Muslims and stakeholders that will produce a national communiqué on development, governance and religious matters is long overdue.

Even more worrying is the lack of a stakeholder platform to produce a national Muslim leadership framework for the country. The Muslim community lacks a clear direction on the selection of Imams, especially for the newly created regions, and at all other levels. Even some of the already existing regions, municipalities and districts, either lack imams or go through processes that have serious security implications in selecting new imams. The Volta Region, for instance, has not had a Regional Imam since the demise of the last Regional Imam many years ago. As late as November 2019, there were near clashes between Muslims in the Volta Region when some Muslims attempted to install an Imam.

The Coalition of Muslim Organization Ghana (COMOG), working under the auspices of the National Chief Imam, has been holding consultations with many stakeholders including Chiefs since 2016. The impending conference is the outcome of these consultations. We envisage that following this conference, there will be cluster meetings in the future, which will culminate into national meetings from where regular national communiqués will be issued.

DATE
7th–9th February, 2020

VENUE
Teachers’ Hall, Accra

Other Collaborators

Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs

Ministry for Justice and Attorney General

Ministry of National Security

Ministry of Zongo and Inner City Development

Muslim Caucus in Parliament

National Council of Zongo Chiefs

THEME
” Enhancing the Capacity of Muslim Leadership for Ghana’s Development Agenda.”

MAIN OBJECTIVE

The Development of Muslim Leadership Framework for Effective Governance, Consolidation of Muslim Women’s and Students’ Rights and the Enhancement of National Cohesion”

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

1. To establish a national platform for collaboration among Muslim stakeholders to serve as a permanent reference point for executing our developmental agenda.

2. To develop a national Muslim leadership framework for the approval of His Eminence the National Chief Imam.

3. To develop an effective database of the Muslim ummah for the furtherance of religious harmony and tolerance.

GOALS AND TARGETS FOR DISCUSSION

1. To adopt one (out of several) models of leadership that will be developed for consideration.

2. To identify and address the issues hindering the observation of Muslim women’s (Corporate and Students) rights as enshrined in Islamic teachings and the 1992 constitution of Ghana.

3. To develop a national population database

4. To analyze key SWOT to the development of Islamic Economic System (IES).

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

While participation in the conference is strictly by invitation, the Organising Committee of the Conference invites proposals, memos, ideas and suggestions on any of the issues that will be deliberated on at the Conference from Muslim NGOs, pressure groups, think tanks, sectarian groupings, Ulama, professionals and individuals.

Proposals can be sent to:

Organising Committee,

National Conference of Muslim Representatives