Features
Must we be divided over religious differences?
Many religious faiths and practices abound in various parts of the world, sometimes helping to bring people together especially those who share the same faith while those who practise different religions sometimes see themselves as different groups of people who are not related in any way.
Many a time, religious differences bring about fierce conflict among people and make them see themselves as enemies to the extent that they tend to condemn one another even though they are seen to be related biologically from distant relations. It is, therefore, important for people to note and understand the basis of religion and why they sometimes become divided over religious differences.
DIFFERENT RELIGIONS
There are different religions in the world and these include Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and many others such as traditional African religion. Lack of knowledge that characterises the practices of each of the faiths make it difficult for non-members of that faith to see themselves as different from those who have accepted to practise that faith. For this reason religion makes people see themselves as unrelated in a number of ways.
To begin with, the faith exhibited by one religion makes it difficult for other members of different religious practices to see themselves as sharing common affinity with such religious groups. This is a common phenomenon that goes on in various parts of the world including this country, Ghana. For example, some Muslims may see themselves as different from Christians while Christians may also see themselves as different from Muslims.
What is interesting is that all religious faiths and practices emanate from the belief that God the Creator of the universe ought to be revered and worshipped in one way or the other. Understandably, followers of different religions see themselves as a special group of people whose behaviours are not in line with those of others whose perspectives are different.
ONENESS OF GOD
If, therefore, a Muslem sees himself or herself as different from a Christian and vice versa, we need to appreciate and acknowledge why such differences exist. We often hear people say that God is one yet we find different ways of worshipping this God as the exclusive truth when we move from religion to religion, making each religion stand out as superior to the other.
We need to note that our perceptions about God and the way we worship Him as the Creator of the universe may differ from person to person based on the peculiar beliefs and practices that we accept as the exclusive truth.
It is important to look at different religious perspectives in different parts of the world. As an example, if a new born child finds itself in a Muslim family or parents, when this child grows up, he or she is likely to be influenced to become a Muslim seeing that religiously and culturally, he or she will be introduced to the same faith and practices.
This situation applies to a Christian child born to a predominantly Christian home in Ghana, Nigeria or any of the European countries. Thus, as this child grows up, he or she will also be introduced to the Christian faith and practices to end up as a Christian. For this reason, we will come across new breed of persons whose religious beliefs and practices may be found as different from others we encounter in our neighbourhood.
It is important to recognise at this point that religious differences are bound to emerge but we should not in any way see ourselves as different from one another, ending up as enemies instead of complementing one another in our reverence to God the Creator.
DIFFERENT DEDICATION TO GOD
We may all be dedicated or committed to the same Almighty God but in different ways. Condemnation from one another which in the past led to religious wars instead of accepting other brothers and sisters as being part of the human race ought to stop immediately.
That is why it is good when we come across people of various religious faiths easily interacting with others who share different views and belong to different religions.
OPEN MINDEDNESS
There are many Christians who are open minded and will, therefore, not look down on other people who share different religious faiths. Such people would want to remain within their own faith but would not look down on others simply because of religious differences.
Ghana for example is made up of people of different faiths but the good thing among them is that they are able to live together in peace without creating religious havoc among themselves. If people sincerely understand their faith in God, they will never see themselves as enemies and fight one another on religious grounds. This simple truth has been recognised and accepted by all groups of people in this country irrespective of the basis of their religious faith.
DR. BAWUMIA’S EXAMPLE
There is one person in this country who is a devout Muslim but finds it easy to mingle with many Christians as well as others who belong to different religions. This person is the Vice President of the Republic, H.E. Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia. Dr. Bawumia is working effectively with his boss H.E. Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo who is a Christian. These two gentlemen are moving along in an effective manner with other members of government to pursue the agenda of national development.
Dr. Bawumia, a devout Muslim has been found visiting various churches, sometimes with his wife, Hajia Samira, to worship and sing hymns at worshipping centres that are known to be Christian. The Vice President has never expressed disrespect for any Christian or group of Christians in this country. Rather, what he is noted for is the way he embraces Christians and people of different ethnic or religious groups, sharing a common vision with them in line with the attainment of national goals.
He has not only been found singing Christian hymns in Christian churches but quoted also portions of the Bible during his presentations to the congregation.
The man Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is one person who, though a devout Muslim, characteristically accepts and embraces all Ghanaians irrespective of their religious affiliation or belief. Some of the people he embraces and mingles with are the down trodden such as the poor, the deprived and people considered to be unimportant or underprivileged in society.
This pattern of lifestyle is very commendable and enviable and must be appreciated by everyone in this country and the rest of the world.
In other words, his personal beliefs and lifestyle shows that as a Muslim, he embraces all those he encounters in society as children of God who must be assisted in any way necessary.
Dr. Bawumia is one person who is not proud or pompous but humble enough to become a friend of any person in society. He is always full of smiles and ready to assist everyone irrespective of the person’s background, whether highly educated or not, whether a Muslim or not, whether rich or poor and does not look down on any person. These are the people or leaders we need to follow and identify with for their shining examples to the rest of society.
The point being made is that our religious differences are bound to occur but these differences, based on different circumstances, ought not influence us in any way to discriminate against other members of society. This is an admirable fact which throws light on the true nature of God and for which reason we must all come together and work hard as one people with one common destiny for our common good. In other words, our religious differences should never serve as a basis for us to behave in a discriminatory manner against other segments of society.
Contact email/whatsApp address of author:
Pradmat2013@gmail.com (0553318911)
By Dr. Kofi Amponsah-Bediako
Someone said, if we cannot plan for an occurrence as predictable as the annual rains, then what else can we plan for as a country? God has caused nature to schedule rains for specific periods or months within the year and everybody knows this.
One need not be a meteorologist to tell that the rains will fall in May and June every year. Any serious person who has something that the rains can affect, would therefore plan taking into consideration the likelihood of the rains falling. Therefore to find out that a whole country like ours, had not planned effectively, is mind-boggling.
The report by the World Bank that fiscal policy measures by the Finance Minister has led to no money being released for the World Bank sponsored project to deal with the perennial flooding situation in Accra, is so disappointing. The fact that this contributed immensely to the flooding in Accra, is an understatement.
There have been fires in our markets, but who is checking the wiring on a regular basis as a system designed to prevent future outbreaks? The occurrence of fires in our markets is something that must engage the attention of government and all the stakeholders.
The causes may be several but if a system of proper fire prevention is in place, l believe the number of occurrences will be drastically minimised. Electrical wiring for instance has been found to be one of the causes of market fires. Fire as we know from the experts, can only happen if these three things are present, namely source of heat, combustible material and oxygen i.e. air.
lf any one of these is missing, there will be no fire. It has been realised that heat generated in wires have caused fires in the past and therefore, an effective system must be put in place to ensure that, only certain approved qualified electricians, can execute wiring jobs in our markets instead of the current situation where different electricians execute wiring with different types of wires, of different quality, dimensions etc.
Preventive inspections schedule must also be put in place to endure compliance with uniform wiring standard, as well as adherence to expiry dates of the wires.
What baffles me is why some MCEs and DCEs are still at post while things are deteriorating in their areas of influence and yet the President or the Minister for Local Government seems to be unwilling to relieve them of their positions. People have lost their lives, official count is about 37 lives, properties worth millions of Ghana Cedis have been destroyed, people’s livelihoods have been destroyed and they are at ground zero.
We can go on and on and on about the devastating impact of the recent floods. Suddenly, we have these local authority heads, all over the place, demolishing buildings after the flood. Is this not insanity? Where were the LUPSA Engineers who issue permits at the local assemblies?
If they were doing their jobs, for which they are paid every month, they would have seen people constructing structures at Ramseyer sites. They would have seen people putting up structures very close to the bank of streams or rivers and could have enforced the regulations, which could have averted the level of impact on lives and property.
One particular issue which drives me crazy is the Kasoa to Mallam Junction stretch of the N1. The traffic jam between West Hills Mall and Weija Junction is due to the flooding of a place called Ataala. Anytime it rains heavily, the area floods and vehicles moving from West Hills towards Weija cannot use their normal lane but are forced to switch to the inner lane of those headed towards West Hills Mall from Weija and it did not start yesterday. I am so, so disappointed. God Bless.
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
The romance between man and wife ends where chopmoney palaver begins. When the man is leaving for work and the woman’s face looks like a rainy day, anyone can guess that the chop money delivered is quite below sea level.
But when she smiles too broadly for comfort and waves her husband goodbye zealously, it means the man did not only perform well under the cover of darkness but also dished out the correct amount of chop money.
The typical matrimonial home is a complex one. Many factors contribute to fuelling or preventing occasional civil wars. When Pyram became a household word, some husbands and wives put heads together, went borrowing, sold their belongings and invested in the sham scheme.
When Pyram collapsed, many marriages got shattered beyond repair. Wives blamed their husbands and husbands complained about nagging wives. In a few instances, punches were traded. Crises could not be managed as debts soared and creditors wanted back their money.
Chop money grew slim. Only Mr Kofi Annan could negotiate a truce between warring partners as daggers were drawn. The Pyram palaver brought more woes to Sikaman than the joy it was supposed to bring.
Many women have died from distress and frustration. All their resources which were joyfully invested in the scheme cannot be retrieved.
“Today, the Government says it cannot use taxpayers’ money to pay those who lost various sums of money to the two money-doubling banks Pyram and Resource 5000 Ltd. “We told you not to take your monies there and you didn’t listen. Paddle your own canoe, or canoe your own paddle,’ says the Sikaman government.”
The chop money palaver in Sikaman is getting heady. People are citing chop money problems for their offences. The newspapers report of a man who allegedly injected his three-week-old daughter with DDT because the wife was disturbing him with chop money matters too much. He is being tried by the courts.
Some women claim they abandoned their babies because their fathers refused to offer chop money. So when they dump the babies in the latrine, they are relieved of any burden. Looks like maternal instincts are withering out of mothers. These are indeed times when mothers no longer love their children because of chop money palaver.
Stomach capacity
The amount of chop money a father gives out each day, week or month depends on the family size and the stomach capacity of each family stomach. Members of some families are very light eaters and little is spent on food. But for other families where some members have ‘double chambers’ the food budget requires additional funds.
Indeed, in some families, members have natural appetite for food whether or not they take peters (bitters). And when food isn’t enough, there can be an uprising against constituted domestic authority, the family equivalent of the Guinea Bissau rebellion.
Yes, where one person can eat four balls of kenkey and cry for more, but is given only two balls, he can get angry and start breaking louvres.
The chop money size also depends on the level of nutrition typical of each family. Some families believe in the third world theory that QUANTITY is better than QUALITY. The bigger the banku and the smaller the fish, all the better for Ghanaians. Yes quantity, not quality. Such families stock maize in bags.
Those who believe in quality spend much on vegetables, meat and fish and therefore spend more, but it is worth it because they are healthier and stronger. They also spend on fruits and are averse to the “quantity supremacy” theory.
The problem with chop money issues is that when the correct amount is not flowing, the women think the men are misapplying their salaries in overt pleasures. They accuse their husbands of drinking too much bitters and burukutu, and they can prove the accusation using a formula. They only have to smell the breath of their partners. The fuse can be great!
One woman told her neighbour when her husband comes back home drunk, he behaves like a walking distillery, swaggering like a drunken sailor. You’d think he has been baptised with raw akpeteshie or immersed in the stuff. Her only compliment was that in spite of his alcoholic status, the guy could perform. That is Viagra or no Viagra.
Women also accuse men of chasing other women in the same manner as a he-goat does. Half their salaries cannot be accounted for as a result, they claim. So when the chop money isn’t at least at sea-level, they must protest either noisily or stage a sit-down strike.
Domestic sit-down strikes by wives can cause problems. When a man takes full quarter and is expecting a wonderful dinner with soup and its accompaniments and comes to meet an empty table and a brooding woman, he can go berserk. The clash can be worse than a plane crash.
As it were, it all requires patience to make a marriage last, chop money or not.
This article was first published on Saturday, July 11, 1998
