DEPARTMENT FOR THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS 
UNIVERSITY OF GHANA
TRANSNATIONAL CONTACTS AND MUSLIM 
RELIGIOUS ORIENTATION IN GHANA
BY
YUNUS DUMBE
A THESIS PRESENTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE 
REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF DOCTOR OF 
PHILOSOPHY (PhD) IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS
JUNE, 2009
lolt-C.
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this research work that I have conducted represents the true ideas and 
views of mine. I have not sought any academic materials and literature other than what I have 
indicated and acknowledged. Any mistakes, misinterpretations and errors are solely mine.
YUNUS DUMBE 
(CANDIDATE)
.......
REV PROF ELOM DOVLO 
(SUPERVISOR)
REV. DR. ABRAHAM AKRONG 
(SUPERVISOR)
DEDICATION
The ambition of my family to have a Muslim scholar to serve the spiritual needs of our 
community (Dahile, in the Lambusie-Kaan District) made my cousin Hamidu Dingane to 
hand me over to the late Issaka Abdulai to attend a Madrassah (Falahiyya Islamic School) at 
Hamile in the Upper West region. At that time, I was only nine (9) years old. The greatest 
asset that the late Issaka bequeathed to me in life has been hard work and endurance. The late 
Issaka was an Islamic cleric himself who imparted Islamic knowledge to us at the forecourt 
of his house in order to supplement what we were taught at the Madrassah. We thought at 
that time the cleric was subjecting us to undue overwork. The Suit of the hard work as 
imparted to us has been the outcome of this thesis.
Though, Issaka has passed away since 1999, I dedicate this thesis to his memory and my 
cousin Hamidu Dingane who live to see his dream fulfil through me. The dream fulfilled is of 
a nature different from the one he anticipated for me; not as a Muslim cleric but an aspiring 
Islamic academic and a scholar. I pray that the Almighty would reward them with any useful 
scholarly contribution that this thesis has made to the advancement of humanity.
ACKNOWLEGEMENTS
My initial ambition to pursue a Masters program in the year 2004 after my undergraduate 
program was received by many people with a lot of encouragement. Despite that I come from 
an underprivileged background, such moral encouragement and support was the greatest 
motivation which pushed me to aspire higher. I cannot recount all those who have 
encouraged and supported me in ouc way or the other in this regard.
I am however deeply indebted to my supervisor Rev. Prof Elom Dovlo, who during the 
course of my Master’s program proposed that the Department is willing to convert the 
Master’s program into a PhD. It was a rare opportunity with its consequences. I have greatly 
benefited from his unique scholarly acumen and academic background throughout my 
postgraduate years. One important virtue that I learnt from him is the high sense of reward 
and appreciation for hard work. Rev. Prof Dovlo was not only an academic mentor for me but 
his fatherly counselling and concern was quite outstanding. Also, I appreciate the support and 
the care offered me by my wife Fulera Issaka, and Najat-Lanta Dumbe, my only female 
daughter by now, who have endured my absence from home for sometime.
Equally important, are the academic support provided by my second supervisor Dr. Rabiatu 
Ammah Konney. Her encouragement and scholarly advice was quite helpful which enable 
me to push through. Her support for me also extends beyond the academic confine as she was 
also much concerned with my social life, which 1 sincerely believe aided the smooth 
completion of this project. Her personal library also provided me with array of Islamic 
literature which hitherto would have been difficult to obtain. Likewise the academic support 
provided by Hussein Ibrahim Iddriss during my postgraduate studies which was quite
encouraging. Sulemana Mumuni who has always played the role of a teacher, mentor and a 
senior brother cannot pass without comment. His advice and encouragement has motivated to 
me to work hard. 1 am equally indebted to the scholarship support that he obtained for me 
through his friend Prof Holger Weiss from Finland during my postgraduate studies.
Also deserve mention are the various Heads of Department whose tenure of office occurred 
during my students days at one point in time or the other. Of special importance were Rev. 
Dr. Benhardt Quarshie, Dr. Rebecca Ganusah and Rev. Dr. Abamfo Atiemo. Apart from the 
usual teachings that i have benefited from them, they further provided me with the needed 
administrative support which also contributed in the success of this thesis. The moral support 
and concern shown by the entire staff of the Religions Department towards my research work 
is quite appreciated. Without the collective support of all in the Department this thesis will 
not have been a successful one.
Among the many individuals who also supported me and deserve mention is Shawki 
Byrouthy, formerly of Rainbow Motors Company Limited and now working with Kwatson 
Impex Limited. At a time, the Rainbow Motors also provided me with partial scholarship to 
finance my postgraduate studies. There were others too who assisted in editing this thesis and 
deserve mention. Of special significance is Mrs Ophelia Dosu a former Regional Director of 
Ghana Education Service in the Volta region, Millicent Awuni, who is working at the Law 
Temple and Madam Tanya Barben of the University of Cape Town African Studies Library 
Section. These personalities have brought their expertise in the English Language and typing 
skills to bear in the quality of this work.
Many organisations as well as Muslim groups also open up their offices for the purposes of 
this research to be successful. In this regard, the cordial environment created by the United 
Stales Embassy in Ghana for me was commendable. Similarly, the National Imam of 
ASWAJ, Umar Ibrahim Imam, Basha Ibrahim Iddriss, the Northern regional Imam of 
ASWAJ, and Kamil Muhammad Khalifa, a leading Tijaniyya scholar in the Ashanti region 
deserve commendation.
My personal relationship with Abdul Baasit Abdul Aziz Bamba, Baba Tunde Lawanson, LT 
Col Umar Ahmed Sanda and his family, as well as Armiyau Shuaib, Seebaway Zakaria, 
Muhammed Muniru Lumana and his family, Salman Muhammed Alhassan, Hudu Mogtari, 
Hamidu Chodi and the entire members of the Muslim ‘Parliament’ provided me with a sense 
of mentorship and the spirit of hard work with the view to succeed in life.
Indeed, I cannot mention all those who have encouraged and supported me during my study 
period. One thing that I will say is I appreciated your support and concern
v
ABSTRACT
A key issue worthy of academic attention in the study of the Muslim experience in the post­
independence Ghana is the proliferation of new religious movements. These new religious 
movements found their way in Ghana in consequence of Ghana’s diplomatic relations with 
some Islamic states such as Egypt and Libya from North Africa, the Kingdom of Saudi 
Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran from the Middle East. For the first time. Muslims in 
the post-independence Ghana came in touch with new Islamic orientations driven by the 
interests of the sponsoring Islamic states to serve their religio-political agenda. Some of these 
Islamic movements include Wahhabiyya (Ahlus-Sunnah), Shi’ah and the Green Book of the 
Third Universal Theory (TUT).
The dissertation explores how these Muslim states through their embassies promoted their 
religio-political interest in the modem day Ghana. While the representative of these Muslim 
states (embassies) promoted the interests of Ghanaian Muslims on education, health, 
agriculture, Islamic centers and women empowerment, they in effect introduced their 
ideological interest in Muslim religious space in Ghana. We also examine the activities of the 
various quasi-state institutions and the affiliated NGOs to these Islamic states. The study 
further explores the extent to which these new religious ideas co-exist with the pre-colonial 
and the colonial Islamic movements such as the Tijaniyya in contemporary time.
Significantly, Muslims transnational contacts in Ghana extend to the United States of 
America, in the aftermath of 9/11. Interestingly, this interaction with the West was largely 
driven by the interests of the United States government to educate Muslims globally on the 
menace of religious terrorism. The dissertation further examines this phenomenon.
vi
ABREVIATIONS
ONCI: Office of National Chief Imam 
IDB: Islamic Development Bank 
MAP: Muslim Association Party 
GLISS- Ghana-Lebanon Secondary School 
GBC-Ghana Broadcasting Corporation 
NAM-Non-Aligned Movement 
OAU-Organisation of African Unity 
AU-Africa Union
ECOWAS-Economic Community of West Africa States 
ARD-Agriculture and Rural Development 
CIA-Central Intelligence Agency 
PNDC-People National Defence Council 
NDC-National Democratic Congress 
NPP-New Patriotic Party 
OlC-Organisation of Islamic Conference 
UDS-University for Development Studies 
ASWAJ-Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama’ah 
SCICR-Supreme Council for Islamic Call and Research 
NGO-Non-Govemmental Organisation 
AFRC-Armed Forces Revolutionary Council 
PFP-Popular Front Party 
TUT-Third Universal Theory 
FMC-Federation of Muslim Council
COMOG-Coalition of Muslim Organisations
SDF-Saudi Development Fund
GES-Ghana Education Service
ICT-Information and Communication Technology
JSS: Junior Secondary School
SSS: Senior Secondary School
FOMWAG-Federation of Muslim Women Association,
IRRC: Islamic Research and Reformation Center
NEC: National Executive Council
PDC: People Defence Committee
FAGLAT: Friends Against Global Terrorism
USA: United States of America
GMSA: Ghana Muslim Students Association
HIV: Human Immune Virus
AIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
UN: United Nations
CDD: Customer Due Diligence
IMF: International Monetary Fund
BBC: British Broadcasting Corporation
CNN: Cable News Network
VOA: Voice of America
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Dedication ..................................................................................................................  1
Acknowledgements.....................................................................................................  11
Abstract ...............................................................................................................
Abbreviations ....    XI
Table of Content...........................................................................................  ... . xi
List of Tables................................................................................................................>v
List of Figures................................................................................................................x
............................................................................................................    xi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study .............................................. ......................... 1
12 Statement of the Problem ............................................. ......................... 2
1.3 Aims and Objectives of the Study ................................ ......................... 4
1.4 Hypotheses ............................................ ......................... 5
1.5 Research Questions....................................................... ......................... 6
1.6 Theoretical Framework ................................................. ......................... 7
1.7 Methodology ................................................................. ......................... S
1.7.1 General Approach ......................................................... .................................8
1.7.2 Sources of Data and Collection .................................... ..................................9
1.8 Scope of the Research .................................................. ......................... 11
1.9 Literature Review ......................................................... ......................... 12
1.10 Limitations of the Study ............................................... .......................... 17
1.11 Structure of the Chapters ........................................................................ 17
ix
1.12 Relevance of the Study ................................................................................
CHAPTER TWO: FOREIGN MUSLIMS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF ISLAM 
IN THE VOLTA BASIN AND THE GOLD COAST IN THE 
PRE-COLONIAL AND COLONIAL PERIODS
2.0 Introduction............................................................................................... 21
2.1 Historical Background of Islam in West Africa ....................................... 24
2.2 Ghanaian Muslims’ Encounter with the Outside Muslim World
through Trade and Commerce ................................................................  26
2.3 Scholarly Activities and the Search for Knowledge.................................  33
2.4 Diplomatic Relations.................................................................................  39
2.5 Hajj as Means of Ghanaian Interaction with the Outside
Muslim World .....................................................................................  ... 42
2.6 The Policies of the Colonial Government ................................................  45
2.7 The Role of Immigrant Lebanese ......................  .....................................  46
2.8 The Islamic Doctrinal Worldview of Muslims in the Volta Basin
and the Gold Coast .............................................................................  ... 53
2.9 Effects of Islamisation of Ghanaian Muslims .....................................  ... 70
2.10 Conclusion ..................................  ............................................................  74
CHAPTER THREE: POST-INDEPENDENCE
DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF ISLAM IN MODERN 
GHANA
3.0 Introduction................................................................................................ 77
3.1 The Definition and the Origin of Diplomatic Relations ...........................  78
3.2 Factors Promoting DiplomaticR elations with Muslim States ... 79
3.3 Internal Factors .........................................................................................  79
3.4 External Factors ...................................  .... ...............  ......................  83
3.5 The Foreign Policy Ramifications of Nkrumah’s Marriage to
x
Fathia Halen Rizk .................................................................................... 86
3.6 Nkrumah’s Interest in Islamic Spirituality ....................................................  89
3.7 Ghana-Egypt Diplomatic Relations ........................................  97
3.7.1 The Historical, Bilateral and Political Background ..................... 97
3.7.2 The Type of Islamic Orientation Offered to Ghanaian
Muslims by Egypt .................................................................... 100
3.7.3 The Role of Ghanaian Muslims in Ghana-Egypt Relations ... 103
3.8 Ghana-Saudi Arabia Diplomatic Relations ..................................  ... ... 105
3.8.1 The Historical, Bilateral and the Political Background of 
Ghana-Saudi Relations .........................  ...........................................105
3.8.2 The Role of Ghanaian Muslims in Ghana-Saudi Relations .... 109
3.9 Ghana-Islamic Republic of Iran Relations ..............................  ... ... 115
3.9.1 Historical and Bilateral Background of Ghana-Iran Relations 115
3.9.2 The Role of Ghanaian Muslims in Ghana-Iran Relations ... 117
3.10 Ghana-Libya Diplomatic Relations ...   ... ... 121
3.10.1 The Historical and Bilateral Background of Ghana-Libya
Relations .....................................................................................  121
3.10.2 The Role of Ghanaian Muslims in Ghana-Libya Relations ... 124
3.10.3 Conclusion ...................................................................................  126
xi
CHAPTER FOUR: NORTH AFRICAN TRANSNATIONAL MUSLIM 
BODIES (TMBS) AND MUSLIMS IN GHANA
4.0 Introduction..................................................................................................... 128
4.1 The Role of the Egyptian Government in the Development
of Ghanaian Muslims.......................................................................................  * 30
4.1.1 Education .............................................................................................. *30
4.1.2 Health   133
4.1.3 Ideological Contribution ......................................................................  134
4.2 The Role of Libyan Government in the Development of Muslims in Ghana...
4.2.1 Education ...   ••• 135
4.2.2 Women Empowerment ..........................................................  ... 139
4.2.3 Health   139
4.2.4 Agriculture ............................................................................. ... 140
4.2.5 Mosques ...............................................................................................  140
4.2.6 Ideological Contribution ................................................  ... ... 141
4.3 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 143
CHAPTER FIVE: MIDDLE EAST TRANSNATIONAL MUSLIM 
BODIES (TMBS) AND MUSLIMS IN GHANA
5.0 Introduction..............................................................................  ... ... 146
5.1 The Role of the Royal Kingdom of Saudi Arabia towards Muslim
Development in Ghana .................................................................................. 147
5.1.1 Education .............................................................................................  149
5.1.2 Health   169
5.1.3 Agriculture ........................................................................................... 169
5.1.4 Ideological Contribution ................................................ ... ... 170
5.2 The Role of Islamic Republic of Iran in Muslim Development
in Ghana ................................................. 174
5.2.1 The Iranian Cultural Consulate 175
5.2.2 The Iranian Clinics 176
5.2.3 Agriculture and Rural Development 178
5.2.4 Education .......................... 179 
5.2.5 Health ............... 182
5.2.6 Agriculture ....................... 184
5.2.7 Women Empowerment 185
5.2.8 Ideological Contribution 186 
5.3 Conclusion ... ............... 191
CHAPTER SIX: THE ISLAMIC RESURGENCE IN GHANA
6.0 Introduction ........................................ 194
6.1 The Origin of Islamic Sects........................................................ 196
6.2 The Basis of Islamic Resurgence in Contemporary Times ... 196
6.3 The Origin of Ahlus-Sunnah (Wahhabism) and the Ghanaian
Muslims ................................................. 205
6.4 Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama’a (Wahhabism) in Ghana ... 209
6.5 Institutions which Facilitate the Expression of Wahhabism
in Ghana ............................................................. 211
6.5.1 The Institute of Islamic Studies 211
6.5.2 Islamic Research and Reformation Center 215
6.5.3 Supreme Council for Islamic Call and Research 217
6.5.4 Islamic Charity Centre for Women Orientation 221
xin
6.5.5 Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama‘Ah (Aswaj) ............................................ 225
6.6 Biography of the Founder of Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama’a in Ghana ... 230
6.7 The Distinctive Teachings of Ahlus-Sunnah (Wahabism) in Ghana ... 232
6.8 Shi* Ism and the Ghanaian Muslims........................................................ 234
6.8.1 The Origin of Shi'ism (Historical Overview).................................. 234
6.8.2 The Shi’i Doctrine (The Imamate Doctrine)................................... 236
6.9 Shi‘Ah in the Ghanaian Muslim Community.......................................... 238
6.9.1 The Expression of Shi'ism through Shi’i Organisations
in Ghana ...................................................................................... 238
6.9.2 The World Ahlul-Bayt Assembly .................................................. 238
6.9.3 The Imam Hussein Islamic Foundation ......................................... 239
6.9.4 The Ghana Muslim Shi‘ah Society ................................................ 240
6.9.5 The League of Ahlul-Bayt Islamic Organisations ......................... 241
6.10 Distinctive Teachings of Shi‘ah in Ghana .............................................. 243
6.11 The Third Universal Theory of The Green Book and Ghanaian
Muslims 245
6.11.1 Teachings of The Green Book..............................  ....................... 246
6.11.2 The Shari’ah and The Green Book Principles... ........................... 250
6.11.3 Political Basis of the TUT in the Shari’ah ................................... 251
6.11.4 The Economic Basis of the TUT in the Shari’ah ......................... 252
6.11.5 The Social Basis of the TUT in the Shari’ah ... 254
6.12 The Green Book and the Ghanaian Community ..................................... 257
7.12.1 Activities Related to the Green Book in Ghana 258
6.13 The Impact of The Green Book on Ghanaians 264
xiv
6.14 The Interplay between Muslim Sects in Ghana ....................................... 266
6.15 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 274
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE POST 9/11 FACTOR: GHANAIAN MUSLIMS’ 
RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES OF 
AMERICA
7.0 Background to the American Embassy’s Engagement with the Muslim
Community in Ghana .............................................................................. 277
7.1 Introduction.............................................................................................. 277
7.2 Historical Background of the Post 9/11 United States’ Engagement
in Ghana .................................................................................................. 278
7.3 The United States’ Perspective on the Engagement................................. 280
7.4 The Broader Policy of the Engagement .................................................. 283
7.5 The Objectives of Friends against Global Terrorism (FAGLAT) 285
7.6 The Nature of FAGLAT Activities in Ghana ........................................ 286
7.7 The Achievements of FAGLAT ..................................... ....................... 288
7.8 Findings on Ghanaian Muslims’ Perceptions of the United States ... 290
7.8.1 The Appraisal of the United States’ Engagement in the
Muslim Community ... .......................................  ....................... 291
7.8.2 Avenues for Cooperation between the United States and
Ghanaian Muslims 296
7.8.3 Perception about the United States before and after 9/11 299
7.8.4 Compatibility between Islamic and Western Values...................... 311
7.8.5 Avenues for Constructive Cultural Dialogue 316
7.9 Conclusion .............................................................................................. 320
XV
CHAPTER EIGHT: TERRORISM: THE THRUST OF UNITED STATES
ENGAGEMENT IN THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY
8.0 Introduction.....................................................................................................  324
8.1 Background to Terrorism ...............................................................................  325
8.2 Causes of Terrorism   330
8.3 The Impact of Terrorism on Ghanaian Muslims ............................................ 337
8.4 Eradication of Terrorism ................................................................................  342
8.5 Ulama Involvement in Da1 Wa on Terrorism ... ... ... ... 347
8.6 Factors Affecting Ulama in Da1 Wa against Terrorism ... ... 349
8.7 Conclusion .....................................................................................................  355
CHAPTER NINE: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
9.0 Conclusions   356
9.1 Recommendations ............................................................................................ 372
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES .................................................................... 374
APPENDICES .......................................................................................................... 383
xvi
Page
22
Table
1: The Contribution of the Libyan Government to Ghanaian Muslims ... 143
2: Approved lDB’s Projects in Ghana for the year 1987-2005 ... 154
3: Distribution of Al-Hudaibiyya Projects in the Regions of Ghana 157
4: The Distribution of Saudi Funded Projects by Districts Facilitated
by A1 Hudaibiya Relief Services In the Northern Region of Ghana ... 158
5: The Distribution of Al-Hudaibiyya Projects an a Regional Basis
in Percentages ............................................................................. 159
6: A Summary of Saudi Government Contributions to Ghanaian
Muslims ...   ... ... ............... 165
7: A Summary of Saudi Government Contributions to Ghanaian
Muslims 170
8: Contributions of the Iranian Government to Ghanaian Muslims 191
xvii
1.1ST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
1: Doctrinal Background of the Respondents and their Evaluation of
the Worth of the United States Interest in the Muslim Communities 
in Ghana ...................................................................................... 293
2: The Areas of Cooperation between Ghanaian Muslims and the
United Stntes? 297
3: Respondents Perception about the United States before and
after 9/11 300
4: Gender Perspective as to Whether Islam is in a Perpetual Conflict
with the Western World in Terms of Values............................... 318
5: Gender Perspective and Avenues of Cultural Dialogue to
Improving Constructive Engagement between the West and 
Muslim Ummah Globally 319
6: Occupational Perspectives and the View that Islam is in
Perpetual Conflict with the Western World in Terms of Values 320
7: Occupational Perspectives and Avenues for Cultural Dialogue
to Improving Constructive Engagement between the West and 
Muslim Ummah Globally 320
8: Causes of Terrorism...................................................................... 331
9: Areas that Terrorism has impacted on Ghanaian Muslims 337
10: Avenues to Eradicating Terrorism ................................................ 342
xviii
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Transnational contacts facilitate the interactions of people across civilizations, geographic 
regions and continents on cultural, religious, economic, or political issues. Transnational 
contacts may also start a process by which countries attempt to influence or shape the 
perspectives of others.
Modem Ghana, which was carved out from the Volta Basin and previously referred to by a 
progression of colonial masters as the Gold Coast, has had various transnational interactions 
with states of the West African sub-region during the pre-colonial and colonial periods. These 
interactions were mediated and conducted through the political ambit of present day Ghana’s 
traditional kingdoms of Gonja, Mamprusi, Dagbon and Wala, as well as the Ashanti Empires.
However, during the post-independence period a different dimension was introduced into 
Ghanaian Muslims’ transnational relations with the Muslim world. This was as a result of 
Ghana’s diplomatic relations with some Muslim countries in North Africa and the Middle 
East.
The impact of the larger Muslim world including both North Africa and the Middle East on 
Muslims Islamic experience in Ghana has been remarkable. For the first time, in the post­
independence period, new religious groups pertaining to those countries that Ghana has 
forged diplomatic relations found their way into the country.
Significantly, the 11 September 2001 factor in Muslims transnational relations with the 
West and the United States of America in particular cannot be underrated. Although the
1
Western and American rapprochement towards Muslims in Ghana in the post 9/11 was to 
create a common platform of understanding, the conviction that Muslims should be 
educated in a religious context about the menace of terrorism and violence was the ultimate 
consideration.
This thesis looks at the effects of transnational contacts on Ghanaian Muslims’ religious 
identity. It argues that transnational contacts are largely responsible for the origin of diversity 
in Islamic practices, doctrines and orientations in Ghana, as well as shifts in the perspectives 
of Ghanaian Muslims concerning the West.
The research categorizes Ghanaian Muslim interactions into three timeframes, namely, the 
pre-colonial and colonial periods, the post-independence period and the post-11 September 
period. For reasons of clarity, the thesis is further divided into three (3) sections, namely pre­
colonial and colonial, the post-independence, and the post-9/11 periods. Each timeframe has 
its own distinct characteristics, and these have impacted on the identity and religious 
experiences of Ghanaian Muslims.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The Islamic Ummahas one universal community based on a shared faith, has generated a 
serious academic debate in the ever-globalizing world (Riaz Hasan 2006: 1). This was 
necessary because transnational contacts, boosted by improvements in information and 
communication-technologies, have made the Muslim Ummah understand the reality and the 
diversity of Islamic cultures in the world. At the same time, the Ummah's consciousness 
and rhetoric operate with the intention of dc-territorializing the boundaries of the
1 Ummah simply means Islamic or Muslim brotherhood.
2
contemporary nation-state by heightening a sense of a Muslim belonging to a global 
community of believers.
Notwithstanding the fact that a sense of consciousness within the Ummah has been the 
binding factor among Muslims of diverse national backgrounds, their allegiance to multiple 
Islamic Schools of Thought and to different modem nation-states provides for interesting 
dynamics.1 This is as a result of the distinctive Islamic identities and orientations that some 
nation-states represent. These Islamic identities and orientations could be viewed from the 
Saudi Arabia Wahhabi, Iran Shi‘i and the Libya Socialist identities.
Historically, Muslims in the Volta Basin and the Gold Coast, in addition to their indigenous 
values, were culturally influenced by the Arab/Islamic values and orientations. However, a 
new feature in respect of Ghanaian Muslims relations with the West and more specifically 
the United States of America has become an emerging phenomenon in the post the 9/11 
incidents in the United States of America.
The allegiance of Ghanaian Muslims to multiple state-controlled Islamic doctrinal centres as 
well as the impact of Islam on the West African sub-region has not generated much 
scholarly interest in Ghana until recently. While studies explore the rapid and the intensity 
of African Muslims interconncctedness with the Muslim world (Soares et al 2007:8), the 
present work highlights its effects on Ghanaian Muslims perspectives to Islamic discourse. 
The effects of these diverse encounters on Ghanaian Muslims understanding of the Ummah
This thesis draws great inspiration from Jonathan Laurence’s pioneering work entitles: Managing 
Transnational Islam: Muslims and the Slates in Western Europe, 2006. Whereas aspects of his analysis focuses 
on the role of the Muslim embassies which he refered to as 'official Islam’ in disseminating the religious agenda 
of the respective states with the disaspora Muslims in Western Europe, this work focuses on these Muslim 
embassies and the United States Embassy in promoting specific rcligio-political ideology in modem Ghana.
3
cannot be underrated, though the intensity of its consciousness might be inclined towards a 
particular continent.
The study focuses on the role of Muslim diplomatic offices and the United States embassy 
in Ghana and their affiliate institutions in stimulating such transnational discourse. This was 
done by highlighting the competing interest shown by Muslim states and the United States 
in the Islamic affairs in the modem Ghana with its consequences on Muslim consciousness 
of the Ununaii. It further explores a paradigm independent identity envisioned by the West 
and the United States in particular for Ghanaian Muslims, an Islamic identity that is not 
linked to the North Africa, the Middle East and the larger Arab world in general, but rather 
indigenously grounded in the Ghanaian socio-cultural milieu. The study also focuses on the 
respective roles that each group plays in the Islamic and Muslim terrain in Ghana, with its 
socio-cultural and political implications on the nation’s development. The unique nature of 
each interaction in respect of each sub-region as well as of the individuals and the 
institutions which facilitated such interactions and contacts were examined. Finally, the 
study also highlights the religious issues that have emerged, shaped, and impacted on 
Ghanaian Muslims and Islam globally. This study, therefore, revolves around the 
development of Islam in the post-independence and the post 9/11 periods through 
diplomatic relations with the Islamic world and the United States of America. It is with the 
view of filling in the academic vacuum existing in the nature of the available literature.
13 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The aims and objectives of the study are to:
(i) identify the type of Islamic and cultural orientations handed down to Ghanaian 
Muslims by each of the respective countries in each of the periods;
4
(ii) explore Ghana’s diplomatic relations with selected Muslim countries and the major
contributions they made to Ghanaian Muslims, including their facilitation of the
introduction into Ghana of diverse religious orientations;
(iii) examine the role of the Muslim diplomatic missions (embassies) in the rise of the
Islamic Resurgence in Ghana through the introduction of Islamic sectarian diversity 
and religio-political ideologies;
(iv) examine the impact of the Muslim missions’ contributions on Ghanaian Muslims;
(v) analyze the nature of Ghanaian Muslims’ relations with the United States of
America; and,
(vi) identify and discuss Ghanaian Muslims’ stance on terrorism.
1.4 HYPOTHESES
The following hypotheses have guided the researcher in this work:
(i) the relations between the people of the present day Ghana with Muslims in the Volta 
Basin witnessed significant improvements from the pre-colonial and colonial periods 
to 1957 (when the Gold Coast became independence Ghana);
(ii) Muslim diplomatic missions in Ghana displaced the influence of the West African
Muslims;
(iii) Muslim diplomatic missions in Ghana facilitated Ghanaian Muslims’ interactions 
with the outside Muslim world during the post-colonial period up to 2006;
(iv) the allegiance of Muslim scholars to the Muslim world has facilitated the 
introduction of major doctrinal groups from the Middle East into the country 
through Muslim diplomatic missions;
(v) Muslim diplomatic missions in Ghana facilitated the categorization of Ghanaian 
Muslims on doctrinal and sectarian lines.
5
(vi) The 11 September 2001 attack on the United States of America has brought about 
an evolving paradigm in the relationship between Ghanaian Muslim scholars, the 
Muslims in the Middle East and the West; and
(vii) Religious terrorism has polarized the world into two camps: the Muslim camp and 
the non-Muslim camp. It also brought to the fore the categorization of Muslims into 
two separate groups: good Muslims and bad Muslims.
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In view of the unfolding interplay between the major Islamic groups in Ghana as a result of 
further transnational engagement and the consequential effects of the global war of 
terrorism on Ghanaian Muslims, the primary research question is asked:
(i) What has accounted for the advent of diverse Islamic ideological groups and 
identities in Ghana and the contemporary interest of the United States in the Muslim 
communities of Ghana?
The following sub-questions have been posed in order to answer the above:
(a) How have Ghanaian Muslims been relating to the various foreign-based Islamic 
centres in Ghana?
(b) What are some of the incentives available within these foreign-based Islamic centres 
in Ghana which attracted Ghanaian Muslims interest?
(c) How did Ghanaian Muslims build and consolidate their relations with Muslim 
diplomatic missions in Ghana from 1957-2006?
(d) What are the effects of these diverse interactions and engagements on Ghanaian 
Muslims religious worldview?
6
(e) What is the attitude of contemporary Ghanaian Muslims towards the Muslim world 
and issues affecting Muslims globally?
(f) What factors have accounted for the warm relations between the West particularly 
the United States of America and Ghanaian Muslims.
(g) Lastly, what unique impact has the United States of America had on Ghanaian 
Muslims?
1.6 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Theoretically, the study was founded on Juergenmeyer’s theory of transnational religion and 
the state. The general thrust of his theory was that transnational religions such as Islam and 
Christianity have not been reliable allies for state power. He argues that, by depending on 
their ideologies, some rulers may think that they are harnessing religion’s vision of global 
expansion for their political fortunes. However, these religions could be the source of anti- 
national and transnational forces that will undermine the state. He concludes that the 
contradiction between transnational religions and religion of the nation could be overcome in 
instances where religion is itself the expression of transnational culture and society 
(Juergenmeyer 2006:7)
This theory is quite significant as the major Islamic groups examined in this study could be 
regarded as enjoying State support. For instance, Shi'ism as a global religious expression has 
been linked to the Persian Empire since 1501 and also adopted by the 1979 post revolutionary 
regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This thus emphasises the significance of religion to 
the interest of the State, and more specifically the interest of the Iranian Government. 
Similarly, Wahhabasim is another Islamic expression in this instance rccciving its support 
from the Kingdom of Saudi State. Though the Third Universal Theory (TUT) was fashioned
in line with Islamic values to offer an alternative universal political theory to the developing 
nations, yet it is linked to al-Gadhafi’s political ambition in the Third World. The situation in 
respect of the relationship between the Egyptian Government and a particular Islamic 
expression and heritage and the state, is exceptional. However, following Ghana’s 
independence, Egypt served as the gateway to the Muslim world. The study tries to bring to 
light the various Islamic expressions which were linked to some Muslim countries interest in 
Ghana due to their diplomatic engagement with Ghana in the post independence period. We 
will thus focus on the role of Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Iran in their bid to exert their 
global influence on Muslims promoted a particular brand of Islam. The study further 
examines the Western and American interest in the Muslim communities in the post 9/11 
period. The study sets out to ascertain the extent to which these governments’ endorsement of 
a particular brand of Islamic expression has boosted their popularity in Ghana and has 
achieved the underlying objectives behind such endorsement.
Haynes has argued that globalization facilitates transnational networks of religious actors by 
feeding off each other’s ideas, assisting with funds, and forming bodies to promote the 
interest of their transnational religious community (Haynes, 2001: 144). Though his study 
focused on the Catholic Church and the Organisation of Islamic Conference, it also shows the 
extent to which transnational religious bodies could make an impact on others in the 
globalized world. The present study, however, sets out to explore and examine the 
transnational dimension of Muslim embassies and the United States embassy in promoting 
specific religio-political agenda of their respective government with Ghanaian Muslims. The 
study does this by determining the various structures and institutions which these 
transnational political institutions have employed to popularize their brand of Islam in Ghana.
8
1.7 METHODOLOGY
1.7.1 General Approach
The researcher employed a multi-faceted approach to the study. For instance, the historical 
approach was employed in chapter two which assisted the researcher to identify the agent of 
Islamic influences in the pre-colonial and colonial periods. It further enabled the researcher to 
source for information from the Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the origin of her 
diplomatic relations with the selected Muslim countries in this study in chapter three. 
Historical approach also reflected in the data collected in chapter six on the origin of the 
doctrinal groups which are tied to the Muslim missions’ religious interest in Ghana. This was 
done by sourcing information from the founders of these Muslim movements in Ghana.
The phenomenological approach assisted the researcher in examining the contributions to 
Ghanaian Muslims from the perspective of Muslim diplomatic missions and the American 
mission in Ghana as reflected in both chapters five, seven and eight. Lastly, the theological 
approach helped the researcher to interpret and analyze the religious basis of the attitudes and 
reactions of Ghanaian Muslim scholars to global issues in chapter eight.
1.7.2 Sources of Data and Collection
The researcher relied on both primary and secondary sources of data. The primary sources 
were gathered in the field through interviews. This has aided in the analysis on the 
interconnection between Muslim missions’ developmental contributions to Ghanaian 
Muslims and their impacts. The primary data also included information on the activities of 
Islamic NGOs with foreign affiliation. In addition, data on the contributions of some selected 
Muslim diplomatic missions, as well as the United States to Ghanaian Muslims were further
9
gathered. Information was also gathered on the origins of the Islamic resurgence in Ghana by 
interviewing the founders of the various Muslim sects as in chapter six.
Purposeful sampling was employed in selecting key organizations, both Islamic and non- 
Islamic, with interest in assisting Muslim communities. This was so because of the 
indispensable nature of their activities in undertaking this research and for serving as the 
mouthpiece of Muslims. 200 respondents were targeted in the field. Information was further 
sought from the various stakeholders in the community, such as the Imams and Ulama, 
Muslim students in tertiary institutions, Muslim public servants, teachers, businessmen and 
women’s groups. Particular attention was given to the leaders of the various doctrinal 
groupings.
Structured questionnaires were administered and the responses analysed in chapters seven 
and eight This was necessary to obtain quantitative information about the perspectives of 
Ghanaian Muslims on the United States’ interest as well as their perception about terrorism. 
The questionnaires consisted of both open and close-ended and targeted almost all prominent 
Muslim leaders in the community. Importantly, the structured questionnaires were 
administered within the three regions of Ghana, namely the Greater Accra, Ashanti and the 
Northern regions. Random sampling methods were employed in selecting and interviewing 
the target groups. These helped in giving a fair chance and opportunity to each member of the 
target group to express their view. The researcher relied on statistical tools such as the 
Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and EXCEL for the analysis of the data in 
chapters seven and eight. The data was analysed using a descriptive statistical approach. It 
was also presented in a cross tabulation format.
10
Secondary sources of information included literature on Islam in West Africa and the Gold 
Coast in particular as reflected in chapter two. Literature were also depended on Islamic 
ideological views propounded by certain Islamic governments and individuals. Information 
about the activities of certain diplomatic missions and embassies in Ghana were obtained:
(i) the Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
(ii) the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia;
(iii) the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran;
(iv) the Socialists People’s Republic of Libya; and
(v) the Embassy of the United States of America in Ghana.
Again, information was sought on the origins of certain Islamic sectarian and politico- 
religious institutions in Ghana. This was done by ascertaining how they have influenced and 
impacted on Ghanaian Muslims doctrinally and politically. These bodies include the 
following:
(i) the Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama‘ah or the Wahhabiyya religious institutions in Ghana.
(ii) the Shi ‘ah Muslim community in Ghana and Iranian Cultural Consulate, the Libyan
Arab Cultural Center and the World Islamic Call Society.
1.8 SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH
The research was conducted within the Greater Accra, Ashanti and the Northern regions. This 
was informed by the fact that the majority of Muslim population is concentrated within these 
three regions of Ghana. Strategically, these regions play a crucial role in the Ghanaian 
Muslims’ tradition. The target populations are the Imams, Ulama, Muslim leaders and the 
enlightened Muslim youth, mainly made up of graduates and students of tertiary institutions.
11
In addition, data were gathered on the activities of Muslim embassies, the United States 
embassy and Muslim NGOs which promoted new Islamic worldviews and ideas.
1.9 LITERATURE REVIEW
The researcher consulted various sources of literature in both Arabic and English in the form 
of books, theses, and journal articles, (published and unpublished) on political, social, and 
economic factors that affect the general orientation of Muslims. Among some of these are:
1. David Waines: An Introduction to Islam (1995). The book basically focuses on 
the teachings of Islam based on the major doctrinal lines of each sect: Sufism, 
Wahabism, the Nation of Islam and Shi‘ism. It also looks at the concept of the 
Islamic state as proposed by some Muslim thinkers in the 1930s and 1940s as a 
cure to Muslim global problems. The book also provides an analysis of the 
possibility of having a pure Islamic state as envisaged by some Muslim scholars. It 
also analyzes the relations between the Egyptian state and the Muslim 
Brotherhood.
2. Enid Schildkrout: People of the Zongo (1978): This book’s perspective is 
sociological. It provides a detailed survey of the nature of the Zongo community in 
Kumasi. It also deals with the origin of the Muslim community in Ghana and 
specifically the growth of the Zongo. The book is relevant because it provides 
information on the earlier relationship between Muslims and the northern empires 
which was facilitated by the influx of Muslims to the southern part of Ghana. The 
book is relevant because it deals with the major occupation of these early Muslim 
settlers at the court of Ashanti Kingdom.
12
3. J. O. Hunwick: Islam in West Africa 1000-1800 A.D.: This book was edited by 
J.F Ade, Ajayi, and Idun Espies. The book is primarily a handbook for teachers 
and students. It gives information on the origin of Islam in West Africa and 
concludes on the origin of Islam in the modem Ghana. The book is relevant since it 
traces the origin of Islam in North Africa to West Africa and the personalities 
involved in the Islamisation of a section of the Ghanaians.
4. Mervyn Hiskett: The Development of Islam in West Africa (1984): This book is 
historical in perspective. It provides an in-depth history of Islam in West Africa. 
The relevant aspect of the book deals with Islam in the area of the Volta from 1267 
A.H. (1889 C.E) is of interest to the researcher in several ways, because it deals 
with the historical background of Islam in Gonja, Dagomba, Mamprusi, and 
northern Mossi. It also discusses Islam in Wa, as well as Salaga. It also treats 
extensively Islam in Ashanti and the major contributory factors to the growth of 
Islam there. The book is relevant because it provides a detailed account of the 
origin of Islam in the various kingdoms in Ghana and the nature of Islam in various 
communities.
5. Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab: Kitab al-Tawhid (1996): Translation, 
Compilation and Research Department, Dar-us-Salam, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The 
book represents the teachings of the Wahabiyya movement otherwise known as 
Ahlu-Sunnah Wal Jama'a, its author being the founder of Wahhabism. The book 
serves as a standard guide and reference for Wahabis beliefs and practices in the 
world.
13
6. David Owusu-Ansah: Talismanic Tradition in Nineteenth-Century Asante 
(1991): This book documents Muslim engagement in the Asante Empire from 
1795-1820. It contains the various modes with which Asante engaged the Islamic 
world, ranging from scholarly to administrative purposes in the chiefs palaces to 
spiritual and commercial purposes. The book is very relevant to the research 
because it gives a comprehensive and detailed account of Muslims engagement 
with the Asante Kingdom.
7. S.H. JAFRI: The Early Development of Shi'ah Islam (1989): This book was 
written by a leading Shi'ah. It provides an adequate and comprehensive history and 
major doctrinal teachings of Shi‘ism. All the various stages of Shi’i religious 
activities are given as is a thorough analysis of every regime; the origin as well as 
the circumstances leading to the emergence of some Shi’i doctrines and beliefs is 
described. The book gives the researcher a true historical perspective of Shi‘ism as 
well as its teachings.
Political materials consulted included the following:
8. Hamid Enayat: Modern Islamic Political Thought (1986): Here the major 
distinguishing features of Shi‘ism in relation to Sunni’ism are discussed. The 
major beliefs of the two doctrinal groups are analyzed by means of a discussion of 
the chronological evolution of Sunnism and Shi'ism .More importantly, the book 
also discusses the concept of the Islamic State, based on the views of Muhammad 
Rida, a renowned contemporary Muslim scholar and a former Mufti of Egypt. The 
book is relevant in that it exposes the researcher to the actual beliefs of the two 
doctrinal groups as well as their major doctrinal differences. Also, the book
14
provides the researcher with the notions of the ideal Islamic State, as expounded by 
the modem Muslim scholars. In short, the book serves as a yardstick in analyzing 
contemporary institutions in Muslim states and the parallels they have with similar 
institutions in non-Muslim states and presented a broader picture as to the basis of 
Islam in the modem world.
9. A New Civilization Upsurge (2000) edited by the World Call Islamic Society: This 
is a compilation of speeches and papers presented at the conferences of the World 
Islamic Call Society from 1970-1995. The book contains the major speeches of the 
Libyan leader presented at the conferences where he defined his political 
philosophy. The book is quite relevant in the sense that some of the speeches of the 
Libyan leader depict the dichotomy between the Islamic world and the West, and 
what he perceives as the machination of the Western imperial powers and their 
Zionist allies against Muslims. The book also addresses what he perceived to be 
the causes of terrorism and the type of terrorism practiced by the West.
10. Ayatollah Seyed -Ali Khomeini: Cultural viewpoints of the leader of the Islamic 
Revolution of Iran (2000): This is the major ideological work of the Islamic 
Revolution of Iran. It helped the researcher understand the nature of the Iranian 
revolution and its underpinning philosophy, as well as its major distinguishing 
features as compared with those of other Islamic revolutions.
11. Jalalad-dine Madani: Islamic Revolution of Iran (1996): This book deals with 
the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and the major events leading to it. The personality 
of Ayatollah Khomeini as a factor in the success of the Revolution is also dealt
15
with. To him religion is politics and this view is presented in the book as the spirit 
of a revolution in which the interest of the masses was the focal point. The fight 
against imperialism, colonialism and the rights of workers are issues addressed by 
the Imam. The book is relevant to the research, because it gives a thorough 
background to the kind of politico-religious institutions existing before the 
Revolution and the new ones introduced thereafter and provides information as to 
the views of some Muslims on the interconnectedness of the Revolution and Islam.
12. Kwakuvi Azasu: Understanding the Green Book (1989): This is a commentary 
on The Green Book prepared by the World Centre for the Studies and Researches 
into The Green Book, Ghana Chapter, Accra. It highlights the Libyan political 
socialist view as espoused by the Libyan leader Col Muamar al-Gadhafi. The 
author surveyes the major components of The Green Book which he consideres to 
be political, economic, and social. A contrast between The Green Book and other 
political systems and ideologies was made and analyzed. The Communist 
Manifesto, Marxism, and Capitalism are touched upon. Al-Gadhafi claims that the 
book is the latest attempt to reorganize human society and to address the concern 
of the masses. The book is relevant because its addresses some social issues 
pertaining to religion.
13. G. K. Nukunya and Tom Kumekpor, Readings on The Green Book (1990): 
This is a collection of articles on the Green Book, compiled by the World Centre 
for the Studies and Researches into The Green Book, Ghana Chapter, Accra. The 
articles were written by Ghanaian academics on the teachings of The Green Book 
on political, social, and economic issues as pertaining to it. The book is relevant
16
because it helps the researcher understand the attitudes of Ghanaian academics 
towards The Green Book. It also discusses its impact on Ghanaians and Ghanaian 
Muslims in particular.
As observed, the literature reviewed so far did not highlight Ghanaian Muslims relationships 
with Muslim diplomatic missions and the American embassy in the post independence 
Ghana. Similarly, the role of the Muslim diplomatic missions and the American embassy in 
the dissemination of specific brands of Islamic discourse and new religious ideas were not 
explored. The present work thus attempts to fill in this vacuum in the academic literature.
1.10 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The primary focus of this research was on the role of Muslim diplomatic missions and the 
American embassy in disseminating Islamic ideas in the post independence and the post 9/11 
periods in Ghana. My dimension of analysising the interconnection of certain Islamic ideas 
with some states and their origin in Ghana could not entirely be attributed to their vitality in 
modem Ghana. Also, diplomatic missions and Islamic scholars were selected for the purposes 
of the research. Because of this selection, the research could not claim to reflect the attitude 
of entire Ghanaian Muslims towards global issues and the activities of Muslim missions in 
the country accuratcly.
1.11 STRUCTURE OF THE CHAPTERS
The thesis has been structured in nine chapters. The first chapter which is the introduction 
covers the following areas: background to the study; statement of the problem, aims and 
objectives, hypotheses, research questions, theoretical framework, methodology, data
17
collection, scope of the research, literature review as well as the relevance and limitations of 
the study.
The chapter two discusses the origin and the development of Islam in the Volta Basin and 
Gold Coast in the pre-colonial and colonial times. This was presented in historical 
perspective. Attention was paid to the various means through which Ghanaian Muslims 
interacted with the Muslim world and the origin of Islam in West Africa. These included 
trade and commerce, quest for religious knowledge, Hajj and the policies of the colonial 
government.
Chapter three focuses on the role of post-independence Muslim missions in the development 
of Islam in Ghana. The historical background of Ghana’s diplomatic relations with Egypt, 
Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Libya was described. Again, the chapter identifies certain 
personalities and organisations that promoted and fostered relations between the Muslim 
communities of Ghana and those Muslim states.
Chapter four looks at North African transnational Muslim bodies and Muslims in Ghana. 
Primarily, this chapter focuses on the contributions of Egyptian and Libyan embassies and 
their affiliate institutions to Muslim development in Ghana. Specifically, contributions to 
Ghanaian Muslims in the areas of education, health, construction of Islamic centres 
(mosques), agriculture and women’s empowerment were identified. It also describes the 
specific expressions that these Muslim diplomatic missions introduced into the Ghanaian 
Muslim community.
18
Chapter five discusses the Middle Eastern Transnational Muslim bodies and Muslims in 
Ghana. It focuses on the role of the embassies of the Royal Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the 
Islamic Republic of Iran in Muslim development. Certain institutions and NGOs which are 
affiliated to and connected to these religious interests are further discussed.
The tide of Islamic resurgence in the Muslim world and Ghanaian Muslims’ reaction to this 
was discussed in chapter six. This is done in the light of the specific Islamic expressions 
which are tied to the selected political regimes. Specifically, the researcher focuses on the 
emergence of Shi'ism in the global religious terrain and the role of the Iranian Revolution in 
attracting a section of Ghanaian Muslims to Shi‘ism. Significantly, Wahhabism, now known 
as Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama‘ah, is a religious doctrine which emerged in the latter part of the 
18lh century in Arabia. It later proliferated throughout the Muslim world as another 
expression of Islamic resurgence. Lastly, Islamic socialism as in the Libya‘s politico- 
religious theory, the Third Universal Theory (TUT), is another form of Islamic resurgence 
which affected Ghana and Ghanaian Muslims is discussed.
Chapter seven discusses the United States’ interest in the Ghanaian Muslim community in 
the post 9/11. This creates a platform for Muslim transnational contacts with the United 
States officialdom in Ghana. Issues discussed include:
1. the Islamic basis for relations between Muslims and non-Muslims,
2. avenues through which Muslims and non-Muslims can cooperate,
3. the contributions of the United States to Ghanaian Muslims community,
4. the motive behind the United States relations with Ghanaian Muslims,
5. the Muslim perception of the United States before and after 11 September, and
6. whether Islam is in perpetual conflict with Western values.
19
Chapter eight covers the thrust of the United States’ involvement in the Muslim community 
to which her war on terrorism has a direct relevance. The areas covered include the 
following:
1. causes of terrorism,
2. impact of terrorism on Ghanaian Muslims
3. how terrorism can beeradicated
4. role of Muslim Ulama in combating terrorism, and,
5. factors affecting their role.
Chapter nine is the conclusion and also makes some recommendations.
1.12 RELEVANCE OF THE STUDY
This study is relevant because it is the first time that a study on the impact of transnational 
contacts on Ghanaian Muslim’s doctrinal orientation has been undertaken. Many of the issues 
explored and discussed, and the linkages drawn between them, have not been the subject of 
previous studies. This study certainly helps increase the store of knowledge of Muslim 
religious doctrines as they affect Ghanaian Muslims, the extent of the contributions of 
diplomatic missions to the Muslim community, and Ghanaian Muslim perceptions on 
terrorism. All these issues are extremely relevant in contemporary times and need a detailed 
examination. That is what the study has set out to examine.
20
CHAPTER TWO
FOREIGN MUSLIMS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF ISLAM IN THE 
VOLTA BASIN AND THE GOLD COAST IN THE PRE-COLONIAL 
AND COLONIAL PERIODS
2.0 INTRODUCTION
This chapter traces the historical background of Islam in the Volta Basin and the Gold Coast. 
It does this by identifying the unique ethnic and socio-cultural identity and the background of 
those who facilitated the transnational contacts between the people of the region. It also 
establishes the major conduits through which Islam was spread through these interactions.1 
The chapter also deals with the type of Islamic doctrinal worldview facilitated by the 
transmitters of Islam. Lastly, it analyzes the effects of the Islamisation on some of people of 
the region. Before delving into the thrust of the thesis, a brief background of Ghana becomes 
necessary in order to lay the ground for the origin of Islam in the country.
The modem day Ghana, which was previously referred to by the successive colonial masters 
as the Gold Coast was carved out from the traditional kingdoms in the Volta Basin. It is 
located in West Africa and bordered by Cote d’lvore to the West, Burkina Faso to the North, 
Togo to the East and the Gulf of Guinea to the South. The Gold Coast attained political 
independence from the British colonial masters on the 6th March 1957, and thereafter the 
name Ghana replaced the former. One finds in Ghana the most impressive display of 
European military architecture in Africa. These forts, mostly British and Dutch, mark the 
country as a centre of Africa's notorious slave trade when it was colonised. From the glories 
of the medieval Ashanti kingdom to the heady days of the continent's first successful
1 Interaction in this sense means the interface and mode of relations, which might include, economic, social and 
political. The other alternative meaning of the word interaction is engagement. Therefore, these two words 
would be used interchangeably.
21
independence struggle, Ghana, despite its relatively small size, has played appreciable role on 
decolonization in Africa. The modem day Ghana "evokes" both the ancient Empire of Ghana 
and the riches of the "Gold Coast," as the area was called by the British (Swift, 2009: 36). 
Observers note that the abundance of gold, timber and kola nuts drew Europeans to its shores 
first to trade for these goods and then to buy slaves (Swift, 2009: 36).
of Ghana Map of Ghana in Africa
Burkina Fuo
Mote Bolga'unga S 
Not, Pork
a .Tamale-
Dtgyo a
. r w Nat Park.Sunyam
• Kumaji 
Asamankese( Tern a Lome
I J Ta;kwa ^  ̂Accra Guifof
' Xape Coast Guinea 
| Axlantic Ocean Sekondi-Takoradi
The country Ghana is abound with a lot of natural resources which include gold, timber, 
industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, petroleum, silver, salt and limestone. 
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ghana has roughly twice the per capita 
output of the poorest nations in West Africa.
The population of Ghana, according to the year 2000 Population and Housing Census Report 
is 22,409,572. The dominant ethnic group is African at 98.5 percent with the European 
population at 1.5 percent. Ghana is an ethnically diverse and religiously pluralistic country. 
The dominant ethnic group comprise the Akan, Mole-Dagbani, Ewe, Gurma Grunsi, Ga, 
Guan, Mande-Busanga and other minority tribes like Hausa, Fulani and Zabarma. The year
22
2000 Population and Housing Census estimated that Christianity is the dominant religion 
having 68.8% of the population, followed by Islam 15.9% and traditional religion 8.5%.
The religious landscape of Ghana is diverse though could be viewed from Northern Muslims 
and Southern Christian Ghana. The Muslim population in the north are concentrated in the 
old traditional kingdoms like the Gonja, Dagbon, Mamprusi, Wala with a significant Sissala 
natives who also adhere to the Islamic faith. Many of the indigenous Ghanaian tribes from the 
middle belt to the south arc rather Cliristians. However, Islam has gained ground in the 
extreme south especially among the Fante through the pioneering work of Abubakar from 
northern Nigeria and two of his Fante disciples Benjamin Sam and Mahdi Apah. A 
significant number of Muslim populations are found scattered in the southern Ghana in 
quarters known as the Zongos (Muslim segregated settlements).
Unlike the early Muslims who settled in the north, many of the southern Muslims are latter 
immigrants from neighbouring West African states like the natives of Kotokoli, Chamba and 
Basila from northern Togo, Dendi from the Republic of Benin, Hausa, Fulani, Baribari and 
Yoruba from Nigeria and Mali. Other immigrants Muslims include the Moshi from the 
Burkina Faso and Zabarma from Niger.
In the political sphere, Muslims have been actively involved and in some occasions contested 
elections. The Muslim Association which was formed as an educational and a cultural 
organisation in 1938 transformed itself into Muslim Association Party (MAP) and joined 
opposition to Convention Peoples’ Party (CPP) of Kwame Nkrumah. It was however 
disbanded in 1957.
23
In spite of their less numerical strength, Ghanaian Muslims in recent times have been fairly 
represented in the national politics and most often vie for the Vice President of the Republic. 
As parts of their national recognition in Ghana, Muslims have been given two National 
Holidays, the Eidul-Fitr and Eidul Adha. The Islamic faith is further recognised in major 
national ceremonies. The authority of Muslim leadership in Ghana is invested in the Office of 
National Chief Imam (ONCI), while the Ahmadis represent different different leadership 
structure, the Ahmadi Muslim Mission.
2.1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF ISLAM IN WEST AFRICA 
Islam, Muslims claim, is the first religion of all human persons irrespective of race. 
Established historical thought, however, sees Islam as a world religion that originated when 
Muhammad received his first divine revelation in the year 610 C.E.
Islam from the Arabia through the North Africa is known to have made its first contact with 
West Africa in the 7th century C.E, through the agency of Uqba b. Nafi. Peter Clarke (1982: 
10) is of the view that West Africa made its first contact with Islam in the 8th century by 
means of the trans-Saharan trade routes from North Africa. The main attraction of West 
Africa to the North Africans was the slave trade: commerce, and not missionary zeal. The 
commercial attractiveness to this region was evidenced by the availability, and the prospect, 
of obtaining gold from the ancient kingdoms of West Africa (Clarke 1982: 12)
These transnational contacts between the Muslims of the North and the West Africans 
facilitated the conversion of certain ethnic groups to Islam. For instance, the Sanhaja Berbers 
tribes were the first West Africans to be converted to Islam through trading activities.
24
Clarke (1982: 13) concludes that, the realization that West Africa was the ‘land of gold’ made 
it the focus of greater attention in North Africa. It then attracted increasing numbers of 
Muslim traders to the commercial centers of West Africa (Clarke, 1982: 13). This, of course, 
suggests that the major thrust driving North African Muslim contacts with the West Africa 
was trade. It, eventually, ushered in the gradual orientation of West Africans to the North 
African Islamic culture, with its attendant implications as to the future cultural identity of 
some West Africans. The lack of in-depth religious acumen by the original transmitters of 
Islam in West Africa was to later affect the fortunes of Muslims there.
It could be discerned that, trade and, particularly, the slave trade facilitated the initial 
transnational engagement with the North African Muslims and the West Africans. Later 
Mande traders of the Western Sudan, who were to become very influential in the propagation 
of Islam in the Volta Basin, were converted to Islam through the influence of the North 
African, Islamized Berbers.
Trade and commerce constituted the earliest method by which the peoples of the whole 
region were converted to Islam. That was the case, also, in the area of the Volta Basin. All of 
the new converts to Islam became part of a larger Muslim world. Later, scholarly activities, 
the Hajj, the activities of the colonial governments, and the role of immigrant Lebanese as 
will be explained later increased this sense of belonging to a wider Muslim world. It is, 
however, worth stating that every Ghanaian interaction with the Muslim world has had its 
unique undercurrent and dynamism.
25
2.2 GHANAIAN MUSLIMS’ ENCOUNTER WITH THE OUTSIDE MUSLIM 
WORLD THROUGH TRADE AND COMMERCE
It is on record that the Mande Muslim traders, who were originally associated with the Mali
Empire and popularly known in West Africa as the Wangara, were the first Muslims to have
facilitated relations with Muslims in the Volta Basin. This they did in the early part of the
IS* century by settling in the Akan forest of Begho, near Wenchi in the present Brong Ahafo
region of Ghana (Hiskett; 1962: 45). The main driving force behind the Mande traders’
adventure in the forest belt of the Volta Basin and, for that matter in the Gold Coast, was the
availability of gold and kola nuts. The enterprising nature of the Mande traders has been
variously referred to as ‘Commercial Diasporas’ in the Western Sudan because they traveled
far and wide during their trading engagements(Hiskett, 1962:45). They then transported their
merchandize back to Jenne and Timbuktu for onward transportation to North Africa.
Hiskett (1984: 45) argued further that Mande traders even traded with the Portuguese around 
Elmina before the end of the 15th century. This report did not mention any early Gold Coast 
people who had converted to Islam. The exception however was in Bono, where the King Ali 
Kwame, and the royal family had adopted Islam after he had traveled to the Western Sudan to 
leam mining in the latter part of the 16lh century (Hiskett, 1962:133).
This early encounter of the peoples of the Volta Basin and, for that matter, of the Gold Coast 
with the Mande traders resulted in some of the people of the Gold Coast embracing Islam. 
Thus Islam was introduced into the region, with all its attendant socio-cultural and political 
implications for its adherents.
The doctrinal background of these early Mande traders suggests that they were Ibaddiya but 
later embraced the teachings and practices of the Maliki School, following the Al-Moravid
26
conquests (Hiskett, 1962:133). Consequently, the Maliki School became the dominant School 
in the Western Sudan, and, more particularly the Gold Coast (Hiskett, 1962:133.).
The movement of Mande traders from one place to another made them very influential in the 
spread of Islam in the Volta Basin and the Gold Coast. For instance, it is said that as result of 
their trading activities, Mande scholarly community in Timbuktu arrived at Dagbon around 
1700 C.E. These Mande scholars were known in Dagbon as Yarnas, which was the Mande 
word for religious leaders (Hiskett, 1962:122). This means that, while in the forest belt of the 
south the scholarly identity of the Mande traders was not fully established, that of the early 
Mande settlers in Dagbon were known. However, one could not rule out the possibility of 
trade as the major motivating factor of the Yarnas settlement in Dagbon. This is because not 
much is known about the role of Yarnas in Dagbon religious affairs. Despite this, the Yarnas 
could be regarded as the first religious leaders to have facilitated the transnational contacts of 
the Dagbon people with the wider Muslim world through trade.
Some people of the Gold Coast were also drawn to the transnational Islamic influence 
because of the triumph of the Fulani Jihads in the Hausaland in 1804, with the resultant 
expansion of Hausa trade in West Africa. The success of this Jihad resulted in the spread of 
Islam to other parts of West Africa, including the Gold Coast. Their impact was greatly felt, 
not only in the northern part of the Gold Coast especially Dagbon, but also in other parts of 
the country. Again, the major motive which attracted the Hausa-Fulani from Northern Nigeria 
to the Volta Basin and the Gold Coast was trade rather than any missionary zeal (Letvzion, 
1968: 5). This therefore underscored the fact that, these early traders did not intend to 
convert the Gold Coast people to Islam. Therefore, any such conversion that they might have 
initiated was incidental and accidental, not deliberate.
27
Although, the Wangara and the Hausa-Fulani were the first groups in the West African sub- 
region to have facilitated the religious interaction with the people of the Volta Basin, the 
intensity of their religious orientations and socio-cultural dynamics associated with each 
group differ. For instance, it could be stressed that the Hausa-Fulani clerics were considered 
to be stricter and more learned than the Yarnas. Perhaps, the effects of the Fulani Jihad in the 
Hausaland reinforced the strict Islamic background among the more populous Hausa which 
later impacted on the Hausa settlers in the Volta Basin. This shows, therefore, that the people 
of the Volia Basin have undergone two types of Islamic orientation through their encounters 
with the early Muslim settlers. As a result, they absorbed different Islamic influences and 
traditions from these groups of early Muslim settlers in their respective societies.
To reiterate, the first phase of the people of the Volta Basin’s interaction with regional Islam 
took place during their encounter with the Wangara or Mande traders whose Malian socio­
cultural background was a latent form of Islam. The second phase was their encounter with 
the Hausa-Fulani who had less compromising and stricter attitude towards Islam. The 
significance of this period was that the Volta Basin Muslims’ interaction with the Wangara, 
the Hausa and the Fulani created their linkage and connection with the regional Islam, which 
was West African in nature. The prevailing socio-cultural conditions in the place of origin of 
these early scholars affected the Volta Basin Muslim’s perspective of Islam in the pre­
colonial and colonial periods.
It is worth noting that one remarkable effect of the Hausa’s trading engagement in the area of 
the Volta Basin has been that it has facilitated the emergence of certain trading centers in the 
region. This further enhanced the interaction between people of the Volta Basin and the 
Muslim communities in West Africa. The most notable centre was the Salaga Market in the
28
Gonjaland which emerged in 1775 as a Hausa-speaking town (Hiskett, 1962:51). The major 
commodity, which attracted people from the Muslim world especially Timbuktu, Bomo, and 
Hausaland to Salaga, was kola nuts. The kola nut was cultivated in the Akan forest and 
transported to Salaga where it was sold to the Hausa and the Bomo traders. The Hausa 
occupation of Salaga was important because it created conditions for the later Mande and 
Hausa penetration into the Ashanti Empire (Levtzion, 1987:2). This implies that the Ashanti 
Empire was to come under the influence of Hausa and Mande because of their trading 
expedition.
It has been argued that the Hausa kola trade brought Hausa merchants into Gonja as early as 
the middle of the IS* century. This is because the Muslims, whom Ndewura Jakpa met at 
Kafaba, claim to have come from Hausaland. Some of them were said to be Beriberi 
(Berbers) (Braimah, n.d:22). Also, it has been claimed that the name ‘Gonja” originated from 
the Hausa expression ‘Zani gun dza goro' meaning ‘I am going to the place of the red kola 
nut1 (Braimah, n.d:22). Buipe in the Gonjaland was the market centre in northern Ghana until 
1930. The market was transferred to Salaga when Buipe became the battlefield for the 
struggle between the Ashanti and the Lata N’Gbanya (Lata’s clan).
The influence of the Hausa and Mande nationals was felt on the trading activities in the years 
following the founding of Salaga market in the northern territories that the task force officer, 
‘Kil M buwura’ ensured that people patronized (Braimah, n.d: 22). This was done to curtail 
the possible boom in the Ashanti market through the movement of the traders from the north 
to the south.
29
Among some of the Hausa names for the Salaga market were:
1. Kuntuag pa so: the battlefield of the hyena.
2. Asiga dad aria, fita da kuka: one enters it with joy and laughter; one departs wailing 
(Braimah, n.d:23).
These show the extent of the intensity of peoples’ patronage of the market. It also shows the 
attractiveness of the merchandise in the market because people might overspend at the 
expense of other equally important commodities. Lastly, the use of Hausa here shows the 
extent of the Hausa’s influence in the Salaga socio-cultural background in these northern 
territories.
Information available on the structure of the Hausa caravan to the Salaga market indicates 
that it used to have a well-organized leadership. This is because each caravan used to have a 
leader known in Hausa language as the Madugu. Among his responsibilities was the choice 
of the routes and halting places, the settlement of disputes, and negotiations with local chiefs 
about tolls. Other caravan leaders of the Hausa traders were known as Jagaba, the guide, 
while the Uban Dawaki the one who collects payments for tolls, assisted the Madugu.
Significantly, every caravan used to have a Mallam2 (a Hausa word for a religious leader), 
whose role among the group was to officiate on matters of Islamic rituals. He was a literate 
person so in addition to leading the caravan in prayer, he kept the records and had the 
prerogative of choosing a suitable or prosperous day for the trip.
2Mallam means in Hausa a learned person or a religious leader. It is a corrupted word from Arabic Mu 'alim, 
meanng a teacher.
30
It is argued that it was through these Mallams that Islam made significant impact on the trade 
routes (Levtzion, 1987:2). This is because; some of the traders would withdraw from the 
caravan and settle with the chiefs if their services were needed. Such a Mallam was given a 
wife, probably the daughter of the chief. In this way a small Muslim community would start 
growing. Furthermore, when the Mallam settled in a particular community he became the 
host of foreign traders and visitors and, in that capacity; he was referred to as Maigida, or 
House Master, Host or Landlord, plavinc the role of mediator between the caravan and the 
community (Levtzion, 1987:2).
More Gold Coast people were introduced to Islam through the activities of these settled 
Mallams, who encouraged their colleagues to settle in the same spot and intermarry with the 
local people. Thus the influence of the Hausa caravan on the trade routes and the various 
communities into which they were absorbed was significant. The activities of these Hausa 
caravans give an indication of the other roles played by the Hausa during their trading 
expedition to the Volta Basin and the Gold Coast. Consequently, the activities of these 
caravan leaders, whether Madugu, or Maigida, was to become a mark of identity of certain 
families in the southern Zongo communities in Ghana. Thus some of the families preferred to 
attach such nomenclature to their families’ identities such as Madugu, and Maigida, 
reminiscent of the role played by their grandparents for Islam during their commercial 
expeditions. This tendency shows the extent of the impact of Hausa culture on the Muslim 
territory in the Gold Coast and, of course, contemporary Ghana. When Salaga Market 
declined due to the Civil War of 1892, the Muslim traders moved to the newly emerging 
trading centers such as Atebubu, Kete Karachi, and Kintampo (Abass, 2005: 35).
31
Ashanti is another area where West African Muslims contributed to the development of Islam 
in the Gold Coast and modem Ghana. The account of Muslim engagement with the Ashanti 
suggests that the early Muslims who settled in Kumasi were trade representatives and 
commercial agents guarding the interests of the northern kola nuts traders.
In the southern part of Gold Coast, especially from 1835-1865; the Muslim traders formed 
the nucleus of the Muslim community in Accra. For instance, the 1S65 Report of the Sclcct 
Committee of the Colonial Government indicated that Muslim merchants, who were living in 
James Town in Accra, were plying their trade between Accra and its neighboring countries 
(Dretke, 1968:29). This, therefore, suggests that the southern Gold Coast Muslims had 
relations with regional Muslim communities of West Africa through trade. The settlement of 
these early traders in Accra created the opportunity for the spread of Islamic ideas in the 
south. This was to be further nurtured and promoted through other means, such as scholarly 
activities and the annual pilgrimage to Makkah.
An important point worth emphasizing here is that the Colonial Masters in the Gold Coast 
also maintained trade relations with the Arab or the Muslim countries. The countries through 
which such trade relations were transacted were from North Africa to the Middle East. In 
1923, the Gold Coast colony traded with North African countries such as Egypt, Algeria, 
Tunisia and Morocco. While in 1924 and 1925 the Gold Coast trade relations were further 
extended to Saudi Arabia and Libya in addition to the aforesaid countries (Jonah, 1986:160). 
Though such trade relations were related to importing goods from these countries, much is 
not known about the type of goods that were imported from those countries. However, the 
Gold Coast timber was the major commodity that was exported to the North Africa and the 
Middle East. It can be concluded that such trade relations with predominantly Muslims
32
countries in the colonial period did not have any significant impact on the nature of Islam in 
the Gold Coast, partly because the colonial interest dictated the pattern of the trade relations.
13 SCHOLARLY ACTIVITIES AND THE SEARCH FOR KNOWLEDGE
Scholarly activities of the early Muslims also enhanced the introduction of Islam to the Gold 
Coast. It is interesting to note that the early Muslim traders were literate and religious 
scholars. In the course of their trading expeditions in the Volta Bnsin nnd the G^ld C^nst they 
linked Ghanaians with the Muslim communities of West Africa, the Islamic culture and ideas 
of the Hausa and Mande.
Since these early Muslims were literate, the courts and palaces of the chiefs were the first 
centers which initially came under the influence of Muslim scholars. This is particularly 
noticeable in the northern and the Ashanti kingdoms. These scholarly engagements in the 
chiefs’ courts and palaces were not unique to the Muslim literates in the Volta Basin and 
northern territories. This is because these scholars have historically assumed administrative 
roles in the ancient kingdoms especially, in Koumbi-Saleh, the ancient Ghana Empire’s 
capital. This was also the case in the Mali and the Songhay Empires. It was, therefore, in the 
main as the product of such scholarly centers within these early empires that Islam came to 
the Gold Coast and what is now modem Ghana.
The distinctive role played by the Muslim scholars in the palaces in the pre-colonial and 
colonial periods was in rendering spiritual services. This could be discerned from the role of 
Muslim scholars in the ancient kingdoms of modem Ghana, such as the Ashanti, Dagbon and 
Gonja, where they were very instrumental in solidifying the political leadership of the 
northern kingdoms, especially the Gonja and the Dagomba empires. For instance,
33
Muhammad AI-Abyad was the Muslim advisor and Imam to Jakpa the conquering warrior- 
hero and the King of Gonja (Hiskett, 1962:120). He was very instrumental in assisting the 
King through spiritual means to win most of his battles. The spiritual support Jakpa obtained 
from Muslim scholars attracted the attention of the Dagomba chief. This was the beginning of 
the Islamisation of the chiefs’ palaces in Dagbon. This tendency shows the Islamic religious 
and spiritual influence on the leadership of the various communities in which they settled. It 
also shows the gradual shift of the traditional leadership from depending on their indigenous 
spiritual beliefs to Islamic spiritual services. With this predisposition towards Islamic 
spiritual services in the palaces, a new development in the area of alternative spiritual 
services was introduced into the Volta Basin and the Gold Coast.
Similarly, the role of the Muslim scholars in the Ashanti Empire could also be discerned from 
their literacy and the potency of their spiritual services. This could be seen from the fact that 
the Ashanti, upon realizing the roles played by Muslim literates and the nature of the Muslim 
spiritual services in the northern Kingdoms, began to demand the services of Muslim clerics 
and literates within the palace.
By 1816-1820, the influence of Muslim scholars was greatly felt in the Ashanti Empire, 
especially in the court of the Asantehene. This was as a result of the numerous services and 
roles that they played in Ashanti’s government as court scribes and keeping accounts and 
records on trade and matters relating to war. Some of the Muslim scholars also served in the 
army, performed magical and religious services, acted as ambassadors for the kings on 
foreign missions, and as hosts for visitors from distant countries in the north including the 
Mossiland, Hausaland, Timbuktu, and North Africa due to their literate background 
(Levtzion, 1987:182).
34
An important role played by the northern territories’ chiefs in the development of the Ashanti 
Empire and its government at the time was that those in the Gonja and Dagbon kingdoms 
used to send religious scholars and priests to the Ashanti to assist the king in winning his 
battles. Notable among these were Baba, Kantoma, and Suma. These religious leaders also 
manufactured charms and amulets for the Asantehene’s courtiers (Levtzion 1987:182).
The zenith of Ashanti-Muslim relation was reached in the reign of Nana Osei Kwame (1777- 
1803). This was when, for the first time, Muslims were recruited into the royal household 
(gyaasewa) mainly to render spiritual services to the Asantehene and the Ashanti Kingdom at 
large. These services to the Ashanti Kingdom included the manufacture of charms and 
amulets, giving advice on policies, and determining the direction of Ashanti foreign policies. 
The military wing of the kingdom was also influenced by the Muslims. For instance Owusu- 
Ansah records that the Ashanti army, which invaded Fante State in 1807, had ‘an Arab 
medical staff with the responsibility for recording casualties and attending to the wounded 
(Owusu-Ansah, 1991:9). Not much, however, is known about the ethnic background of the 
‘Arab medical staff, whether they were natives of West Africa or Arabs. It could, of course, 
be concluded that ‘the Arab medical staff in this sense might refer to the written language 
used by Muslim scholars who might well have been West African nationals. The impact of 
Islamic spirituality on the Gold Coast facilitated by the Islamized nationals of West Africa 
who used Arabic as the language of religious communication and instruction can be clearly 
seen here.
As mentioned above, the influence of Muslim scholars, and therefore Islam, on the Ashanti 
Kingdom was felt particularly through their engagement with the Ashanti royal family, 
especially Nana Osei Tutu who was on the verge of embracing Islam. He was endeared to
35
Islam by the power of the Muslim spiritual services offered to the palace. It is on record that 
Nana Osei Tutu overtly expressed his belief in the potency of the Quran, once saying, I 
know that book [the Quran] is strong and I like it because it is the book of the great God, it 
does good for me, and I therefore like the people that read it ’(Owusu-Ansah, 1991:10). It is 
noted, further, that the spiritual services of transnational Muslim scholars were demanded 
beyond the borders of the Gold Coast. A case in point was that, in 1817 the Ashanti 
government once invited one Sharif Ibrahim to pray for the king and make sacrifices to 
ensure the success of the Ashanti wars (Hiskett 1962:120).
It is also on record that in 1777 Asantehene Nana Osei Kwadwo, upon realizing the 
administrative and literacy abilities of the Muslim merchants in Kumasi, initiated an 
administrative reform programme for his empire. The main targets of the administrative 
reform were the Muslims who became the personnel of the reform administrative set-up. 
Interestingly by 13th AH/ 19th CE a madrasa (school) had already been established at Buna, 
west of the Black Volta to train Ashanti civil servants. The medium of instruction was 
undoubtedly the Arabic language. The training school was headed by one Abd Allah b. AI- 
Hajj Muhammad al-Watarawi (Hiskett, 1962:133). Consequently, this centre attracted 
scholars not only from the Ashanti and the Volta Basin region but also from Senegambia 
(Hiskett, 1962:133), thereby increasing the Gold Coast Muslims’ transnational encounter with 
regional Islam through the activities of the individual Mallams at the school.
Perhaps, an important observation in respect of the early Muslim scholars’ engagement with 
the Ashanti Kingdom was that they were in Ashanti to pursue their own personal interests 
with an eye on the benefits that they would derive in rendering spiritual and administrative 
services to the kingdom. Their aim was not necessarily to disseminate Islam. Most of the
36
Muslim clerics were merchants by profession, plying their trade between the Ashanti and the 
neighboring West African countries. This then shows that their personal interests overrode 
their responsibility to propagate Islam in the kingdom. This attitude of the Muslim scholars 
was to affect the nature of Islam in the kingdom as well as the material benefits that they 
have received in the court of the King. Similarly, although the Ashanti political leaders 
benefited from Islamic spiritual services, but Islam did not make converts at the Ashanti 
court.
When discussing scholarly activities as a conduit of transnational contacts between the people 
of the Gold Coast and the Muslim world, one cannot ignore the contributions of Muslim 
scholars in strengthening the encounter among the new converts to Islam. Of special 
significance were the activities of Umar Kreke of Kete Krachi and Alhassan Jarah of Salaga. 
They both came from the northern part of Nigeria and settled at Kete Krachi and Salaga 
respectively in 1870.
Umar Krake was noted to have written a great deal on theological and historical subjects and 
composed a number of poems of a polemical nature on Christianity. It is even argued that 
before the rise of Salaga and Kete Krachi, Gonja had had its share of Muslim intellectuals 
spearheaded by al-Hajj Muhammad b. Mustafa, an historian who wrote a history of the Gonja 
in 1752. These pioneer scholars in the Gold Coast turned Salaga, Kete Krachi and Gonja into 
centres of Islamic scholarly activities in those days. Umar Krake in particular was also noted 
to have been a scholar who used to travel the length and breadth of the country, especially 
during the month of Ramadan when his school was in reccss. Some of the areas to which he 
traveled to disseminate Islam included Tamale, Yendi, Mamprusi, Ashanti and Tetemu 
(Kpong) (Abdul Razak, 1996: 51). Such trips of Umar to parts of the Gold Coast had
37
reinforced the faith of many Gold Coast Muslims at that time, thereby raising his status as a 
prominent Islamic scholar.
The role of these transnational Muslim scholars in the development of Islam in Ghana in the 
pre-colonial and colonial periods cannot be underestimated. The major role that they played 
in the development of Islam in the Volta Basin and the Gold Coast relates to their being the 
torchbearers and repositories of the faith in the region. This was manifested in the Islamic 
educational centers that they established within the areas they settled. Through these centres, 
Islamic orientations and ideas were imparted to the Muslims. They also engaged in the 
dissemination of religious ideas to other Muslim settlements in the Volta Basin and the Gold 
Coast. This in a way strengthened the faith of the Muslims in the Volta Basin and the Gold 
Coast. In addition, they rendered spiritual services to the Muslims and non-Muslims alike. 
These spiritual services raised the prestige of Muslims among non-Muslims in the Volta 
Basin. It also indicates the all-encompassing nature of the religion on almost every aspect of a 
Muslim’s life. Despite this, the spiritual services rendered by the Muslim clerics in the court 
of the chiefs did not result in the conversion of the chiefs in the Ashanti Empire. This might 
have been due to the fact that these Muslim scholars’ did not see themselves as missionaries 
but rather as spiritual consultants. This situation therefore affected the extent of the 
conversion of the indigenous Ashantis in the kingdom. This is contrary to what is obtained in 
the northern kingdoms, where the Muslim scholars regarded themselves as spiritual 
consultants as well as missionaries. This eventually facilitated the virtual Islamisation of the 
northern kingdoms.
38
2.4 DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS
Maintenance of diplomatic relations was another means through which West African 
Muslims facilitated transnational Islamic influence in the Volta Basin and the Gold Coast. 
For instance, it is said that the early traders who settled in Kumasi represented not only their 
trading interests but also acted as political representatives between the northern rulers and the 
Asantehene (Hiskett, 1962:134).
These reached their peak when the northern territories became tributary states to the Ashanti 
kingdom in the 18th century. As a result, the northern Muslim leaders used to delegate some 
of their religious leaders to Kumasi to pray for the Asantehene. Subsequently, the Asantehene 
appointed his personal Imam among the northern Muslims around 1860, this being Imam Al- 
Bilad (the official Imam recognized by Asantehene). Gradually, the holder of the title was 
made a member of the king’s council. It is said that the present day Asante Muslim 
community in Kumasi (Asante Nkramo) who have become fully integrated into the social and 
political life of the Ashanti Kingdom were descendants of these early Muslims (Schilkdrout, 
1978:68).
Ashanti diplomatic relations were not limited to the northern territories, but went beyond the 
Gold Coast. It is said that by the early 18lh century Ashanti had established further diplomatic 
ties with the Moshi Kingdom of Wagadugu (Ouagadougou) in Burkina Faso, which was 
already Islamized by that time (Hiskett, 1962:133). Not much is known about the extent and 
the nature of such relations. However, it must be emphasized that these diplomatic ties helped 
spread Islamic ideas and practices in Kumasi and reinforced Ghanaian interactions with the 
Muslims in the West African sub-region.
39
Significantly, within the same century the Ashanti Kingdom also established diplomatic and 
friendly ties with Ahmad b. Muhammad (Ahmadu Lobbo), the ruler of Masina in Mali. This 
diplomatic relationship was attributed to Muslim civil servants who were serving the Ashanti 
Kingdom (Hiskett, 1962). Such diplomatic ties with the kingdoms in the region fostered close 
relations between the Ashanti and the larger Muslim Ummah.
A close observation of the Ashanti Kingdom’s diplomatic relations with Muslim kingdoms in 
West Africa in the pre-colonial period does not give any evidence of any considerable impact 
on the development of Islam in the Gold Coast. This was because the diplomatic relations 
were fostered on friendly bases and purposes even though these kingdoms were Muslims. 
Furthermore, the overriding motive behind the Muslim kingdoms’ diplomatic relations with 
the Ashanti was not religious. Nevertheless, Owusu-Ansah (1987) employed the concept of 
cultural borrowing to explain the inability of the Ashantis to adopt Islamic way of life. By 
this, the Ashantis harnessed aspects of useful Muslims skills such as administrative and 
Muslim spiritual services for the advancement of their Kingdom at the expense of embracing 
Islam.
On the other hand, impact of these kingdoms on the development of Islam in the Volta Basin 
and Ashanti Empire could be seen, even if remotely. This could be seen on the fact that the 
diplomatic relations created the awareness of Islamic ideas and the Muslims’ way of life 
among the Ashanti at that time.
From the discussions above, it can be seen that the Islamic influence in the Volta Basin and 
much of the Islamic activities from the 15th century until the close of the 19lh century were 
spearheaded by the Hausa, Wangara and Fulani scholars from the West African sub-region,
40
without any traces of indigenous Gold Coast Muslim involvement in Da ‘wa. For instance, 
Umar Kreke, the great pioneer scholar in the Volta Basin and Gold Coast as stated earlier 
migrated from the Northern Nigeria and initially settled at Salaga and subsequently at Kete 
Krachi. Through his religious activities in the Volta Basin and the Gold Coast, he turned 
Salaga and Kete Krachi, the then booming market centres, into the centres of Islamic of 
learning. The same could be said of Alhassan Jarah who also settled at Salaga at the same 
time with Umar. He was a Dendi native from Dahomey (the Republic of Benin).
The apparent reason for the Islamic propagation {Da wa) being spearheaded by the non- 
indigenous Ghanaians was that efforts were not made by these early scholars to reach out to 
non-Muslims and indigenous Ghanaians in the process of their Dawa as a result of linguistic 
barriers. This meant that the early indigenous Gold Coast Muslims did not benefit from any 
hands-on experience from the Da'wa activities. It could also be that the indigenous Gold 
Coast Muslims were not fully imbued with Islamic culture and knowledge by that time. Little 
could have been known about them and they certainly could not have been actively involved 
in Da'wa activities. It could partly be that the indeginous Ghanaians did not attach 
importance to Da 'wa as a result of the influence of the Suwarian tradition which made them 
to limit the practice of the faith to themselves while respecting the worldview of others 
(Wilks 1989:98). It was towards the close of the 19th century and in the early 20lh century that 
some indigenous Gold Coast Muslims joined the Da 'wa terrain. Notable among them was 
Alhassan Atta of Accra, a native of Gonja and a great disciple of Umar Kreke. Ibrahim 
Amartey was another indigenous scholar who emerged within the Ga Muslim community in 
the 20lh century.
41
It could also be discerned from the various means by which the present day Ghanaians 
encountered the regional Islamic world that the influence of the West African Islam on the 
Gold Coast Muslims in the pre-colonial and colonial periods was overwhelming. However, 
there was a period when Ghanaian Muslims, through their Islamisation, also impacted 
considerably on the outside Muslim world. For instance, out of the Zongo in Kumasi in the 
latter part of 20th century a puritanical Islamic group emerged. Subanu Muslimin, an Islamic 
organization founded in the Francophone West Africa metamorphosed in Ghana with the 
name Ansaru-Sunnah Islamic Society. It was founded in 1972 in Kumasi. The background of 
the founders of this organization suggested that they were migrant Muslims from Mali and 
Niger. The group was very instrumental in propagating austere Islamic ideas between Kumasi 
and Niger. Its pioneer scholars were educated and trained in Kumasi. This meant that the 
members undoubtedly would have been influenced in their propagation activities by the 
prevailing socio-cultural environment of Ghana. The activities of this group were not limited 
to Ghana but cut across the sub-region of West Africa. This shows that aspect of the 
Ghanaian religio-cultural impact on the sub-region. The group now has branches in Ghana, 
Mali, Niger, and Nigeria (Iddriss Ibrahim, interview, 15th March 2005).
2.5 HAJJ AS A MEANS OF GHANAIAN INTERACTION WITH THE OUTSIDE 
MUSLIM WORLD
Pilgrimage or Hajj also created an avenue for Gold Coasters and for the present day Ghanaian 
Muslims to interact with the Muslim world. This exposed (and continues to expose) Muslims 
of the region to international Islamic practices and standards as obtained in Arabia and the 
Gulf as a whole. The role of the pilgrimage in strengthening the faith of the present day 
Ghanaian Muslims and offering them international exposure had its historical antecedents. 
For instance, it is reported that Yahaya b. Ibrahim, at one time the leader of the Sanhaja 
Berbers in the Western Sudan, went on pilgrimage to Makkah in the year 1036 C.E
42
accompanied by a number of chiefs and an expert in Islamic law, Jawhar b. Sakkum (Clarke, 
1982:14). Consequently, Yahaya b. Ibrahim came to realize the need for a reform in the 
practice of Islam among his people. He requested that an Islamic teacher from Kairouan be 
sent to help reform Islam among his people. It is also said that Mansa Musa of Mali Empire 
performed Hajj in the year 1324 C.E. He consequently brought an Arabian Sharif to Mali to 
reform Islam in his empire.
It is said that Umar Kreke of Kete Krachi, a pioneer Gold Coast Muslim scholar in the 20* 
century, went on a pilgrimage to Makkah in 1913 via Cairo and subsequently in 1917 and 
1918. This has not however contributed to the adoption of Arabian Islamic tradition, 
Wahhabism, but rather the West African Tijaniyya Islamic worldview. He was originally a 
Qadiriyya by doctrinal background but the pilgrimage reinforced his new orientation of 
Islam. This was because, he was given the Tijaniyya litany (Wird) during the Hajj, and this 
exposed him to the Tijaniyya order for the first time in his life. He subsequently became the 
bearer of the order in the whole of the Gold Coast. As a result of his new orientation, 
Tijaniyya became the dominant sect in the Gold Coast and Ghana, largely through his 
activities (Abdul Razak, 1996:45).
The early accounts of the performance of Hajj by Muslims in the Volta Basin and the Gold 
Coast show how enduring and cumbersome it was to perform the religious duty. A major 
impediment was a lack of a reliable means of transport. Adamu Umar Kuta, a centenarian and 
a pioneer Muslim scholar at Nima in the Greater Accra region and a former Hajj agent from 
1940 to 1976 gave account of how the Hajj was organized in the Gold Coast.
43
In the late 19* and early 20th centuries prospective Muslim pilgrims traveled by road to 
perform Hajj (Adamu, interview, 11U| May 2006).This meant that a pilgrim must be 
physically fit and capable of withstanding any fortitude and hardship on the way. The usual 
norm was that prospective pilgrims would identify a particular agent within a particular 
community who also know some people who intend to perform the Hajj within that particular 
year. Normally, prospective pilgrims within Accra during the years 1820 to 1944 do not 
exceed more than 19-30 people in each year (Adamu, interview, 1 l,h May 2006).
Pilgrims undertaking Hajj from the early 19th to early 20th century used camels, donkeys, and 
horses as a means of transport. A rich person among the prospective pilgrims could employ 
the services of a transport (camel, donkey, and horse) owner to convey him to the next town 
but always in a convoy (Adamu, interview, 11th May 2006). According to him the major 
routes were Accra to Lome in Togo, Lome to Dahomey (Benin), Dahomey-Lagos, Lagos-Jos, 
and Jos-Bomo or Madugri all in Nigeria. From Nigeria, the pilgrims then cross over to 
Farlumi in Chad then to Hadari a border town between Chad and Sudan. In Sudan the 
pilgrims would then travel to Labai and make use of a train to Khartoum, then on to Sawakin 
to embark upon a shipping vessel to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia (Adamu, interview, 11th May 
2006). The informant intimated that the role of the agent in most situations was to lead the 
pilgrims to the next town or direct them to somebody who would take charge of them in that 
town. Such a person would then lead them to the Immigration Office for clearance. He would 
also lead or directs them to another town or a person in another town. This was the trend until 
they reached their final destination (Adamu, interview, 11th May 2006). He emphasized that a 
journey from one town to the other always could take a week or two by walking, or two days 
by a means of transport. He further indicated that, in all, the trip would take about five to six 
months for a person to reach Jeddah. At Jeddah some of the pilgrims employ the services of
44
camel owners to convey them to Makkah, which is, 73 kilometers day’s journey from Jeddah 
to Makkah that is with a means of transport or two days walk by road. In all, Hajj trip takes 
about a year or more for a person to return home, that is, from the date of embarkment 
(Adamu, interview, 11th May 2006). Because of the huge financial resources that pilgrims 
require to embark upon the journey some of them engage in menial work in the course of the 
journey to Hajj to earn some money so that they could continue with the journey to the next 
town. It is argued that some groups sometimes took as much as five (5) to eight (8) years 
from the date of departure from home to that of return. Such groups were generally made up 
of people who worked along the way to earn money to continue with their journey.
Adamu, the interviewee, identified Alhaji Norga, Alfa Togma, Alhaji Alawiye and Alhaji 
Mai Zongo as being among the Hajj agents in the Greater Accra area who facilitate Muslim 
transnational connection with the Islamic world through Hajj. Adamu showed the interviewer 
his passport, issued in July 1943 by the British Colonial Office in Accra, so the Colonial 
Government approved routes to Hajj as designated in 1944. The routes were Lagos to Kano, 
El-Obied to Sawakin, then Khartoum to Egypt and to Jeddah. According to him he performed 
the Hajj in July 1943 with his late father and returned in May 1944. Because they had 
sufficient funds they were able to return within eleven (11) months, from. August 1943 to 
June 1944.
2.6 THE POLICIES OF THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT
With the advent of colonialism in the Gold Coast, the present day Ghana witnessed a 
different means of transnational Islamic influence in the Gold Coast. This was through the 
Colonial Government’s policy of recruiting Muslims from neighboring British West African 
colonies into the army and the police force. For instance in 1872 the Colonial Government
45
recruited the Hausa constabulary from Nigeria into the Gold Coast (Dretke, 1968:24-29). 
These Hausa Muslims constabulary consequently played a significant role in reinforcing the 
regional character of Islam in the Gold Coast. These emigrant Hausas eventually gained 
recognition from the Colonial Government and became the official mouthpiece of Muslim 
leadership in Gold Coast. Even before the deployment of the Hausa police, Muslim slaves 
who had been freed by the Dutch had settled at Java Hill in Cape Coast. The Dutch bought 
these slaves from the Ashanti Kingdom to fight their wars in Java and at the end of the wars 
they were settled in Elmina and got pensioned when old (Dretke, 1968:24-29). Furthermore, 
during the British-Ashanti wars in 1873 a batch of 150 Hausa constabulary was transferred 
from Lagos to the Gold Coast to strengthen the British front. By the close of 1900 the number 
of Hausa police (who were invariably Muslims) in the British army was almost up to a 
thousand. It is said that some Muslims were even recruited from Sierra Leone (Dretke 
1968:24-29).
Whatever the purpose of the Colonial Government in recruiting Muslims as the core of their 
security forces, this practice facilitated the regional character of the Ghanaian Muslim 
community and resulted in its subsequent dominance by leaders whose origins could be 
traced to other countries in the sub-region of West Africa.
2.7 THE ROLE OF IMMIGRANT LEBANESE
Ghanaian Muslims also encountered another level of transnational contact with the Muslim 
world during the colonial period. Emigrant Lebanese settled in the Gold Coast in 1884 
becoming the first Arabs (Habushi, interview, 17*h July 2005). It could also be said that they 
were the first Arabs that the Gold Coast people might have spoken Arabic with which, in a 
way, gave meaning to them for being Muslims. This is based on the fact that there is a thin
46
ine between Arabian and Islamic culture. In addition, the present day Ghanaian Muslims’ 
interaction with the Lebanese serves as an exposure of their understanding as to how Arabs 
behave. The significance of the Lebanese interaction during the colonial period with the 
people who are now Ghanaian Muslims was that, the Ghanaian Muslims felt for the first time 
that they had within their own country interacted directly with people from Muslim world 
beyond the West African geographical boundaries. This represented a different level of the 
Gold Coast people’s encounter with the global Muslim world, which is Middle Eastern in 
character.
It must be emphasized that these early Lebanese were wrongly and variously referred to as 
Turks, partly because, they were then under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. They were also 
referred to as Portuguese on account of their complexion and because they were the first 
expatriates after the Portuguese to settle in the Gold Coast. Lastly, they were also called 
Syrians because of the similarity between them and Syrians, partly due to the Arabic 
language spoken by both groups (Habushi, interview, 17th July 2005). This was further 
reinforced by the Gold Coast’s colonial government census classification of Lebanese and 
Syrians as one homogenous group (Akyeampong, 2006:307). The first Lebanese to settle in 
the Gold Coast in 1884 was William Ibraham Chebib, a Christian (Habushi, interview, 17th 
July 2005). Others followed, as a result of the favourable accounts of economic and political 
conditions prevailing in the Gold Coast. The majority of the Lebanese in Ghana came from 
northern Lebanon, especially Tripoli and it surroundings (Habushi, interview, 17* July 2005). 
Generally, the Lebanese in Ghana fell under the umbrella organization called the Lebanon 
Society, which addresses problems of welfare of members in Ghana. In the religious sphere, 
it is interesting to note that about 80% of the Lebanese in the present day Ghana are adherents 
of the Sunni school of Thoughts, whereas the Shi'ah Lebanese constitute about 15% and the
47
Christians representing 5% (Habushi, interview, 17th July 2005). Doctrinal wise, the 
Lebanese Sunnis were much in tune with the Salafiyya Islamic identity preached by the 
Egyptian scholar Muhammad Abduh in the 19th century. Salafiyya is embedded in Muslims’ 
quest for true religious identity and emphasizes purifying Islam from both Sufi mysticism and 
foreign influences, while aspiring to emulate the West in technological and scientific 
advancement (Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol 2, page 3). Muhammad Abduh preached this 
brand of Islam in Beirut. Lebanon in 1882-8 among Muslim intellectuals (Encyclopaedia of 
Islam, Vol 2, page 3). The emigrant Lebanese Muslims who initially settled in the Gold Coast 
were invariably imbued with this Islamic tradition (Habushi, interview, 17th July 2005). 
Salafiyya is akin to Wahhabi, as they drew their religious inspiration from the Wahhabi 
revolution in Arabia.
The history of the early Lebanese Muslims engagement with the Gold Coast Islamic Ummah 
is very obscure, since it has not generated any academic interest in Ghana. Perhaps, this could 
be due to the fact that the major motivation for the early emigrant Lebanese to settle in the 
Gold Coast was trade. Nevertheless, traces of their religious interaction with the Gold Coast 
Muslims could be found in the form of religious centres that they established such as 
mosques and Islamic education centres in the areas in which they initially settled, including 
Saltpond, Sekondi, Suhum, and Swedru (Habushi, interview, 17lh July 2005).
Moreover, being expatriates in the country their involvement in national politics always 
generates mixed feeling from the section of the indigenous Ghanaians in recent times 
(Akyeapong, 2006: 303). This attitude of the indigenous Ghanaians towards the Lebanese is 
not different during the colonial period. They had always regarded the Lebanese and Syrians 
as the auxiliary of the colonial masters. This in effect hampered their political integration at
48
that time (Akyeapong, 2006: 301). Further, documents obtained from the colonial archives 
regarding the registration of Syrians and Lebannese in French West Africa in 1943 also 
suggests the dilemma that the Lebanese in the Gold Coast encountered in respect of their 
integration into the colonial security establishment. In French West Africa where the 
initiative was taken to register them, they interpreted it as a preliminary move to 
mobilization, since this measure has not been taken in Algeria and Morocco. The Lebanese 
and the Syrians in the Gold Coast also viewed such action with apprehension as similar 
action could be introduced here. It is however worth stating that their enlistment into the 
British security system at that time suggests that they prefer to join the Home Guards (largely 
made up of the white) as against the African Platoon (mainly made up of the blacks).
This could not however be said about their religious integration as they interacted with and 
contributed towards the development of Islam and Muslims collectively with the indigenous 
Muslim population. The pluralistic Ghanaian religious environment which allows for 
freedom of association as well as freedom of religious worship necessitated this. Having 
inculcated sound Islamic education into their offspring who now represent the third 
generation of Lebanese in Ghana, with equal rights like any other citizen in Ghana, they have 
manifested and put into practice their engagement with the Ghanaian Muslim Ummah in 
various ways.
In order to protect and promote the interests of Islam and Muslims in Ghana, the Lebanese 
formed the Ghana Society for Islamic Education and Reformation. This organization provides 
an avenue through which they interact with the Ghanaian Muslim Ummah in various fields of 
concern such as the propagation of Islam and education for Muslims. Because of the wealth 
they possess and the type of Islamic training they have acquired from their parents, the
49
Lebanese business community in Ghana constructed the Madina Islamic School situated at 
Madina in Accra in 1985 which primarily provide education to Ghanaian Muslim students. 
The school runs programmes from primary to the junior secondary level. The Society also 
constructed an ultra-modern senior secondary school in 2001 at Kwame Nkrumah Circle in 
Accra, known as Ghana-Lebanon Islamic Secondary School (GLISS), a reminiscent of 
cordial relationship between their host country, Ghana, and their motherland, Lebanon. The 
school runs various programmes from business studies to general arts and science. In 
addition, die Lebanese community established an Islamic Theological Institute at Madina 
called the Islamic Teachers’ Training Institute. This was because of their concerns about the 
nature of Islamic Da 'wa in the country. The institute was established in 2000 to produce 
quality Du 'at (Islamic preachers) with a view of propagating Islam in the country.
One area that the Lebanese also distinguished themselves in their engagement with the 
Ghanaian Ummah is the granting of scholarships to the under-privileged Ghanaian Muslim 
students. It is estimated that not less than 1500 Muslim students are enjoying various forms of 
scholarships granted by the Lebanese business community in Ghana. In order to accomplish 
this they set aside a portion of their business profit as Zakat, an Islamic social security system 
for the under-privileged in the society. An interesting aspect of Lebanese engagement with 
the Ghanaian Ummah is that some members of the Lebanese business community sponsor 
some of their hardworking employees to perform the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Makkah.
Quite apart from the Lebanese group’s facilitation of Ghanaian Muslims’ Islamic 
orientations, some individual Lebanese also played tremendous role in facilitating their 
engagement with the outside Muslim Ummah in one way or the other. One of these is M.M
It is important to reiterate that, though the origin of the Lebanese in the present day Ghana pre dates the 
colonial period. 1 decided to stretch the nature of their engagement with Ghanaian Muslims to the 21acCT'u°'. This 
will enable me provide a holistic dimension of their engagement with Muslims in Ghana
50
Hamoui who came to the Gold Coast in 1929 at the age of 13 years and was educated at 
Koforidua Methodist Primary School in the Eastern region. In 1945 he registered a transport 
company under the name “Tarzan Transport” (Hamoui: 1984). In the late 1940s he operated 
as one of the early transport owners in the country plying Accra, Kumasi, Tamale, Sekondi, 
Denu, Jasikan, Keta, Kete Krachi, and Lome. The services of the company were subsequently 
extended beyond the borders of Ghana so that by 1948, he was the only transport owner 
whose services were demanded by Ghanaian Muslim pilgrims to Saudi Arabia who were 
usually transported from Ghana to Sudan where they were then conveyed by train across the 
Red Sea to Jeddah for the annual pilgrimage.
Hamoui was in charge of transporting Nigerian, Sierra Leonean, and Ivorian Muslim pilgrims 
to Sudan until 1956, when the Chadian government made it difficult for foreign commercial 
vehicles to drive through their territory with passengers. He was a distinguished personality 
who also transported the Ghanaian exhibits to the Cairo International Agriculture Fair by 
road in 1960 via Khartoum, from where they were conveyed by rail and river transport to 
Cairo. Through his transport activity, he facilitated Ghanaian Muslims’ engagement with the 
Muslim world. His business transactions possibly resulted in the exchange of cultural 
products through the pilgrimage and trade fairs (Hamoui: 1984).
It is therefore not surprising that he was singularly handpicked by the late first President of 
Ghana, Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah, as a member of Ghana Ex-service Union, which was 
later known as the Ghana Legion. He was honoured and adopted by the then James Town 
Mantse Nii Adja Amugi in 1963 as a member of the Palace under the name Kwashie Kodjo 
due to his contributions to the Ga community (Hamoui: 1984).
51
A unique contribution that the Arab Lebanese Muslims have made to Ghanaian Muslims in 
recent times is in the area of the media. The Metropolitan Television Station (Metro TV) is a 
joint venture between some Lebanese Muslims and the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation 
(GBC). The major individual shareholders are Talal Fatal and his brothers. Metro TV has 
become a source of major Islamic religious propagation in Ghana. The television station was 
established in 1999 and allocates free air time for Ghanaian Muslims on Fridays to 
exclusively propagate Islam. The interesting dimension of the Islamic religious broadcasting 
at Metro TV is that air time has been allocated to a section of Ghanaian Ulama to propagate 
Islam in the major Ghanaian languages especially in Akan, Ga and Hausa. For instance, the 
Islamic Highlight programme is aired in Akan and Ga at different times on Fridays. In order 
to give Islam the national character that it deserves the English language is also employed in 
the propagation of Islam through a programme called Islamic Insight. The compatibility of 
Islam to science as well as the scientific basis of Islamic beliefs and teachings is the subject 
matter of another religious programme being aired on Metro TV, known as Islam and 
Science.
Al-Nisai is the Muslim women religious programme on Metro TV. This programme was 
designed to address the socio-cultural and religious problems confronting the development of 
Muslim women in Ghana. In all, Metro TV, being managed by a section of the Lebanese 
community in Ghana, has assisted in bringing Islam into the public sphere. It could also be 
said that the Lebanese Muslim community has facilitated the Islamisation of Fridays on the 
Ghanaian media landscape from morning to noon through the medium of Metro Television.
To sum up, Ghanaian Muslims of Lebanese descent were the first Arab Muslims that 
Ghanaian Muslims directly dealt with. The nature of the intensity of Islamic orientation in
52
Lebanon was also reflected in the attitude of the majority Lebanese-Ghanaian Muslims in 
Ghana. This tendency could be seen in their concern for their fellow Muslims and for their 
role in projecting the image of Islam and assisting the needy Muslims in Ghana. Even though 
they form the minority Muslims in Ghana, their professional background as businessmen 
enabled them to contribute more meaningfully than any other group in Ghana. In terms of 
doctrinal orientation they are strict Sunni Muslims. As a result, they represented the first 
Wahhabis before some Ghanaian Muslim students traveled to the Middle East and the 
Arabian Gulf for Islamic studies. Although they were not actively involved in the propagation 
of Islam they used their wealth to promote the religion. Thus Lebanese-Ghanaian Muslims 
represent another bloc of Muslims in Ghana. Their influence in the Islamic religious terrain is 
however limited to the capital city of Ghana, Accra, and its environs.
An important issue that has not been addressed within this section is what has been the nature 
of doctrinal worldview of Muslims in the Volta Basin and the Gold Coast? The next section 
of the thesis attempts to address this.
2.8 THE ISLAMIC DOCTRINAL WORLDVIEW OF MUSLIMS IN THE 
VOLTA BASIN AND THE GOLD COAST
It is an undeniable fact that Muslims in the Volta Basin and the Gold Coast have undergone
various types of Islamic orientation and received a variety of ideas about Islam through
different periods. The earlier Islamic orientation of the Muslims in the Gold Coast was the
Qadriyya, which was overshadowed by the Tijaniyya. Two main factors facilitated the
Tijaniyya outshining the Qadriyya Sufi order in the area of the Volta Basin and the Gold
Coast. The first factor was the elitist character of Qadriyya. This made the movement appear
as a social class of the Qadriyya Ulama without any social significance to the ordinary
Muslims. The second factor was the rivalry between the Qadriyya and the Tijaniyya doctrine
53
in the Volta Basin and the Gold Coast. During the colonial period, the Tijaniyya became the 
dominant doctrine in the Gold Coast.
The historical background of the doctrinal orientation of Muslims in western Sudan indicates 
that Ibadiyya and Sufriyya were the earliest doctrinal groups there. For example, Clarke 
quoted Al-Zuhri, an Arabic scholar who related that the Berber traders who facilitated the 
Islamisation of West Africans through their trading expedition held doctrinal beliefs similar 
to those of the lbadites and the Sulrites, all of which were branches of Kharijites (Clarke 
1982:12). There were considerable evidences showing that businessmen in Tahert, and the 
inhabitants of Awdaghost, Zawila Sijlimasa were all Ibadiyya in doctrinal orientation. This 
was around the late 8* and the early part of 9th centuries (Clarke, 1982:12). These 
orientations emerged with a view to addressing certain perceived needs and defects in the 
society at the time. It was therefore argued that one of the motivating factors for the rise of 
the Al-Moravid movement was the need to rectify the perception that Islam in ancient Ghana 
was unorthodox. Consequently, the Al-Moravid’s conquest facilitated the orientation of the 
Muslims in western Sudan towards Maliki school of thought (Hiskett, 1984:45). This was 
because of the doctrinal background of the leader and the founder of the Al-Moravid 
movement, Abdullah b. Yasin who was doctrinally a Maliki. This was also entirely due to the 
educational orientation, he acquired from his tutors in the North Africa. Thus, Abdullah b. 
Yasin also enforced the Maliki doctrine among his students who eventually became the later 
Ulama in the western Sudan (Clarke, 1982:14). The Sanhaja Berbers, when they were 
thoroughly islamised, took up the role of propagating Islam in the Western Sudan and thus 
facilitated the spread of the Maliki Madhhab, or School.
54
Again, the other most important personality who influenced the orientation of West African 
Muslims was the North African scholar Al-Maghili. He became an advisor to Muhammad 
Rumfa of Kano. It is believed that he was a Maliki, as well as a Qadriyya in mystical 
orientation. His writings became the standard point of reference to Uthman Dan b. Fodio 
(Hiskett, 1984:150). Eventually, Uthman Dan b. Fodio was influenced doctrinally and thus 
his newly found Islamic orientation affected the entire region of northern Nigeria which he 
conquered. The success of his conquests also affected the religious orientation of the people 
of the Volta Basin on account of the pioneer Hausa traders’ settlement in the Volta Basin and 
in the Gold Coast.
In the area of Volta Basin, specifically, Dagbon, Gonja and the Ashanti Kingdoms, the early 
scholars and traders who settled there in the pre-colonial and colonial periods were Maliki in 
doctrinal orientation. The strong evidence for this view is found in what Hiskett recorded 
around 1955 about the academic qualifications he obtained in Wenchi. This shows that 
students tended to link the type of academic qualifications that they received to the Maliki 
School of law. In this case, the student identified the type of academic qualification he 
acquired with his teacher’s orientation. The teacher in turn identified the teacher who taught 
him and so on back to Imam Malik b. Anas, the founder of the Maliki School of law (Hiskett 
1984:57).
A majority of Muslims in the West Africa, and more particularly in Ghana, still resort to 
Maliki literature to orient their students on Islam, including the Tijaniyya and the Ahlus- 
Sunnah Wal-Jama’a (Wahhabiyya) doctrines. The fundamental Islamic jurisprudence 
literature which are still in use in the Islamic schools were all authored by the disciples of
55
Imam Malik b. Anas. It suggests a common ground of Islamic education at the primary 
education level.
The other observation in respect of early Muslim mystical orientation in the Volta Basin is 
that they belonged to the Sufi Qadriyya order. This was during the time when the Qadriyya 
order was the dominant mystical and popular movement. Abdul Qadir Jaylani founded the 
movement in the 6 AH/12lh CE century in Baghdad. This Sufi order then spread to North 
Africa and was adopted by the Sanliaja Berbers in the Western Sudan of the Sahara It is on 
record that one Kunti Sidi Ahmad Bakkai of the Kunta family was very influential in
spreading the Qadriyya order in the western Sudan (Hiskett, 1984:47). This was done by
means of his preaching tours and that of the Kunta clan as a whole while trading. It is
recorded that Sidi Ahmad Bakkai was in Bomo in 843 A.H /1439-40 C.E. as part of his
preaching and trading tours (Hiskett, 1984:47).The major criterion of distinguishing the 
Qadriyya from non-Sufi orientations was the emphasis put on the mystical interpretation of 
the Quran. The major Qadriyya doctrine, which distinguishes it from that of non-Sufi groups, 
is the ability of a person to achieve absorption in God (fana), through self-denial and fasting. 
Also peculiar to them is their doctrine on the personality of Muhammad, who to them, is the 
perfect man (insan al-Kamil) and also Afdal al-khaleq ‘the most excellent creation’ (Hiskett, 
1984:48).
The origin of the Qadriyya movement in the Volta Basin is traced to the Wangara traders who 
through their trading activities spread the doctrine. Hiskett (1984:250) indicated that early 
traces of Qadriyya teaching could be found in Mamprusi as well as the Ashanti in 1221-2 
A.H./1807 C.E. Much is not known about the specific personalities who spread this mystical
56
order. However, Qadriyya might have been facilitated by the traders and early Ulama from 
northern Nigeria and Jegu (Benin).
The Qadriyya mystical order of Muslims in the Western Sudan and North Africa could be 
regarded as the prevailing wider orientation likewise in the region of the Volta Basin and the 
former Gold Coast. The evidence of the Qadriyya order being the general religious 
orientation in West Africa could be seen in the fact that most Muslim scholars in the Western 
Sudan, including the leader of the Fulani, upheld such an orientation (Hiskett, 1984:251). 
These leaders included the Jihadist Uthman Dan b. Fodio in the northern Nigeria and Umar 
Kreke in the protectorate areas of the northern part of the Gold Coast (Hiskett 1984:248). The 
Qadriyya movement thus became the dominant mystical orientation in northern Nigeria. The 
early Hausa traders who originated from the Northern Nigeria were of Qadriyya order in 
mystical orientation. They conducted their trading activities and settled in the Volta Basin, 
the Gold Coast and, specifically, around the Salaga market in the Northern Region of present 
day Ghana. According to Charles Stewart, the trade routes were the major assembly points 
and teaching centres for the dissemination of the Qadriyya order (Stewart, 1965: 24).This was 
the trend up to, at least, the frontiers of Ashanti. The mystical background of Umar Kreke, a 
renowned Muslim scholar in the 20th century was Qadriyya. This was certainly a renowned 
Muslim scholar in the 20th century until his performance of Hajj, when he changed his 
orientation to that of Tijaniyya. He eventually became the bearer of the Tijaniyya order in the 
Gold Coast. It could safely be concluded said that, his earlier disciples were therefore of 
Qadriyya in mystical orientation until his encounter with Tijaniyya mysticism in Makkah in 
1913.
57
The mystical orientation of the people of the Volta Basin and the Gold Coast was, therefore, 
to compete with the Tijaniyya order. Tijaniyya order was founded by Ahmad al-Tijani in 
1815 in Cairo. He later moved to North Africa at Ayn Madi in Fez and set up his own 
Zawiya. The movement spread from North Africa to the western Sudan.
The spread of the Tijaniyya order in the Volta Basin was recorded by numerous sources. One 
such source indicates that Umar al-Futi, a Tijaniyya by orientation, might have spread the 
Tijaniyya litany to some Wangara in Bobo-Dioulassu (Burkina Faso) (Stewart 1965:27). This 
was before his pilgrimage to Makkah in 1825. Stewart (1965) indicates that, Umar Tal a 
Tijaniyya by inclination was the first to visit the Gold Coast through the Northern Nigeria 
(Stewart, 1965:27). This report, however, did not indicate the date when the visit occurred. 
Moreover, it does not tell us the major role played by Umar Tal in spreading Tijaniyya in the 
Gold Coast. Nevertheless, he might have dealt with the Muslim scholars at that time which in 
a way facilitated the orientation of the Gold Coast people to the Tijaniyya order. Generally, 
the unanimous view about the advent of the Tijaniyya mysticism in the Gold Coast was that 
with the fall of the Segu Empire in 1889 leaders who were Tijani by orientations dispersed or 
migrated to the east. This period, therefore, marked the commencement of the active 
proselytisation of the order in the Gold Coast and Nigeria (Stewart, 1965:28). The 
proselytisation of the movement created extent of doctrinal tension with the Qadiriyya, the 
then dominant orientation in the Gold Coast.
The Tijaniyya also spread to the Volta Basin and the Gold Coast through emigrant Hausa 
traders. The traders who had become imbued with the newly emerged Islamic mysticism in 
Northern Nigeria became its carriers in the course of their trading expedition and activities in 
the Gold Coast. However, their role in spreading the Tijaniyya order is limited to the
58
application of the doctrine among themselves and they were not able to impart its teachings 
to others. In addition, the colonial masters’ policy at the end of the 19th century of recruiting 
Hausa constabulary from northern Nigeria to be the core of its police and troops facilitated 
the transfer of Muslims with a Tijaniyya doctrinal orientation to the Gold Coast (Stewart, 
1965:29).
The most significant figure who played a remarkable role in the propagation of the Tijaniyya 
order in West Africa was Alfa Hashim, the nephew of Umar Tal. This was when he settled in 
Madina in Saudi Arabia in order to avoid French reprisals. While in Madina he facilitated the 
interaction of Tijaniyya leadership from other countries with West Africans, normally during 
the time of the pilgrimage (Stewart 1965:29). He was also known to have corresponded with 
other West African Tijaniyya leaders and given them direction on political as well as 
religious matters (Stewart, 1965:29).
The religious orientation of the Gold Coast Muslims changed from Qadriyya to Tijaniyya 
when Umar Kreke performed pilgrimage to Makkah in 1913 as observed earlier. During the 
Hajj, Umar Kreke interacted with Alfa Hashim in Madina and was thus eventually initiated 
into the Tijani order (Stewart, 1965:30). Consequently, he became the leading figure and the 
bearer of the Tijaniyya order in the Gold Coast. Subsequently, his students followed his 
example and spread the doctrine to their respective localities. Some of these disciples 
included Dan Tano in Kumasi and Alhassan Atta in Accra (Stewart, 1965:30). Through them 
the Tijaniyya order ultimately became the dominant Islamic doctrinal and mystical 
orientation in the Gold Coast.
59
The religious hierarchical structure of the Tijaniyya mysticism was determined byAhmad Al- 
Tijani, the founder of the Tijaniyya order. For instance, he regarded himself as the Qutb al- 
Aqtab (the pole of the poles) and Khaim al-Wilaya Muhammadiyya (the seal of the 
Muhamadan sainthood) (Abu Nasr 1965:32).Although he claimed to be the Qutb, it was not 
the first time that a Sufi had laid claims to such a title. However, his position could be 
distinguished from others in that in his claim to be their pole he indicated that he was their 
chief, meaning that it was through him that other Qutbs draw their spiritual authority (Abu 
Nasr, 1965:32).
Another interesting distinction that Ahmad Tijani gave about the Khatm al-Wilayya was that 
he drew an analogous position between himself, other Walis (saints) and Muhammad. This 
could be seen from the fact that he espoused the view that Muhammad was the embodiment 
of all prophetic revelations as well as being the last of God’s prophets, whereas he, Ahmad 
Tijani was the complete and perfect embodiment of Wilaya and from him all the Walis who 
came before him have derived, and all who will come after him will derive their inspiration 
(Abu Nasr, 1965:32).
The Tijaniyya in the Ghanaian Muslim community could be distinguished from other 
Muslims through the rites they performed in addition to the five daily prayers. These rites 
include the recitation of the litanies (Wirds), another prayer known as the office (Wazifa) and 
lastly, the participation in the stance (Hadra) (Abu Nasr, 1965:40). The most revered 
liturgies of the Tijaniyya order are the Salatul Fatih and Jawharat al-Kamal, which they 
sometimes recite for a particular number of times, the rewards for this being equivalent to or 
above reciting the Qur‘an (Abu Nasr 1965:50). This aspect of their belief generates 
controversy and tension between them and the Ahlus-Sunnah group in Ghana.
60
In the early part of the 20lh century, the West African sub-region did not experience any 
diverse teachings of the Tijaniyya movement until the emergence of Ibrahim Nyass of 
Khaolakh, Senegal in 1900. His appearance brought into being the Jama'at Faydat al- 
Tijaniyya (the Tijaniyya community of grace) in West Africa. He introduced two new ideas 
into the Tijaniyya movement in West Africa, the first being his concept of Fay da (attainment 
of divine grace). He claimed to have the power to transmit divine grace to his followers. He 
also introduced the concept of Tarbiyya in West Africa, which is the Sufi path of seeking 
Allah through initiation (Abdul Rahim 2003:82). The Ibrahim Nyass brand of the Tijaniyya 
competed with the mainstream Tijaniyya of the founder, Ahmad Tijani, over Islamic 
orthodoxy in Ghana. The Tarbiyya ideas popularized by him did generate controversy in 
some parts of Ghana, especially among the elderly Ulama. However in view of the fact that it 
was the youth within the Tijaniyya who embraced the Tarbiyya thought, it has gradually 
replaced the mainstream Tijaniyya of the founder as the main dominant Sufi thought in 
Ghana.
The Tijaniyya heritage in Ghana has witnessed a new orientation with the introduction of an 
indigenous and local version, the Jello Tijaniyya. Abdulai Maikano, a graduate of Al-Azhar 
in 1956 was the brainchild behind this brand of the Tijaniyya. The Jello Tijaniyya emerged as 
a reaction to the resurgence of Wahhabi thought in Ghana which constantly vilified the 
Tijaniyya thought as a whole. In due time, it has attracted a significant number of the 
Tijaniyya youth into his movement. This was further boosted in view of the friendly platform 
that it has created for the youth during the Maulud celebration.3 The Jello Tijaniyya is
3 The Tijaniyya movement seems to follow a common pattern in respect of its growth in Ghana. There is a 
relationship between the support the Tarbiyya movement enjoyed from the youth and its growth. In a sense, 
what has worked for the vitality of the Tarbiyya thought popularised by Ibrahim Nyass was the fact that he used 
to enjoy support among the youth and in due time these youth transformed themselves as leaders of the 
movement in modem time. The Jello Tijaniyya also seems to be showing similar pattern of the support of the
61
popularly known among its admirers as Akwashi Rawah, (From the Hausa language, meaning 
‘dancing’). This refers to singing and dancing while praising Allah (Abdul Rahim 2003:86).
This needs to put into perspective regarding the national prominence of Sheikh Abdulai 
Maikano in Ghana. When Abdulai Maikano graduated from Al-Azhar in the early 1956, he 
joined the Ghana Armed Forces as a Chaplain in 1964, though was dissatisfied with this job 
later (Abdul Wadud: 426). He resigned from the Army in 1968 in order to focus on religious 
propagation. The advent of the Wahhabi movement in the northern region in the 1960s led by 
Afa Yusuf Ajura and the challenge it poses to the Tijaniyya orthodoxy helped transform 
Maikano as its vanguard. Maikano was seen as the leading scholar in the north who helped 
contain the perceived Wahhabi menace. He is also known to have followed the Wahhabis to 
other parts of the country to counter their activities (Abdul Wadud: 428). In spite that 
Maikano religious activities were implicated in many of the doctrinal conflicts from the 
1960s to 1990s between the Wahhabis and the Tijaniyya, he was seen by many followers of 
the Tijaniyya as a leading scholar who defended the orthodoxy of the movement. In the 
perspective of some Muslims, Maikano’s legacy in the religious sphere has been a very 
violent one, not only against his Wahhabi opponents but against Tijaniyya leaders who 
oppose his perspective of and approach to Islam. He is also celebrated because of his 
perceived spiritual prowess. Maikano’s legacy in recent times has mostly been embraced by 
the youth partly because of his liberal inclination and tolerance for youth participation in 
Maulud celebration. His home town Prang in the Brong Ahafo region has become a center of 
attraction for many of his sympathizers during the annual Maulud celebration.
youth and its strength. However it strength in the Muslim public sphere is yet to be tested in the decades to come 
vis a vis the dominant Tarbiyya thought oflbrahim Nyass.
62
Currently, the Tijaniyya in Ghana is divided between the Jello-Tijanniyya and the 
Usmaniyya. The Jello-Tijaniyya are those who believe that Abdualai Maikano of Prang in 
the Brong Ahafo region is their overall spiritual leader. On the other hand, the Usmaniyya 
are the orthodox Tijaniyya who draw their leadership inspiration from Usman Nuhu 
Sharubutu, the present national Chief Imam in Ghana.His Tijaniyya heritage is tilted 
towards Ibrahim Nyass.
The Jello-Tijaniyya could also be distinguished from the Usmaniyya or the orthodox 
Tijaniyya by the following features:
(a) The Jello-Tijanniyya looks at Prang in the Brong Ahafo region as their source of 
leadership and inspiration.
(b) Secondly, most of them are natives of Prang or have relations in Prang.
(c) They always have an engrossed portrait or image of Abdulai Maikano on their rosary.
(d) Within their Zawiya, the Jawharatul Kamal and associated prayers are recited in a 
different tone and style.
(e) During prayers, when the Imam rises from the Ruku (prostration) and says "Sarnia 
Allah Liman Hamidahu\lAllah has heard those who praised Him’), the congregation 
will collectively respond louder: ‘Hamdan kaseeran tayiban mubarakan ftih', 
meaning ‘many praises be to Allah’.
(f) Lastly, after the end of prayers (Taslim), the Muazin will instruct the congregation to 
recite Fatiha and Suratul Fill.
It is noteworthy that Ibrahim Nyass exerted considerable influence on Muslims in Ghana and 
West Africa in general in the 1950s. This is in spite of the political and geographical 
boundaries erected by the colonial masters. In the case of Ghana, there were certain occasions
63
that he reprimanded and dismissed some Muslims leaders whom he deemed departed from 
the true Islamic spirit along the Tijaniyya line. One such example was his dismissal of one 
Jaffar Abdulah of deviancy in Islam (Nyass 1962: 86). The accusations against Jaffar could 
be understood from two dimensions. Aspects of the accusations were related to his claim of 
being the new Messiah in Ghana as he formed an organization called Ya 'ti, Ya 'ti (that he is 
coming, he is coming in Arabic) and, his claim of being superior to Prophet Musah (Moses) 
(Baba al-Waiz 1962:88). Secondly, it is alleged that Jaffar also initiated counter Islamic 
oelieis as reflected in his non-compliance pay back missed prayers and his denial of women 
to perform waiting period in the event of the death of the husbands. Though, the issues 
involved revolve around Islamic orthodoxy, it also shows how Ibrahim Nyass wielded his 
influence in respect of his understanding of Islam over Ghanaian Muslims at that time. For 
instance there were other occasions that he issued admonition against ethnic division over 
competition of Muslim leadership in Kumasi when Imam Muhammad Churuma passed away.
The dominance of Muslims orientation towards Tijaniyya and in line with its diverse 
teachings was to be challenged after Ghana’s attainment of independence in 1957. This was 
as a result of Ghana’s diplomatic relations with some Islamic countries which are the 
heartlands of different Islamic orientations. The post-independence doctrinal groups in Ghana 
represented the official governments’ religious orientation, such as the Wahhabiyya from 
Saudi Arabia and Shi ‘ah from the Islamic Republic of Iran. The emergence of these religious 
groups in post independence Ghana was accompanied by fragmentation of Muslim authority. 
The consequence of this, in the case of Ghana was that the Tijaniyya orthodoxy was 
challenged within this period. This was when Umar Ibrahim Imam, the pioneer Wahhabi in 
Ghana was still undergoing Wahhabi Islamic education. Despite that Ibrahim may be giving 
spiritual direction to many of his followers in the sub-region, certain deviancies of his
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followers were regarded by the Wahhabis as inherently part of the Tijaniyya movement. A 
case in point was when Umar Ibrahim reported him to the then Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia 
Ibn Bazz, that Ibrahim Nyass movement encourages deviancy in Islam (Umar, interview, 
20th February 2005).
A thorough analysis of the nature of Gold Coast people’s interaction with the outside Islamic 
world in the pre-colonial and colonial periods shows that the interaction was regional in 
nature, related mainly to the sub-region of West Africa. For instance, the background of the 
Muslims who facilitated the interaction between the present-day Ghanaians and the Islamic 
world in that period generally shows that they were Africans of Mande, Hausa and Fulani 
origin. This, therefore, made Islam in the pre-colonial and colonial periods more of a religion 
of West Africa than of the Middle East. This is because the socio-cultural influence of the 
pioneer Muslims was clearly evident in the expression of Islamic perspective in the Gold 
Coast and Ghana.
Again, the professional background of the majority of the pioneer Muslims who facilitated 
Ghanaians’ interaction with the Islamic world in the pre-colonial and colonial periods reveals 
that they were traders, who lacked a well-structured leadership and organization. This 
situation affected the nature of Islam in the Volta Basin and the Gold Coast. Consequently, 
the traders’ preoccupation was not to spread Islam but rather to be successful in their trading 
activities. The implication is that the basis of the Islamic perspective as engendered by the 
traders in the Gold Coast was not from an Islamic viewpoint, but was rather intertwined with 
their respective indigenous cultural backgrounds. This situation, thus, affected the pace of 
Islamisation in the Gold Coast and Ghana. The only means through which they spread Islam 
was through procreation and intermarriages with some sections of the indigenous population.
65
The other category of people who spread Islam in the Volta Basin and the Gold Coast as 
identified in the research were the Muslim clerics who were in the minority. It could be 
deduced that their impact in the pre-colonial and colonial periods could be viewed in three 
perspectives namely, their role:
(a) among the already Islamised community
(b) in the courts of the chiefs
(c) in facilitating the doctrinal and mystical orientation of Muslims in the Volta 
Basin and the Gold Coast.
(a) The Role of the Muslim Clerics among the Islamized Community
The Muslim clerics mainly concentrated their religious role among the already Islamized 
community. This they did by establishing Islamic religious centres and propagating Islam. 
They did not make any efforts to reach out to the non-Muslims. This might have arisen due to 
the age-old Islamic religious training and orientation in the Muslim community, which has 
been largely inclined towards reformation rather than missionary. By reformative Da 'wa, we 
refer to Da ’wa that is aimed at orienting the Muslims towards the accepted Islamic practices 
and belief systems emanating from the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet. This strategy 
denied indigenous Ghanaians in the southern part of Ghana the opportunity to embrace Islam
As a result of this, majority of the people in southern Ghana who profess Islam are non- 
indigenous (‘non-indigenous’ means somebody whose ancestral lineage could not be traced 
to Ghana but who could be a citizen by the laws of Ghana) but, rather, emigrant Muslims 
from the neighboring West African countries. The only exception is the northern part of 
Ghana, where the wave of Islamisation affected the indigenous people. However, this could 
not be explained to mean that the early settled Muslim clerics in the north made efforts to 
Islamize the indigenous people. Rather the traditional leadership’s attitude towards Islam was
66
the major factor in the Islamisation of majority of the northern population. This attitude was 
evident in the Gonja, Wala, and Dagomba leadership’s acceptance of Islam, which then 
paved the way for the Islamisation of majority of their subjects.
(b) The Role of the Muslim Scholars in the Courts of the Chiefs
This was necessitated by the need for the traditional leadership to make use of Muslim 
spiritual sciences and the literary background of the clerics. Consequently, the early Muslim 
clerics were invited into the chief s palaces to mainly render administrative and spiritual 
services. The outcome of the Muslim clerics’ role in the chiefs’ courts shows that they 
rendered spiritual services at the expense of propagating Islam. As a result, the potency of 
Islamic spirituality was virtually utilized by the chiefs to fortify their regimes and increase 
their prosperity without any direct benefit to Islam. A typical example is the role of Muslim 
clerics in the Ashanti kingdom, where Islam did not gain much from the engagement, in the 
chiefs’ court in terms of converts even though the spiritual services rendered by Muslim 
clerics raised the prestige of Muslims in the kingdom (Owusu-Ansah, 1991:9). The reverse 
could be said about the Dagbon, Gonja and the Wala kingdoms where the potency of Islamic 
spirituality in the chiefs’ courts resulted in the Islamisation of the traditional settings.
This then brings to the fore the nature of Islamisation in the chiefs’ courts, this being 
significant in unearthing the motivating factor behind the Islamisation of some traditional 
political institutions. From the analyses above, it is seen that the traditional political setting 
within a particular society would determine the extent of Islamisation of the community. 
For instance, the Ashanti traditional political setting, which requires group cohesion on the 
ancestral and traditional leadership, provides a typical explanation for this scenario. This 
could be discerned from the fact that the inability of the Ashanti traditional leadership to
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embrace Islam resulted in Islam losing it hold in the Kingdom. However, Owusu-Ansah 
argues that the Ashantis did have selective relations with Muslims. This meant that they 
considered which aspects of the Muslims services were useful to their society (Owusu- 
Ansah, 1987:257). It has also been suggested that Islam did not represent a serious military 
challenge to the Asante religion (Insoll, 2001: 345). Lastly, the other theory which explains 
this scenario was that the early Muslims failed to reach out through Da'wa to Ashantis 
because of the invocation of reformist doctrines that they live in a darul al-harb, the land of 
theeneiny (Wiiks 19o6: 33o).
The reverse was the case as regards the Islamisation of the northern leaderships such as the 
Gonja, Wala and Dagomba where virtually everybody in those kingdoms was converted. It 
could also imply that the common people in every traditional setting looked to the 
traditional leadership for inspiration and direction on matters affecting them and their 
religious orientation. Added to this was the culture of obedience on the part of the subjects 
towards their traditional leaders. This automatically predisposed them to any orientation of 
their chiefs. It could therefore be concluded that the attitude of the traditional leadership 
towards Islam largely influenced the direction of Islamisation in the chiefs’ courts. 
Significantly, Muslim clerics at personal level might have also benefited from their 
engagement in the chiefs’ courts as their peers did in Ashanti Empire.
Levitzion (1968: 108) argued that the compromising nature of the pioneer Muslims in 
Ghana as against the puritanical position represented by Uthman dan Fodio in the 
Hausaland facilitated favorable conditions for the growth of Muslim communities, secured 
the position of Muslims in the chiefs’ courts and infused Islamic elements into the 
ceremonies and customs of the communities (especially in the northern territories of
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Ghana). This situation, therefore, resulted in the virtual Islamisation of certain ethnic groups 
in the northern part in the present day Ghana (Letvzion, 1987:108). Based on this 
perspective, Ghanaian Islam could be distinguished from Islam in the sub-region of West 
Africa because of the incorporation of some indigenous and traditional elements into some 
aspects of its teachings and practices.
(c) The Role of the Muslim Scholars in the Doctrinal and Mystical Orientation in 
the Volta Basin and the Gold Coast
It was also observed that Muslims clerics in the area of Volta Basin and the Gold Coast have
facilitated the orientation of Muslims towards different types of mystical Islamic orientation
(Sufiyya) in the course of history. For instance, the earliest known Sufi orientation of the
Muslims in the Gold Coast was the Qadriyya order as early as 1166 C.E. (Letvzion,
1968:245). It was also realized that the viewpoint of the followers of this mystical order was
that they interpreted Islam mystically. The adherents of this order believe that through
religious confinement (Khalwa) a person could achieve ‘absorption’ in God (Fana)
(Letvzion, 1987:34). They also developed two major views about the personality of the
Prophet, these being those of the perfect man (Insan Kamil) and the most excellent of
creation (Afdal al-khalq). The mystical strata that Qadiriyya leaders developed at that time
was such that the axis (Qutb) or succor of the age, that is ‘Ghawth’ occupied the highest
echelon of Qadriyya (Hiskett, 1984:245). The holder of this title has the power of performing
miracles. On the other hand the elitist nature of Qadriyya created the opportunity for it to be
overshadowed by the populist Tijaniyya in 1831. The Tijaniyya also competed with the
doctrines of Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama‘ah and Shi'ism in the post-independence period
facilitated by Muslim diplomatic missions. The research also shows that the transmitters of
the religion in the pre-colonial and colonial periods were not given any governmental or state
support. This is in contrast to the nature of post-colonial Islam.
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2.9 EFFECTS OF ISLAMISATION OF GHANAIAN MUSLIMS
The Islamisation of some segments of Ghana has profound effects on Ghanaians. The 
introduction of Islam in Ghana provided Ghanaian Muslims with a sense of direction in 
respect of religious orientation towards the Middle East. For instance, it has become 
axiomatic that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia represents the centre of Islam to all Muslims and 
to Ghanaian Muslims in particular due to the presence of the Ka 'bah, the Prophet’s mosque 
and, partly, due to the fact that, Islam originated in what is now Saudi Arabia.
Again, their Islamisation meant that Ghanaian Muslims leaned towards the Islamic world for 
religious orientation and direction. Historically, Ghanaian Muslims in the pre-colonial and 
colonial periods depended on religious tutorship from the Hausa, Mande and Fulani clerics 
and, subsequently, higher institutions of learning in the Arab world. Even though 
accessibility to higher education in the Islamic world by Ghanaian Muslims during the pre­
colonial and colonial periods was difficult, the notion was always that the best Islamic 
education could be obtained outside Ghana. Consequently, this notion has impacted on the 
psyche of a section of Ghanaian Muslims who prefer seeking religious Fatwa from the 
Ulama of the Two Holy Mosques in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or the Al-Azhar 
University, both noted in the Muslim world for their long-standing Islamic scholarship. This 
situation tends to reflect Ghanaian Muslim dependence on and allegiance to the outside 
Muslim world for religious direction.3 The implication was that the socio-cultural background 
of the Arab and the Muslim world affected such Ghanaian Muslims who seek religious
3 The Northern Regional Imam of ASWAJ, Ibrahim Basha Iddriss told this researcher that there was dispute 
over holding Islamic education on Thursdays and Fridays instead of Saturdays and Sundays. He sought a Fatwa 
from the Muslim leadership at Al-Azhar in Egypt and in Saudi Arabia, asking for the permissibility to hold 
Islamic Studies on Thurdays and Fridays. He indicated that the Al-Azhar scholars ruled in his favour on having 
Islamic Studies on Thursday and Friday, having taken the socio-political environment of Ghana into 
consideration.
70
direction from it. This is because the tutors who gave religious direction to Ghanaian 
Muslims were partly influenced by their own socio-cultural environment.
Another effect of the introduction of Islam on West African Muslims including Ghanaian 
Muslims is that it has brought them into the orbit of the global Islamic culture. This is evident 
in the mode of dress and social interactions of Ghanaian Muslims. This argument is 
predicated on the fact that the general cultural outlook of Ghanaian Muslims is a semblance, 
if not a holistic imitation, of that of the Middle-East. This is rooted in the argument that Islam 
is a complete way of life and the tendency of many Muslims to equate Middle-Eastern culture 
to Islam is ubiquitous.
Subsequent to the introduction of Islam in West Africa, and Ghana in particular, the Arabic 
language has become the formal religious language in the Ghanaian Muslim community. 
There are several factors that explain this scenario. To begin with, the Arabic language is a 
requirement in religious worship since every Muslim is required to recite a portion of the 
Quran in it when he/she offers ritual prayer. Added to this is the argument that the Arabic 
language is the language of Islam and it is going to be the medium of communication in the 
hereafter. Furthermore, the ability to interpret the holy Quran rests on a deep understanding 
of the Arabic language. Lastly, the leading bearers of the Arabic language in the Muslim 
communities have been the Muslim scholars who, due to the training they received, 
predisposed them to speak the Arabic language rather than English as the medium of 
communication.
Thus, the language of religious sermons delivered in the mosques is Arabic. This is largely 
due to the availability of the century-old Islamic literature on sermons in Arabic. It has been
71
observed that most of these sermons do not reflect issues affecting the contemporary 
Ghanaian Muslim’s socio-political needs. However, the sermons tend to give religious 
direction to Muslims and socio-cultural issues, alas lacking the contemporary dimension to 
issues affecting Muslims in Ghana.
Furthermore, the adoption of Muslim names or of names of Middle-Eastern origin has been 
another observable fact about the effect of the introduction of Islam in Ghana. Some 
Ghanaian Muslims assume that the Muslim names are Islamic and select these rather than 
their own indigenous names. They are however, quite oblivious of the fact that most of the 
names pre-date the advent of Islam and could therefore not be Islamic. This tends to 
somewhat spoil the expression of Muslim names in a Ghanaian’s own indigenous language 
and makes Islam appear as an alien religion. This is despite that bearing a Muslim name 
serves as the mark of identification of a Muslim in every Ghanaian community. This feature 
is more apparent among the southerners, especially the Zongo communities, and in the 
northern part of Ghana. The exception to this tendency is found among the Ga and the Akan 
Muslims.
Pan-Islamism (Islamic solidarity) is another effect of the introduction of Islam in West Africa 
in general, and Ghana in particular. This is manifested in the tendency of Ghanaian Muslims 
to sympathize and support Muslims in other parts of the world at the expense of objectivity 
and detachment. This might be due to the well-entrenched concept of the Muslim Ummah 
factor which unites Muslims of diverse ethnic and geographic backgrounds together. In short, 
Ghanaian Muslims tend to identify with the outside Muslim and Arab world on matters of 
global politics and religious issues. This, therefore, shows the interconnectedness of 
Ghanaian Muslims with the larger Islamic world through a common religious identity. Islam
72
thus serves as the best conduit for fostering solidarity between Ghanaian Muslims and the 
Muslim world. This is manifested in Ghanaian Muslim leaders, especially Imams and Ulama, 
organizing religious forums and prayers for Muslims in other parts of the world who have 
been afflicted with any tragic event, be it a political, economic or natural.3
At the sub-regional level the introduction of Islam in Ghana has created the dominance of 
Hausa culture in the Ghanaian Muslim community, especially in the southern part of the 
country. This might be partly due to the effects of the triumph of the Fulani-Hausa Jihads in 
the 19th century with its resultant Hausa-Fulani dispersion in the sub-region of West Africa. 
The most noticeable effect of the influence of Hausa culture is the widely spoken Hausa 
language in the Muslim community of Ghana. If Arabic is the religious language for Muslims 
in West Africa, then Hausa is the most widely spoken vernacular language among the 
Muslim community in Ghana. The net effect of this is that there is the tendency on the part of 
non-Muslims to equate the ability to speak Hausa with being a Muslim, and being a Muslim 
with the ability to speak Hausa.
Aspects of Hausa language influence include its dominant use in explaining Islam in the 
Zongo communities in southern Ghana. This might be partly due to the fact that the Hausa 
clerics wielded considerable influence in the Islamic religious circles in Ghana and also 
because of their role in transforming the Muslim community in Ghana. This is because the 
prevailing type of Islam in the pre-colonial and colonial periods was largely Hausa. It also 
implies that little effort has been made to convert indigenous Ghanaians into Islam in the 
southern part of Ghana. For that matter, the impact of Islam on the southern Ghanaian
3 Several instances abound in which Muslim leaders in Ghana organize forums and press conferences and issue 
press statements calling for the fair political treatment of Muslims in other parts of the world. They sometimes 
request the larger Ghanaian Muslims to fast and pray for their fellow Muslims bedeviled with certain calamities. 
See Daily Graphic, 25 March 2003: 13.
73
languages is minimal. Thus, the only medium of communication among the predominantly 
southern non-indigenous Muslim community is the Hausa language. The exception to this 
argument is the Ga and Akan Muslim converts who have made frantic efforts to indigemze 
Islam in the southern part of Ghana through the Ga and the Akan languages under the 
umbrella organization of the Ghana Muslim Mission (GMM). In contrast, the northern part of 
Ghana shows the impact of Islam on the indigenous languages. This could be observed in the 
interpretation of Islam in the indigenous languages in the Dagbon, Gonja, and Wala 
traditional areas.
2.10 CONCLUSION
The foregoing discussion shows that the transnational connection of Muslims in the sub- 
region of West Africa with the people of the Volta Basin and the Gold Coast changed their 
religious identity and orientation around the 15th Century. Originally, the people of West 
Africa were known to be adherents of African Traditional Religion (ATR), the nature of its 
practices being varied because of the multiplicity of ethnic groups on the continent. This 
means that with the advent of Islam in the Gold Coast, the new ‘African converts’ to Islam 
had to balance their loyalty to their own indigenous traditions, which originally served as a 
guide of their worldview, vis-a-vis Islam. One could not, however, rule out the fact that Islam 
also provided an indigenous linkage above the varieties of ATR that transcended ethnic 
boundaries, leading to a more universal religious orientation.
The thesis shows that the principal transmitters of Islam in the pre-colonial and colonial 
periods were individual Muslims especially Mande, Hausa, and Fulani traders. It reveals the 
dual cultural identity of the Fulani, Hausa, and Mande people in respect of their ethnic and 
indigenous traditions and culture which was intertwined with the Islam that they introduced
74
into the Gold Coast. This dual cultural identity was to become part of the way of life of some 
Gold Coasters. The interconnected dual cultural orientation of the original transmitters of 
Islam is evident in the social realm of Ghanaian Muslims’ practice of Islam particularly in the 
sphere of Muslim marriage, naming, and funeral ceremonies. This view is also buttressed by 
Lapidus that the Hausa version of Islam has become the standard practice in Ghana especially 
in the area of marriage and naming ceremonies which tend to follow the Hausa pattern 
(Lapidus M, 1988: 259). The study further reveals that during the pre-colonial and colonial 
periods Muslims in West Africa were under one unified leadership exencesed by Ibrahim 
Nyass.
Again, two patterns could be discerned in respect of integration of the ethnic identity of the 
early transmitters of Islam in Ghana. For instance, in the northern parts of Ghana the 
transmitters of Islam in the Wala, Gonja, and the Dagbon were fully integrated into the socio­
political structures of the respective kingdoms. This situation, therefore, gave Islam the socio­
political recognition and legitimacy within these traditional kingdoms. After their integration, 
these Muslims were not ethnically interconnected with their original homeland Muslims and 
the Ummah conscoiousness on their part was less intense.
In contrast, the wave of Islamisation in the south was exclusively confined to the migrant 
transmitters without any strong linkage with the traditional leadership and the indigenous 
people. This eventually affected the integration of the southern migrant Muslims into the 
socio-political structures of the Akan and the Ga societies. This view is self-evident in the 
origin of the Zongos in the southern part of Ghana which is a purely migrant Muslim 
settlement. The outcome of this tendency was that, it affected the image of Muslims in the 
south, as it was viewed as the religion of the foreigners and strangers.
75
The pioneer Muslims in the Volta Basin and the Gold Coast engendered various forms of 
development such as scholarly and intellectual, and also rendered spiritual services in the 
courts of the chiefs. In the area of trade and commerce the pioneer Muslims were the first 
agents to facilitate commercial activities between West Africans and North Africans and it 
was through such trading activities that some West Africans were converted to Islam.
In conclusion, the Islamic way of life, which has its origin in Arabian culture, became part of 
Ghanaian Muslim culture. I he Ghanaian Muslims as a result also represented a tripie euhur«il 
heritage in their life. That is, the Arabian Islamic culture, the Mande, Fulani and Hausa 
Islamic perspective and lastly, their own respective ethnic identity.4 The specific areas that 
the role of the Muslims of West African background manifested in the Islamic terrain in the 
Volta Basin and the Gold Coast were in the establishment of educational infrastructures 
(Makaranta), and the facilitation of the Qadriyya and Tijaniyya Sufi orientations.
What dimension is unique to the development of Muslims and Islam in the post­
independence Ghana? What were the mediums through which Islamic activities were 
mediated and conducted? The next chapter will attempt to answer these questions.
This paradigm of triple heritage is in sharp contrast to what Ali Mazrui espoused. Whereas his triple heritage 
holds that African identity has been affected by three global forces namely, Africanity and indigenous Religion. 
Euro-Christianity and Islam, this thesis also espouses the African triple as embedded the Arabian Islamic 
culture, the Mande-Hausa and Fulani culture on the other and the indegenus ethnic identity of the new adherent 
to Islam. For more on this, read Ali Mazrui, 1986, the Africans, a Triple tferi/age.Published by Little Brown 
and Company, Boston and Ali Mazrui, 2004, Nkrumah's Legacy and Africa's Triple Heritage between 
Globalisation and Counter Terrorism. Published Ghana Universities Press.
76
CHAPTER THREE 
POST-INDEPENDENCE
DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF ISLAM IN GHANA 
THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF GHANA’S DIPLOMATIC 
RELATIONS WITH SOME MUSLIM COUNTRIES
3.0 INTRODUCTION
This chapter discusses the historical background of Ghana’s diplomatic relations with some 
Muslim countries. In the previous chapter the impact of foreign Muslims and the 
development of Islam in the Volta Basin and the Gold Coast during the prc- colonial and 
colonial periods were discussed. As observed, one unique dimension of Islam in that period 
was that transnational engagements were facilitated by individual Muslims who contributed 
to the development of Islam in the area without the support of any state or government. 
However, the unique dimension of the transnational engagement was the fact that the early 
migrant Muslims engage with the traditional Kingdoms and empires in the Volta Basin and 
the Gold Coast. The post-independence development to be discussed here, however, presents 
us with another dimension of the transnational factor in the development of Islam in Ghana. 
It is related to the role of Muslim states or governments and their institutions which 
facilitated the development of Islam in modem Ghana.
In doing so, an overview of the historical background of Ghana’s diplomatic relations with 
the Muslim world’s political institutions (embassies) is necessary if a holistic view of the 
trend in diplomatic relations is to be had. This will be a prelude to a discussion of the post­
independence Islamic influence and impact on Ghanaian Muslims through Muslim 
diplomatic missions. The historical background will also bring to the fore the nature of 
Ghana’s diplomatic relations with each country as well as the extent to which such 
transnational political institutions have contributed towards promoting diverse Islamic
77
expressions and influences on the Ghanaian Muslim communities. It will also identify 
Ghanaian Muslims’ role in the promotion of relations specifically with Egypt, Libya Saudi 
Arabia and Iran, and their affiliate institutions
We will first focus on the basis of diplomatic relations of the modem state of Ghana and the 
targeted Muslim countries with a view to:
(a) defining and tracing the origin of such diplomatic relations and the factors 
promoting relations with Islamic countries;
(b) exploring the nature of Ghana’s foreign policy and its impact on Islamic countries;
(c) examining the political undertones in respect of Nkrumah’s marriage to Fathia
Helen Rizk; and
(d) reviewing the historical background of Ghana’s relations with some Muslim 
countries, specifically Egypt, Libya Saudi Arabia and Iran.
At this point it is necessary to put into perspective the meaning of diplomatic relations. This 
will help shed more light on how diplomatic relations are practiced (and executed).
3.1 THE DEFINITION AND THE ORIGIN OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS
Foreign diplomacy is considered by Satow (1997:70) as the ‘application of intelligence and 
tact to the conduct of official relations between governments of independent states’. This 
definition shows that the starting point of diplomatic relations is when a country has attained 
independence or is a sovereign state. It also means that such diplomatic relations does not 
extend to states which have not attained independence.
78
Ghana, geographically situated in the Volta Basin and known by its colonial masters as the 
Gold Coast, attained sovereign status and independence in 1957. This marked the beginning 
of her diplomatic relations with other independent states, including Muslim countries. Some 
of the African Muslim states which Ghana formed diplomatic relations upon their attainment 
of independence were Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, and Sudan. Middle Eastern 
states such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, (formerly the Persian Empire), among others, are also of 
special importance to this study.
32 FACTORS PROMOTING DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH MUSLIM 
STATES
The rationale behind Ghana’s interest in establishing diplomatic relations with some 
Muslim countries is varied and linked with Ghana’s strategic interest in these countries. 
Such strategic interest displayed by Ghana in the post-independence period eventually 
facilitated the development of Islam and Muslims in the country. It must, however, be stated 
that the factors underlining Ghana’s diplomatic relations with the Muslim world could be 
categorized into internal and external. The internal factors of Ghana’s diplomatic relations 
with the wider world as well as the Muslim countries will reveal the rationale behind 
Ghana’s foreign policy.
3.3 INTERNAL FACTORS
As part of his framework for a diplomatic policy, the first President of Ghana, Dr. Kwame 
Nkrumah, outlined the basic tenets of Ghana’s foreign and diplomatic policy at 
independence. The nature of Kwame Nkrumah s foreign policy represented the internal 
factors of Ghana’s diplomatic relations with other states as well as the Islamic World. The 
internal factors in this sense are those which influenced Nkrumah’s foreign policy direction 
with the wider world as well as with the Muslim countries. These basic tenets were
79
eventually adopted by successive regimes, and have become the major benchmark in 
Ghana’s foreign policy. These tenets could be categorized under the following:
1. decolonization;
2. African unity,
3. non-Alignment and positive neutrality;
4. economic emancipation of Ghana and Africa; and
5. membership of strategic international organizations (Adomako, 1995: 26).
The rationale behind Nkrumah’s foreign policy with the Muslim countries was corroborated 
by K.B Asante, his former Personal Secretary and a retired diplomat. Asante asserted that 
Nkrumah’s policy with the Arab and the Muslim nations in Africa reflect his agenda in 
relation to African unity and non-alignment policies (Asante, interview, 11th May 2006).
Nkrumah adopted the strategy of dealing with the most influential and strongest Arab and 
Muslim country in order to pave the way for him to deal with other influential Arab and 
Muslim countries (Asante, interview, 11* May 2006). Coincidently, Egypt during the post­
independence period in Africa served exactly that purpose. This argument is also 
underpinned by the historical and geographical location of Egypt in the Muslim world. 
Historically Egypt had played a pivotal role among the Arab nations in terms of leadership 
in the early years following African independence. Geographically it was (and remains) a 
strategic crossroad between the African and the Asian continents and through which 
Muslims from Africa had to pass for the annual Hajj. Furthermore, it had the oldest 
University in the Islamic world (Hunwick 1990: 40).
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The most important personality in Egypt who endeared himself to most Arab countries at 
that time was Gamal Abdel Nasser (Asante, interview, 1101 May 2006). Nkrumah was 
compelled to establish early ties with Gamel Nasser of Egypt in order to build a sympathetic 
bloc in the North Africa. This shows that the driving force behind Nkrumah’s establishing 
diplomatic ties with Egypt was to have as an ally country and a leader who served as the 
unifier of the Arab nations. Nkrumah’s ties with Egypt over his African unity policy also 
created a leadership contestation between these two leading personalities in African post­
independence politics as to who lead the continent (Hunwick 1990: 45).
Notwithstanding, Nkrumah acknowledged the divided loyalty of the Egyptian nation 
between its Arab identity and, at the same time, its geographical membership of the African 
continent. This, therefore, compelled Nkrumah to establish early ties with Egypt with a 
view to ensuring that he counterbalanced their virtual allegiance to the Middle Eastern 
Arabs and the Muslim world (Asante, interview, 11th May 2006). Moreover, the role of 
Egypt as a leading country in the Arab and the Muslim world cannot be underestimated in 
the search for African unity. This is because, from the early 1950s to the late 1960 Egypt 
served as a model and an icon of Arab unity on the African continent.
Early diplomatic ties with Egypt yielded results when the two countries teamed up to play a 
leading role in the Casablanca Bloc which was invariably composed of a large number of 
Muslim countries such as Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. The composition of 
the Casablanca group was due to the influential role wielded by Gamal Nasser among the 
Arab and Muslim nations in the early post-colonial period (Asante, interview, 11th May 
2006). Nasser was on Nkrumah’s side so most of the Arab nations felt obliged to follow 
suit. There were, however, attempts made by the Arab nations to exploit the opportunity
81
created by the Casablanca Bloc for their own interests and against those of Israel. This was 
evident when the issue of Israeli occupation of the Arab lands dominated the agenda of 
Arab nations in most of their meetings (Hunwick 1990:43).
Nkrumah therefore gradually and in sequence worked out his African unity policy with the 
Arab and the Muslim world. The unity policy consequently served as the common platform 
of cooperation between Nkrumah and the Arab and Muslim world. Naturally, the African 
unity policy was liie common concern 01 every African leader at that time. Yet a* 10 how it 
should be pursued was the major anxiety of most of the leaders.
Nkrumah’s decolonization policy was another appealing issue to all the African leaders. It 
also created another principal ground of cooperation with the Arab and the Islamic world. 
That period was the opportune moment in African history, since the alien forces invariably 
dominated the continent, which has its political, economic, and social effects on the African 
vision for the future. In short, the African unity and decolonization policies of Nkrumah 
were the inevitable issues for any leader seeking to extend relations with other states at that 
time in African history.
Nkrumah’s ties with Nasser were established partly to exploit his influence among the Arab 
leaders. Nkrumah, upon gaining acceptance among the leaders, gradually introduced other 
aspects of his foreign policies which were non-alignment and positive neutrality, 
membership of strategic international organizations and decolonization. In the light of this, 
Asante concluded that Nkrumah’s policy with the Arab nations in Africa was moderately 
successful in achieving his emancipation movement and non-aligned agenda (Asante, 
interview, 11th May 2006).
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3.4 EXTERNAL FACTORS
One major external factor that influenced Ghana’s relations with the Muslim States was 
international political alliances, as reflected in her membership of continental organizations 
such as the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the Organization of African Unity (OAU) now 
the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), 
among others.
It is important to state that as the Prime Minister of the Gold Coast, Nkrumah was one of 
the founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement during the Cold War period. Ghana, 
also hosted the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Ministerial Summit in 1991. The 
opportunity of hosting the summit created a platform for Ghana to share some ideas and 
strengthen diplomatic ties with some Muslim States in attendance. It is undisputed that 
membership of such groupings creates opportunity for bilateral agreements on cultural, 
economic and political issues. The NAM summit hosted by Ghana in Accra in 1991, for 
example, strengthened Ghana’s friendship with the Islamic Republic of Iran (Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs 2005). This situation in the end facilitated the establishment of Iranian 
political and religious institutions in Ghana. These contributed to the development of Islam 
and Muslims, as will be discussed later, as in the role of the Iranian Cultural Consulate, 
Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD), the Iranian Medical Missions and the Islamic 
University of Ghana of the Iranian Government.
Other factors that could be considered as accounting for Ghana's diplomatic relations with 
some Muslim states are their abundant oil resources. The fact that oil is the major source of 
energy in the world market made producing Muslim States economically and politically 
powerful and this attracted the interest of both the developed and the Third World nations.
83
The Muslim countries, which are the subject of this research, have abundant natural 
resources including oil. These countries include the Royal Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the 
Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Socialist People’s Libyan Arabian Jamahiriya (Libya). 
With their economic wealth derived from the oil boom, the Muslim states gained some 
political influence in some countries as a result of bilateral economic agreements. For 
example, at the NAM summit in 1991 the Islamic Republic of Iran promised to assist Ghana 
in oil exploration (Ministry of Foreign, 2005). The 70% increase in oil price by 1973 
compelled Saudi Arabia to propose a possible two-lier pricing system to give the poorer 
nations oil on preferential terms. Though Ghana at that time has made more from the surge 
of cocoa which was higher than her official aid receipts, it also thought of getting supply of 
oil on favorable terms (The Economist, 13* December, 1973). Le Vine also argues that 
Ghana has benefited from the Cocoa price bonanza in the international market by 1977; 
however a compound of high initial oil crisis impact including internal economic crisis 
made her to realign with some oil producing countries in the North Africa and the Middle 
East (Le Vine et al, 1979:40).
Furthermore, a common response to western or foreign domination by the Third World or 
developing countries also created the ground to foster diplomatic relations. For example in 
the early part of independence, Nkrumah was seen as the leader spearheading and proposing 
solutions to the developing countries political turmoil. A case in point was that he was the 
first leader to publicly propose the Austrian formula for the resolutions of the Lebanon 
crisis. This was when he met the Canadian Prime Minister in 1958. Eventually this 
proposition was accepted as the best formula by the United Nations for Lebanon (The 
Economist, 2nd August, 1958).
84
Again, the revolutionary explosions (or tendencies) in Libya (1969), Iran (1979) and Ghana 
(1981) also provided good grounds for inter-state friendship and co-operation. For instance, 
not quite too long before the December 1981 Revolution in Ghana; the Iranian Revolution 
under Imam Khomeini had taken place in 1979. Libya was also extending the revolutionary 
ideas of the ‘Third Universal Theory’ as expounded in Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gadhafi’s 
The Green Book, beyond its borders. For instance, Libya foreign policy with Ghana in the 
early 1980s was partly dictated by her perception of the ‘radical and progressive’ 
background of the leaders ol the 31s1 December Revolution (JolTe'1988: 47). These 
countries therefore saw themselves as sharing common experiences and therefore could co­
operate in so many ways.
One final factor that deserves mention is the tendency among Islamic States to compete 
among themselves. This is done with a view to extending their cultural and religious 
influences across their borders to the Muslims, non-Muslims and the non-Arabic speaking 
countries of the world. Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Libya could also be cited as good examples 
of this. Underpinning this is the fact that major Islamic doctrinal and ideological views 
which have strong governmental backing and influence originate from these countries. For 
instance, Wahhabism (Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama‘ah) and Shi'ism are the official religious 
leanings of the Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran respectively. Similarly, the 
Libyan leader, Muammar al-Gadhafi set forth in The Green Book, his brand of Islamic 
socialism and political ideology with a view to extending it to other countries in the world.
These governments therefore set out to consolidate and advance their positions and 
influences among Muslims in all parts of the world by extending their views beyond their 
countries’ borders (Eickelman et al 1996:151). Consequently, Ghanaian Muslims have been
85
affected by the doctrinal orientation of these transnational governmental religious 
persuasions through their diplomatic relations with Ghana’s government. These external 
factors, amongst others, have played significant roles in fostering good diplomatic relations 
between Ghana and the Muslim states in many spheres of national interest including the 
social, economic political, cultural and religious spheres.
In a way Nkrumah’s personal relationships also reinforced the direction of his diplomatic 
relations with oilier countries. This was evident in his friendly relations with Gamal Nasser 
of Egypt after his marriage to Madam Fathia. The next section of this study will focus on 
how Nkrumah’s marriage to Fathia dominated the agenda of the western countries’ dealings 
with Ghana and on its ramifications on inter-state relations and their interests.
3.5 THE FOREIGN POLICY RAMIFICATIONS OF NKRUMAH’S MARRIAGE 
TO FATHIA HALEN RIZK
The marriage of Nkrumah to Fathia Halem Rizk seems to have been part of Nkrumah's
African unity agenda. Fathia Halen Rizk was a 26 year old university student studying Arabic
in Cairo when she was married to Nkrumah in 1958. The marriage, without a doubt,
preoccupied the minds of Western leaders as to the direction of Nkrumah's foreign policies.
The wedding to Fathia came as a surprise to both Ghanaians and international observers
alike. The British and American security agencies also scrutinized and analyzed its possible
implications on the future direction of Ghana’s foreign policies towards the West, and the
United States in particular. For instance, Carina discovered some classified documents in
1989 and 2003 in files housed in the British Domestic Office and Colonial Office and
published accounts of these in the New African. These documents indicated that the British
Colonial Office and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) were extremely concerned about
the possible impact of Nkrumah’s marriage to an Egyptian woman on their foreign interests
86
(Carina, 2006: 8). However, this was not the first time that the West had developed a keen 
interest in Nkrumah’s private life. There were records indicating that Sir Thomas Lloyd, the 
Assistant Principal at the Colonial Office communicated in a letter to the then Governor of 
the Gold Coast, Sir Arden Clarke inquiring about rumours concerning Nkrumah relations 
with an English woman, Florence Manley (Carina 2006: 18).
His marriage to Fathia, an Egyptian Coptic Christian, became a matter of great suspicion for 
Western leaucis. Consequently, * aiioui conspiracy theories emerged among the Briiioli and 
the American officials as to the motive behind the union. M.E. Allen of the Commonwealth 
Relations Office confirmed the concern of the Western World about Nkrumah’s marriage to 
an Egyptian woman. He was once quoted as saying ‘the exact implications of the happy event 
have provided material for much speculation in London and Accra as well as Washington’ 
(Carina 2006:8). Curiously, the understanding of the United States especially the CIA and the 
State Department was that the marriage was intended to create a political union between 
Egypt and Ghana. This was evident when Nasser immediately sent an emissary to Accra to 
decorate Nkrumah with the Grand Cross of the Order of the Nile (Carina 2006:8).
In addition to Western leaders’ suspicion of the political motive behind the marriage, the 
United States’ CIA and the State Department inquired from the British officials whether 
Nkrumah’s marriage was intended to dilute his closeness to Israel (Carina 2006:18). This was 
when Nkrumah was making substantial gains from Israelis expertise in the area of 
agriculture, training of the Ghana Army, investment in Ghana’s Black Star Shipping line and 
overhauling Ghana’s Trade Union Congress in line with Israelis Histadrut (Howe 1958: 284). 
The other theory which emerged was that, Nkrumah’s marriage to Fathia was intended to 
weaken his mystic union with Ghanaian women who, he used to claim, were all his brides.
87
To support this view, his own Finance Minister, Komla Gbedemah, was once quoted as 
saying that Nkrumah did that to avoid his in-laws being’ round his neck’ (Carina 2006:18).
Importantly, the British High Commissioner in Accra, J.R Lupton offered a religious 
conspiracy theory. He claimed that a juju priest (a spiritualist) advised Nkrumah to marry an 
Egyptian woman with a view to making his son (the product of this marriage) a future 
messiah. Perhaps the messiah herein referred to might be the Mahdi whom the British had 
encountered in line North Africa, specifically Sudan. British authorities concluded that the 
union between Nkrumah and Fathia was a political weapon, which could be used against 
them (Carina 2006:18).
This prediction undoubtedly was a reflection of what was seen as Nkrumah’s attitude towards 
the West One must acknowledge, however, that, the marriage was not the major determinant 
of Nkrumah’s foreign policy direction. It rather reinforced Nkrumah’s notion of a united 
African continent. His policies as outlined gave little prominence to the West, since he was 
preoccupied with the unity of the African continent and decolonization of some countries 
which were still under the colonial rule. This was manifested in his famous proclamation of 
the 6 March 1957 before the solemnization of the marriage at the Old Polo Ground in Accra 
where he stated that the ‘independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked with the 
total liberation of the continent’ (Armah 2004: 4).
It was Nkrumah’s emphasis on the need for decolonization and his African unity policies that 
had an impact on the Western interest in the African continent. The basis of these policies 
implicitly denounced the Western presence and interest in the continent. His marriage to 
Fathia was, in reality, an insignificant issue in regard to his policies although it played some
role in respect of his personal friendship with Nasser, his Egyptian counterpart. This in effect 
further strengthened and fostered the bond between the two countries on issues affecting the 
continent. This was manifested in the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two 
countries to promote their mutual interests as well as those of the continent as a whole. 
Lastly, Nkrumah’s commitment to African unity can be seen in the fact that he named some 
of his children after some prominent African leaders in the post-independence Africa. The 
first child of this marriage was named Gamal after his Egyptian friend and the second child 
was given the name Sekou after the Guinean President Sekou Toure with whom he forged 
Ghana-Guinea Union. Coincidentally, these two Presidents were all Muslims and ruled 
predominantly Muslim nations. Ghana’s establishment of diplomatic ties with the Islamic 
countries in the North Africa and the Middle East also made possible the religious and 
cultural influence of these countries on some Ghanaians and Ghanaian Muslims in particular.
Nkrumah turned to Islam for spiritual services which represented another level of his 
interaction with Muslims and Islam in Ghana. Thus it seemed that the first President of 
Ghana was naturally predisposed towards Islam, as shall be explored in the following section.
3.6 NKRUMAH’S INTEREST IN ISLAMIC SPIRITUALITY
Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah realized the importance of religion as a major force of 
globalization and made use of it (Mazrui 2002:10). This can be illustrated by the fact that at 
one time he considered training as a priest. It was out of his fascination with religion that his 
concept of consciencism was bom (Mazrui 2002:1). Accordingly, Ali Mazrui saw Nkrumah's 
worldview of Africa with regard to religion as a product of three spiritual forces: the force of 
Africanity and indigenous African religions, the force of Islam and Islamic culture, and the 
force of Euro-Christianity and Western secular culture (Mazrui 2002:1). Therefore,
89
Nkrumah’s encounter with Muslim diplomatic missions could be regarded as a realization of 
his conception of African spirituality and of Islam and Islamic culture.
As has already been noticed, his Pan-African, decolonization and non-alignment policies 
were what first influenced the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, to establish 
diplomatic ties with some Muslim countries in Africa as well as in the Middle East. Beyond 
this noticeable motive, however, were the prowess of Islamic spirituality and the influence 
of Muslim scholars that Nkrumah occasionally consulted on personal as weii as on state 
matters. For instance, it is said that Nkrumah used to consult Muslim holy men on both 
personal and political matters.1 This he did with a view to giving him successes in all his 
endeavours. The most widely known Muslim scholar with intimate relation with Nkrumah 
was Ibrahim Nyass of Senegal (Okafor 1997:137).
Nyass was known to have visited Ghana in 1965 at the invitation of Kwame Nkrumah. 
During this visit religious and spiritual consultation took place between the two. It is said 
that Ibrahim advised Nkrumah to marry an Egyptian woman and specifically identified the 
woman in question. Maduka Okafor argued that the rationale behind the proposal was based 
on the fact that Black Africa needed to make contact with Islam. This was with a view to 
concretizing Nkrumah’s vision of African unity, irrespective of religious and racial 
differences (Okafor 1997:137).
Said Sinare, Nkrumah’s former spiritual advisor and a counter intelligence officer also 
claimed to have played a role in bringing Fathia to Ghana from Egypt. He argued that he
1 This practice of Kwame Nkrumah has its antecedent in the old kingdoms of modem Ghana especially in 
Ashanti, Dagbon, and Gonja. See Okafor G. Maduka (1997). Christianity and Islam in West Africa The Ghana 
experience’ Echter Verlag Wurzburg,: 137
90
was behind the fostering of a marital relationship between the two (Sinare, interview, July 
15th 2005). He further indicated that at one time his late father, Salifu Sinare, was 
Nkrumah’s spiritual advisor. He advised Nkrumah to get married whenever Nkrumah 
sought spiritual advice from his father. Coincidentally, Said Sinare, the son of Salifu Sinare 
who graduated from the Al-Azhar University in Egypt 1955 with specialization in Islamic 
studies returned to Ghana with an Egyptian wife, Suadi Mohammed Al-Rouby, a native of 
Khanatir District in Cairo (Sinare, interview, July 15* 2005). He took over his father’s role 
as the spiritual advisor to Nkrunuh when the father was old. Sir.arc clnimcd that he 
identified Fathia at Cairo in Egypt for Nkrumah as a marriage prospect.
According to him the then President of Egypt, Gamal Nasser, paid the dowry of Fathia 
before she came to Ghana (Sinare, interview, July 15th 2005). In spite of the variety of 
claims about Nkrumah’s relation with Fathia, it seems that Islamic spirituality and the 
influence of Muslim clerics determined the direction of Nkrumah’s union with her.
The influence of Islamic spirituality on Nkrumah is supported by the Apaloo Commission 
Report which stated that the spiritual prowess of Muslim holy men motivated Nkrumah to 
have an interest in religion and specifically Islam in 1966. (Okafor 1997:138) The report 
stated that because Nkrumah felt that the OAU Conference that was scheduled to take place 
in Accra in 1965 was running into difficulties, he sought the assistance of Ibrahim Nyass a 
Senegalese Marabout to use his spiritual powers in making the conference a successful one. 
He consequently made a present of a Mercedes Benz car to Ibrahim Nyass as payment for 
the successful service rendered to him and the state.
91
Nkrumah’s interest in Islamic spiritual services was clearly elaborated by Hussain Rashid 
Al-Salawatiya in his book Our African Identity.Rashid indicated that Amadu Futa and Baba 
Norga introduced Nkrumah and his party leaders to Ibrahim Nyass at Kumasi in 1952. 
Nkrumah then used this rare opportunity to ask Nyass to pray for him to lead the Gold 
Coast to independence, to pioneer the African liberation struggle, and to suggest the 
appropriate time to seek independence (Hussain, 2005:128). Following this Ibrahim Nyass 
sought the assistance of Abdullah Gomda at Yendi in the Northern region of Ghana as to 
which Muslim scholars were capablc of performing the prayers and the spiritual needs for 
Nkrumah. Consequently, Abdullah Gomda identified Abdullah Kankangin (Kankangin 
MotTe) and Jibril Salihu (Mallam Sofo) all of Bawku in the Upper East region, as well as 
Tahiru of Kumbugu, Tutubrika b. Umar Kreke, (the son of the late Umar Kreke) and Bawa 
ofTakoradi among others (Hussain 2005 :129).
It is said that upon thorough spiritual search by the Mai lams, they advised Nkrumah on the 
following:
• that the year to ask for independence should be 1957, and the day should be seventh 
one of the month and the month should be March
• the name of the country should change from Gold Coast to Ghana. This was to give 
it the same status as the ancient Ghana Empire in terms of might, prosperity, and 
stability. This could only be achieved if and only if the spelling of the name of the 
country gives it the same spiritual Islamic numerological value of G-H-A-N-A (The 
word Ghana comes from Arabic word h^ means wealth).5
’Another theory has it that, the origin of the name Ghana is, credited to J.B Danquah. This was when he was a 
student at the University of London. He conducted a research on the origin of the Gold Coast tribes. He 
established that most of the tribes in the Gold Coast were descendants of the inhabitants of the famous ancient 
Ghana Empire. Nkrumah eventually adopted it as the name for the new nation-state. The Ghanaian Times 2007 
6 March: 3.
92
Hussain, further, claimed that the Mallams advised Nkrumah on the following:
• for Ghana to become a super power, the date 7 March 1957 should be strictly 
adhered to
• in order to have a stable economy and a sound political country, a mosque should be 
built in the centre of the capital (Hussain 2005:128). (The location given to the 
Muslims by Nkrumah is now known as Salifu Amankwah Gardens at Kwame 
Nkrumah Circle in Accra).
The narration demonstrates that Islamic and Muslim spiritual prowess was given 
recognition within the political landscape during the early post- independence period. This 
also indicates that Nkrumah had come under the influence of transnational Muslim figures. 
These transnational Muslim scholars were mainly from the West African region. They 
already wielded influence on Ghanaian Muslims, who in turn, recommended them to 
Nkrumah.
Nkrumah’s attitude towards religion and Islam in particular, is reminiscent of the way in 
which chiefs in the old Kingdoms’ of the present day’s Ghana exploited Islam to fortify 
their regimes and for their prosperity. Stephen Ellis and Gerrie ter Haar argued that the 
underlining reason for the patronage of priestly or spiritual services by African leaders (and 
Africans generally) might lie in the general belief in Africa of visible and invisible forces - 
and the perceived influence of the invisible forces on humankind (Ellis et al 1998: 179). 
Interestingly, this belief has not been abandoned despite the advent of science and 
technology. It is therefore apparent that the African worldview of the cosmology is different 
from that of others.
93
Indeed, the tendency of relying on religious priests for spiritual consultations was not only 
peculiar to Nkrumah alone. Religious consultation is widely practiced among many African 
heads of state. Notable among these personalities were Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia who 
once employed the services of an Indian guru, Ranganathan and Mathieu Kerekou of Benin 
who relied on Muhammad Amadou Cisse for spiritual directions and consultations (Ellis et 
al, 1998: 180). Interestingly, Muhammad Amadou Cisse is also known to have worked with 
the former President of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) Mobutu Sese Seko 
and President Omar Bongo of Gabon. In addition, President Didier Katsiraka of Mauagascar 
and President Paul Biya of Cameroon are known to have been followers of Rosicrucianism 
(Ellis et al, 1998: 180).
In West Africa, the late Ivorian President Felix Houphouet Boigny and the late President of 
Togo, General Gnagnesibe Eyadema, were known to have been employing the services of 
spiritual experts (Ellis et al, 1998:189). The conviction of many Heads of State in Africa is 
that ‘real power has its root in the invisible world and therefore the cultivation of spiritual 
power is vital for the continued political existence (Ellis et al, 1998:, 190)’. This is, without 
doubt, due to their convictions and the tangible and psychological benefits that they derived 
from the utilization of spiritual services in their lives.
The reliance of politicians on the religious priests in Africa makes religion the unofficial 
source for protection and the covert determinant of government policy in Africa. This 
attitude undoubtedly makes priests in Africa very powerful in government circles, however 
highly unnoticed in the public. The result of this tendency is that spiritualists in a way 
become power brokers and have access to confidential information. This can place them 
above national security intelligence as they tend to deriv< ' " ‘ multiple and
94
highly reliable sources due to the multi-faceted information they gather through their 
clients. This situation might have necessitated the late Nkrumah to employ the services of 
Said Sinare a graduate of Al-Azhar University and a Sufi as his counter intelligence officer. 
This he did under the guise of a chaplaincy in the Ghana Armed Forces. Though, the clients 
of Sinare had known him as a government employee they still did trust him as a confidential 
consultant on their spiritual matters which often compelled them to disclose to him their 
inner-most secrets. Moreover, he was the most likely person to whom his own colleagues in 
the spiritual services could disclose some of the diabolic machinations ot some group ot 
people to destabilize the nation (Sinare, interview, July 15th 2005).
One other reason that explains the patronage of the services of priests by African politicians 
is the mass followings that they commanded. This is highly significant, since the African 
politician is greatly interested in numbers. Therefore aligning with religious priests may be 
one way of getting broad-based support from the followers of the religious priests. This 
strategy was adopted by Nkrumah in his dealing with Ibrahim Nyass of Senegal. Upon 
realizing the obstacles being put in the way of his African unity policy by the Senegalese 
President, Leopold Senghor, Nkrumah wooed Ibrahim Nyass, who was the most popular 
figure in Senegal and West Africa as a whole. Nkrumah’s estimation was that Senghor was 
a Christian ruling the overwhelmingly Muslim population of Senegal. To align himself with 
the most popular figure in Senegal (with a different religious orientation to the President’s) 
could help dilute the President’s powers (Asante, interview, 11 t h  May 2006). This strategy, 
by and large made Nkrumah’s African unity policy successful, to the annoyance of some of 
his detractors in the continent.
95
The context of Ibrahim Nyass relations with Nkrumah could also be due to the Pan- 
Africanist ideology shared by both. This could be discerned from some of Ibrahim Nyass 
writings or epistles through which he expressed his philosophy over the destiny of the 
African continent. Aspects of his African philosophy were tied to his religious beliefs that 
every continent belongs to a particular people and people belong to different continent. To 
him therefore Africa is for Africans who are bound to rule it whether in immediate terms or 
later regardless of the perpetuation of colonial rule (Nyass 1959:65-6).
In summary, it has therefore been established that a dependence on the spirit world by 
African leaders has profound effects on their worldview of religion including Islam. Perhaps 
this might have been so because there is widespread belief by Africans that the spirit world 
influences their daily lives. This, therefore, makes religion in Africa a very powerful 
instrument to resort to in order to allay the fears of the believers and to give them a sense of 
security in their endeavours. Moreover, because they carry the heavy burden of their 
nation’s welfare, politicians are compelled to seek help from multiple sources they believe 
will assist them to meet the expectations of the electorate and strengthen their regime. 
However, because of the unscientific and unverifiability of religious beliefs as well as the 
unorthodox demands of the religious leaders in the course of rendering their services to their 
clients, the politicians’ patronage of the priestly services will forever remain a covert 
transaction between the priests and the politicians. This situation, therefore, underscores the 
fact that a modem system of governance cannot accept the creation of a recognized office to 
deal with issues on spiritual matters of the electorate within its institutions as a result of the 
unverifiability of religious leaders’ claims and the unorthodox means they depend upon. 
The perception by Africans that the spirit world influences their life cannot be underrated.
96
Nkrumah’s reliance on Muslim holy men represented the internal and individual level of his 
relationship and encounter with Islam and Muslims. His relationship with some Muslim 
states represented his inter-state and external interaction with Islam and the Muslim world 
for his great African concept, which shall be explored in the next section.
3.7 GHANA-EGYPT DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS
3.7.1 The Historical, Bilateral and Political Background
Information issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic ot Ghana in April 
2005 indicates that political co-operation between Ghana and Egypt started in the late 
1950s. This cooperation was necessitated while the two countries were still struggling for 
self-determination (Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2005). The alien domination of the powers 
on the African continent shaped the radical outlook of the two countries and provided 
effective collaboration in the early years of independence. Consequently, Egypt was the first 
country and as well as, the first Muslim country to establish diplomatic relations with Ghana 
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2005).
Several factors underscore the warm relation between Ghana and Egypt in the early years of 
independence. Among these factors were membership to the Casablanca Bloc which was 
mainly made up of United Arab Republic (now Egypt), Libya, Morocco, Algeria, Mali, 
Guinea, and Ghana. The Casablanca Bloc was known to have envisaged the creation of 
inter-state economic institutions, with the vision of implementing an African Consultative 
Assembly, African Political Committee of Head of States, as well as Economic Committee 
and Cultural Committee and Joint African High Command of Chief of Staff (Armah 
2004:101). The two countries played a leading role primarily in the preservation of freedom, 
unity, and integrity of the African people. This was to do away with factionalism as
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decolonization gathered unprecedented momentum on the continent (Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs). Their long-term vision which also fostered relations between the two countries, for 
the continent, was that the two countries were the founding members of the Organization of 
African Unity (OAU), now the African Union (AU) (Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
The other factor that strengthened the bond of friendship between the two Presidents was 
their philosophy of non-alignment and positive neutrality. Because of this they have gone 
down into history as the two of the founding members of the widely recognized Won- 
Aligned Movement (NAM) (Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Also, Nkrumah’s marriage to an 
Egyptian woman, Fathia (as described above) strengthened the bond of friendship between 
Nasser and Nkrumah.
Even though Ghana and Egypt had co-operated politically since the late 1950, the major 
instrument through which bilateral co-operation has taken place in recent times between the 
two countries is the Egyptian Technical Co-Operation Fund for Africa which was 
inaugurated in February 1984. Through this instrument, Ghana has so far benefited from the 
following forms of assistance (Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
(a) Egyptian lecturers at the Regional Maritime Academy
(b) Egyptian experts for the Ghana Cotton Company
(c) Egyptian medical doctors to work in the Ghanaian hospitals
(d) training courses for Ghanaian agricultural officers at the Egyptian International
Centre for Agriculture
(e) training of Ghanaian geologists
(0 Egyptian lecturers at the University of Ghana and all branches of Ghana Institute of
Languages in Ghana, and.
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Egypt continues to offer scholarships to Ghana.
The scholarship scheme applies largely to studies in the Islamic religious sciences offered at 
the famous Al-Azhar University, noted in the Muslim world for it outstanding Islamic 
scholarship (Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
There are other areas of agreement, which strengthen economic co-operation between 
Ghanaian and Egyptian Governments. These co-operations are in the areas of trade, 
investment promotion, and protection. These agreements were made possible through the 
visit of the Egyptian Foreign Minister Amre Mousa to Ghana in March 1998. The trade 
agreement was concluded between the Ghana’s former Foreign Affair Minister, Victor 
Gbeho, and the Egyptian Foreign Minister (Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
Again, during a visit to Ghana on 1 February 2005 by the Egyptian Minister of Foreign 
Affairs, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed. This 
established a mechanism for regular consultations on bilateral, regional, and international 
issues of national interest between the two countries. Ghana’s Minister for Tourism and 
Modernization of the Capital City, Jake Obetsebi Lamptey reciprocated this visit with his 
visit to Egypt in March 2005. The visit also culminated in the signing of a Memorandum of 
Understanding in the field of Tourism Co-operation (Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Lastly, 
the Egyptian government, at Ghana’s request, sent down Abd El-Salam E. Draz, an 
agriculturist in rice production. He is to serve in Ghana for a period of not more than 6 
months (Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
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A brief glance at the nature of Ghana’s diplomatic relations with Egypt emphasizes an 
important fact: generally, the bilateral agreements between the two countries benefited 
Ghana more than Egypt. This could be seen from the numerous human resource experts that 
Egypt has offered to Ghana in the areas of agriculture, academia, and medicine, as well as 
offering geological courses for Ghanaians and scholarships for Ghanaian students. The only 
area of the diplomatic relations which might have benefited the two countries equally is in 
respect of economic agreements through investment promotion and protection agreements. 
It could, therefore, be concluded that the bilateral relations between the countries benefited 
Ghana more than Egypt.
The type of Islamic orientation offered to the Ghanaian Muslims by the Egyptian Islamic 
environment will be the focus of the next section of this study. This will help shed more 
light on the Muslim world, especially Egypt’s, impact on Ghanaian Muslims in the post­
colonial period.
3.72 The Type of Islamic Orientation Offered to Ghanaian Muslims by Egypt
Egypt was the first Muslim country which opened up the intellectual horizon of Ghanaian 
Muslims. This is evident from the numerous scholarships offered to Ghanaian Muslim 
students in the early post-independence period, specifically in the area of Islamic sciences. 
The type of training offered by Egypt to such students was the open Islamic orientation, 
which did not restrict them to any strict Islamic sectarian background. Consequently, this 
type of open Islamic orientation was replicated by these Ulama in Ghana. The Islamic 
training as handed down to the Ghanaian Muslim scholars by Egypt made them well suited 
for the Islamic religious terrain of the early post-colonial period. The training made them to 
appreciate the multiplicity of the Ghanaian religious terrain, which is made up of indigenous
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African tradition and Christian tradition, as well as the diversity of Islamic cultures and 
values. This is because Ghanaian students were allowed to pursue Islamic training based on 
the prevailing Maliki Islamic orientation in Ghana rather than the Egyptian sectarian 
orientation. This instilled a sense of Islamic diversity on the students while in Egypt. The 
implication is that there is an element of selectivity in the Islamic orientation by Ghanaian 
Ulama trained in Egypt through their transnational contacts.
The research has also shown that the nature of Egyptian society which allows lor and fosters 
free religious thinking meant that the early Egyptian-trained Ulama in Ghana were to be 
bearers of the Tijaniyya Sufi order. This argument is shown by the fact that a majority (if not 
all) of the Ulama trained in Egypt are Sufi and Tijaniyya in spiritual orientation. Notable 
among these early Egyptian-trained Ulama were the late Jamal Baba of the Greater Accra 
area, Abdulai Maikano of Prang in the Brong Ahafo region, a great Sufi of the 21a century 
in the Muslim community of Ghana, as well as Abdul Razak Tahir. Lastly, Said Sinare, a 
former military chaplain, and spiritual consultant to the late first President of Ghana, 
Kwame Nkrumah was among the Egyptian trained Ulama with Sufi inclinations.
It is therefore important to scrutinize the unique identity of the Islamic orientation of these 
few individual Ulama trained in Egypt, in order to show how their transnational contacts 
through education influenced their Islamic orientation in Egypt.
For instance, the late Abdulai Maikano of Prang in the Brong Ahafo region represented the 
epitome of Islamic mysticism and Sufism in Ghana during his lifetime. This is shown by his 
spiritual prowess, in the form of powers that he exhibited and offered to his followers. He 
was sometimes acclaimed by his followers as an extra-ordinary human being with the power
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to perform miracles and communicate with Allah. Despite his death his followers still 
believe that he intercedes in their daily affairs. This is evident in the followers 
identification with the portrait of the late Maikano in their daily life. Their daily 
acknowledgement of this portrait shows their loyalty and fidelity to him and reveals their 
belief in his constant presence in their daily affairs.
The other important personality amongst the Egyptian-trained Ulama with strong Sufi 
inclination is Said Sinare a former military chaplain and a spiritual consultant to the iirst 
Ghana's first President Said Sinare was also an Al-Azhar trained Alim (Muslim scholar). 
The fact that he was a spiritual consultant to the then Head of State was very significant 
since it implied that the orientation that scholars acquired in Egypt permitted spiritual 
services as a solution to the ever-demanding needs of some Muslims as well as non- 
Muslims.
The background of these two important personalities among the Egyptian-trained Ulama in 
Ghana gives more clues to the nature of Islamic orientation in Egypt, which is mystically 
inclined, and the influence they passed on to Ghanaians and Ghanaian Muslims in 
particular.
Rational outlook is another Islamic background found among the Egyptian-trained Ulama in 
Ghana. This rationalist inclination allows them to give various dimensional perspectives and 
interpretations to issues that might seem to be difficult or might have been outlawed by 
other Ulama. Other notable personalities among the Egyptian-trained Ulama in Ghana with 
a strong rational background are the late Jamal Baba and Abdul Razak Tahir. This is as 
opposed to some Ulama who have been trained in the Arabian Gulf states and who abhor
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e philosophisation of religious issues. The ability of the Egyptian-trained Ulama to 
mtextualize issues from different backgrounds has attracted the youth towards their 
iligious ceremonies. Numerous examples of issues abound: one could cite the celebration 
.f the birthday of the Prophet (Maulid Nabiy), which sometimes generate controversies 
>etween Egyptian Ulama who permit and clamour for its celebration, as against the Ulama 
rained from the Gulf countries who have outlawed it. One must however stress the fact that 
Egypt, as a Muslim country, is Sunni of Hanafiyya by doctrinal orientation. Yet the 
uhanaian Ulama trained in Egypt were not doctrinally coinp^ii^J toward; ruch "^ntafion 
but were allowed to maintain their Maliki Islamic doctrinal approach.
3.73 The Role of Ghanaian Muslims in Ghana-Egypt Relations
In the past the role of the Ghanaian Ulama trained in Egypt in facilitating Ghana-Egypt 
relations as an organized body was not visible. This might have been because it did not 
dawn on them to organize themselves as a group. In recent times, however, some Ulama 
with Egyptian training have formed an association of Alumni of the Al-Azhar University in 
Ghana with A view to fostering relations with Egypt and their alma mater.
One major defect of this is that because it is an alumni association its membership is limited 
and restricted to students trained at the Al-Azhar University. This implies that there has not 
been any conscious attempt on the larger Egyptian-trained student body to form an all- 
encompassing and inclusive association of students trained in Egypt in Ghana. This 
tendency created a major religious vacuum in the Ghana-Egypt relations in the Muslim 
communities of Ghana. The only noticeable influence and effect in Ghana of the Egyptian- 
trained Ulama is through the role of individual Muslim scholars.
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Such influence could be viewed from the unique scholastic exposition and excellence that 
some of these individuals exhibited in the course of religious discourses in the Muslim 
communities of Ghana. This aspect of the background of these individuals has been highly 
revered by Muslims of different doctrinal orientation in Ghana. This is noticeable in the role 
of Abdul Razak Tahir, the late Abdulai Maikano, and the late Jamal Baba Al-Azhari. The 
role of these Ulama in the Muslim communities of Ghana endears the quality of Islamic 
scholarship to the Muslim youth, yet they are most often discouraged by the unfavourable 
economic conditions in Egypt to wish to puisuo Islamic studies ilicre a* opposed to in die 
oil-rich Arabian Gulf states. This situation then shows the dilemma of the Muslim youth in 
Ghana in relation to seeking quality Islamic education vis-a-vis the economic conditions in 
the Muslim world.
The other dimension of the individual Egyptian trained Ulama in Ghana role in fostering 
relations between Ghanaian Muslims and Egypt is through the institutions established by 
the students trained from Egypt. In most cases these Ulama name the institutions they have 
established after their alma mater such as Al-Azhar or Azhariya and Ain-Shamsh Islamic 
Institutes etc. Some graduates trained in other Egyptian institutions also identify themselves 
with their institutions by attaching their institutions name to themselves. An example of this 
being the late Jamal Baba who attached Al-Azhari to his name meaning ‘a graduate of Al- 
Azhar’.
The cultural manifestation of some Ulama trained in Egypt which fosters relations between 
Ghana, and Egypt could be observed from their mode of dress. The dress of these Ulama 
imitates that of the top hierarchy of Egyptian Ulama (Muft i ) .  This tendency without a doubt
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fosters a cultural link between some sections of Ulama trained in Egypt and some Ghanaian 
Muslims.
Lastly, the role played by the expatriate Egyptian experts who have been assigned various 
responsibilities by the Egyptian government to Ghana must be acknowledged in fostering 
Ghana-Egypt relations in the Muslim communities of Ghana. These experts are found in the 
areas of education, health and agriculture. The mere assigning of experts to Ghana to 
provide certain services and expertise gives proof oi the sincere interest of iho Egyptian 
government in contributing towards the development of Ghana. In addition, the role of these 
experts in assisting the government, and Ghanaians in general creates the sense of 
appreciation among the majority of Ghanaians. This reciprocal attitude by the Egyptian 
experts to assist Ghanaians and their innermost appreciation of the Egyptian government’s 
interest largely improves and promotes relations between the two countries.
Islamically, the tendency of the Egyptian experts to facilitate certain developmental projects 
in the Muslim communities of Ghana creates the sense of Islamic Ummatic feeling among 
Ghanaian Muslims. This tendency on the part of the Egyptian experts reinforces the notion 
and the concept of Islamic brotherhood among nationals of both countries, thereby 
promoting Ghana-Egypt relations further. , .
3.8 GHANA-SAUDI ARABIA DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS
3.8.1 The Historical, Bilateral and the Political Background of Ghana-Saudi 
Relations
Ghana’s diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level with Saudi Arabia dates back to March 
I960. In that year the two countries accredited their respective ambassadors in Cairo and 
Lagos to each other’s capital as a first measure. Subsequently, Ghana established a resident
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diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia and maintained it until the fall of the First Republic in 
1966, when it was closed due to financial constraints (Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2004).
In June 1974 Ghana reopened its embassy in Saudi Arabia at the level of charge d'affaires 
and upgraded it back to the ambassadorial level in May 1977 because of the rising number 
of Ghanaian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia. Moreover, during the regime of the People National 
Defence Council, (PNDC) relations improved with the Saudi Government, thereby 
permitting the Ghanaian Government to establish her Consulate-Gcncnl in Jeddah in 1988 
to cater for the increasing number of Ghanaian pilgrims who visit Mecca and Medina 
throughout the year (Ministry of Foreign Affairs: 2004). Furthermore, in 2003 Saudi Arabia 
assented to Ghana’s request to upgrade her mission in Accra to resident ambassadorial 
level.
Some of the institutions of the Saudi Government which promote bilateral co-operation with 
Ghana’s government are the Islamic Development Bank and Saudi Development Fund. The 
Saudi Development Fund during the PNDC regime, especially between 1985 and 1987, 
contracted various loans to the tune of $31.5 million to Ghana for various projects in the 
country. Some of these projects were the rehabilitation of Tema and Takoradi ports (SI3 
million) and the construction of Grain silos at Konongo, Kintampo, Atebubu, Nkoranza, and 
Techiman ($5 million) (Ministry of Foreign Affairs: 2004). During the era of the National 
Democratic Congress (NDC) (1992-2000), the Saudi government further financed some 
projects relating to Rural Health Centres through the Saudi Development Fund. The loans 
were contracted in 1993 to the tune of $9.5 million (Ministry of Foreign Affairs: 2004). 
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Government of 2001-2008 has also secured a loan from the 
Saudi Development Fund for the Tetteh Quashie-Mamfie Road project.
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An important bilateral agency of the Saudi Government, which Ghana benefits from 
tremendously, is the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). The Islamic Development Bank s 
support and funds are channeled to assist a member of countries of the Organization of 
Islamic Conference (OIC). Interestingly, Ghana is not a member and will, therefore, not be 
entitled to major funding from the Bank. Nevertheless the Islamic Development Bank still 
allots sizeable funds for non-members and Muslim minority countries, especially for the 
Muslims communities in those countries. The IDB development projects are sometimes 
offered to public institutions through bilateral agreement such as the funding nf Presbyterian 
science block and the Islamic secondary science facilities are typical example. More also 
Muslim NGOs are among the beneficiaries of IDB sponsorship. Some of the IDB sponsored 
projects for both private and public institutions include the construction of primary, 
secondary, vocational and technical schools, mostly in the Northern region of Ghana, as 
well as in Accra and Kumasi, amounting to $2,819 million. The IDB also assisted the 
Ghanaian government with a grant of $100,000 for the expansion of students’ hostel of the 
University of Development Studies in Tamale and a grant of $250,000 for the construction 
of a Computer Science Laboratory for the Islamic Secondary School in the Northern region 
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs: 2004).
The most memorable Saudi Arabian personality to most Ghanaians who also played a 
tremendous role in improving relations between Ghana and Saudi Arabia in recent times is 
His Royal Highness, Prince Al-Walleed Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz. He visited Ghana from 
28-30 April 2003. Ghana Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Prince Walleed was 
voted the richest man in the world in the year 2003 by Forbes Magazine (Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs: 2004). His visit was to explore business opportunities in Ghana. He led a 
22-member business delegation. During the visit he donated funds to Ghana in various
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sectors. For instance, he donated $600,000 to the health sector, $300,000 to pre-school 
education to construct a primary and a junior secondary school for the Muslim communities 
in and around Nima and Mamobi area in Accra, and $100,000 to the Otumfuo Education 
Fund. During the visit, the Prince agreed to invest in the construction of the Ambassador 
Hotel, which cost about $40m. He also agreed to establish a branch of Citi Bank in Ghana 
and to construct a multi-million Cedi Hotel at the Accra Airport (Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs: 2004).
The Saudi Government also plays a humanitarian role in improving relations with Ghana. 
For example, during the September 1995 flooding in Accra it donated emergency relief 
items worth $800,000 towards the victims. Furthermore, following the severe rains and 
flooding which rendered many people homeless and caused extensive damage to properties 
in Accra in June 2001, it donated relief items to Ghana for the victims through His Highness 
King Fahd Al-Saud. Lastly, Ghana receives an allocation of 500 slaughtered sheep after 
every yearly pilgrimage for distribution to the poor (Ministry of Foreign Affairs: 2004). It 
could therefore be discerned from the historical basis of Ghana-Saudi relations that two 
major issues strengthened the relations between the two countries, namely Ghana’s quest to 
secure loans for its developmental programmes and opportunities for Muslim pilgrims to the 
Kingdom.
An analysis of the historical background shows that the diplomatic relations between the 
two countries benefited Ghana more than Saudi Arabia in respect of securing financial 
resources. The Saudi Government might have also opened up her doors to Ghana's 
government to create the opportunity for Ghanaian Muslim pilgrims to attend the annual 
pilgrimage to the Kingdom.
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ne diplomatic relations also facilitated a special type of Islamic orientation to Ghanaian 
luslims, which will be the focus of the next section. This will be done with a view to 
ientifying the Islamic dimension to the diplomatic relations. It will also identify the agents 
nd the institutions that facilitated the diplomatic relations. Through this study, the identity 
)f the Saudi nationals and their organizations that facilitated Ghana-Saudi relations in the 
Muslim communities will be made known.
3.8.2 The Role of Ghnnninn Muslims in Ghaua-Saudi Relations 
It must be acknowledged that before Ghana diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Saudi 
Arabia commenced the annual pilgrimage of some Ghanaian Muslims to the Kingdom in 
itself promoted Islamic fraternal consciousness between Ghanaian Muslims and Saudi 
Arabians. Even though the experience of the pilgrimage during the pre-colonial and the 
early post-colonial periods was very tedious, it was the major medium of interaction 
between the two countries. The establishment of diplomatic relations between the two 
countries further enhanced the smooth interaction between the Muslims of the two 
countries, beyond the scope of Hajj.
Initially, one important issue dominated the nature and the medium of collaboration 
between Muslims within the two countries. The major medium through which Ghanaian 
Muslims interacted with the Saudi Muslims was the Hajj. It must be acknowledged that this 
medium facilitated Ghanaians interaction with the Saudi Muslims during the pre-colonial 
and post-colonial periods. The Hajj was made more accessible with the improvement in 
technological advancement in the area of air transport during the post-independence period 
through diplomatic relations.
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The effect of the Hajj on the relations between Ghanaian Muslims and the Saudi Muslims 
did not result in the adoption of the Saudi brand of Islamic ideology (Wahhabism). This was 
partly because Umar Krake, a renowned scholar in the Gold Coast, performance of the 
pilgrimage in 1913 and 11919 respectively preceded the Wahhabi Revoultion in 1923-4. 
Subsequent Ghanaian Muslims who performed the pilgrimage did not embraced Wahhabi 
ideas until after Ghana attained independence.
Another important personality during the post-independence period through whom relations 
between Ghanaian Muslims and Saudi Arabia was promoted was Kamali Khalid, an Indian 
employee of the Saudi mission in Ghana. The aspect of Islamic consciousness that he 
promoted between Ghana and Saudi Arabia was the Saudi brand of Islamic ideology which, 
as mentioned before, is Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama‘ah (Wahhabism). This he did through the 
promotion of Islamic education. His activities did not however generate any reaction from 
other Muslim groups at that time. This type of Wahhabi Islamic consciousness which was 
facilitated by Kamali linked Ghanaian Muslims with the Saudi Muslim leadership, thereby 
fostering collaboration in the interests of Islam between Muslims within the two countries. 
It is known that Kamali used to organize Islamic lectures at the then Central Mosque in 
Accra. This was the first early manifestation of an attempt of reorienting a section of 
Ghanaian Muslim students towards Saudi Islam in Ghana. Through such relationships, 
Ghanaian Muslims secured numerous forms of assistance in the form of scholarship or 
educational opportunities and educational infrastructure etc in Ghana.
Among the individual Ghanaian Muslims who also played leading role in fostering Ghana- 
Saudi relations were the foremost Wahhabi pioneer scholars in Ghana such as the late 
Yussif Ajura in the Northern region, Abdul Samad Habibullah and Adam Baba both in the
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Ashanti region, Hamza Abdul Salam, Umar Ibrahim and Shuaib Abubakar all in the Greater 
Accra region. The role that these individual Ulama played in promoting Ghana-Saudi 
relations pertains to their being the first Muslims to have adopted the Saudi brand of Islamic 
ideology, as propounded by Muhammad b. Abdul Wahhab in 1703 AD. Eventually, they 
became the first contact persons in their respective communities with regards to having any 
official transaction with the Saudi NGOs and Government.
Interestingly, these early Wahhabi Ulama educational institutions facilitated the orientation 
of Ghanaian Muslim students towards the Wahhabiyya brand of Islam in Ghana. These 
institutions include the Anbariya Islamic Educational complex and the Nuriyya Islamic 
Institute, the largest Islamic educational complexes in the Northern region of Ghana 
founded by the late Yussif Ajura and Basha Ibrahim Iddris respectively. Again, the Al- 
Azhariyya Islamic Educational Complex and the Darul Hadith Institute of Islamic Studies 
established by the late Adam Baba and the late Taufiq Bakr, also represent the largest 
Islamic educational complexes in the Ashanti region. The role of the Institute of Islamic 
Studies founded by Umar Ibrahim and the Tafsiliyya Islamic School by the mentor of Umar 
Ibrahim, the late Hamza Abdul Salam, in the orientation of Muslim students towards the 
Wahhabiyya Islamic perspective in the Greater Accra region cannot be over-emphasized. 
All these institutions, which were established by the pioneer Wahabis, have played 
tremendous roles in promoting Ghana-Saudi relations in Ghana. This is because; these 
institutions, as established by the pioneer Wahhabis, shaped the mind and the identity of 
their students towards the Saudi style of Islamic orientation and endeared the students 
towards the Saudi values and culture, thereby promoting Ghana-Saudi relations in Ghana.
I l l
The Saudi government also deepens its relations with Ghanaian Muslims through granting 
of scholarship in various disciplines of Islamic sciences. This has its social, economic, and 
political advantages to the two countries. The beneficiaries understand the social structures 
of the Saudi society and then adopted and promoted the Saudi Islamic social values in the 
Muslims communities of Ghana. Inclusive in this social orientation of Ghanaian Muslims 
who benefit from such scholarships is the sectarian religious culture of the Saudi society, 
namely the Wahhabiyya brand of Islam, which they promote among their Ghanaian 
counterparts. 1 his implies that the Wahhabi perspective of Islam with its origin and support 
base from the Saudi Government revolves strictly around the followers understanding of the 
basic tenets of the Qur'an and the traditions of the Prophet.
The major religious institutions, which promote the Saudi brand of Islam, include Ahlus- 
Sunnah Wal-Jama‘ah (ASWAJ), the Supreme Council for Islamic Call and Research 
(SCICR) and the Ahlus-Sunni Society popularly known as the Anbariyya. Two Saudi 
institutions such as the the Fatwa Center (which is under the Ministry of Endowment and 
Islamic Affairs) and the Muslim World League are noted for their roles in supporting 
Ghanaian Ulama who promote their religious interest in Ghana. The role that these 
institutions play is in the domain of spreading the Saudi brand of Islam in educational 
institutions, religious centres (mosques), social ceremonies, and during quarterly and annual 
conventions etc. Through their activities and programmes they have attracted a mass 
following in the Muslim communities of Ghana. The large number of followers 
consequently became the benchmark of assessing Saudi religious influence in Ghana. 
Wahhabi followers in Ghana can be identified by their mode of dress and other forms of 
social interaction. A corollary to the adoption of Arabian culture and a brand of Islam 
among them is the tendency to extol Arabian values as the best model for Muslims.
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The role of the Saudi funded NGOs and NGOs with Saudi affiliation must be recognized in 
fostering Ghana-Saudi relations in the Muslim communities of Ghana. They promote 
various forms of developments in the Muslim communities in Ghana such as construction 
of schools, provision of portable water, Islamic centres, orphanages, and health centres, 
among others. These NGOs market the plight and the needs of Ghanaian Muslims to the 
Saudi government and philanthropists who, in turn, provide funding for development 
programmes for Ghanaian Muslims. They attract considerable financial resources to the 
Ghanaian Muslims as a result of the trust and the credibility that they have built with the 
Saudi Government and Saudi philanthropists. Notable among these Saudi-funded NGOs or 
those with Saudi affiliations are the Al-Hudaibiya Relief Services, the Al-Muntada Al- 
Islami and Al-Huda Islamic Society.
The Saudi Government and affiliated NGOs also promote relations with Ghanaian Muslims 
by organizing free pilgrimage for them to Mecca, providing sacrificial animals during the 
two Eids and providing free meals to the needy during the breaking of the fast of Ramadan. 
This in a way tends to ease the economic conditions of some Ghanaian Muslims and creates 
a feeling of gratitude and solidarity with Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi-funded NGOs also provide employment to some Ghanaian Muslims who largely 
become financially dependent on the Saudi economic conditions to survive. This tendency 
without doubt reinforces the extent of their allegiance and loyalty to the Saudi institutions 
and organizations thereby creating a ground for solidarity and thereby fostering relations 
between a section of Ghanaian Muslim communities and the Saudi institutions. The 
outcome of this research shows that NGOs with Saudi connections and affiliations dominate 
the Muslim religious terrain in Ghana.
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A major economic leverage which has been very instrumental in fostering Saudi-Ghana 
relations among a section of Muslims in Ghana has been the monthly allowances that some 
Saudi trained-Wama in Ghana obtained from the Ministry of Endowment and Islamic 
Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This type of monthly allowances and incentives 
are meant for the Saudi-trained Ulama who propagate Wahhabism in the Muslim 
communities of Ghana. The enticing of these Ulama by incentives makes them adhere and 
uphold the approved values of the Saudi religious establishment, thereby promoting 
sectarian religious relations between a section of Ghanaian Muslims and ilic Saudi religious 
institutions.
The net effect is that the beneficiaries of these facilities and projects represent the 
benchmark of Ghana-Saudi relations in the Muslim communities in Ghana. This situation 
also shows the extent of economic dependence of some Ghanaian Muslims on the outside 
Muslim world which has serious consequences for the nation’s political direction. These 
Muslims are likely to be predisposed towards the politics of the country (Saudi Arabia) that 
caters for their source of income. Any serious threat to the economic and political 
conditions of the country is regarded as a war against them in Ghana. The implication is that 
major global events, which have the potential of dislodging and restructuring certain 
institutions and political establishments in certain Muslim countries, are interpreted by 
sections of Ghanaian Muslims as targeting them as well as Islam as a whole due to the 
economic advantages that might be affected by such events. The Saudi Government 
represents the largest Islamic country in respect of contribution to the Muslim communities 
in Ghana. They therefore wield considerable influence in the Muslim communities of Ghana 
as a result of the developmental projects that they facilitate for the Ghanaian Muslims.
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Politically, there is little to talk about the impact of Saudi political institutions on Ghanaian 
Muslims. Nevertheless, Ghanaian students trained in Saudi Arabia are most likely to extol 
the nature of Saudi political institutions in Ghana. More importantly, they could be the 
people who will aspire to the replication and implementation of Saudi political institutions 
and structures in Ghana. This view is buttressed by the perception of Ulama trained in Saudi 
Arabia who tend to criticize the perceived moral laxity in Ghanaian Muslim society as 
against the strict nature of Saudi society.
It could therefore be concluded that Ghana-Saudi relations have been enhanced by the Saudi 
Government institutions and NGOs:
(i) which grants scholarships to Ghanaian Muslim students;.
(ii) which facilitate the activities of Saudi trained Ulama in Ghana in the
propagation of the Saudi official Islamic orientation (Wahhabiyya); an
(iii) which supports the activities of NGOs with Saudi affiliation, including 
arrangements for free pilgrimage to Mecca for Ghanaian Muslims so that 
they are able to experience the faith in its place of origin at first hand .
3.9 GHANA-ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN RELATIONS
3.9.1 Historical and Bilateral Background of Ghana-Iran Relations
Information available at the Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs shows virtually 
insignificant relations with the Persian Empire before the Ayatollah Khomeini's Revolution. 
Following the 1979 Revolution the name of the country was changed to the Islamic 
Republic of Iran. Ghana’s diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran began in 
1974. The two countries appointed resident ambassadors in 1976. However, Ghana closed
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down its mission in Iran in 1984 as a result of a general cost-cutting exercise (Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs, 2005).
Currently, the major machinery through which bilateral cooperation takes place between the 
two countries has been the Ghana-Iran Joint Commission. This joint commission was 
inaugurated in November 1990 and subsequently reactivated in June 2002.
The Iranian Foreign Minister, H.E Kamal KJianazzi when visiting Ghana from 30—31 
March 2004 granted an amount of $1.5 million for development assistance to Ghana. In 
addition, the visit also resulted in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on 
Development Assistance between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Ghana. The aim of the 
agreement is to facilitate commercial exchanges between the two countries. Ghana also 
currently benefits from assistance from the Islamic Republic of Iran in the areas of 
agriculture, health, education and culture (Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2005). The major 
Iranian institutions which facilitate this economic cooperation in Ghana are Agriculture and 
Rural Development (ARD), the Red Crescent Society, and the Islamic University.
The trade agreement, which was signed between the two countries in 2002 shows that the 
balance of trade is in favour of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This was evident in the 
direction and trend of exports and imports between the two countries from 2000-2003. The 
investment portfolio also witnesses the Iranian Government pushing more resources into the 
Ghanaian economy as against virtually nil investment by Ghana in Iran (Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs 2005). Among the Iranian companies which have taken the opportunity to explore 
the Ghanaian business terrain are:
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(i) Ghana-Iran Services Ltd, a joint venture dealing in the export and import in 
general merchandise;
(ii) Kleen Export Company Ltd, a purely foreign owned company also involved in 
the export trading; and
(iii) AEM Industrial Company Ltd, a joint venture company involved in the 
manufacture of paper napkins and tissue paper.
The most important area identified by llio Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the ncal lo rc.ioil 
previously signed oil agreements dealing with the importation of crude oil from Iran at the 
rate of 500,000 barrels per year. Lastly, the report also identified the possibility of 
cooperation in respect of Ghana’s refinery and the exploration of oil, gas and gold (Ministry 
of Foreign Affairs 2005). What has been the role of Ghanaian Muslims in Ghana-Iran 
relations? This will be the focus of the next section of the study.
3.9.2 The Role of Ghanaian Muslims in Ghana-Iran relations
Historically, the foremost Ghanaian Muslim personality who promoted Ghana-Iran relations 
was Abdul Salam Abdul Hamid Bansi, the founder of the Shi ‘ah community in Ghana. This 
was after his graduation from an Iranian higher institution of learning in 1988.
Bansi linked some Ghanaian Muslims to the type of religious orientation pertaining to Iran. 
This type of the Islamic religious orientation is founded on the view of Shi'ism. Shi'ism is 
rooted in the concept of Ahlul-Bait (that is, prominence is to be given to the household of 
the Prophet on issues about Islam and Muslims).
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Bansi created an Iranian religious constituency in Ghana which has since served as the bond 
of religious relations between some Ghanaian Muslims and Iranian religious establishments. 
The interwoven nature of the Iranian Islam with political orientation became part of the 
identity of the followers of this new Islamic orientation in Ghana. Another way in which 
Ghana-Iran relations is manifested is through the activities of the Iranian NGOs. The early 
NGO which fostered relations between Ghanaian Muslims and Iran was the Imam Hussein 
Foundation which was established in 1988 by the late Abdul Salam Bansi. This NGO 
distributes Islamic literature ot'Shi i doctrinal orientation.
There are also a number of other NGOs with Iranian affiliation which promote relations 
between Ghanaian Muslims and Iran. The foremost among them is the Iranian Cultural 
Consulate. The role of the Cultural Consulate, as the hub of improving and enhancing 
Ghana-Iran relations, cannot be over-emphasized
The establishment of an Iranian Cultural Consulate in 1988 in Ghana brought about the 
vigorous promotion of Ghana-Iran relations through the distribution of Islamic literature of 
Iranian Shi’i orientation in the Ghanaian Muslim communities. Some of the literatures 
distributed by the Cultural Consulate were cultural and political. The literature distributed 
by the Consulate played a role in the transnational religious orientation in Ghana. This could 
be seen from the standpoint that it made the reader appreciate the Iranian cultural values as 
well as political institutions and structures. The literature distributed to the Muslim students 
also endeared the Iranian Islamic institutions to the reader. The outcome of this tendency 
was the search for religious scholarship by a section of Ghanaian Muslim students in Iran. 
The role of the Consulate in fostering Ghana-Iran relations in the Muslim communities of 
Ghana could also be viewed from the nature of its other activities. It runs numerous
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programmes in respect of Iranian art, culture, Iranian political events and significant 
religious events and activities in Ghana.
During such occasions, participants are drawn from the various strata of the Ghanaian 
society, including the Muslim communities. One aspect of the Cultural Consulate activities 
which promotes relations between Iran and Ghanaian Muslims is that due attention is given 
to the Council of Muslim Chiefs, the Iranian-trained Ulama, the Muslim students in the 
tertiary institutions and the Muslim youth. Through the activities of liic Cultural Consulate, 
the Iranian cultural, religious, and political values are marketed to Ghanaian audiences. This 
approach on the part of the Cultural Consulate creates sympathy and friendship among the 
targeted participants from the segment of the Muslim communities, thereby fostering 
relations between Ghana and Iran.
The larger religious framework through which Ghana-Iran relations was promoted could 
also be viewed from the standpoint of Iranian-trained Ulama's proclamation and 
eulogisation of Shi‘i religious values in the Muslim communities of Ghana. This tendency, 
without doubt, had facilitated the promotion of Iranian religious and cultural values in 
Ghana. It in effect fostered a religious and cultural understanding between the two 
countries. Iran is the main country which currently promotes Shi’ite culture in the world. 
Muslim students who acquire Islamic scholarships to study in Iran therefore return to Ghana 
with a Shi’i orientation which they, in him, propagate in the Ghanaian Muslim community.
The Islamic University of Ghana which was established by the Iranian government in April 
2002 also enhances the relations between Ghanaian Muslims and Iran. The mere naming of 
the university ‘Islamic’ implies that it was established to promote the interest of Islam and
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that of the Muslim communities in Ghana. This predisposition without doubt indicates the 
extent to which the Iranian Government is promoting relations with Ghanaian Muslims 
through education. Of all the Muslim diplomatic missions in Ghana, it is the Islamic 
Republic of Iran which has been able to establish an Islamic university for brilliant but 
needy Ghanaian Muslims. The university grants scholarships to students who are to pursue 
courses at the university. This is done by assessing the financial capabilities of students who 
are brilliant but needy. This naturally endears the beneficiaries to the benefactors.
The Red Crescent of Iran is at the forefront of the Iranian Health Project in Ghana. So far 
the Iranian Government has established three (3) clinics in Ghana which augment Ghana’s 
health institutions. The leadership of the Muslim communities in Ghana, in providing free 
medical services for the needy and poor, are often relied upon to recommend to the clinics 
people who are in dire need of medical treatment. This enhances the bond of friendship 
between Iranian authorities in Ghana and the Ghanaian Muslim communities.
Ghana-Iran relations in the economic and agricultural sectors are promoted mainly by the 
Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD). The beneficiaries of the ARD’s projects tend to 
appreciate the role of the Iranian Government in assisting them, thereby also fostering 
relations between Ghanaian Muslims and Iran.
Even though Ghana-Libya relations pre-date the September 1969 Al-Fateh Revolution, the 
Revolution was nevertheless very significant since the post-1969 period framed the nature 
of most of the relations between Ghana and Libya as exist currently. The historical trend of 
Ghana-Libya diplomatic relations is the focus of the next section of the study.
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3.10 GHANA-LIBYA DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS
3.10.1 The Historical and Bilateral Background of Ghana-Libya Relations
The major motives influencing Ghana's establishing diplomatic relations with Libya were 
economic and Pan-African considerations. Historically, Ghana first established diplomatic 
relations with Libya in 1961 but in 1968 closed down its offices because of financial 
constraints. Relations between the two countries however improved after the June military 
takeover in Ghana (Ministry of Foreign Affairs: 2004). The Armed Forces Revolutionary 
Council (AFRC) further strengthened relations m 1979 following the 4 Juno military 
takeover when Libya expressed solidarity with Ghana and responded positively to Ghana’s 
request for crude oil supplies. Ghana reciprocated by approving Libya’s request to establish 
a resident diplomatic mission in Accra in September 1979 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
2004).
The civilian administration headed by the then President of Ghana, the late Hila Limann, 
initially maintained relations with Libya to the extent that a goodwill mission paid a visit to 
Libya to express Ghana’s appreciation to the Libyan Government for the emergency supply 
of crude oil. The outcome of that visit resulted in the signing of a 1979 agreement between 
the two countries to set up a Ghana-Libya Permanent Joint Commission for Co-operation. 
However, in the following year 1980, the Ghana Government ordered the closure of the 
Libya mission in Ghana, due to a suspicion that Libyan diplomatic staff interfered in the 
internal politics of Ghana (St John, 1988:131).
As a way of mending the diplomatic relations, Libya was the first African country in the 
aftermath of the 31 December 1981 Revolution led by the People’s National Defense 
Committee (PNDC) to airlift food aid to Ghana and expressed solidarity with and support to
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the new regime. Consequently, high-level governmental delegations from the two countries 
exchanged visits to strengthen bilateral relations in economic and political issues. The 
relations between the two countries were maintained and deepened when the military 
regime of the (PNDC) transformed itself into civilian regime under the umbrella of the 
National Democratic Congress (NDC) in 1992 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs: 2004).
One area that witnessed a significant improvement and deepened relations between the two 
countries from the outset was when Libya was suspcctcd by Western govcriu/.cr.ts of 
involvement in the Lockerbie bombing. Ghana played a significant role in attempting to 
resolve the diplomatic crisis between Libya and the Western world. Ghana initially sent the 
then Foreign Affairs Minister, Obed Yao Asamoah, to Libya in 1995 in order to obtain first 
hand information from the Libya side and subsequently reporting on this to the United 
Nations with a view to breaking the impasse between Libya and the West (Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs: 2004). In the latter period of the National Democratic Congress’s 
administration, Ghana took a step in attempting to solidify diplomatic relations between the 
two countries. Ghana participated in the 30th anniversary of the Al-Fateh Revolution, which 
also coincided with the Extraordinary Summit of the OAU hosted by Libya in Sirte in 
September 1999.
In the year 2000 which also falls within the later part of NDC government rule, relations 
between the two countries soured as a result of Libyan security forces alleged harassment of 
Ghanaian citizens resident in Libya. Consequently, this situation made it necessary for the 
Libyan leader, Muammar al-Gadhafi, to organize a session for the Ghanaian residents to air 
the problems they encountered in Libya. In the process, the Ghanaians also expressed their 
support for the Libyan leader’s initiative for the creation of an African union and pan-
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African parliament. He emphasized his determination to establish a new Ministry for 
African Affairs to address the concerns and the needs of the African community (Ministry 
of Foreign Affairs 2004).
Within the same year (2000), Gadhafi who was on his way by road to the OAU summit at 
Lome in Togo made a stopover in Ghana. He was decorated with an award of the Order of 
the Volta by the then President of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings. While on his way to Togo 
through Kumasi to Accra, he and his entourage performed the Friday prayers at Suhum in 
the Eastern region of Ghana. He heeded to the request of the Muslim leadership there to 
help construct an ultramodern Islamic secondary school for girls. The school was 
commissioned in 2002 for the Muslim community in Suhum (Imoro, interview, 18th 
February, 2005).
However, within the same year the Libyan leader’s intention of improving relations with his 
African friends and brothers suffered a big blow in the hand of the Libyan people who 
attacked black immigrants, especially West Africans. This resulted in the death of many, 
including some Ghanaians. The attack was in reaction to the Libyan’s disagreement with 
their leader’s proclamation of an ‘Africa without borders’ policy. Consequently, the then 
President of Ghana, Jerry Rawlings, flew to Libya in October 2000 to bring home 238 
Ghanaians out of the estimated 5000. It must, however, be acknowledged that the airlifting 
of Ghanaians was financed by the Libyan government (Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2004).
Since the assumption of office by President John Agyekum Kuffour in 2000, the two 
countries have been doing their best to improve the deteriorating diplomatic relations 
between the two countries, with the Libyan sending a delegation led by Abdul Salem Al
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Treiki, Secretary of the General People’s Committee for the African Union, to attend 
Kuffour’s inauguration. This was later followed by the delivery of a Mercedes Benz to the 
President as a sign of improving cordial relations between the two countries (Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs 2004). Beneath the Libyan intention to extend diplomatic ties to Ghana was 
the need to introduce into the country Libyan political ideology and religious institutions 
based on Libyan orientation. For instance, the Ghana-Libya Permanent Joint Commission 
for Cooperation facilitated the establishment of a Libya Cultural Centre in Accra. Through 
this cultural ccuUc some of the Libyan political and religious ideologies managed to 
infiltrate into Ghana, especially those contained in The Green Book (otherwise known as 
the Third Universal Theory), which provide political direction to the Libyan people. 
Furthermore, the World Islamic Call Society, founded by the Libyan Revolution, also found 
its way into the country.
3.10.2 The Role of Ghanaian Muslims in Ghana-Libya Relations
Ghana-Libya relations were entrenched in the Muslim communities with the granting of 
scholarships to Ghanaian Muslims to study in Libya. The tendency of granting scholarships 
to Ghanaian Muslims has been interpreted by the Libyans as assistance to Ghanaian 
Muslims aimed at shaping the nature of Islam in Ghana.
The first Muslim scholar trained in Libya was Muhammad Muniru, now resident in the 
Kadjebi in the Volta region of Ghana. His role in promoting Ghana-Libya relations was not 
visibly seen nor heard in the Ghanaian Muslim communities. However, his graduation from 
Libya and his subsequent settling in Ghana might have introduced Libyan religious 
dynamics in the Islamic and Muslim Da'wa terrain in Ghana. This Islamic dynamic is 
related to the type of Islamic orientation with its socialist dimension that he acquired in
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Libya. The subsequent recruitment to Libya of Ghanaian Muslims for Islamic studies then 
set in place a Libyan Islamic ‘constituency’ in the Muslim communities of Ghana. This 
constituency eventually mediated between Ghanaian Muslims and Libya in the political, 
social and economic arenas
One Muslim personality who promoted Ghana-Libya relations was Abdullah Alhassan, a 
former Member of Parliament of the Popular Front Party (PFP) for the Gushegu 
constituency in Ghana’s Northern region. The first role that he played to promote relations 
between Ghanaian Muslims and Libya was as a mediator between Libyan-trained Ulama 
and the Government of Ghana. This was when the Ghanaians refused to send the national 
football team to Libya for the Africa Cup of Nations in 1982. Alhassan heeded the plea of 
the Libyan-trained Ulama to intervene in the matter by organizing a press conference to 
appeal to the Government to send the national team to participate in the tournament.
The second political role that Abdullah Alhassan played in fostering relations between 
Ghana and Libya was his willingness to accept an invitation from the Libyan Government 
to lead the activities contained in The Green Book in Ghana. The Libyan authorities might 
have been motivated by the courage that Abdullah Alhassan exhibited in appealing to 
Ghana to allow the national team to participate in the Africa Cup of Nations. They might 
have therefore thought that an astute politician of such bravery and courage as well as being 
a Muslim might be the right person to promote their interest in Ghana. The role of Abdullah 
Alhassan in the promotion of the activities of The Green Book shows how a Muslim 
politician in Ghana attaches importance to the interests of Muslims in other countries. This 
tendency on his part portrays the extent to which he promoted the relations between 
Ghanaian Muslims and the Libyan authorities.
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The Libyan Arab Cultural Centre is the key government agency in Accra which fosters 
political relations between Ghanaian Muslims and Libya. The centre was originally 
established to promote cultural relations between Libya and Ghana. However, it extended 
most of its activities to the Muslim communities of Ghana. The Centre’s activities included 
organizing symposia, seminars and Islamic activities for the Muslim communities of Ghana, 
including women and children’s forums on issues pertaining to Muslim leadership in 
Ghana. In recent times the Centre has also promoted closer relations through free special 
classes in Arabic, computer studies and vocational training. Majority of the bcncficinries of 
these programmes are Muslim students and youth. The beneficiaries of these projects at the 
Libya Arab Cultural Centre tend to be the ‘focus for building relations between Ghanaian 
Muslims and Libya.
3.103 Conclusion
The purpose of this chapter is to show that various reasons propelled Ghana to establish 
diplomatic relations with the selected Muslim countries. These reasons include Pan-African 
unity, and non-alignment policies which necessitated Ghana’s relations with Egypt, Libya, 
and Iran. A common revolutionary philosophy, as experienced and shared by Libya in 1969 
as well as Ghana in 1981 and Iran in 1979, contributed immensely to reinforcing their 
diplomatic relations. The high regard accorded to Saudi Arabia in the Muslim world for 
being the birthplace of the Prophet of Islam and the location of the Ka'bah and the mosque 
of the Prophet, as well as its abundant supply of oil, compelled many countries to share 
diplomatic relations with her, Ghana being no exception here. It has been noted that the role 
of Ghanaian Muslims in promoting relations with Muslim countries vary from country to 
country and can also be applied to individual Muslims, NGOs and the affiliate offices of 
diplomatic missions.
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From the previous discussion, it can be seen that the role of these transnational Muslim 
political and religious institutions in the political and socio-economic development of 
Ghanaian Muslims and of Islam in Ghana have not yet been explored. The next chapter will 
attempt to explore that further by focusing on the North African factor on Muslim 
development in Ghana.
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CHAPTER FOUR
NORTH AFRICAN TRANSNATIONAL MUSLIM BODIES 
(TMBs) AND MUSLIMS IN GHANA
4.0 INTRODUCTION
This chapter explores the nature of development projects facilitated by the Muslim 
diplomatic missions (embassies) in Ghana and their affiliate organizations for Ghanaian 
Muslims from the time of the establishment of such missions till 2006. The primary focus of 
the chapter is the North African influence on Ghanaian Muslims. It considers the influu.ce 
of Egypt and Libya as a case of North Africa in the development of Ghanaian Muslims.
Ghanaian Muslims’ transnational contacts with the Muslim world in the post-independence 
period have been progressive and systematic, and differ from the pre-colonial and colonial 
periods. As observed in the previous chapter, the Muslims in the Volta Basin and the Gold 
Coast transnational relations with the Muslim world during the pre-colonial and colonial 
periods was limited mainly to the Sub-region of West Africa, except their interaction with 
the Lebanese. The post-independence encounter of the Muslims in Ghana with the Muslim 
world took a different dimension as direct links were established with the North Africa. The 
initial encounter of Muslims in Ghana with the North African countries was as a response to 
Kwame Nkrumah’s (post-independence leader of Ghana) diplomatic ambition and strategy' 
for relationship with the Arab and Muslim countries. In the perspective of Nkrumah, North 
Africa has been the catalyst and the gateway to the larger Muslim world. Nkrumah's 
decolonization and Pan-African unity agenda were two of his policies which endeared 
North African leaders to him. While he was making considerable impact on these countries 
through his political policies, conversely these countries were to make impact on the 
Ghanaians in the cultural and religious spheres. These were achieved through the various
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development interventions that they offered to Ghanaians which were tied to the varied 
expressions of Islam pertaining to those countries or tied to certain religious vision of some 
specific political regimes. This was so because upon Ghana’s establishment of her 
diplomatic relations with these countries; they did not limit their role at the governmental 
level with Ghana but played unique role in die socio-economic development of Ghanaians. 
It was in the main through these developmental aids that Ghanaian Muslims became 
religiously imbued with the respective ideological disposition of each country. We will 
locus on the role of Egypt and Libya in education, health, Islamic centre; (mosques), 
agriculture, doctrinal/ideological orientation, and if any women’s empowerment.
Aspects of the diplomatic missions’ contributions to the development of Islam and Muslims 
in Ghana were through non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and quasi-state 
institutions. As these institutions naturally had strong affiliations to their countries and 
promote the same religious and ideological agenda of their governments, the contributions 
of the NGOs and the quasi institutions will also be discussed if any. As elsewhere in other 
African countries, the origin of Muslim humanitarian activities via NGOs in Ghana is a 
post-independence phenomenon. Holger Weiss rather links these Muslim humanitarian 
activities to Muslim students who had gone to study in the North Africa and the Middle East 
made contacts with philanthropists and Islamic NGOs (Weiss 2004:3). This analysis ignores 
the role of state centric institutions in promoting these humanitarian concepts in other parts 
of the world, which were tied to their Islamic agenda.
Studies have shown that the major objectives underlining the activities of Islamic NGOs rest 
on three principles which are humanitarian relief (Ighatha), Islamic call (Da 'wa) and armed 
support of Islamic cause (Jihad) (Kaag 2007:85). Most studies on Islamic humanitarian
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activities, however, tend to ignore the role of Muslim diplomatic missions and their affiliate 
institutions in stimulating such discourse. As indicated above, this section intends to 
identify the role of Muslim diplomatic missions in their quest towards addressing socio­
economic needs of Ghanaian Muslims by using the Egyptian and the Libyan Embassies as 
the case study of North African factor on Islamic influence in Ghana. The case for Egypt in 
particular is interesting as it was the major conduit through which Nkrumah dealt with the 
larger Arab and Muslim countries. Significantly, it also hosts the oldest Islamic university 
in die world. Libyan influence on ihe Ghanaian socio-political milieu is very unique as if 
was largely linked to the al-Gadhafi’s 1969 Al-Fateh Revolution which gave birth to the 
Third Universal Theory (TUT) otherwise called the Green Book.
4.1 THE ROLE OF THE EGYPTIAN GOVERNMENT TOWARDS THE 
DEVELOPMENT OF GHANAIAN MUSLIMS
Generally Egypt is not well endowed with resources (as compared to other countries within
the parameters of the study) to offer much for Muslims in Ghana. This has curtailed
Ghanaians or Ghanaian Muslims trained in Egypt to create non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) with a view to attracting developmental projects to Ghana as a result of shortage of
NGOs opportunities in Egypt. This is not to say, however, that there were no areas in which
Egypt was able to contribute to Ghana’s development. Egypt developmental contribution to
Ghanaian Muslims could be categorized into education and support with Islamic
missionaries, and health. However, there is little to talk about Egyptian ideological or
theological penetration in Ghana.
4.1.1 Education
Much of the Egyptian contributions were in the provision of human resources in various 
spheres. The Egyptian embassy was the first Muslim mission to pioneer assistance to
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jhana’s Government, with many teachers being seconded to various institutions of learning 
n Ghana, especially in the area of the sciences, the Arabic language, and Islamic studies, 
rhe majority of these experts constitute part of Ghana-Egypt Technical Cooperation. 
Ahmed El-Thakabi is one of such resource persons seconded by Egyptian government to 
Ghana. He is currently lecturing at the Department of Modem Languages, Arabic Unit, at 
the University of Ghana, Legon. Many of the Egyptian experts in Ghana are into education. 
Some of them have been posted to the branches of institutes of languages in the Greater 
Accra, the Ashanti, nnd the Northern regions as Arabic instructors, while others ‘: 3 nr; at 
post at Mfantsipim Senior Secondary School in the Central region as mathematics and 
physics tutors (El-Thakaby, interview, 20th March 2006).
There are others who are on secondment as Arabic and Islamic instructors to some of the 
Islamic schools such as Anbariyya Islamic School and Nuriyya Islamic School, both at 
Tamale and the Muhammad Abyad Islamic School at Bole all in the Northern region. Some 
of the Islamic and Arabic instructors are at the Islamic Secondary School at Wa in the 
Upper West region and Umar bn Khatab Islamic School at Koforidua in the Eastern region 
(Jajah, interview, 25th May 2006). The overall objective of sending Arabic and Islamic 
missionaries to Ghana and for that matter other countries is to preserve Arab-Islamic culture 
and further re-strengthen her foreign policy agenda (Chanfi 2001:374). The requests for 
these experts are forwarded to the Al-Azhar Islamic Council which then decides who to 
send to Ghana. However, the salaries and other emoluments for the Arabic tutors and 
missionaries are borne by the Egyptian government, while the beneficiary institutions are 
responsible for their accommodation (Baba, interview, 25,h May 2006).
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However it has been discovered that, Ghanaian Muslims do not show much interest to 
request Islamic missionaries from Egypt. This might be partly due to their unsuitability in 
respect of the Ghanaian Muslim’s religious background, as their understanding of the 
cultural background of Muslims in Ghana and the dynamics of the larger Ghanaian society 
partly account for this. Lastly, the language barrier has been another factor in explaining 
Ghanaian Muslims lack of interest in these Egyptian missionaries. This is because when the 
foreign Muslim missionaries mounted religious platforms they require interpreters to enable 
the audience to understand then messages (Baba, interview, 25,h May 2006).
An aspect of Egyptian contributions to Ghana’s education is the granting of scholarship to 
Ghanaian Muslim students to study in Egypt. These scholarships are in the disciplines of 
Islamic Studies, translation, medical technology, and medicines. However, it must be 
admitted that the Islamic Studies represents about 80% of the total number of scholarships 
that Egyptian government offer to Ghanaian Muslims (Baba, interview, 25th May 2006). 
The Egyptian Government also assists Ghana’s Government through the University of 
Ghana with five (5) scholarships. This allows the students to stay in Egypt for one academic 
year’s studies in Arabic at Al-Azhar or Ain Shamsh Universities.
The major Egyptian institution which assists Ghanaian Muslim students with scholarship is 
the Al-Azhar Educational Scholarship Scheme. According to Baba Ahmed Yakub, the 
Coordinator of the Scheme, the scholarship scheme was established in 1959 as part of the 
Ghana-Egypt Technical Cooperation Agreement. Though by 1977, there were only two (2) 
Ghanaian Muslims at Al-Azhar pursuing education, their specific disciplines were not 
known (Chanfi 2001:372). Currently, the Government of Egypt awards at least 15 
scholarships annually to Ghanaian students for studies in Egypt in various disciplines. Baba
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also indicated that, the total number of Ghanaian students pursuing courses in Egypt as at 
2006 is 124 (Baba, interview, 25°' May 2006).
4.12 Health
In respect of health, the Egyptian Government assists Ghana’s Government with medical 
staff with specialist backgrounds. This is to augment the Government’s policy to discharge 
its responsibility on health delivery. For instance, one Egyptian dentist has posted to the 
Koile-Bu Teaching Hospital, a pediatrician to Saint Marie Louis Children Hospital all in the 
Greater Accra region (El-Thakaby, interview, 20th March 2006). In addition, there are 
three (3) surgeons sent by the government of Egypt who are working at the Tamale 
Teaching Hospital in the Northern region. The Islamic Guidance Society Clinic (Jam iyatul 
Hidaya Islamiyya) at Wa in the Upper West region is also benefiting from the Egyptian 
Government’s medical assistance. Moreover, there is the Egyptian Medical Corps at the 
Sunyani regional Hospital in the Brong Ahafo region (El-Thakaby, interview, 20* March 
2006)
Lastly, the outcome of the research also shows that some of the students who were trained 
in medicine in Egypt have established their own medical centres in the country. This is with 
a view to augment in the Government’s role in health service delivery in the country. One of 
these medical centres is known as the Al-Azhar Clinic at Wa in the Upper West region, 
reminiscent of the graduates’ alma malar (Baba, interview). Another one is located at Nima 
in the Greater Accra region, and the other one at Aboabo in the Ashanti region (Baba, 
interview).
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4.1.3 Ideological Contribution
Egypt has an open society to all forms of Islamic ideologies, even though it is 
predominantly a Sunni country. Consequently, the flourishing of radical religious groups 
such as, the Islamic Brotherhood (Ikhwan Muslimeen) and Al-Jihad Islamic Organization 
was the natural outcome of openness of the Egyptian society.
More importantly, the curricula in the Egyptian higher educational institutions do not 
restrict the interpretation of Islam to one Islamic school of thought. In otW words, students 
within the higher institutions of learning are given options to choose the kind of school of 
thought they wish to pursue for their education (Baba, interview, 18lh February, 2005). 
Interestingly, students from Ghana always prefer to be tutored along the Maliki School of 
Thought. This is as a result of the Maliki School of jurisprudence being the dominant 
Islamic expression of Muslims in West Africa, including Ghana.
The acquisition of academic qualifications by the students along the Maliki School of 
jurisprudence made them suitable for the Ghanaian Muslims’ religious background. 
Consequently, the open nature of the Egyptian society and the opportunity for diversity in 
Islamic expression, coupled with the permissibility of tutoring students on specific doctrinal 
line they desired, makes Egypt a Muslim country with no stronghold on specific Islamic 
theological disposition. It shows the extent of flexibility of Egyptian institutions on Islamic 
education in respect of theological issues. This situation thus underscores the fact that the 
contribution of Egyptian graduates in Ghana to any unique sectarian Islamic expression in 
Ghana is not quite exceptional. This is because; most often, they arc associated with the 
Tijaniyya Sufi order. For instance, some leading graduates of Al-Azhar University in Ghana 
like Said Sinare, Abdulai Maikano, Jamal Baba and Abdul Razaq Tahir form the vanguard
134
of the Tijaniyya movement in the country. Perhaps, Ghanaian scholars have been exposed to 
the folk Islamic norms of Sufi orders practice in Egypt pertaining to Maulid celebration, 
group Dhikr and the visitation of shrines of the saints (Schielke, 2006:236).
We now turn to the second North African country which wields influence on Muslims in 
Ghana as a result of the post independence history of Ghana. The Popular Socialist Arab 
Libyan Jamahiriyya presents us with this scenario of their contributions towards the
development of Muslims and ideological penetration in Ghana.
4.2 THE ROLE OF LIBYAN GOVERNMENT IN DEVELOPMENT OF 
MUSLIMS IN GHANA
The major organizations of the Libyan Mission in Ghana which contribute to the Ghanaian
Muslims and Ghanaians in general are the Libyan Arab Cultural Centre and the World
Islamic Call Society. This was as a result of the outcome of bilateral and cultural
agreements between the two countries. The Libyan Arab Cultural Centre was established in
1993 to serve as a cultural bridge between Libya and Ghanaians and Muslims (Ministry of
Foreign Affairs 2004). On the other hand, the World Islamic Call Society was also
established by the Libyan Government to serve as the hub for the dissemination of Libyan
brand of Islam in the world. The society also provides emergency relief aid to other
countries in times of needs. It also helps in the management of mosques built by the
Government of Libya (Joffe’ 1988:49)
4.2.1 Education
The Libyan Cultural Consulate established a computer studies centre to provide employable 
skills to Ghanaians in general and Ghanaian Muslims in particular. According to the 
Secretary of the Libya Cultural Centre, Zakaria Mohammed, the students are trained up to
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hardware programs. Opportunities are granted to the employees of government departments 
and institutions for free tuition on computer literacy training. About 1500 of such 
government employees have benefited from computer training.
In addition, the centre organizes free Arabic studies for Ghanaians and Ghanaian Muslims. 
The rationale behind the Arabic studies programme is to open up employment opportunities 
for Ghanaians wishing to work in diplomatic missions as bilingual secretaries, interpreters, 
and translators. Oihcr Muslims also attend the classes to cnhancc their ability to read the 
Holy Qur‘an (Zakaria, interview, 2nd November 2004). Graduates from the Arabic studies 
at the centre are awarded certificates. The centre also operates a free library facility for 
Ghanaians and Ghanaian Muslim students (Zakaria, interview, 2nd November 2004).
Another important organization of the Libyan Embassy which provides various services to 
the Muslim community is the World Islamic Call Society, established in Libya in 1972 and 
extended its activities to Ghana in 1989. The head of the World Islamic Call Society is 
Yunus Abdul Nabi; who indicated that his organization has concentrated its activities in the 
areas of education, health, and agriculture (Abdul Nabi, interview, 17°' March 2005). The 
organization has put up many educational infrastructures for Ghanaian Muslims in almost 
every part of the country. Some of these include a senior secondary school for the Muslim 
community at Asem Kumasi in 2003 and a primary school with a mosque attached to it at 
Takoradi in the Eastern region. This offers education for Muslim children who aspire higher 
with a view to succeeding through education. Another primary school with a mosque 
attached to it was built by the Libyan government through the World Call Society at Wale 
Wale, a thousand kilometer from Tamale in the Northern region (Kamal, interview, 17th
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March 2005). The organization has also assisted in the building of a secondary school at 
Wa in the Upper West region.
Again, some of the schools were also assisted with funds to expand their infrastructure and 
to purchase furniture like Darul-Hijra Islamic School at Mamobi in Accra. In 1989, the 
Libyan government through the World Islamic Call Society donated a double-decker Nissan 
pick-up to the headquarters of the Islamic Education Unit at Tamale in the Northern region. 
Subsequcat assistance to the Islamic Education Unit by the T.iby?i Government I090 ind 
1990 was in the form of the cost for running the Unit. The organization also donated to the 
Islamic Education Unit of the Ghana Education Service textbooks which the Unit has 
recommended for use in all Islamic schools under its jurisdiction. Again in 1988, the World 
Islamic Call Society supported the completion of the Ansar- al-Islam school at Kumasi in 
the Ashanti region. Muslim students who were unable to pay their fees while undertaking 
their studies at Islamabad in Pakistan were assisted by the Libyan authorities (Islamic Call 
Society 2002:386). Among some of the Libyan Government’s contribution to education in 
1988 included financial assistance to the Islamic School for Culture and Education, the 
Ansar-al- Islam Scientific Institute, and the Nasr Islamic School even though the specific 
location of these schools were not indicated.
Moreover, the Islamic Call Society constructed an ultramodern office complex in 1999, 
situated at East Legon in Accra, and with educational and vocational training centres 
attached to it to train the Muslim youth in various fields. The office complex has four 
departments, comprising computer studies, Arabic and Qur'an studies, vocational studies 
and a clinic. Kamal intimated that so far not less than 150 students have been trained by the 
organization since 2006 (Kamal, interview, 17,h March 2005). The Suhum Girls Higher
137
School which was funded by Muammar al-Gadhafi, the Libyan leader during his trip to 
Ghana in 2000, is being assisted by the Islamic Call Society in various ways, including the 
donation of computers. The Islamic Call Society has also been sponsoring some of the 
Islamic scholars’ monthly allowances, especially the Libyan-trained Ulama who are in the 
field of propagation and teaching (Kamal, interview, 17lh March 2005). Aspects of the 
Islamic Call Society’s contributions to Ghanaian Muslims pertain to assisting the Muslim 
students who are pursuing higher education within the tertiary institutions in Ghana, though, 
the specific numbers of the students <irc not known.
The research findings also reveal that Ghanaian Muslims enjoyed considerable educational 
support from the Libyan Government in 1988 through the World Islamic Call Society. This 
support includes financial assistance for building a technical school in youth research, and 
provision of supplies to Ri'ayat al-Din Institute and Anbariyya Islamic Educational 
Complex, all in Accra and Tamale respectively (Kamal, interview, 17th March 2005).
The Federation of Muslim Councils (FMC) also enjoyed considerable financial assistance 
from the Libyan Government through the World Islamic Call Society in 1991. The supports 
for FMC by the Libyan Government were meant for certain Islamic institutions. The 
supports include financial aid to the Ansar al-Islam Institute, the Mukhtar Nouri School, the 
National School, the Idrissi School, the Al-Huda School, the Al-Qasimiyya School and the 
Breikem School. Nevertheless, the specific locations of the beneficiary schools were not 
indicated.
In 1988, when the Islamic Guidance Society requested the expansion of their educational 
facilities in respect of additional classrooms, the Libyan Government through the World
138
lamic Call Society heeded to their request. The World Islamic Call Society also assisted 
he Islamic Guidance Society (Jam 'iyatul Hidaya) in Wa to furnish the Wa Islamic Senior 
Secondary School in 1998.
4.2.2 Women Empowerment
The Libyan Arab Cultural Centre established a vocational training centre for women in 
order to foster their empowerment. This was done basically to create employment 
opportunities for those wishing to take up fashion design as a profession. Zakaria 
Mohammed the Secretary to the Cultural Centre said that the teaching procedure provides a 
week of learning on the theories and techniques of sewing. This then gives the students an 
insight into the actual sewing techniques thereby making it easier for them when it comes to 
the practical learning. The uniqueness of the centre’s vocational training is that, it provides 
the machines for the apprentice during their training, thereby making it easier for poorer 
women to pursue the profession (Zakaria, interview, 2nd November 2004). The training 
provides both employment and self-reliant for the trainees. The Islamic Call Society's office 
complex also has a vocational training centre attached to it. Students come from diverse 
communities including Madina, Adenta, Asharley Botwe, Mamobi and Nima, to receive 
tuition free training from the centre. The training is also done on a shift basis, thereby 
making it flexible in regard to enrolment of prospective students (Kamal, Interview, 17th 
March 2005).
4.23 Health
The Islamic Call Society was very instrumental in providing partial funding to the Hidava 
Islamic Call Clinic project at Wa. This clinic is one of the most successful and outstanding 
non-profiting making clinics in the region. Also the only expatriate Egyptian medical doctor
139
stationed at the clinic is solely being sponsored by the Islamic Call Society in terms of his 
accommodation and monthly remuneration. Through the efforts of the Islamic Call Society 
the Libyan government has donated a Nissan patrol vehicle to the clinic for its daily 
transportation requirements (Kamal, interview, 17th March 2005). It also made a donation 
of a Nissan patrol ambulance, together with assorted drugs and hospital equipment, to a 
clinic at Wa in the Upper West region in Ghana. In addition, the Organization, realizing the 
indispensability and the relevance of health centre in every society, has constructed an 
ultramodern heal ill centre at its Easi Legon office complex. Also a number of wells have 
been dug at Wa in the Upper West region to provide portable water to the people (Kamal, 
interview, 17* March 2005). In 1990, the Libyan government also assisted some health 
clinics established by some Ghanaian Muslims; however the specific nature and the 
designations of these institutions are not known (Islamic Call Society 2002:263).
4.2.4 Agriculture
In the area of agriculture the organization has donated two (2) tractors, ploughing machines 
and their accessories to the Islamic Guidance Society in Wa to help it engage in fanning and 
income-generating activities. The Society also provides free farming and ploughing services 
to members.
4.2.5 Mosques
In the area of the construction of Islamic centers (mosques), available information indicates 
that in 1988 the Anbariyya Central Mosque at Tamale in the Northern region was assisted to 
complete the mosque project. In the same year, financial assistance was given to complete 
some Islamic centers in Ghana. These include the Islamic Young Men Association's 
Mosque in Accra, and the Muslim Youth Cooperation Council Mosque. Again, a request for
140
financial assistance by the Federation of Muslim Councils for the maintenance of the Accra 
Central Mosque at the Abosey Okine was granted by the Libyan Government through the 
World Islamic Call Society in 1991. In the same year, Libya also assisted in the construction 
of a mosque at Kumasi in the Ashanti region. The office complex of the Islamic Guidance 
Society at Wa in the Upper West region was built by the Libyan government through the 
World Islamic Call Society in 1997.
■4.2.6 Ideological Contribution
The Libyan revolutionary uprising in 1969 brought about the coming into being of a new 
politico-religious ideology in the nature of The Green Book, otherwise known as Third 
Universal Theory (TUT). This ideology is regarded as the government blueprint for its 
socialist orientated politico-religious philosophy. The significance of this socialist 
philosophy is that it is based on both political and religious elements. The book emphasizes 
the relevance of the Shari‘ah principles together with some aspects of modem political 
perspective. With the establishment of the Libyan Cultural Centre in Ghana the ideological 
views of The Green Book found their way into the Ghanaian Muslim community. For 
instance, Ghanaian Muslims are always invited, both within and outside Ghana, to 
participate in the celebration of the revolutionary activities which gave birth to modem 
Libya. Apart from this annual celebration through which Ghanaians are exposed to the 
revolutionary ideas of The Green Book, the Libyan Government also grants scholarships to 
Ghanaian Muslim students wishing to pursue various studies in Libya. This has the 
tendency of exposing Ghanaian Muslims to the real manifestation of socialist way of life of 
Libyans, which in one way or the other influences them.
141
The Libyan government through its accredited institutions promotes the values of the Green 
Book in different ways. For example, anyone visiting some of the Libyan establishments in 
Ghana will observe that some inscriptions taken from The Green Book pertaining to its 
values and principles are made visible in certain designated places. For instance, some of 
the health facilities funded by Libya have the quotations from a relevant portion of The 
Green Book reading, 'Enjoying the highest level of good health is one of the basic rights for 
every citizen'. Some of the quotations emphasize the importance of education based on The 
Green Book. Some of which read, Who ever establishes a school closes a prison , 'the 
school needs to be served by its students’, and ’Knowledge is a natural right for every 
human being’. Some of the quotations are of political nature. For example, at the premises 
of the Libya Arab Cultural Centre in Ghana, one observes some inscriptions pasted on some 
vantage points. Some read: ‘No representation in lieu of the people’ and ‘representation is a 
falsification of democracy’. This sort of propaganda sends strong messages to any casual 
reader about the type of political system practiced by the Libyan Government. It also 
attracts and develops a sense of curiosity in the reader as to the teachings of The Green 
Book. Above all, it gives the reader a positive impression about Libya and its institutions in 
relation to the abundant welfare facilities for the citizenry within the country. Furthermore, 
the existence of the International Centre for the Study of the Green Book and its impact on 
Ghanaians cannot be underestimated. The Libyan Government established the Centre in 
Ghana primarily to enable academia to study the principles contained in The Green Book. 
Its membership was mainly composed of intellectuals in the various universities who share 
a passionate interest in the teachings of the Green Book. Through their studies, numerous 
publications were produced emphasizing the unique value of socialism in the political, 
economic, social and religious issues. Through the reading of the Centre’s publications 
many Ghanaians became imbued with the values of The Green Book. The Ghana center of
142
the Green Book and that of the Burkina Faso were noted to be the most active ones in the 
Sub-Saharan Africa due to the appealing nature of their activities to people across the 
various strata of the society (Nyang 1988:219).
Perhaps, a summarized version of Libyan Government’s contributions to Ghanaian Muslims 
sheds more light as represented on table 1 below.
Tabic 1: The Contribution of the Libyan Government to Ghanaian Muslims
CONTRIBUTIONS
Organizations MosquesHuman Resource Women
School(s) Health Agricculture Devcloppment Empovvw erment
Computer & 
Libya Cultural 
- - - Arabic Studies Vocational centreConsulate
2 clinics Construction
World Islamic Construction in Wa & Donated 2 Scholarship & &
Society & expansion East tractors to salaries for Du'at - rehabilitationsof 15 schools Legon Hidaya, Wa
Data source: [findings from fieldwork, 2006]
43 CONCLUSION
As observed, the result of the research indicates that Egypt and Libya, upon establishing their 
diplomatic ties with Ghana, dealt with Ghanaians through their own accredited organizations. 
While the Libyan dealt with Ghanaians through the World Islamic Call Society and the Libya 
Arab Cultural Centre on one hand, the Egyptian promoted their interest through the Al-Azhar 
Islamic Council and the Ghana-Egypt Technical Cooperation on another. The diplomatic 
relations also created an opportunity through which the two North African countries offered 
different forms of developments for Ghanaian Muslims. While Egypt offered Ghanaian 
Muslims with human resources, Libyan supports were in the form of provision of funds for 
educational infrastructure, women empowerment, donations to Islamic institutions and
143
organisation and agricultural equipments, building health posts, financial support for Muslim 
students and construction of new Islamic centers (mosques).
The extent to which each of these countries assisted Ghanaian Muslims was depended on 
their economic strengths, which also corresponds with their influences on Ghanaian 
Muslims. In the case of Egypt, though it was not able to provide direct funding for Islamic 
projects, it offered Ghanaian Muslims with different kinds of human resources such as 
Arabic instructors, Islamic missionaries and mcdical personnel. This has however not 
resulted in the penetration of Egyptian ideological interest in Ghana. It has been found that a 
significant number of these Egyptian graduates tend to align themselves with the Tijaniyya 
movement.
It has been argued that the Government of Egypt has realized the prestige of Al-Azhar 
University among Muslims globally. Consequently, it has always been used as an 
instrument to reinforce Egypt’s foreign policy among the graduates of Al-Azhar and other 
universities in Egypt (Chanfi, 2001:374). However, this tendency was not visibly noticed in 
Ghana.
The impact of these projects on Ghanaian Muslims life varies depending on the specific 
nature of the developments offered by the Muslim missions. By providing human resource 
experts to Ghanaian Muslims and Ghanaians in general, the Government of Egypt supports 
Ghana with quality staffs as obtain in their home country. However these experts do not 
have accurate and in-depth understanding of the socio-cultural background of Ghana. For 
instance, the lack of attraction of Egyptian missionaries to Ghanaian Muslims was a result 
of the language barrier and challenges they pose to Ghanaian Muslims culture. In spite that.
144
some Muslim leaders and proprietors of schools appreciate the interest of some Muslim 
states and governments to assist Muslim educational institutions, they are skeptical whether 
these governments understand the socio-cultural environment of Muslims in Ghana (Idrissu
2002:14).
On the other hand, the Libyan development assistance to Ghanaian Muslims has helped 
improve and boosted the infrastructural situation of Ghana and Muslims in particular. These 
projects have however not cxpcricnecd progressive expansion and transformation beyond 
the original structures since the time of their establishment. This has meant that the Libyan 
embassy had not adopted consistent policy towards Muslim development in Ghana.
Aside assisting Muslims with various development projects, the key agenda of the Libyan 
organisations as identified in this research was to promote its religio-political interest in 
Ghana. This has largely been successful as the ideas contained in the Green Book permeated 
the political landscape of Ghana. Al-Gadhafi’s persona as the ‘Revolutionary Muslim 
Leader’ (Qaid Sauratul Islamiya) is further projected by these institutions.
The other role of the Libyan institutions in Ghana was their interest in civil Muslim 
leadership in Ghana. This is evident in their support for the formation of Deen-al-Islam in 
1988 and the Federation of Muslim Councils (FMC) in 1990, though both are now defunct. 
In recent times however, the World Islamic Call Society has collaborated with the Coalition 
of Muslim Organizations of Ghana (COMOG). This shows the interest of Libyan 
Government to work with civil Muslim leadership. However, the motive behind the interest 
of the Libyan Government in Muslim leadership could not accurately be established. 
Perhaps such interest has a local and global political undertone, considering the fact that the
145
Libyan revolution has a global objective to strengthen Muslim leadership and institutions 
world-wide. Importantly, the Libyan Government might have realized that having relations 
with national Muslim leadership in Ghana is the most effective means of achieving their 
foreign policy agenda. This could ultimately cause the alignment of Libyan political 
institutions to Muslim leadership in Ghana.
In short, it is significant to note that Muslim transnational encounter with North African 
countries open up die opportunity for modern development projccU for Ghanaian Muslims 
in the post independence period. These developments are in contrast to the opportunities 
created by Ghanaian encounter with West African Muslims. The consequence of this was 
that the North African brand of Islam represented the first challenge to the prevailing 
consecutive West African brand of Islam, the Tijaniyya.
The next chapter sets the tone for the discussion of the Middle Eastern Islamic influence in 
Ghana through their development contributions. The Middle East Islamic traditions such as 
Wahhabiyya and Shi‘ah have already been embroiled in ideological and doctrinal 
competition over the legitimacy of true Islamic tradition in the Middle East. This has further 
been extended to Ghana as a result of post independence Muslim interaction with the 
Islamic world.
146
CHAPTER FIVE
MIDDLE EAST TRANSNATIONAL MUSLIM BODIES (TMBS)
AND MUSLIMS IN GHANA
5.0 INTRODUCTION
The Middle Eastern factor in the development of Islam and Muslims focuses on the role of 
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran. It does this by exploring 
their developmental contributions towards Ghanaians and the Ghanaian Muslims alike. As 
observed earlier, North Africa was Ghana’s initial contacts with the larger Muslim world 
during the post independence period. This then paved the way for Ghana’s relations with the 
Middle Eastern countries. Aside the North Africa, the Middle East also represents the hub 
of Islam regardless of its Islamic idiosyncratic coloration. Two of the major Islamic 
worldviews emanate from the Middle East, the Wahhabiyya from the Kingdom of Saudi 
Arabia and also being the dominant Islamic expression in the Arabian Gulf. Second, the 
Shi'ah from the Islamic Republic of Iran is another sect of Islam in the Middle East. 
Interestingly, upon these states establishment of their diplomatic relations with Ghana, they 
equally extended their ideological and religious influences into Ghana. The study will thus 
survey the various development packages they offer to Ghanaian Muslims in addition to 
ascertaining the various conduits that these states have employed to disseminate their 
religious and ideological views and influences in Ghana. For the start, we will focus on the 
role of Saudi Arabia in Muslim development in Ghana to be followed by the Islamic 
Republic of Iran as a case for the influence of the Middle Eastern factor on the Muslims in 
Ghana.
5.1 THE ROLE OF THE ROYAL KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA TOWARDS 
MUSLIM DEVELOPMENT IN GHANA
From the sketch, two types of institutions facilitate developments in Ghana and among 
Ghanaian Muslims as identified below:
147
1. the first types of institutions are Saudi Government agencies such as the Saudi 
Development Fund (SDF) and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). These types of 
Saudi institutions facilitate bilateral cooperation and agreement through 
development;
2. the second category of institutions which facilitate development in Ghana are the 
Non-Governmental Organizations with strong links to Saudi Arabia. Among these 
NGOs are the Al-Hudaibiyya Relief Services, the Centre for the Distribution of 
Islamic Books, Al-Muntada Al-Islami, Al-Huda Islamic Society, among others.
Unlike the Egyptian and Libyan diplomatic missions in Ghana, where they established 
direct engagement with Ghanaian Muslims through their designated institutions, the bulk of 
the Saudi Arabian contributions were through indirect medium such as their support for the 
Islamic non-governmental organizations in Ghana. Many of these NGOs enjoy strong 
support from Saudi Arabia and depend on the government to facilitate their activities in 
Ghana. Because the Saudi Government and the Saudia ffiliated NGOs have the same
agenda for promoting and advancing the course of Wahhabiyya Islam, we will thus classify
their contributions and that of the official government institutions as parts of the larger 
Saudi contributions to Ghanaians. This is because they all aim at achieving the same goal, 
the Wahhabi agenda. A majority of the founders of these NGOs are either graduates from 
higher educational institutions in Saudi Arabia or the Gulf countries. The major areas of 
Saudi developmental contributions and that of the NGOs to Ghanaian Muslims are in 
following areas:
1. educational
2. health
3- agriculture, and
148
4. doctrinal.
5.1.1 Education
An important component of the bilateral agreements between the Saudi and Ghanaian 
Governments is offering of educational opportunities for Ghanaian Muslims. Ghana is one 
of the Third World countries that have benefited from the Saudi Development Fund (SDF). 
For instance, in 1985 a loan agreement to the tune of 240 million cedis was signed to 
finance a project namely, the completion of a Secondary School science laboratory for the 
Presbyterian Secondary School at Legon, in Accra (Muntairi, interview, 8th February 
2006).
Aspects of Saudi Arabia contributions related to the granting of scholarship to Ghanaian 
Muslims to study in the Saudi universities in various disciplines through her Embassy in 
Accra. The National Imam of the Ahlus-Sunnah in Ghana has confirmed that from the 
period of establishing its diplomatic ties with Ghana, from 1960s until the present (2006), at 
least two thousand (2000) Ghanaian Muslim students have graduated from Saudi 
universities as preachers, teachers, medical doctors and engineers etc. It was also indicated 
that the Saudi Government through the embassy is paying the majority of these preachers' 
salaries. This is because the Imams assist in Dawa (propagation) in the country (Umar, 
interview, 20th February 2005). The salaried Saudi trained Ulama in Ghana are either
under Darul lfta of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and Endowment or the Muslim World 
League.
Apart from the religious services, the Saudi Government through its scholarship schemes 
offers opportunities for studies in petroleum sciences, engineering, computer studies,
149
aboratory technology etc. However the educational qualifications of some of the students’ 
io not permit them to come home upon the completion of their programmes since some 
companies interested in their professional background often recruit them. This is 
necessitated by the unemployable nature of their qualifications in Ghana (Hudu, interview, 
4th May 2005).
Another scholarship scheme that is presently contributing immensely to the future 
development of the Muslims in Ghana is the Islamic Development Bank Scholarship 
Scheme (IDB). The IDB was established in 1975 by the Organization of Islamic Conference 
(OIC) and introduced into Ghana in 1986 to offer educational opportunities for deserving 
Muslim students to study sciences in Turkey or enjoy the scholarship within Ghana. Though 
it has its headquarters in Saudi Arabia with the Saudi Government holding the largest share, 
the Saudi Government has little influence over its administration to favour her ideological 
agenda in Ghana. Since it is administered by the Saudi Government through her embassy in 
Ghana, it is however worthwhile to outline aspects of its contributions to the Ghanaian 
Muslims. The IDB scholarship scheme could however be regarded as the collective interest 
of the Muslim states in the development of Muslims in Ghana and other Muslims 
elsewhere.
The Chairman of the IDB Scholarship Scheme is Rahimu Gbadamoshi.1 The background of 
its engagement with Ghanaian Muslims was a result of an official visit by a delegation of 
the bank to Ghana in 1986. This was with a view to assessing the role of Muslims in 
national development. The visit took them to several institutions. The interest of the bank on 
Muslims education was bome out of the fact that they were lagging behind in national
Rahimu Gbadamoshi is the chairman of the IDB, the former Director General of Ghana Education Service and 
me current Registrar of the Islamic University, Ghana
150
development due to their low educational background. As a result they felt that the way 
forward to contribute to the Ghanaian Muslims’ advancement is to assist Muslims in the 
educational sphere (Gbadamoshi, interview, 22nd April 2005).
The original intention of the IDB’s proposal was to allow Ghanaian Muslim students to 
enjoy the scholarship scheme in the Ghanaian universities in the science disciplines. 
However a proposal for concessional admission in respect of fee-paying for these students 
to the Ghana’s two leading tertiary universities, namely the University of Ghana at Legon in 
Accra and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi was 
rejected by them (Gbadamoshi, interview, 22nd April 2005). The universities later 
proposed a tuition fee of $9,000 per a student per academic year. As a result, the scholarship 
scheme was routed through the Turkish universities, but offered in Ghana for deserving 
Muslim students who gain admission at any of the public universities in the science 
discipline on merit.
Since 1986, about two hundred and twenty one (221) Ghanaian students have benefited 
from the scheme. Half of the students have so far graduated, while a hundred and fifteen 
students are still benefiting. The disciplines for which the IDB Scholarships are offered 
include medical sciences, agriculture, and architecture (Gbadamoshi, interview, 22nd April
2005). This provides employable skills for the students which thus enable them to 
contribute to the development of Ghana. As at 2006, a total amount of three million seven 
hundred and sixty two thousand United States Dollars have been spent on the students in
Ghana ($3,762,000).
151
In addition, the IDB also offered various forms of assistance for Muslim educational 
infrastructure in Ghana. For instance, an Islamic Science Secondary School built with IDB 
funding worth over one million Dollars is providing science education to many Muslim 
children in the Northern region of the country. It is a programme aimed at promoting 
science education among Muslim students and among northerners in general (Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs 2004). The IDB has also donated science equipment (estimated to cost
20,000 dollars) to the Tamale Secondary School and the Ghana Secondary School both in 
Tamale. Oilier projects financed by the IDB scheme include Junior Secondary School 
projects at Tamale, Bimbila, and Wulensi. This is with a view to ensuring that accessible 
education to Muslim students and helps the Government to meet its target of free 
compulsory basic education (Gbadamoshi, interview, 22nd April 2005). The IDB targeting 
the Northern region with their projects is due to the deprived nature of the area as far as 
education is concerned. It has also taken into consideration the dominance of the Muslim 
population in the region as compared to the other two regions in the north (Gbadamoshi, 
interview, 22nd April 2005).
The Vice-President of the Islamic Development Bank was in the country for an international 
conference in 2002. He used the opportunity to persuade the Government to be a 
shareholder in the bank in order to enjoy the maximum benefit of the IDB. This is because 
the bank gives interest-free loans to member countries (Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2004). 
The overall objectives of the IDB’s scholarship scheme are to eradicate poverty in the 
Muslim communities through employment creation for the graduates in their chosen 
careers. Further, it intends to equip the Muslim youth with skills to enable them to 
contribute meaningfully to their motherland (Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2004).
152
The Ahlus-Sunnah Theological Institute complex, the Institute of Islamic Studies based at 
Nima in the Greater Accra was partly financed by the IDB. The Centre consists of a four- 
storey building, comprising a primary and junior secondary school, which all fall under the 
aegis of the Islamic Education Unit of the Ghana Education Service (GES). A portion of the 
centre also serves as classrooms for the Institute of Islamic Studies, a theological seminary 
of the Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama'ah, the Wahhabiyya movement in Ghana. Programmes are 
offered from junior secondary to senior secondary levels in Arabic language. Students upon 
graduation and when they cxccl have iho chance of gaining scholarship to study at the 
Islamic University at Medina in Saudi Arabia, or any other university within the Kingdom 
(Hadir, interview, 14th March 2005). Interestingly, the Theological Institute serves as the 
major recruitment centre of students to Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf countries with its 
associated proclivity for the dissemination of Wahhabism in Ghana (Hadir, interview, 14* 
March 2005).
It has been observed that from 1987-2005 IDB has sunk a total amount of $4,146,000 (four 
million one hundred and forty six thousand United States dollars). It has also been 
established that IDB has approved 28 projects which are in the pipeline for the various 
Muslim communities amounting to $4 million United States Dollars (Hudu, interview, 4th 
May 2005). The trend for the distribution of the IDB’s projects indicates that about 80% 
are located in the Northern region of Ghana. It implies that Muslims within the Northern 
region have subscribed to the projects earlier than any other community.
153
Table 2: Approved IDB’s Projects in Ghana for the year 1987-2005
'rojcct Icncficlary
jocttlon Date Approvd
Four Education Projects 6/4/1988
Ghanaian Government Tamale 6/4/1988
Ghanaian Government Nyanpkla 1988 &2002
Polytecnic Institute Ghanaian Government Tamale 6/4/1988
Equipments for Science Ghanaian Government Tamale 6/4/1988
Institute of Islamic Studies Islamic Research & Reformation Centre Nima, Accra 9/9/1991
Kindergarten, primarv school The Hijra Club Accra 4/8/1994
Vocational Training Center Anbariya Islamic Society Tamale 6/4/1996
Primarv and Junior Sec Sch Northern Region Cooperating Council Yendi 8/17/1996
Northern Region Cooperating Council Walensi 12/14/1996
Biniae Primarv Sch Regional Coordinating Council Binjae 3/17/1997
VTC for Muslim Girls Amhnriva Islamic Institute Tamale 9/20/199S
Dungu Technical Institute Gh Asso for the Advment of Muslim Youth Dungu 2/1VI99$
Education
School for Islamic Studies Institute of Islamic Studies Kumasi 7/22/2002
Isl Sec Sch for Science Tamale Islamic Secondary School Tamale 3/11/2002
Construction of a Secondary Al-Azhariya Isl School Kumasi 4/25/2005
School
Data source: [findings from fieldwork, 2006]
Another office of the Saudi Government which contributes to the development of Ghanaian 
Muslims is the Islamic Desk at the Royal Embassy of the Saudi Arabia in Accra. The 
Islamic Desk of the Embassy falls under the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and Endowments in 
Saudi Arabia. The core objective of the Islamic Desk in the Embassy is to specifically deal 
with issues affecting Muslims and Islam in Ghana (Muntairi interview, 8th February 2006). 
The Islamic Desk in the Embassy liaises with the major Islamic non-governmental 
organizations in the Saudi Arabia and with Ghanaian Muslims which include the 
Organization of Islamic Conference2 the Muslim World League3, and the World Assembly 
of Muslim Youth4. The department also distributes Holy Qur'an and Islamic literature.
It is anintemational organization founded by Muslim and Islamic governments to promote Islam at inter-state^ 
-eveL Ibrahim Codjoe Quaye is their representative in Ghana.
jlobsJly11 0r^an*zat*on createc* by Saudi state with the objective of realizing the aspiration of Muslims
Is a global non-governmental organization founded by Saudi state with interest in developing the potential of 
He Muslim youth and addresses issues of their concern. Muhammad Ibrahim is their representative in Ghana
154
especially from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.5 Literature obtained from Saudi 
Arabia accounts for not less than sixty percent (60%) of the overall Islamic literature in 
Ghana. In recent times, the department is providing funding for the construction of a 
National Mosque at Kawokudi in Accra for the Muslim communities with offices and a 
residence for the National Chief Imam of the Republic of Ghana. This assistance has been 
made possible through the assistance of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque in Saudi 
Arabia, King Abdallah b. Abdul Aziz.
Al-Hudaibiyya Relief Services is one of the transnational non-govemmental organizations 
with strong link to Saudi regime. It started operations in Ghana in 2004 with it offices 
located at Madina in Accra. Al-Hudaibiayya represents an NGO which facilitates beneficial 
transnational engagements with Ghanaian Muslims and the Muslim world. The major role 
that the organization plays in recent time is that it links Ghanaian Muslims with the Saudi 
Government and philanthropists who are willing to assist and develop Muslims and Islam in 
Ghana. The organization was founded primarily to take up the role of the Directorate of 
Mosques and Humanitarian Services, under the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and 
Endowments (Hadi, interview, 21sl March 2006). The Directorate of Mosques and 
Humanitarian Services ([Idaratul-Binai Masajid Wal-Mashari Khairiya) was closed in the 
Ministry of Islamic Affairs in Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of September 11th attack on the 
United States. This was a result of the criticism by the international community of the 
perceived lax nature of the Saudi regime in respect of its role in regulating the operations of 
NGOs in the Kingdom (Hadi, interview 21sl March 2006).
Two Ho|y Mosque is a tide given to the sitting King of Saudi Arabia, presently, King 
lah b. Abdul Aziz is the holder of this title. The two Holy Mosques refer to the Ka'bah in Mecca and the 
rrophet Mosque in Medina
155
Since its establishment in Ghana, Al-Hudaibiyya has developed an innovative strategy in its 
developmental projects for Ghanaian Muslims. For instance, realizing the enormous 
developmental needs of the Muslim community in Ghana, it introduced the concept of 
Markaz, (an Islamic or Arabic term for a ‘Centre’). Among the facilities included in every 
centre (Markaz) are a school, a mosque, a borehole, a morgue and sometimes a residence 
for the Imam. All these facilities are part of the Al-Hudaibiyya package for the Muslim 
community in Ghana (Hadi, interview, 21st March 2006). This was arrived at after a 
careful assessment of the needs of the Muslim communities. It was meant to address the gap 
and the shortcomings in the nature of humanitarian delivery by most Muslim NGOs in 
Ghana.
Muhammad Hadi Yakubu is the Director of Operations of Al-Hudaibiya in Ghana. He 
indicated that the major criterion used to determine community need for a project is when 
the leaders of the community have applied for a particular project. The organization then 
does a follow-up within the community with a view to ascertaining facts about the 
community in order to avoid duplication. After careful appraisal of the needs of the 
community, prospective donors’ interests are sought, a process which may take a year or 
two. Finally, in the event of the application going through for funding, the leaders of the 
community are informed about the intention of the organization to put up the project for 
them. He, therefore, emphasizes that most of the projects facilitated by Al-Hudaibiya were 
based on the needs of the communities (Hadi, interview, 21sl March 2006).
The contributions of Al-Hudaibiya to the Ghanaian Muslim community cannot be fully 
captured in this chapter as a result of its enormity. For the sake of brevity, it is prudent to
156
illustrate its contribution through the following table. Below is the table of the distribution 
of Al-Hudaibiyya Relief Services on a regional basis.
Table 3: Distribution of Al-Hudaibiyya Projects in the Rcgions of Ghana
Regions Number of Schools Number of Mosques Number of Boreholes
Greater Accra 11 10 14
Ashanti 2 11 16
Volta 6  H- ------------------- 1
Eastern 6 4 15
Central 5 4 23
| Western 3 3 2
Brong Ahafo 8 - ■ J
Northern 45 56 10
Upper East 3 1 -
Upper West - 2 5
Data source: [findings from fieldwork, 2006]
Central, Western, the Upper East and the Upper West regions received the least of Al- 
Hudaibiyya funded projects. The reason for this situation has been explained by Muhammad 
Hadi. According to him, the communities, as compared to others, did not apply for projects 
from the organization timeously and partly due to lack of information about the 
organization. However, he indicated that some of the communities have applied for some 
projects, which are being considered by the organization.
In short, it is necessary to summarize the contributions of Al-Hudaibiyya Relief Services on 
a regional basis for the purpose of simplification. In the Eastern region, it has dug fifteen 
(15) boreholes and built six (6) markazs and four (4) mosques. The organization has also 
dug twenty-three (23) boreholes in the Central region five (5) schools and four (4) mosques. 
In the Greater Accra region it dug fourteen (14) boreholes, constructed eleven (11) schools 
and ten (10) mosques, each with a school, comprising four (4) classroom blocks in each 
mosque. Al-Hudaibiyya also had dug (16) boreholes, and constructed two (2) schools and
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eleven (11) mosques with a markaz in each in the Ashanti region. In the Western region it 
has constructed three (3) mosques, two (2) of these mosques has four (4) classroom blocks 
with quarters for an Imam and his assistant, a mortuary as well as a borehole (Hadi, 
interview, 21s’ March 2006).
In the Upper East region of Ghana it has constructed three (3) schools, one (1) mosques and 
a school of four (4) classrooms also with quarters for an Imam and his assistant. In addition, 
Al-Hudaibiyya constructed two (2) mosques and provided (5) boreholes in the Upper West 
region.
As observed a substantial portion of Al-Hudaibiyya projects are in the Northern region. The 
district distribution of these projects in the Northern region is necessary to illustrate it role 
in Muslim development below:
Table 4: The Distribution of Saudi Funded Projects by Districts Facilitated by A1
Hudaibiya Relief Services in the Northern region of Ghana
District Number of Schools Number of Mosques Number of boreholes
Savelugu 8 12 3
Tamale 15 30 -
Yendi 7 - -
Zabzugu 7 - 2
Mamprusi 4 10 5
Karaga 4 4 -
Data source: (findings from fieldwork, 2006]
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Table 5: The Distribution of Al-Hudaibiyya Projects on a Regional Basis in
Percentages
Regions Schools Mosques Boreholes
Greater Accra 14.9 11.0 16.5
Ashanti 0.0 12.1 18.8
Volta 1.5 0.0 0.0
Eastern 3.0 4.4 17.6
Central 1.5 4.4 27.1
Western 3.0 3.3 2.4
Brong Ahafo 7.5 0.0 0.0
Northern 65.7 61.5 11.8
Upper East 3.0 1.1 0.0
Upper West 0.0 2.2 5.9
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0
Data source: [findings from fieldwork, 2006]
The outcome of the research on the regional distribution of Al-Hudaibiya projects shows 
that, the main interest of the organization is in the area of construction of educational 
infrastructures, mosques some with quarters for the Imams and their assistants and 
mortuaries and boreholes attached to some mosques.
More importantly, the concept of a markaz (Islamic centre) with each markaz comprising of 
a school, a mosque, and a borehole as introduced by Al-Hudaibiya in Ghana will become 
the benchmark for developments to be emulated by other organizations in their quest for 
attracting developments to the Muslim communities in Ghana. The concept of markaz. if 
folly adhered to, will make the Muslim communities highly independent and self-sufficient 
in terms of a developmental package.
The regional distribution of Al-Hudaibiya projects shows that, as indicated before, the 
Northern region as a whole has most of the projects especially the executed projects on 
education and mosques (65.7% and 61.5% respectively). This was due to the fact that the 
Northern region Muslims were aware earlier of the organization’s development projects for
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the Muslim communities in Ghana, and partly because the leadership of the organization 
comes from the Northern region. Consequently, they have been the first people to have been 
aware of the organization and applied for the projects, thus making them the leading 
beneficiary region in Ghana. It also implies that they have subscribed to these types of 
projects more than Muslims in any other regions in Ghana.
Moreover, the NGO has done a community mapping with a view to ascertaining the needs 
of the communities, thereby arriving at this formula. The organization sought applications 
from the various communities based on their needs for possible assistance, at the same time 
taking into consideration the prospective donors’ interests in projects especially relating to 
education and boreholes. Indeed, the execution of these projects for the needy communities 
by Al-Hudaibiya has helped to relieve the Ghana’s Government of some of its 
developmental burdens. The fact that the needs of some of the communities do not fall 
within the realm of government development projects makes it difficult for them to rely on 
the government, especially projects related to the construction of religious centres or 
mosques.
The Centre for the Distribution of Islamic Books is another Islamic non-govemmental 
organization which also received substantial funding from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It 
was formed in 1980 but is now defunct. The major source of funding of the Centre was the 
Al-Rajhi International and Commercial Bank in Saudi Arabia (Rufai, interview, 13th 
February 2004). The Executive Director for the Centre was Muhyideen Rufai. He 
indicated that the organization used to receive about four hundred thousand United States 
dollars $400,000 annually from the Bank (Rufai, interview, 13th February 2004).
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The Centre’s educational contribution was the construction of the Holy Quran primary and 
JSS at Ada in the Eastern region. It also built a primary school at Kasoa in the Central 
region in 1992. The Centre also constructed a primary school known as Umar b. Khatab at 
Medina in the Greater Accra region in 1987 (Rufai, interview, 13th February 2004). The 
Centre also assisted the Wataniya Islamic School in the Ashanti region in 1994 with 
substantial funds to build additional classrooms. Among the other Islamic schools which 
received some finance from the organization were Khalid b. Walid Islamic School at 
Koforidua in the Eastern region in 1992. Likewise, the Islamic School in Wa in the Upper 
West region and the Al-Azhariya Islamic School in the Ashanti region were all given 
financial support to expand their schools facilities in 1997 and 1994 respectively (Rufai, 
interview, 13th February 2004).
As for their engagement with the Muslim youth, the organization is known to have been the 
first Islamic NGO to introduce seminars and workshops for Muslim students in Ghana in 
the early 1980s. Muhyideen indicated that the target of the workshops by the organization 
were the students in the tertiary institutions. However, most of their workshops were 
catered at the University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and 
Technology and the University of Cape Coast. In spite of financial constraints, it did not 
prevent the organization from co-opting some students from the polytechnics in the regions 
in their activities (Rufai, interview, 13th February 2004). The purpose of the workshops 
and seminars were to give exposure to the Muslim students on the challenges facing the 
Muslim youth and the Ummah at large. He indicated that the workshop opportunities were 
used to further challenge the students to go into active politics as a way of serving the nation 
and Islam (Rufai, interview, 13th February 2004). The result of these workshops generated 
interest in the Muslim youth taking up an active political career in Ghana both at national
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and local level such as theHaruna Iddrissu, Inusah Fusseini and Muntaka Hafiz, all members 
of Ghana’s Parliament. The resource persons for the workshops were a blend of western 
educated Muslim scholars in the academia and Islamic scholars such as the late Abdallah 
Botchwey, Abdallah Issaka, and Mahmud Gedel among others (Rufai, interview, 13th 
February 2004).
The Centre for the Distribution of Islamic Books also donated sum of monies to Muslim 
organizations. For instance about thirty thousand United States Dollars ($30,000) was 
donated to the Institute of Islamic Studies, a theological institute of the Ahlus-Sunnah Wal- 
Jama‘a at Nima in the Greater Accra region. This was to facilitate the expansion of their 
educational facilities in order to increase the enrolment capacity of the Institute. The 
organization also assisted the Hijra Islamic Club with twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) to 
construct an Islamic school at Airport Residential Area for Muslim students who have no 
access to Islamic education in the Zongos (Rufai, interview, 13* February 2004). The 
Hijra Club was an umbrella organization of Ghanaian Muslim professionals, 
businesspersons, and technocrats in the civil and public service in Ghana. It was aimed at 
creating a platform for prominent Muslims in responsible position in the society. This was 
to enable its members to harness their professional background to develop the communities. 
It also aimed at providing technical and logistical supports for existing Muslim institutions 
in Ghana. The organization was also interested in imparting leadership skills to the 
upcoming Muslim youth (Rufai, interview, 13th February 2004). The organization is now 
defunct due to lack of commitment by the majority of its former members.
The main interest of the Centre, as indicated by this research, showed that it devoted much 
in the way of financial resources to assisting Ghanaian Muslims in the educational sphere.
162
The nature of its assistance was in the form of donations to Islamic educational institutions 
in need of further expansion or for the construction of new centres for needy Muslim 
communities.
A unique element introduced by the Centre was in the domain of organizing workshops for 
the Muslim students in the tertiary institutions in Ghana, something that had hardly ever 
been done before. The potential of the workshop as a form of education in exposing the 
Muslim students to contemporary challenges cannot be underestimated. In most cases such 
workshops also serve as forums for sharing ideas and challenging widely-held notions and 
practices in Muslim communities, thereby orienting the students to contemporary trends. 
This exposed the students into new ways and modem approaches to issues. The introduction 
of these workshops by the Centre, especially among the students, became another platform 
for engaging Muslims on current issues affecting Muslims in Ghana. This strategy has been 
possible due to the secular background of the organizers such as the late Abdullah 
Botchwey, Mahmud Gedel and Hamidu Chodi.
It is also important to look at the contribution made by Al-Muntada Al-Islami, a Saudi 
affiliate organization in Ghana. This will enable us to ascertain the unique contributions that 
they have also offered to the Muslim communities. The Al-Muntada Al-Islami Trust is 
another organization with substantial partial funding from Saudi philanthropists and NGOs. 
It is an international non-govemmental organization with headquarters in London and 
regional offices in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and Madison in the United States of America. It 
established its office in Ghana in 1990. It also has offices in sixteen countries, mostly in 
West Africa. The background of Al-Muntada Islami shows that it is a reputable 
transnational organization prior to September 11th attacks on the United States of America.
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The Al-Muntada Al-Islami Trust has two educational complexes in Ghana, nameiy ai- 
Siddiq Educational Complex at Agona Nyakrom, in the Central region and Islamic School 
at Wenchi in the Brong Ahafo region. Both were constructed in 1990 (Muzu, Interview, 9 
May 2005). While both have facilities from the kindergarten to the junior secondary level, 
the Nyakrom one has a Senior Secondary School. The schools are under the supervision of 
the Islamic Education Unit of the Ghana Education Service (GES) (Muzu, interview, 9th 
May 2005). Suleiman Muzu is the Director of Al-Muntada Islami. He indicated that as at 
2003, the population of the students in the two educational complexes was one thousand and 
eighty-one students (1081).
The innovative element that Al-Muntada Islami introduced into the Ghanaian Muslim 
community is the organization of classes on Qur‘anic and Islamic studies during morning 
and evening for Muslim children. This is known in Arabic as Halkat Qur'an (Qur‘anic 
circle). The classes are purely for teaching how to recite the Holy Qur‘an and to leam 
certain rudiments of Islam. About six thousand (6000) Qur‘anic circles exist nationwide 
with two hundred (200) Islamic teachers on its payroll for the Islamic and the Qur‘anic 
circle classes (Muzu, interview, 9th May 2005).
Furthermore, Al-Muntada Islami was the first Islamic organization to introduce religious 
camps for Muslim students in 1995. Students in the various tertiary institutions in the 
country were the target of Camps. These camps, most appropriately, take place when 
students are on long vacation and last for a month. In the camps, students are taught various 
courses in Islamic studies, such as the forbidden and lawful in Islam, Islamic creed, 
contemporary challenges facing Muslims and the Muslim youth, Islam, and national politics 
(Muzu, interview, 9th May 2005). The camps have been the means of shaping the Muslims
164
students identity with its Wahhabi ideological inclination. It also serves as a platform of 
interaction and socialization among the participants.
Apart from engaging in the organization of Qur‘anic cells and workshops, Al-Muntada Al- 
Islami also involves in the building of Islamic schools for Muslim communities. For 
instance it has constructed six (6) schools blocks in six communities in five regions. In 2003 
it constructed a six (6)-classroom block for the Kutuia School at Wa in the Upper West 
region. The organization also built a two-(2) classroom block, an office, and a vocational 
training centre for Muslim women at Kumasi in Ashanti region in 2003 (Muzu, interview, 
9th May 2005).
Additionally, the Rahmaniya Islamic School at Tema in the Greater Accra region was 
assisted by Al-Muntada Al-Islami with a two-classroom block and an office in 2003. 
Tahiriya Islamic School at Tamale in the Northern region was also given assistance in the 
form of a two (2)-classroom block in 2003. Another two (2)-classroom block was also 
constructed for the Rahmaniya Islamic school in the Northern region. Lastly, Al-Muntada 
Islami assisted the Kintampo Muslim community through the Badariya Islamic School with 
a secondary technical school comprising a five (5)-classroom block in 2003 (Muzu. 
interview, 9th May 2005).
Al-Muntada Al-Islami contributions to Ghanaian Muslims shows that, it is interested in 
education. As a result of this it has adopted three approaches in its educational delivery in 
the country. These are:
!• providing an educational infrastructure to the needy Muslim communities. The 
ownership of these types of projects rests with the communities; and
165
2 establishing educational institutions and managing them. Good examples of these
types of projects are the Al-Siddiq Educational Complex at Nyakrom and one at 
Wenchi, in the Central and Brong Ahafo regions respectively. The organization 
believes in community ownership of Islamic centres. This was borne out the 
organization’s vision on education. The Qur'anic circle are meant to impart Islamic 
culture on the youth, with its idiosyncratic basis on Wahhabi perspective of Islam as 
it reflects that of the organization and the resource persons.
3. The formation of Qur'anic circlcs aic meant to promote the Wahhabi ideological
agenda. The targets of the Qur'anic circles are the youth.
While promoting the Wahhabi agenda in their educational centers did not generate serious 
controversy with other Muslim sects in Ghana, such could not be said about the role of 
Muntada when they attempt to replace an old Mosque structure with a new one for a 
community. Whenever a community requested for a mosque project, they would insist on 
writing an undertaking with the community that they (Muntada Al-Islami) would send down 
an Imam to take charge of the mosque, despite that the community might have their Imam. 
In most cases the communities would enter into the agreement but renege to fight for the 
local or the existing Imam when the construction is over. This tendency of Muntada of 
promoting the Wahhabi agenda through their development projects creatcd tension 
wherever they established mosques in most communities like at Tarkwa, Aboasi, all in the 
Western region, Effiakuma in the Central region and Jasikan in the Volta region. In some of 
the cases, the disputes were interpreted as Ahlus-Sunnah-Tijaniyya conflicts, while in some 
cases it was regarded as disagreement between the Muntada and the community.
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The Al-Furqan Islamic Society of Abu Dhufiir at Jeddah in Saudi Arabia is a foreign 
organization with a Saudi Arabian lineage whose developments were tied to the Wahhabi 
agenda. Among the assistance that the organization offered in 1995 to the Bawku Muslim 
community in the Upper East region was the building of a mosque, known as Masjidul 
Umar or Umar’s Mosque. The Society constructed another mosque at Azamga in 2003, also 
in Bawku, known as Masjidul Usman or Usman’s Mosque. In addition, the society built a 
mosque in 2005 at Sabon Gari in Bawku, known as Abdullah’s Mosque and another at 
Yamanda, also in Bawku (Khalifa, interview, 3rd August 2005). Al-Furqan’s assistance to 
the Muslim communities in Ghana was largely channeled towards the support of the 
members of the Ahlus-Sunnah movement in the Upper East region. It shows the interest of 
the organization to advance the Wahhabi or Ahlus-Sunnah course in Ghana.
The Al-Huda Islamic Society is a Ghanaian NGO with a strong Saudi Arabia connection. 
The organization was formed in 1992 by a group of Ghanaian Muslim graduates from Saudi 
universities led by Armiyau Jibril Saleemdeen. The offices of Al-Huda Islamic society are 
located at Pig Farm in Accra. The organization has four-(4) developmental concerns on its 
agenda. These are:
1. education,
2. an orphanage andb enevolence,
3. projects, and
4. investments (Armiyau, interview, 22nd December 2006).
With its focus on education, the organization has constructed a multi-million Islamic centre 
known as Abdullah bn Mas'ud Centre for Qur'anic Memorization at Gbawe in the Greater 
Accra region. The Centre hosts students on scholarships from Ghana, Togo, Burkina Faso,
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Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Niger and Nigeria for a three (3) year diploma course in Islamic 
studies. The Arabic language, English, French, and Information and Communication 
Technology (ICT) are integral to the subjects taught at the centre (Armiyau, interview, 22nd 
December 2006). The promotion of the agenda of Wahhabiyya movement is the hallmark 
of the Al-Huda activities.
Like Muntada Al-Islami, the organization is also involved in the promotion of Qur'anic 
circles in Ghana. These circles are mostly concentrated in 3 regions, namely, the Greater 
Accra, Ashanti and the Northern regions. In all, the Qur‘anic cells of Al-Huda attract about 
700 students daily (Nuhu, interview, 22nd December 2006).
It does suggests that the overriding interest behind some of the activities of the Saudi 
affiliated NGOs like Muntada, Al-Furqan and Al-Huda is to promote the Wahhabi course in 
Ghana. This has largely been successful as the Wahhabi movement has become the second 
dominant Muslim group in Ghana. This was necessitated by the flexibility adopted by the 
Saudi regime in regards to the operations of NGOs. In a sense, it has worked in the 
proliferation of Wahhabism in Ghana. The flexible nature of the NGOs operations in the 
Saudi Arabia has created a means of influence for their graduates in Ghana. The graduates 
became the vanguard of promoting developments for Muslims in Ghana while Wahhabism 
was thriving beneath it. The development programmes facilitated by graduates were not 
only regarded by ordinary Muslims as novel but were reinforced with new Islamic ideology 
(Wahhabism) as the authentic expression of Islam. In a sense, the enhancement of the well 
being of Muslims through development was accompanied with the proliferation of Saudi 
brand of Islam.
168
5.1.2 Health
In the field of health delivery services, the Saudi Government concluded a loan agreement 
of 9.5 million dollars with Ghana in 1995 to finance the construction of 35 health centres 
distributed all over country. These projects are largely concentrated in Muslim dominated 
communities like Nima, Madina; Shukura and Ashaiman, all in the Greater Accra. Halid 
Mountain gave the nationwide breakdown of the thirty-five clinics (Muntairi interview, 8,h 
February 2006):
Region No. of Clii
Upper East Region 5
Upper West Region 5
Northern Region 6
Western Region 2
Greater Accra Region 4
Volta Region 3
Brong Ahafo Region 3
Central Region 2
Eastern Region 2
Ashanti Region 3
Total 35
5.1.3 Agriculture
In response to the socio-economic needs of the Ghanaian people the Saudi mission in Ghana 
granted a loan of Seventeen Million Saudi Riyals for the provision of com mills and crop 
storage facilities at Techiman, Atebubu, and Dormatin in Brong Ahafo region. This 
constituted Saudi contributions on agriculture to Ghana (Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
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Contributions
Organizations Human Resource School(s) Health Agriculture Mosque Development
7SFD Com mill & 0141 million 35 centers storage - -
The Islamic Desk - - - - 2,000 Scholarship
‘IDB 20 executed & Outreach - - 221 Scholarship
28 pending
Al-Hudaibiwa 67 85 boreholes - 91 -
Al-Mutada 7 Outreach - 5 35
Al-Huda 1 - - 4 15
Data source: [findings from fieldwork, 2006]
5.1.4 Ideological Contribution
Saudi Arabia represents the home ground of Wahhabism, a puritanical brand of Islam and 
religious ideology propounded by Muhammad bn Abdul Wahhab (known in Ghana as 
Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama’a). The Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama‘ah puts emphasis on the Qur‘an 
and the prophetic traditions or teachings as its basic teachings of Islam. It also challenges 
certain inherent practices of the teachings of the Tijaniyya order in Ghana.
The fact that students were recruited by the Islamic Desk of the embassy to study at the 
Saudi universities, the home base of Wahhabism, implies that, such students would be 
orientated along the line of their tutors’ ideology. Such religious education was therefore to 
be replicated in their home country upon their return. These students upon their graduation 
maintain networks with Saudi religious institutions and other institutions within the 
Kingdom in order to propagate the Saudi brand of Islam (Olivier 2004:236). The first 
Ghanaian to have studied at Saudi Arabia was Umar Ibrahim Imam in 1959. He is the 
current national Imam of the Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama’a (ASWAJ). Umar returned to Ghana
8 mn! ®°vernrnent establishment. SFD-Saudi Fund for Development. IDB=Islamic Development Bank.
Ponf ’ ®,c development Bank. It is a joint bank established by members’ of Organization of Islamic 
slwetokto- ^ headquarters is based 'm Saudi Arnbia- The Snudi Government is a substantial
170
in 1968 and embarked on vigorous Da'wa (propagation) in the community with the 
assistance of the youth in Nima. The zeal of the youth in religious activities culminated in 
the establishment of the Islamic Research and Reformation Centre in 1972, (the earliest 
Wahhabiyya organization in Ghana) which later metamorphosed into Ahlus-Sunnah Wal- 
Jama'ah, now a formidable religious and ideological sect in the Muslim community in 
Ghana with branches all over the country (Umar, interview, 20th February 2005.).
However, before the arrival of Umar to Ghana, the activities of Kamali Khalid, an Indian 
employee in charge of the Islamic Desk of the Saudi embassy exposed Ghanaian Muslims 
to Wahhabi ideas. For instance, Kamali used to organize outreach programmes to propagate 
the Wahhabi ideas in Ghana. Records suggest that he used to organize Islamic studies at the 
then Accra Central Mosque (Umar, interview, 20th February 2005.). Kamali was a senior 
to Umar in the Islamic University at Madina in Saudi Arabia. The doctrinal background of 
Kamali, without a doubt, would have determined the direction of his teachings. The role of 
the Islamic Desk or Islamic Department of the Saudi embassies in spreading the Saudi 
religious foreign policies is achieved by coordinating with Saudi institutions to promote the 
Saudi religious agenda (Eickelman et al 1996:151).
An avenue for the ideological and religious influence in the activities of the Saudi mission 
in Ghana is the distribution of religious literature to the Muslim community. The mission 
distributes magazines and other foreign newspapers, translation of the Holy Quran with its 
commentaries, biographies of the prophet and works on Islamic jurisprudence that highlight 
their ideological and religious positions. The literature serves as a powerful means of 
indoctrination of it readers. All these materials represent the hallmark of Wahhabi 
perspective of Islam. This is parallel to other studies which confirm the transnational role of
171
Saudi Arabia in printing Islamic literature to propagate its conservative brand of Islam. For 
instance, from the 1980s to 1992, the King Fahd Complex for the Printing of Qur'an, 
distributed more than 5 million copies of the Qur'an and other Islamic literature to Africa 
alone (Eickelman et al 1996:173).
Also, Wahhabis in Ghana are very good at the dissemination and production of religious 
materials through modem technologies such as the production of audio and video cassettes 
through which they articulate their sectarian perspective of Islam. This has become possible 
because of their mastery of Islamic sciences and the strong oratorical skills that they 
command. Some of the Wahhabi audio and video cassettes which emerged in Ghana are 
transnational in nature, especially those coming from Nigeria and Niger. The fact that audio 
and video cassettes of the leading Wahhabi scholars of West African sub-region could be 
obtained in Ghana fosters a stronger sense of an imagined community (Ummah) which 
transcends national boundaries, thereby giving the Wahhabi movement its transnational 
character. These materials have strong bearing on Wahhabi Islamic identity which is argued 
from the standpoint of the Qur'an and the Sunnah, which are the two most authoritative 
sources of Islam. However, beneath this argument is the Wahhabi understanding and 
interpretation of the Qur'an and Sunnah. Any source which does not fall under the purview 
of the Quran and the Sunnah are strictly outlawed and condemned as irreligious or Bid’a 
(innovation). The tendency of pronouncing everything as Bid’a always pits them against the 
other sects such as the Tijaniyya and the Shi 'ah.
Presently the local Muslim bi-monthly Al-Risalah Bulletin is produced by a Muslim printing 
house and is in circulation in Ghana. The office of the newspaper is located at Alajo in the 
Greater Accra region. The printing machine, according to an interviewee, was donated by
172
the Muslim World League through the Saudi Mission in Ghana to the resident 
representative in Ghana, the Ibrahim Codjoe Quaye (Ibrahim, interview, 20th February
2005). This newspaper presents and relays to Ghanaian Muslims the major religious 
activities as well as Saudi Ulama exposition on Islamic issues. This, in a way, links 
r.hanaian Muslims to vital and current religious news and religious rulings from Saudi 
Arabia with its Saudi religious idiosyncratic thoughts.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques6 in Saudi Arabia has included Ghanaian Muslims 
in the annual free pilgrimage facility. As part of the package, free tickets, and some 
allowances are given to the prospective pilgrims to enable them perform Hajj. About 200 
Ghanaians have enjoyed this facility for some time now.
In the area of the acquisition of the higher Islamic education, the Saudi Arabian Embassy is 
leading among Islamic diplomatic missions in recruiting many Ghanaian Muslim students 
to the Kingdom for Islamic studies. It has been argued that recruitment of Muslim students 
to study in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is viewed by Saudi authorities as a political 
strategy rather than religious obligation (Madawi 2007:126). This is with a view to 
exporting their brand of Islam through the scholarship, charity, education, mosques and 
Islamic charity centers to other countries. Cumulatively, Ghanaian Muslim students are 
awarded about 50 (fifty) scholarships annually prior to 9/11 attacks from the Arabian Gulf 
including Saudi Arabia. Perhaps, the underlying motive behind this strategy as indicated in 
other studies has to do with pursuance of a foreign policy with religious objectives (Haynes 
2001:154). It is worth stating that the Arabian Gulf by religious background is 
predominantly Ahlus-Sunnah (Wahhabiyya). This situation, therefore, adds to the Wahhabi
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques is a title bestows on the the reigning King of Saudi Arabia at a 
ar psriod. The Two Holy Mosques refer to the Mecca and Medina mosques.
173
sectarian magnitude and vigor in Ghana (Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama‘a). These students, upon 
graduation, return home with the sole responsibility of spreading the ideas of Ahlus-Sunnah 
Wal-Jama‘ah in Ghana.
Of all the Islamic graduates from the Islamic world, Saudi graduates in Ghana represent the 
most vociferous and active Ulama in the Muslim community on Da'wa (Islamic 
propagation). They do this by organizing outreach religious programmes from one 
community to another. The core of the religious outreach programme is to persuade 
Ghanaian Muslims to adopt the Quran and the Sunnah as the basis of Islam, which is the 
core of the movement’s objective. Madawi (2007:132), argues that Wahhabis' interpretation 
relating to worship and creed can be popular abroad, as they could be seen as rational, 
methodological and founded on certainty and clear cut categories.
The next section of the research will assess the contribution of the Iranian Government to 
Ghanaians, and Ghanaian Muslims in particular. It will also assess the major conduits they 
employ to spread their brand of Islam (Shi‘ism).
5.2 THE ROLE OF ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN IN MUSLIM 
DEVELOPMENT IN GHANA
To facilitate its assistance to Ghana, the Islamic Republic of Iran through her embassy has
put in place certain designated institutions through which her developmental aids to
Ghanaian communities are channeled. These institutions include:
(a) The Iranian Cultural Consulate;
(b) Agriculture and Rural Development;
(c) The Iranian Clinics; and
(d) The Islamic University College.
174
The main areas in which these organizations contribute to Ghanaians are education, health, 
and agriculture and women empowerment. It is important to expand on the key objectives of 
these Iranian institutions in Ghana.
5.2.1 The Iranian Cultural Consulate
The Iranian Cultural Consulate established its office in Ghana in 1988 with the main 
objective of promoting cultural exchanges between Ghana’s Government and the Iranian 
Government. Bearing in mind that the Iranian culture is intertwined with Islam, the Muslim 
community in Ghana thus becomes partners in the Iranian cultural collaboration as a matter 
of necessity (Sadat, interview, 24th November 2005).
Other aspects of the Iranian cultural objectives could be found on Iranian art, tourism, 
science, and history. The Consulate has a reciprocal role to leam about the Ghanaian culture 
to be introduced in Iran. In short, the Consulate serves as a bridge between Iran and Ghana 
(Sadat, interview, 24th November 2005). The current Cultural Consul is Sadat. He 
indicated that in the past, the Consulate concentrated its efforts on seminars, distribution of 
literature to institutions and individuals, participation in artistic exhibition about Ghanaian 
culture, exhibition of Iranian art and handicrafts, writing articles in the Ghanaian press and 
organizing Farsi language (Persian language) classes in the universities as well as 
participation in Ghanaian programmes by both Muslims and non-Muslims (Sadat, 
interview, 24* November 2005).
In recent times however, the Cultural Consulate focuses its activities at organizing 
workshops and seminars in the Ghanaian community. This is with a view to introducing 
Iranian culture to Ghanaians. Among the regular seminars and workshops held are Imam
175
Ali and Human Rights in Islam, Imam Hussein Martyrdom, which is normally offered on 
Muharam (February) of every year. The Unity Week in Rabi al-Awal (March) 
commemorates the birthday of the prophet (Sadat, interview, 24th November 2005). The 
Unity Week of the Iranian Cultural Consulate is very significant in the Ghanaian Muslim 
community. It serves as an occasion when most Muslim leaders in the country meet to echo 
the need for unity in the Muslim community regardless of their doctrinal differences. The 
need for a united Muslim front to address issues affecting Muslims internally and globally is 
emphasized at the occasion (Sadat, interview, 24lh November 2005). It however tends out 
to be a programme patronized mostly by the traditional Ulama of the Tijaniyya order and 
the Shi 'ah followers. The Ahlus-Sunnah Ulama do not patronize it due to doctrinal and 
ideological differences with the Iranians. It is significant to note that, by organizing these 
forums in the Muslim communities, it helps consolidate Shi‘ism in Ghana, though with the 
Tijaniyya movement in particular. This is because, the forum offers common religious 
platform between the followers of Shi'tes and other Muslims in Ghana.
5.2.2 The Iranian Clinics
The Iran Medical Mission which began operation in 1990 is another organization of the 
Iranian establishment in Ghana. The organization is a member of the Federation of 
International Red Crescent and Red Cross Societies. The medical mission is one of the 
clinics being operated in Africa by the Iranian Government. The other African countries 
where it operates are Zimbabwe, Kenya, Niger, Mali, and Ivory Coast (Abass, interview, 
15h January 2006). The key objectives for establishing the Red Crescent Society are those 
of the mother organizations of the International Federation of Red Crescent and Red Cross 
Societies. These objectives include, offering humanitarian medical services to the deserving 
communities. It is in line with this objective that the Iranian Red Crescent Society
176
established its clinics in Africa and some Middle Eastern countries to provide affordable 
and accessible health care services to the poor and the needy.
The services that the clinic provides in Ghana, especially in the area of medical consultancy, 
are 20% cheaper when compared to those in the public health services (Abass, interview, 
15th January 2006). The costs of drugs are similarly 50% cheaper. Abass is the Director of 
the Iranian Clinic at Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra. He attributed the cheap health care 
services from the clinic to the subsidy that the society enjoys from the Iranian Government 
(Abass, interview, 15th January 2006). An aspect of its humanitarian services includes 
providing occasional free health care services to patients who do not have the means. These 
categories of people are introduced to the health officials by some affiliate organizations of 
the Iranian Mission in Ghana and the Muslim leaderships (Abass, interview, 15th January
2006).
The second major objective of the society is impartiality and neutrality in the discharge of 
its services with regard to the background of the beneficiaries. In other words, they do not 
deal with people based on their religious, ethnic, political, or racial background. That is, its 
services are meant for all.
The clinic in Accra is so far running only an Outpatient’s Department (OPD) due to lack of 
logistics and space. However, part of its long-term plans is to turn the clinic into an ultra 
modem medical centre in Ghana. The medical experts at the clinic comprise of five (5) 
general medical practitioners and three (3) specialists in the areas of gynecology, 
ophthalmology and otolaryngology. It has its own medical laboratory (Abass, interview, 
15th January 2006). Significantly, as a result of the credibility that the clinic has gained
177
from the Ghana’s Government, it has been accredited by the Ministry of Health for the 
diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis in the country with funds from the Global Fund of 
the United Nations (Abass, interview, 15th January 2006).
523 Agriculture and Rural Development
The Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD) of the Iranian Government is an 
organization operating in the Muslim community. This organization has certain key 
objectives that it operates under. These include;
• increase in level of knowledge through cultural and religious practices.
• selection of priority areas of human endeavour for assistance and provision of 
primary needs of life such as good health, sufficient portable water and healthy food.
• building, repairing and completing of vocational centers, agricultural services, 
mosques, schools, health centers, public places of convenience, road and bridges.
• technical training and creating job opportunities in computer technology, fashion 
design, carpentry, mechanical training, electrical and catering.
• following the agricultural and economic policies of the government of Ghana and 
cooperating with the relevant government organizations, including members of 
parliament, NGOs, as well as members of District Assembly and women groups.
With this background as to the objectives and policies of the Iranian institutions in Ghana it 
is necessary to identify specifically their contributions to the Ghanaian Muslims and how 
these contributions have facilitated the development and advancement of Muslim 
communities in Ghana.
178
5.2.4 Education
According to Omid Kamara, the secretary to the Iranian Cultural Consulate, the Iranian 
Embassy through the Cultural Consulate established scholarships in 1985 for Ghanaian 
Muslim students to study in Iranian universities and higher institutions of learning. He 
indicated that currently about two hundred (200) of these students have graduated and have 
returned to the country contributing to the economy in various ways (Omid interview, 14th 
April 2004). The nature of the scholarships is limited to the Islamic sciences.
The consulate also established a scholarship scheme for talented but needy Muslim students 
in the junior secondary schools (JSS) and senior secondary schools (SSS) who cannot afford 
to pay tuition fees. So far about 25 of these needy students’ tuition fees are being catered for 
by the Consulate. Free academic support or remedial classes were also organized for both 
Ordinary and Advanced Level Muslim students in Accra to assist them to qualify for 
admission to the universities. He intimated that the rationale behind offering such 
scholarship and organizing the classes is to improve the chances of the Muslim Students 
gaining admission to tertiary institutions (Omid interview, 14th April 2004).
The Consulate exposes the Ghanaian students to Farsi by offering free Farsi classes for
students in higher institutions in the country, especially the University of Ghana, to enhance
the ability of the students to read and write in Farsi and to provide an opportunity for them
to become multi-lingual. Such students are given special scholarships in their chosen field
of studies (Omid interview, 14th April 2004). The Farsi classes at the University of Ghana
cater for about 20-35 students a session and are structured according to beginners and 
intermediate.
179
The most singular achievement of the Embassy is the funding in 2000 of the Islamic 
University College of Ghana at East Legon in Accra. The University College has been given 
accreditation by the National Accreditation Board. The University College is currently 
offering courses in Business Administration, Computer Science and Islamic Studies.
The Consulate's vision has been to establish an Islamic training college to train qualified 
teachers to teach Arabic and Islamic studies in schools. Omid Kamara, the Secretary to the 
Consulate, indicated that the Consulate has funded the construction of junior secondary 
institutions in Kumasi, Tamale, Kasoa, Cape Coast, and Akim Ofoase. It has also 
rehabilitated a number of schools in Kumasi, Tamale, and Accra.
In addition, the Consulate established a Shi’ite theological school, called the Ahlul-Bait 
Islamic Institute, at East Legon in Accra. Graduates from this institution have the chance of 
furthering their studies in Iran or any other country in which the Iranian Government has 
educational institutions, such as the United Kingdom and Lebanon (Omid interview, 14th 
April 2004).
The Consulate is also sponsoring some teachers in Islamic studies in some schools by 
paying allowances to such teachers who do not have their names on government payroll in 
order to enable them earn a living. Furthermore, the Consulate funded the Imam Khomeini 
Junior Secondary School at Cape Coast. More importantly, in view of the lack of libraries 
and reading centres in the Muslim communities, the Consulate has established a number of 
public libraries in Accra, Kumasi, and Tamale (Omid interview, 14th April 2004).
180
The Agricultural and Rural Development (ARD is another organization under the aegis of 
Iranian Embassy which assists Ghanaian Muslims in the field of education. ARD has 
established a primary school and a place of convenience at Kotobabi in Accra. It also 
established a youth vocational training centre at Nima 441 Welfare Association in Accra. 
Alaru Ibrahim, the chairman of 441 Welfare Association said that the Centre’s departments 
comprise sewing and tailoring, computer studies, carpentry and typing. The embassy 
occasionally donates some training materials to the centre, such as computers and financial 
aids, for the benefit of the students (Alaru interview, 22nd May 2004). It was also revealed 
that the ARD assisted Kasoa Muslims to construct the Immamiya Islamic School. It also 
built English and Arabic school in Kalariga in Tamale (Omid, interview, 14,h April 2004). 
The Embassy, through the ARD, in 1996 established a computer-training centre at the 
University for Development Studies in Tamale to train the students, the lecturers, and the 
university staff to acquire computer skills and also organized literacy classes for farmers in 
the Northern region in order to enhance their farming methods.
The research found that ARD has organized 458 computer literacy training for Ghanaians. 
Through this training, the Ministry of Works and Housing facilitated the award of 
certificates to the participants. It was also realized that, ARD has so far constructed 67 
schools, mostly in the Greater Accra, Ashanti and Western regions. The ARD Director 
explained that about 122,500 people are benefiting from the schools (Musawi, interview, 
13 March 2006). The major motive behind ARD’s educational endeavors has been its 
conviction that education is a basic and primary necessity in improving culture and 
knowledge (Musawi, interview, 13Ul March 2006).
181
ARD has also constructed 17 technical and vocational schools and centres since its 
inception in Ghana in 1988. These vocational and technical training centres are mainly in 
the Greater Accra and the Northern region. It is estimated that about 37,700 people are 
benefiting from these centres. ARD’s involvement in the construction of vocational centres 
is based on the conviction that it would help in knowledge transfer. A part of the Iranian 
Embassy’s educational contribution to Ghanaian Muslims through ARD has been the 
construction of six (6) libraries in the Northern, Ashanti and the Greater Accra regions. 
These libraries arc managed by the Cultural Consulate for the benefit of Ghanaian students 
(Musawi, interview, 13th March 2006).
The Embassy’s aim in developing a keen interest in the educational sector for the Muslim 
community in Ghana is due to the fact that Ghanaian Muslims are lagging behind other 
Ghanaians in terms of secular education. This, therefore, affects their employment 
opportunities. Also, a part of the philosophic foundation of the Iranian revolution is to 
create diverse opportunities for Muslims worldwide in order to make them withstand the 
competitive nature of the ever-globalized world. Lastly, the religious injunction, which 
urges Muslims to always seek knowledge, is another motivating factor (Qur‘an: 96:1-3).
5.2.5 Health
The Iranian Embassy through the Iranian Red Crescent Society has contributed to the 
development of health delivery in the country. For instance, as a result of the Ghana-Iran 
Joint Commission, the Iranian Government has established some clinics to support Ghana's 
efforts to ensure adequate health delivery services to the people. Three of these clinics have 
so far been established through the Iranian Red Crescent Society. Currently two of such
182
clinics are in Accra, one at Kwame Nkrumah Circle, the second at Mamobi. (now defunct). 
The third is in the Northern region, at Jerigu.
The services of these clinics are well patronized by the communities, partly due to the 
availability and relative cheapness of the drugs. They have become very famous since their 
establishment, due to the subsidies that the medical mission enjoys from the Iranian 
Government (Abass, interview, 15th January 2006). In short, the clinics are distinguished 
for the quality medical service they provide, to the extent that they have been approved and 
recognized by the Ministry of Health as centres for tuberculosis treatment. This has been the 
major factor in attracting most patients to the clinic. Abass argued that the clinic is the most 
patronized private health centres in Ghana so far, with an average patient attendance of 300- 
400 daily as against other private health centre with an average record of 30-150 (Abass, 
interview, 15th January 2006). The major motivating factor for the Iranian embassy’s 
engagement in the health sector is to complement Government’s efforts in health delivery in 
the country. Secondly, it is to make health delivery accessible to the Ghanaian Muslim 
community.
The Iranian medical mission also organizes medical outreach programmes to deprived 
communities in Ghana. For instance, the Nsawam Medium Prison is one of its outreach 
centres, being serviced every two months. Through this outreach programmes the inmates 
are given free medical attention (Abass, interview, 15th January 2006). The Red Crescent 
Society through the Medical Mission occasionally donates drugs to some health institutions 
in the country. These include the Psychiatric Hospitals at Asylum Down and Pantang, the 
Princess Marie Children’s Clinic and the Osu Children’s Home, an orphanage.
183
The ARD director indicated that it has so far built, completed, and equipped four (4) health 
centres and handed them over to the Iranian Medical Mission in Ghana (Abass, interview, 
15th January 2006). An aspect of the Iranian Government’s contribution to public health in 
r,h,,na js in the area of the provision of portable water. It is estimated that the ARD has so 
far provided eighty-four (84) boreholes for Ghanaians. These boreholes are mainly in the 
Northern and the Western regions. These were provided with a view to curbing water-borne 
diseases since the beneficiary communities are in Guinea worm (Dracimcuhis medinensis) 
endemic areas (Abass, interview, 15th January 2006).
5.2.6 Agriculture
The Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD) of the Iranian Embassy is contributing in 
diverse ways to assist Ghanaian Muslims and Ghanaians in general to improve their farming 
methods and techniques. The activities of this organization are found all over the country. 
The organization has been offering free extension services to farmers in the northern region. 
Additionally, fanners are given interest free loans which are payable after harvest (ARD 
Report 2004). Other services rendered are ploughing and harrowing, improves seedlings and 
farm equipment
The services ARD offers are varied. For instance, it has provided technical agricultural 
service to farmers in the Northern and Western regions. These technical services are related 
mainly to assisting fanners to have the best harvest annually. ARD also rehabilitates and 
repairs agricultural machines for farmers, mainly in the Northern region. It is estimated that 
about 795 of these machinery rehabilitations have been organized for farmers since the 
inception of ARD in Ghana (ARD Report 2004). The organization does not limit its 
activities to agricultural services; it also builds convertible industrial factories for Ghanaian
184
farmers. These industrial factories are mainly for oil-mill processing and pressing. The areas 
that benefited in 1988 from the facilities were the Northern, Western and Central regions.
In addition, the ARD is involved in agro-forestry in the Northern region. The organization is 
involved in agro-forestry with a view to preserving the environment. It is also involved in 
plans to assist farmers in increasing efficiency in their harvests. The organization offers the 
distribution of structures for husbandry and training in bee-keeping to farmers. This is 
aimed at enhancing the income of farmers. The Director of ARD argues that the natural 
talents of fanners in bee-keeping in these regions are high. The ARD, has, since its 
operations in Ghana, provided 1,780 such structures of animal husbandry in order to unearth 
the talents among the fanners (ARD Report 2004). The main motivating factor for ARD’s 
involvement in the agriculture sector is to improve the quality of life among Ghanaians and 
to reduce their dependency syndrome on food importations from outside.
5.2.7 Women Empowerment
Apart from organizing annual public lectures to highlight the role and importance of women 
in Islam, the Iranian Cultural Consulate takes practical steps in addressing women's 
problems. For instance, the Consulate assists women in promoting small-scale industries in 
the area of shea butter extraction, yam weaving, and com milling. This provides varied job 
opportunities to women in the Northern region. Through these projects, Muslim women are 
able to plan for their children and become less dependent on their husbands. It also enables 
them to make vital decisions affecting them, thereby empowering them.
The Embassy has established three female vocational training centres as part of its gender 
empowerment agenda, one each at Mamobi and Kawukudi, both in Accra, and another at
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Bawku in the Upper East region. However, the one in Kawukudi is a multi-centre 
comprising facilities for electrical and computer training, and dressmaking. The centres are 
known as Fatima Zahra Vocational Centres, in honour of the Prophet’s daughter, Fatima 
bint Muhammad. The centre gives training to the young Muslim women in the community. 
Free sewing machines are given to the trainees upon their graduation (Sadat, interview, 24th 
November 2005). Religious orientation along the Shiite line is an integral part of the 
vocational training. The organi7ation has also been organizing training of women in 
weaving and home economics in the Northern, Eastern, and Central regions. The 
participants are awarded certificates at the end of the training.
The Consulate also has a close relationship with Federation of Muslim Women Association 
of Ghana (FOMWAG), which is an umbrella organization of Muslim women. The Cultural 
Consulate assists FOMWAG to organize the annual workshop on Fatima Zahra. Through 
this seminar, Fatima the only surviving daughter of the Prophet of Islam and the wife of Ali, 
the fourth caliph in Islam and the icon of Shi'ism, is portrayed as a role model to the 
Ghanaian Muslim women (Sadat, interview, 24th November 2005).
5.2.8 Ideological Contribution
A major factor, which partly influenced the Iranian Government to extend her diplomatic 
missions to certain countries, is to extend her ideological and cultural ideas and influence 
into those countries. Ever since the Safavids’ adopted Shi'ism as the official religion of Iran 
in 1501 C.E, Shi'ism has become a religious instrument for the successive regimes in Iran 
(Moadel 2002: 372). The overall objective of the post revolutionary Iran’s diplomatic 
relations with some countries was thus to create a religious constituency for their 
Government. By religious constituency is meant a segment of a particular country’s citizens
186
sharing doctrinal and religious affinity with another country. This is done by attracting new 
converts into such a religious sect as it pertains to a particular country’s religious direction. 
In the case of Iran, prominence is given to visiting Ghanaian Muslims like Muhammad 
Morteza Albera, a convert to Shi‘ism, who was a visiting Shi’ite student to Iran from Ghana 
to show how it is spreading in Ghana. He used the occasion through the Isfahan Radio to 
inform Iranians how Shi‘ism has become a third religious force in the Muslim communities 
after Tijaniyya and Wahhabiyya movements through the activities of Iranian institutions in 
Ghana (Africa Wide N1PAD 2006, 08, 23). This is in line with die post-revolutionary 
Iranian foreign policy which primarily focuses on proselytizing its Shi’ite version of Islam 
and challenge the American and Western dominated world system (Haynes 2001:154). To 
achieve this objective in the case of Ghana, the role of the Cultural Consulate of the 
Embassy and the theological seminary cannot be underestimated. This is because the Iranian 
Cultural Consulate serves as the mouthpiece for disseminating the Iranian cultural and 
religious activities and programmes in Ghana. Also, the expression of Shi‘ism is being 
facilitated by the Ghanaian Shi’ite communities who have been in one way or the other 
educated through the Iranian institutions of higher learning.
One must state that, of all the major religious ideological sects which were introduced into 
Ghana, Shi‘ism is a latecomer as compared to others, such as the Tijaniyya and Ahlus- 
Sunnah (Wahhabiyya). It therefore means that Ghanaian Muslims before the coming of 
Shi’sm were already divided along Tijaniyya and Wahhabiyya lines.
Iran, being the centre of Shi‘ism in the world, pursues various means to popularize such 
doctrine in establishing its mission in Ghana. The major means that the Iranian Government 
used to popularize and orientate Shi‘ism in Ghana was the granting of scholarships to some
187
Ghanaian Muslim students willing to study in an Iranian religious seminary like Qum or 
universities. These pioneer students, led by Abdul Salam Bansi, in Accra were to become 
the nucleus of the Shi’ites in Ghana. Such strategy started yielding dividends with the return 
of these students who then started making inroads into the Muslim community to win 
converts to their newly adopted sect.
The Cultural Consulate popularizes the ideas of Shi'ism in Ghana through the establishment 
of the Ahlul-Bait Theological Seminary at Dzorwolu in Accra, i he institute serves die 
needs of other Shiite students in the West African region. Scholarships, free 
accommodation, and monthly allowances are offered to these students. Programmes are 
offered from junior to senior secondary level along the religious curriculum of Iranian 
educational standard. The pioneer Ghanaian graduates who studied in Iran were the first 
tutors of the Institute. Consequently, students of the Institute automatically become the 
adherents of Shi‘ism upon graduation due to the kind of education they have acquired. The 
graduates from the school form the nucleus and vanguard of Shi‘ism in the Ghanaian 
Muslim communities from the south to the north.
In recent times, the Ahlul-Bait Theological Seminary in Ghana is becoming a center for 
recruitment of graduates to other African countries. So far there are about five (5) of such 
recruits from Ghana in South Africa with the sole role of spreading Shi'ism. These 
Ghanaian Shi’ite scholars are scattered in Johannesburg, Soweto etc especially among the 
black township in South Africa (Nurudeen, interview, 9th November 2008). This suggests a 
different approach to strengthening Shi'ism in the world. Hitherto, Shi'ism enjoyed state 
patronage where scholars were imported from Syria, Bahrain, North-Eastern Arabia and 
Iraq to Iran (Lapidus, 1988: 258). This was partly necessitated when majority of Iranians
188
were Sunnis. In all, it however represents a dimensional growth of Shi'ism from a locally 
breed religious movement to a transnational and a global movement, all with the support of 
the Iranian state.
Other means that the Iranian Mission employs to indoctrinate Ghanaian Muslims are 
indirect and latent. For instance, some of their activities, celebrations, and ceremonies 
expose Ghanaian Muslims to the kind of Islamic expression that pertain the Islamic 
Republic of Iran. The celebration of Al-Ouds Day and the anniversary celebration of the 
Iranian Revolution expose Ghanaians Muslims to the political and religio-cultural realities 
in Iran. On the celebration of Al-Quds Day and the martyrdom of Hussein, Shi’i students 
and their tutors go on procession with placards in some principal streets beginning from the 
Accra Girl’s Secondary School to Nima. This tendency, therefore, infuses revolutionary and 
Islamic zeal based on Shi’i identity among the participants. It may also be a means of 
ideological indoctrination, particularly in the case of the youth.
The Iranian mission also exposes Ghanaian Muslims to her ideological proclivity during the 
celebration of any event sponsored by her or its affiliate organizations. For instance, the 
portrait of Imam Khomeini may be provided by the Iranian Embassy or its affiliate 
organizations to be displayed to indicate full support for the Iranian revolution in Ghana. On 
the other hand, the celebration of the Prophet’s birthday, the birthday of Fatima and the 
Badr Day in the manner done by the revolutionary countries like Iran, inspire a sense of 
history and thus keep the Islamic spirit high among Ghanaian Muslims.
Added to this is the fact that opportunities granted to leading Muslims to visit Iran during 
such celebrations expose them to new ideas and experiences. This is then manifested in their
189
speeches about their personal experience of the nature of Iranian Islamism and how 
^gn„ian Muslim should be guided by such Islamic vigour. In this case, Iranian Shi’i 
Islamic perspective, which is integral part of the Iranian socio-cultural values, is perceived 
as the Islamic model for Ghanaians. A case in point is the experience of Basha Ibrahim 
Iddriss, the current Northern regional Imam of the Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama’a (ASWAJ)’s 
trip to Iran on the celebration of the Iranian Revolution. Upon his return home he has been 
proclaiming publicly that the Islamic Republic of Iran represents the best model of Islamic 
government in the Muslim world (Basha, interview, 8lh December 2006). This position of 
Basha has however been interpreted by others that he has converted to Shi‘ism.
Among all the Muslim diplomatic missions in Ghana, the Iranian Cultural Consulate stands 
exceptional for relying on the mass media to propagate Shiism as well as her revolutionary 
ideas in Ghanaian society. Quite often, the print media both public and private have been 
exploited by the Consulate to achieve its agenda. Through this medium, Ghanaians are 
attracted to reading articles about the significance of any event being celebrated by Iranian 
institutions, like the Iranian Revolution, the birthday of Fatima, imam Ali and governance 
and the martyrdom of Hussein. The reading of articles of this nature without doubt leaves 
positive impressions in the mind of the reader about Iran and the doctrinal values of 
Shi‘ism. These articles, apart from improving Iran’s image, also educate the reader about 
Iranian history, both political and religious. In recent times the Consulate established its 
own newspaper known as Al-Kauthar, with the objective of conveying Iranian political and 
religious news to the Ghanaian community.
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^i ajujijce  /7 •; - Contributions of the Iranian Government to Ghanaian Muslims
CONTRIBUTIONS
Women Human
Organisations Remedial
School(s) Health Agriculture Empowerme Resource Classes
nt Development
Cultural 3 3 Vocational 200 1985-IUC -
Consulate Clinics centers scholarship 1999
Loans, technical 
agricultural services, 
795
ARD rehabilitations & 
repairs, 1,780 
beekeeping 
equipments
Data source: (Findings from fieldwork, 2006]
The above table represents the Iranian Government’s contributions to Ghanaian Muslim 
communities. The two main Iranian agencies which facilitated the Iranian Government’s 
contribution to Ghana were the Iranian Cultural Consulate and Agriculture and Rural 
Development
53 CONCLUSION
The Islamic Republic of Iran and the Royal kingdom of Saudi Arabia represent two of the 
Middle East countries which provided development to Ghanaian Muslims in the post 
independence period. These two countries devise different modes of engaging with 
Ghanaians and Ghanaian Muslims in particular. The Iranian officials designed a direct mode 
of engagement with Ghanaian Muslims through their accredited institutions, such as the 
ARD, the Cultural Consulate and the Iran Medical Mission. On the other hand, the Saudi 
embassy operated indirect mode of engagement with Ghanaian Muslims through their 
accredited NGOs in Ghana, such as Al-Huda Islamic Society, Al-Muntada Islami, Al- 
Hudaibiyya Islamic Relief Services, and among others. The Islamic Desk in the Saudi 
embassy promoted its activities by liaising with organisations in Saudi Arabia and these 
Saudi affiliated NGOs in Ghana.
191
However, the extents to which these two countries have achieved their agenda through these 
different means of engagements differ. By establishing direct means of engaging with 
Ghanaian Muslims, the Iranian embassy entrusts the accountability of stimulating 
development on their accredited institutions. This is further reinforced by staffing these 
offices with Iranian expatriates who take charge of these institutions. In essence, the question 
of the loyalty of the personnel in relation to their responsibility does not arise. It further 
enables the Iranians to obtain direct feedback from the Ghanaian societies to enable them re- 
strategise in dealings with Ghanaians.
In contrast, the ‘middlemen’ role play by the Saudi affiliated NGOs to Saudi government’s 
interest in Ghana made their activities to be seen as their brainchild. The issue of 
accountability of promoting development rests with the Ghanaian Muslims with strong 
connection with Saudi Arabia. These Ghanaian Muslims further bring to bear in their 
activities their rich experience of the Ghanaian socio-cultural milieu.
The developmental contributions offered by these two countries also impacted on Ghanaian 
Muslims in different ways. As observed, the bilateral agreements between Ghana and Saudi 
Arabia on one hand and Iran on the other hand, did not contribute towards dissemination of 
their religious influence in Ghana. However, the smooth diplomatic relations as enhanced by 
the bilateral agreements created conducive atmosphere for the NGOs with Saudi affiliation 
and Iranian institutions to make considerable impact in promoting development projects as 
well as the respective religio-political ideologies of these countries on Ghanaian Muslims. 
Both countries contributed to Muslim development in the area of education, health, the 
construction of Islamic centres (mosques), and agriculture. The Iranian NGOs and 
organisations further distinguish themselves in this research in their contribution to women
192
empowerment. This suggests that while tne saudi political environment is quire noerai 10 
NGOs transaction, Iranian environment promoted formal institutions for charity mobilisation, 
each with its impact on Ghanaian Muslims. This has been partly necessitated by the well 
entrenched Islamisation of NGOs activities in both countries.
Beneath the tremendous roles that these countries play in regards to Muslim development 
they also promoted their religious interest in Ghana. This was seen in the role of the Islamic 
Desk of the Saudi embassy and the Iranian Cultural Consulate which facilitated scholarships 
for Ghanaian Muslim students in the Islamic sciences related to Wahhabi and Shi‘i 
perspective of Islam. This links some Ghanaian Muslims with another expression of Islam 
found in the Middle East, and its consequences in the penetration of Arabian and Iranian 
cultural and political values in Ghana. The motive behind the Saudi and the Iranian 
Governments’ focusing most of their contributions on Islamic studies for Ghanaian 
Muslims is intended to spread the ideas of Wahhabism and Shi‘ism in Ghana.
In spite of the massive development projects facilitated by Saudi Arabia to Ghana, it has 
been argued that the Saudi Arabia contributions to Ghana’s economy represent a fraction of 
Ghanaian Muslims contributions into the Saudi economy (Haruna, 2004:44). This was 
arrived at through evaluation of the direct contribution of Ghanaian Muslims to the Saudi 
economy through the performance of the annua] Hajj.
The next chapter analyses the outcome of Muslim diplomatic missions' involvement in 
religious activities in Ghana. This will be seen from the proliferation of new religio-political 
activities initiated and supported by these diplomatic missions.
193
CHAPTER SIX 
THE ISLAMIC RESURGENCE IN GHANA
6.0 INTRODUCTION
This chapter intends to survey the religious and political ideas and ideologies facilitated by 
the governments and political institutions of Muslim diplomatic missions and their 
organizations based in Ghana and established since 1957 as a result of Ghana’s diplomatic 
relations with some Muslim countries. This will give us an idea of the nature of these 
religious and political ideas whose introduction into Ghana was facilitated by Muslim 
embassies, thereby effectively propelling Islamic resurgence in Ghana.
As observed in the previous chapters on the developmental contributions made to Ghanaian 
Muslims by Muslim diplomatic missions, they also facilitated the introduction of religious, 
cultural, and political orientations and ideologies into Ghana. The specific natures of these 
religious orientations and ideologies are the subject matter of this chapter. The arrival of 
these doctrinal and semi politico-religious ideologies in the post-independence Ghana via 
Ghana’s transnational interactions with some Muslim diplomatic missions could also be 
examined in the light of Ghanaian Muslims’ reaction to the phenomenon of Islamic 
resurgence in the world.
The concept of transnationalism broadly refers to multiple ties and interaction linking 
people or institutions across the borders of nation-state (Vertovec 1990:1). The outcome of 
these interactions is the adoption or borrowing of certain norms, be it cultural or religious, 
from other countries. These ideas could be religious such as Wahhabism, Shi'ism and 
Islamic socialism. Even though transnationalism facilitates global cooperation between 
peoples and the obliteration of the nation-states concept, this thesis contends that it could
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also be stimulated by inter-state cooperation through diplomatic relations. This is because 
diplomatic relations with other countries creates the platform for interaction between 
citizens and a particular diplomatic mission with which they share similar religious or 
political convictions. Importantly, the role of governments in extending their cultural 
influences to other countries through cultural consulates and attaches also drives 
transnationalism. Consequently, within the context of Ghanaian Muslims and their 
government, it was through Ghana’s diplomatic relations with some Muslim countries that 
they were able to interact with these Muslim countries and reli&ious institutions. All uf this 
eventually oriented some Ghanaian Muslims along such countries’ religious and doctrinal 
lines.
Coincidentally, majority of the countries which fall under this study represent unique 
Islamic identities and ideologies. These countries include Saudi Arabia, which represents 
the home base of Wahhabism, Iran where Shi'ism, is the official Islamic doctrine and Libya 
whose Islamic persuasion is known as the Third Universal Theory (TUT), the political and 
religious philosophy of the Libyan leader, Muammar al-Gaddhafi.
It is an undeniable fact that the religious and political ideas which took root in these 
countries were the outcome of the socio-political realities which had given birth to them 
with consequences for the global Muslim Ummah. The Islamic resurgence in this context 
was characterized by the influx into Ghana of different forms of Islamic orientations 
facilitated by the Muslim diplomatic missions. This will be done by examining the origin of 
these doctrinal groups and the Ghanaian Muslims’ reaction to them. In order to understand 
fully the resurgence of Islam in the world, it is important that we survey the origin, the
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causes and the background of this resurgence in contemporary times. This would be done by 
sampling and identifying some schools of thought on the causes of this Islamic resurgence.
6.1 THE ORIGIN OF ISLAMIC SECTS
It must be acknowledged that Islamic resurgence cannot be discussed in isolation or by 
looking at the present situation only, even though contemporary Islam is expressed along 
doctrinal lines. It is always necessary, for the sake of clarity, to look at the origin of the 
sects in Islam, even briefly from an historical perspective.
To begin with, the Battle of Siffin, which was fought between Ali, the fourth Caliph, and 
Mu’awiya, the then governor of Syria in 37 A.H/657C.E is significant in the history of the 
development of Islamic doctrines and sects (Waines, 1995:46). The outcome of the battle 
resulted in the emergence of extremist politico-religious views which were hitherto not part 
of the Muslim Ummah. Some of these sects’ practices are still followed by a section of the 
Muslim Ummah to this generation, the Shi 'ah being an example of this. The background of 
Kharijite and Mu'tazilite could be also viewed as a consequence of this battle (Watt, 1968:
6.2 THE BASIS OF ISLAMIC RESURGENCE IN CONTEMPORARY TIMES
Different scholars had given various analytic interpretations as to the upsurge of Islamic 
resurgence in contemporary times. For instance, according to Voll, the causes of Islamic 
resurgence could be categorized into four perspectives:
One school of thought sees the resurgence in the broad historical terms as a continuation of 
the clash between two civilizations, Islam and the West. The proponent of this school is
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Bernard Lewis. He argues that the Muslim world had gone through successive phases of 
revival and resistance, response and rejection (Voll, 1994:380). He further identified the 
Islamic revival as a significant force in contemporary times, with the Iranian Revolution 
bringing it to the attention of most people in the world.
The nature of this perspective indicates diversity and a competition between values that are 
either Western or Islamic. These divergent values are found within Western and Islamic or 
Muslim cultures, as indicated in the definition. This does not, however, fully explain the 
upsurge of Wahhabism in the world. This is because the origin of Wahhabism was aimed at 
to bringing about religious reformation within Islam and Arabia in particular. In other 
words, Wahhabism as an Islamic ideology did not come about to regulate the external 
affairs between Muslims and the non-Muslims or Islam and the West. It was conceived in 
order to correct the perceived corrupt practices of Islam which was prevalent in Arabia at 
the time. It must be acknowledged that at present the followers of Abdul Wahhab defined 
their distinct Islamic identity which is different from any other Muslim group including the 
West
The second school of thought identifies Islamic resurgence with fundamentalism and views 
it as a uniquely modem development. Bruce Lawrence led this school. He argued that 
fundamentalism is a direct product of modem era. To him, ’without modernity there are no 
fundamentalists. Lawrence thinks that fundamentalists accept implicitly the benefits of 
modernity often thriving with technology, while explicitly rejecting modernism as a holistic 
ideological framework (Voll, 1994:381).
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The hallmark of this view shows that Muslim communities were threatened with the erosion 
of Islamic values in the wake of globalization through Westernization. The basis of this 
argument also shows the infiltration of external cultural values into the Muslim Ummah 
globally. In contrast, however, is the Muslim quest for identity through modernity while 
rejecting Westernization. Consequently, Islamic resurgence came up with the solution to 
curb this situation. This view amply explains the background of the Iranian Revolution, and 
the Libyan September Revolution. Historically, these Revolutions gave birth to Shi'ism as a 
modem global Islamic political expression and the Third Universal Theory (TUT) 
respectively.
Implicit in this second proposition is the view that the resurgence brought about another 
form of political expression in the world as a contrast to the Western democracy and 
secularism. This view could be discerned from the political expression of Shi‘ism as a 
recognized political and religious identity in Iran and beyond and Islamic socialism in the 
political expression of the Third Universal Theory respectively. On the other hand, this 
explanation is not supported among those Muslims who do not link themselves to these 
states and organizations.
The third school is led by Ernest Gellner who sees resurgence as a product of post-modern 
thought and the historical internal evolution of the Islamic experience. To him, Islamic 
experience divided Muslims into a ‘high’ Islam of the scholars and the ‘low’ Islam of the 
people. He concluded that there was a latent tension between these styles of Islam, which at 
times resulted in conflicts with representatives of high Islam, leading the fundamentalists to 
embrace purification and revival (Ernest Gellner, 1992:15).
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The basis of this school rests on the argument that Muslim scholars call for the revitalization 
and renewal of the Islamic spirit in contemporary times. It does not, however, address the 
reasons for this revitalization of the Islamic spirit. Nevertheless, one major argument 
discemable within this view is the fact that the basis of Islamic resurgence was necessitated 
by Muslim scholars’ intention to have control over the direction of Islamic affairs at present. 
The extent of Muslim scholars having control of Islamic affairs might generate serious 
controversy among Muslims of different doctrinal persuasions. In the context of the 
Ghanaian Muslims the control might be visible on doctrinal lines. Even though the 
leadership structure in the Muslim community in Ghana is based on a superstructure, with 
the National Chief Imam, currently a Tijaniyya by background, occupying the highest 
echelon, other sects who do not share the same sectarian identity with the Tijaniyya agitated 
for the separate sectarian institutions and structures in the Muslim communities, as in the 
case of ASWAJ and Shi 'ah sects. This is with a view to asserting their (sectarian Ulama) 
control over Muslims who share the same doctrinal persuasion with them and to address 
issues along doctrinal lines.
Samuel P. Huntington, the author of the Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World 
Order, also argues that ‘Islamic resurgence in its extent and profundity is the latest phase in 
the adjustment of Islamic civilization to the West, manifested in an effort to find the 
solution” not in Western ideologies but in Islam’. He concludes that ‘it is a broad 
intellectual, cultural, social, and political movement prevalent throughout the Islamic 
world. He further emphasizes that the resurgence is mainstream and not extremist, 
pervasive and not isolated (Huntington, 1996:109). He predicts that the resurgence will have 
shown that Islam is the ‘solution’ to the problems of morality, identity, meaning, and faith
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but not to those of social injustice, political repression, economic backwardness, military 
weakness, etc (Huntington, 1996:109).
This view does not take into consideration the successes of the Iranian and the Libyan 
Revolutions which created different political establishments, with Islamic values deeply 
embedded in the nature of political institutions and settings. These two Islamic regimes, 
exceptionally, also show their ability to address problems of social injustice nnd political 
repression. The major deficiency within the Libyan political setup is its lack of multi­
partisan participation. However, this view could be countered on the grounds that Libya 
practices political socialism with its own defined values and principles, as against Western 
multi-partisan democracy. However, Huntington’s prediction could be found in the 
secularized Muslim states as seen in some African countries, where the strict expression of 
Islam on political and economic issues is lacking such as Niger, Senegal, Mauretania, and 
Chad.
Peter Clarke (1984) analysed the Islamic resurgence in the context of West Africa. He 
argued that the Islamic resurgence in West Africa is a complex phenomenon. ‘It 
incorporates reaffirmation of Islamic identity and arises primarily from religious belief. 
Also, it includes the demand for a return to a pure, orthodox form of Islam, the type of 
Islamic society which Usman dan Fodio sought to establish. It could further be an 
attachment to Islam as a cultural community and a well-financed movement in the Islamic 
world which challenges the global concept of modernity.’ He, however, concluded that 
West African Muslims would not wish to assert the all-embracing, self-sufficiency of Islam 
2nd exclude any consideration of other values and ideas'. He emphasized that there is 
considerable tolerance and even ‘mixing’ (Clarke, 1984:256). This view lacks an
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acknowledgement of the specific dynamics of each country in the sub-region and the local 
experiences, since his conclusion was largely drawn from the Nigerian Islamic political 
experience.
Nathan Samwini’s thesis addresses this shortfall in the case of Muslim minority like Ghana. 
He argues that unlike the Muslim resurgence prevalent in other countries which was 
politically motivated, the Muslim resurgence in Ghana was primarily aimed at purifying 
Islam, popularizing it, driving home the idea that the Mahdi or messianic eschatology had 
come and improving the welfare of Muslims in Ghana (Samwini, 2006:251).
All these interpretations seem to emphasize the underlying motive behind the Islamic 
resurgence in contemporary time, which could be explained under Muslims search for 
identity as a result of colonialism and Westernization. Consequently, out of the despair of 
these situations Muslims are turning to Islam as the promise for a better future and as the 
basis for cultural identity through political means. This therefore resulted in the 
‘repoliticization of Islam as ultimate solution to Muslim problems’.
It has been emphasized that one major religious premise of Islamic resurgence or ‘Islamism’ 
is that the correct form of Islam cannot be practiced in the 21st century except in the context 
of an Islamic political regime. On account of this, the Islamists therefore agitate for the 
reconstruction of an Islamically-based authority that is, the gradual reconstitution of the 
Muslim Ummah through the introduction of a comprehensive system of Islamic law, 
government, education, and ethics in the modem world (Abu Rabi, 1994:13).
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The basis of the Islamic resurgence could therefore be viewed from the perspectives of the 
proponents of the resurgence utilizing certain Islamic values in order to give the movement 
its unique religious character and identity. This was done by utilizing certain Islamic 
symbols such as Tajdid (renewal), Islah (reform), Ijtihad (reasoning) and Harakiyya 
(dynamism) to explain their philosophy and principles as based on the problems of the 
Muslim Ummah and as the means of addressing its current condition (Abu Rabi, 1994:13).
The manifestation of Islamic resurgence could therefore be seen in the religious role of 
Muhammad b. Abdul Wahhab who in 1703-87 (18th century C.E.) propounded a puritanical 
brand of Islam known as Muwahidun otherwise called in Ghana as Ahlus-Sunnah, ‘the 
followers of the tradition of the prophet and the companions’. He initiated his movement 
with a view to bringing about moral reconstruction among his people in the Gulf. 
Consequently, Abdul Wahhab’s ideology became prominent when he formed a political 
alliance with the then political regime led by a local prince, Saud. The political alliance 
yielded result with the entrenchment of Wahhabism in the Saudi Arabia and the Gulf in 
general and with wider global effects on a section of the Muslim Ummah. His Da 'wa 
mission is embodied in Tawhid ‘Islamic monotheism’. Through his determination and 
courage his mission spread to almost all parts of the Arabian Gulf, where some religious 
scholars from Makkah, Madina, and Yemen and some rulers in Uyainah supported his 
views.
In addition, the effect of the Iranian Revolution of 1979, which was spearheaded by 
Ayatollah Khomeini, cannot be ignored today. The Revolution shocked the world, since 
until then secularism was initially and widely proclaimed and deemed to be prevailing, and 
religion was seen as being pushed into the periphery. The Revolution brought to the fore a
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different expression of Islam in the global arena, that is ‘political Islam’. Ayatollah’s 
‘political Islam’ approach brought about unique Islamic governance with religious scholars 
(Mullahs) playing significant role in determining the direction of the Iranian life based upon 
Islamic principles. His approach shows the relevance of religion to governance which it was 
hitherto proclaimed to be outmoded.
An interestingly dimension of the Islamic resurgence was the Libyan Revolution of 1 
September 1969. This Revolution did not utilize Islamic symbols in its philosophy but 
rather propounded a religio-political philosophy aimed at addressing global issues through 
the Third Universal Theory of the Green Book It must be stated however, that its principles 
and philosophy are not different from those of mainline Islam. For example, it has been 
argued that the colour green is associated with the Prophet of Islam and therefore the title of 
the book could be understood as both an Islamic alternative and an option for Third World 
aspirations (Esposito, 1995:81). The title also suggests a distinction between the book and 
other political and philosophic books. For instance, the Chinese had their Little Red Book, 
Mao Tse-Tung’s ideological guide for a Third World Revolution and the Jews and 
Christians had the Old and New Testaments of the Bible (Esposito, 1995:81).
The nature of the Islamic resurgence in Ghana in this context is the sectarian expression of 
Islam, such as Shi‘ism, and the Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama‘ah. Furthermore an aspect of the 
Islamic resurgence is politico-religious in nature as it is in respect of Libya's Third 
Universal Theory. One common denominator that these varied Islamic expressions have is 
the interest of some Islamic regimes to disseminate their values in Ghana. Thus, Islamic 
resurgence in this context therefore emerged and arose in Ghana due to Muslim 
transnational relations with the Muslim world. With these various images of Islamic
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resurgent in mind, one can safely conclude that it has brought in its wake divergence 
expressions of Islam based on different sectarian Islamic and political-Islamic ideologies.
This brought about a divergence expression of Islam in Ghana based on different Islamic 
ideologies as found in the Muslim world. It therefore means that Islam is expressed 
differently from one place to the other, depending on the dominant doctrinal group within a 
particular community. For instance, the emergence of Ahlus-Sunnah (Wahhabism) in the 
IS"1 century in ccntral Arabia has brought about a new expression of Islam in the world. 
Likewise, the emergence of Shi'ism and its revival and internationalization after the 11 
February 1979 revolution in Iran has brought about another expression of Islam. The same 
could be said about the Fateh Victory Revolution of 1 September 1969 of Libya, with its 
socialist foundation.
Islamic resurgence in the Muslim world has worldwide ramifications for the entire Muslim 
world. All Muslim settlements around the globe experience one or other aspect of such 
ideological fervour. For instance, the emergence of Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia has affected 
all parts of the Muslim world. The same could be said about Shi'ism as well as the Libyan 
socialist Green Book.
What is the origin of the divergent expressions of Islam in Ghana in the wake of Ghanaian 
Muslims transnational connection with the Muslim world during the post-independence 
penod? Initially, the next section of this study will therefore delve into this question by 
identifying the unique expression of Islam introduced by the Ahlus-Sunnah sect in Ghana.
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J THE ORIGIN OF AHLUS-SUNNAH (WAHABISM) AND THE GHANAIAN 
MUSLIMS
vhlus-Sunnah, or Wahhabism, is the name used to refer to the followers of the teachings of 
vluhammad b. Abdul Wahhab. The origin of the name Wahhabism clearly refers to the 
aame of the founder. The bedrock of Wahhabism rests on Islamic Unitarianism with an 
emphasis on the literal interpretation and teachings of the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the 
prophet.
The historical background of central Arabia dictated the nature and the origin of this Islamic 
ideology. This was because central Arabia during the lifetime of Muhammad b. Abdul 
Wahhab was believed to have been engulfed in superstitious beliefs and practices in the 
form of veneration of saints, trees, stones, etc, and sacrifice at the tombs of the Prophet and 
that of the companions (Abdul Wahhab 1996:10). This necessitated Muhammad b. Abdul 
Wahhab and his followers to resort to the destruction of the shrines of the Shi ah in the 
southern cities of Iraq in order to restore Islam to its perceived purity (Abdul Wahhab 
1996:10).
The intellectual development of Muhammad bn Abdul Wahhab was greatly influenced by 
the ideas and teachings of Ibn Taymiya and Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya, great scholars of 
Hanbali School of Thought (Waines 1995: 208). However, these two scholars differ in their 
methodologies on Islam with Muhammad b. Abdul Wahhab. For instance, Ibn Taymiya 
emphasized social virtues of solidarity and justice as against the individual virtues, which 
have been so typical of Sufism. Again, Ibn Taymiyya was partial in his condemnation of 
Sufism due to its perceived deviation from the doctrines and rituals of Islamic teachings and 
their moral laxity. To Ibn Taymiya, the pristine core of Islam are the Qur'an and the Sunnah
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of the Prophet, therefore there is the room enough for Ijtihad to reconstruct the socio-moral 
condition of the Muslim Ummah at every time.
On the other hand, Ibn Abdul Wahhab rejected Sufism out of hand and turned the exercise 
of Ijtihad into an almost literal imitation (Taqlid) of the customs of the Prophet and his 
Companions (Waines 1995: 208).The uncompromising attitude of Muhammad b. Abdul 
Wahhab might have been due to the perceived degree of widespread of socio-moral laxity 
which was on the ascendancy in Arabia. As a result he called himselt and his followers 
Muwahidun (Unitarians) because of their emphasis on the unity and oneness of Allah 
(Abdul Wahhab 1996: 10). In short, Wahhabism could be understood to be uncompromising 
Muslims towards the subject of Unitarianism, less accommodative of indigenous values, 
with historically a strict and literal interpretation of the Quran and the Sunnah. Wahhabiyya 
is within the larger family of the Salafiyya, an Islamic identity which rested on reclaiming 
the true Islamic tradition of the Prophet propagated by Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayim al- 
Jawziyya. Though, Salafiyya as an Islamic category was preached by Muhammad Abduh, it 
has been used synonymously with Wahhabism as they all preached similar Islamic ideology 
in respect of condemning visitation to the shrines, resentment of Sufi mysticism, and the 
celebration of Maulid Nabi (Olivier 2004:234). Significantly, Abduh’s Salafiyya drew great 
inspiration from the Wahhabi revolution in Arabia and was seen as the best Islamic model at 
the time (Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol 2, page 4)
In recent times, the followers of this Islamic ideology preferred to be identified as Ahlus- 
Sunnah, that is those who adhere to the teachings of the Qur'an and the Sunnah, in addition 
to the collective views and positions of the Companions as against the founder’s name
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(Wahhabiyya or Wahhabism). Within the context of this research, the two names would be 
used interchangeably in reference to people of the same Islamic identity.
The Ahlus-Sunnah believes that their name originates from the Prophet. For instance, it is 
said that the Prophet used the word ‘Sunnah’ to refer to those who will adhere to his 
teachings after him (Hussain 2003:43 op cit). Moreover, the Imams and the proponents of 
the four schools of thought as embodied in the Shari‘a are regarded as Sunni schools and 
Imams. These are the Hanafi School of Abu Hanifa (D.767C.F/150.AH), the Mnliki School 
of Imam Anas b. Malik (795C.E/179 A.H), the Shafi’i School of Imam Shafi’i (d 819 
C.E/204) and the Hanbali School of Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal (d. 855 C.E/241 A.H). This 
has, therefore, necessitated identifying the four schools as the Sunni schools of thoughts in 
contrast to the Shi’i school of thought in Islam.
It must be emphasized that the early Muslim community used the word Ahlus-Sunnah in a 
loose form and not necessarily referring to any kind of organized religious group with that 
title. For instance, it is said that Ibn Abass, a Companion of the Prophet in his commentary 
of the Qur‘an 3:106, indicated that those whose faces will turn white in the hereafter are 
followers of the Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama’ah (Hussain 2003:44 op cit).
Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal and Abu Hassan al-Ashari (d.652 C.E/32 AH) were known as the 
Imam of Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama’a and an authority of Islam within the Ahlus-Sunnah 
Wal-Jama’a respectively (Hussain 2003:44 op cit). Perhaps, they might have earned this 
title as a result of their insistence on and adherence to the teachings of the Prophet. Ibn 
Taymiyya, an 11Ul century Islamic scholar, used to identify himself with Ahlus-Sunnah 
Wal-Jama’ah and frequently referred to the companions as such.
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The alternative name for the Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama’a is Ahlul Hadith (companions of the 
traditions). It means those who uphold to the teachings of the prophetic traditions. This 
name was used because of the attempt to adulterate the tradition of the Prophet at a 
particular point in time in the history of Islam. Consequently, the early Hadith or tradition 
compilers were regarded as the Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama’ah, because they devoted much of 
their time to the study and compilation of the traditions of the prophet (Hussain 2003:45 op
An important point worthy of consideration is the fact that Muhammad b. Abdul Wahhab 
was a Hanbali in respect of jurisprudential inclination. This school of thought put emphasis 
on the tradition of the Prophet and believes in the wholesome application of Hadith in the 
development of Islamic legal thought. Therefore, to the Hanbali anything ever done by the 
Prophet gives the best precedence in the understanding of Islam (Waines 1995:208).
The puritanical position adopted by the founder of the Hanbali school of thought was 
imitated by Muhammad b. Abdul Wahhab through his mentors namely; Ibn Qayyim al- 
Jawziyya and Ibn Taymiyya respectively. These two great scholars of the Hanbali school of 
thought also refined the thinking and methodology of the School. It could therefore be 
safely concluded that the origin and the nature of Wahhabism could be understood in two 
dimensions:
1- The type of education acquired by Muhammad b. Abdul Wahhab from his tutors and 
his mentors on one hand, and the methodology that he depended on or adopted 
(Hanbali School of Thought) on the other, and.
2- The perceived unorthodox religious conditions in the Arabian society, which he 
believed, were highly superstitious and un-Islamic. This perception without doubt
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was due to the nature of the educational orientation that he acquired from his tutors 
which had emphasized Puritanism.
This analysis therefore represents the broader picture against the backdrop of the upsurge of 
Wahhabism in the world. It also serves as the broader framework for the development of 
Wahhabi Islamic ideological identity. It has been observed that the religious orientation 
practiced in Arabia in the 18th century which included the perceived veneration of trees, 
stones, worship and sacrifices at the tomb of the Prophet and the companions resulted in 
puritanism of Abdul Wahhab. It is hoped that this background would be used to compare 
how the Wahhabi Islamic ideology has been developed in the world and in Ghana, in 
particular.
6.4 AHLUS-SUNNAH WAL-JAMA’A (WAHHABISM) IN GHANA 
In Ghana, others call those who follow the teachings of Ibn Abdul Wahhab Wahhabis or 
Wahhabiyya. The followers prefer to be referred to as Muwahidun or Ahlus-Sunnah. 
Wahhabism (followers of the teaching of Muhammad b. Abdul Wahhab) as a religious 
identity manifested itself among Ghanaian Muslims with the establishment of the Saudi 
mission in Ghana in 1961. As stated before, it is said that Kamali Halid, an Indian employee 
of the Saudi Embassy, was in charge of the Islamic Desk there (Umar, interview, 20th 
February 2005). Part of his brief was to teach Ghanaian Muslim students. Such teachings 
were organized at the then Accra Central Mosque. The activities of Kamali Halid there 
could be regarded as the first conscious manifestation of Wahhabism in Ghana, through the 
training of Ghanaian Muslim students.
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Much impetus was added to the work of Kamali Halid when Umar Ibrahim graduated in 
1968 from the Islamic University at Medina in Saudi Arabia. He is the current Imam and 
spiritual leader of Ahlu-Sunnah Wal-Jama‘ah. He subsequently settled in Accra, specifically 
in Nima, and encouraged the upsurge of Wahhabism in Ghana. He sometimes used to assist 
Kamali’s work at the Accra Central Mosque. He subsequently initiated his own educational 
activity at the Nima Central Mosque in 1969, where the Makaranta (Islamic school) 
teachers and section of the Ulama used to attend the classes (Umar, interview, 20th 
February 2005). Interestingly, the subjects and courses of these classcs were tailored 
towards the educational background which he acquired in Saudi Arabia. The studies were 
organized under the Institute of Islamic Studies (Ma 'ahd Diraa 'satul Al-Islamiyya).
The initial stages of teaching and propagation were characterized and bedeviled with many 
problems. On certain occasions the leaders of the mosque who were Sufis and Tijaniyya in 
orientation ejected these classes from the Nima Central Mosque (Umar, interview, 20th 
February 2005).This was due to what was seen as ‘strange teachings' of the Wahhabiyya 
with its associated vilification of the Tijaniyya teachings. Subsequently, the school was 
moved to Abeka, a suburb of Accra. Later on, the school was moved back to Nima when the 
late Ali Toloba a former Mu’adhin (somebody who sermons to prayers in Islam) at Nima 
Central Mosque assisted them with a plot of land. Through this humble beginning, the first 
batch of Wahhabi students was produced in the community. With their teachers they then 
started the open propagation of the new ideology in the community.
When discussing the propagation of Wahhabism in Ghana one must mention that the Saudi 
Embassy also played a significant role in consolidating such a religious movement in the 
Ghanaian Muslim community. The role played was in the area of granting scholarships to
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the graduates of the Institute of Islamic Studies, the foremost Wahhabiyya theological 
institute in Accra, to study in Saudi universities. Also, religious literatures of Wahhabi 
orientations were distributed in the Ghanaian community by the Embassy. Lastly, the Saudi 
authority used the performance of Hajj, which is a pillar in Islam, by Ghanaian Muslims to 
spread the Wahhabi teachings in the community. Ghanaian pilgrims on Hajj observed the 
expression of Islam in Arabia, which is predominantly Wahhabiyya. Thus, the Wahhabiyya 
movement and its teachings were gradually entrenched in the Ghanaian Muslim community. 
With die graduation of these students from the Saudi and other Gulf universities, new 
Islamic educational institutions and organizations which followed the Wahhabiyya 
orientation were established.
6.5 INSTITUTIONS WHICH FACILITATE THE EXPRESSION OF 
WAHHABISM IN GHANA
The expression of Wahhabism in Ghana could be viewed from the activities of the
following organizations with Wahhabi orientation. These include the Institute of Islamic
Studies, the Islamic Research and Reformation Centre and the Supreme Council for Islamic
Call and Research etc.
6.5.1 The Institute of Islamic Studies
The Institute of Islamic Studies located at Nima in Accra was the earliest Wahhabi 
educational institute. Established in 1969, the school has the enrolment capacity of 150 
students per academic year ranging from the junior secondary to the senior secondary level. 
Successful graduates have the chances of gaining scholarships to pursue university 
education in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States. The Institute has produced a sizeable 
number of Wahhabi scholars in Accra (Umar, interview, 20th February 2005). A similar 
situation pertains to other Wahhabi educational centres in other regions of Ghana, such as
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the Al-Azhariyya Islamic Educational Complex at Kumasi in the Ashanti region the 
Nuriyya, and the Anbariyya Islamic Schools at Tamale in the Northern region. A typical 
aspect of the Wahhabiyya educational curricula in Ghana is such that it is always tilted 
towards the dependence of Muhammad b. Abdul Wahhab Islamic exposition, such as 
Kashfiil-Shub hat, Kitab Al-Tawhid, and to some extent the life history of Muhammad b. 
Abdul Wahhab. Importantly, the larger Wahhabi movements in Ghana facilitate the 
infiltration of Arabian educational materials or textbooks into Ghana.
The strength of Wahhabiyya institutions lies in their ability to give early training about the 
Wahhabiyya way of life in Ghana. They also serve as the first point of recruitment for 
Islamic tutors in the Makaranta educational system in Ghana, from kindergarten to primary 
level. This is possible when the students graduate from the institutes with a secondary 
Islamic school certificate. The other strength of the Wahhabiyya educational institutions is 
their preponderance as against other Muslim sects’ educational centers. In all, the 
Wahhabiyya control about 60% of Muslim educational institutions as against other Muslim 
sects. The possible reason for this is the rich natural resources, of the home ground of 
Wahabism, the Arabian Gulf.
Wahhabi scholars in Ghana have access to funding for Islamic projects from tine Muslim 
world. This has further boosted the proliferation of Wahhabi educational centers in the 
Muslim communities. Consequent to of this, students who attend the Wahhabi educational 
centers, for all intents and purposes, are oriented towards the educational approach that their 
tutors also acquired from the Ulama with Wahhabiyya background. A student who 
graduates from institutes of Islamic studies or institutions with a similar Islamic orientation 
tends to be regarded as an intermediate religious leader in the community, being an
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intermediate person of a graduate of an Islamic university in the Arab world. Despite the 
fact that the Wahhabiyya educational centres tend to orient students towards a particular 
Islamic orientation, they serve as the strongest educational bloc in the Muslim community 
in terms of providing access to Islamic education in Ghana.
Wahhabiyya influence can also be seen in the role played by educational institutions 
founded by some Wahhabis in Ghana such as the Al-Azhariyya Islamic Educational 
Complex at Kumasi in the Ashanti region, ilie Anbariyya and the Nuriyya Islamic Schools 
in the Northern region, the Institute of Islamic Studies in the Greater Accra region, among 
others. These educational institutions represent the largest Muslim educational centres in 
Ghana which have substantial support from the Arabian Gulf States, the richest Islamic 
nations in the Islamic world and, coincidentally, Wahhabiyya by doctrinal orientation. This 
situation therefore paints a gloomy picture about the future of other Islamic sects in Ghana 
These sects do not have any Islamic state backing them with funding. The Tijaniyya in 
particular in Ghana represents a sect without backing or support from any Islamic state.
The upsurge of Wahhabism in Ghana could also be viewed from the multitude of Muslim 
educational centres in Ghana owned by the Wahhabis. This is mostly attributable to the feet 
that the Wahhabis in Ghana are generally well connected to the wealthy Arab and Muslim 
countries, which virtually finance Muslim educational infrastructures in Ghana. Moreover, 
the close affinity between Muslim students trained in the major Wahhabi centres of learning 
explains the intertwined connection between ownership of most of these centers by the 
Wahhabis or people with Ahlus-Sunnah doctrinal orientation.
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Generally, contemporary Islamic educational backgrounds in Ghana are influenced by 
Wahhabism because of three factors:
1. The Ghanaian Wahhabis are strongly linked with the Arab world, which serves as
virtually the exclusive funding agencies of Muslim education in Ghana. This also 
implies that the beneficiaries of the majority of the Arab and Islamic countries’ 
development projects in Ghana will be Wahhabis since they share the same doctrinal 
background with them.
2. The ownership of majority of Islamic educational centres by Wahhabi 
Ulama in Ghana.
3. As a corollary, early Makaranta training is mostly supervised by middle level 
Wahhabiyya Ulama with a senior secondary school background.
The factors as enumerated above indicate the interconnected nature of the booming 
economic fortunes and conditions in the Arab world and the extent of Wahhabi activism in 
Ghana, with its specific impact on the nature of Islamic educational background in Ghana. 
There are, however, some weaknesses associated with the nature of these institutions. The 
foremost problem is the lack of secular curricula in their educational syllabi. This approach 
deprives the Muslim child in Ghana of a secular education. The net effect of this type of 
education makes the Muslim student more of an extended Muslim with the outside Arab 
world than a Ghanaian, since he cannot relate effectively to his country's political and 
socio-cultural setting.
Also, in terms of the acquisition of professional skills or knowledge through education, the 
Makaranta system provides limited avenues for professional development in Ghana. This is
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jS a result of the narrow orientation that is offered to the students. In most cases, the only 
profession that the students tend to acquire is an Imam and an Islamic tutor.
The Wahhabi educational system at both the junior and senior secondary levels tends to 
exclude its benefits to young Muslim girls and women in Ghana. This in the end limits the 
Muslim women’s quest for Islamic education at the higher level. The only exception to this 
is those which have been adopted by the Islamic Education Unit of the Ghana Education 
Service. In view of the Wahhabi educational centres deprivation of Muslim girls' higher 
Islamic education, it has compelled some Muslim women with Wahhabi background to 
establish separate Islamic education centers to cater for Muslim women interest.
In addition, Wahhabi educational centres in Ghana serve as the training ground for the 
penetration of Arabian Islamic orientation or Arabian Islamic. This could be observed from 
the type of educational curricula used in most of the Wahhabi centers of learning in Ghana, 
one of the subjects being Islamic monotheism (Tauhid). Coincidentally, the author of the 
book on Tauhid is Muhammad b. Abdul Wahhab, the founder of the Wahhabi movement. 
One will no doubt that the prevailing socio-cultural conditions in the Arabia of his time 
dictated the nature of the book, which serves as another means of instructing Ghanaian 
Muslims on Islam. Textbooks on the history of the centre’s benefactors’ political and 
cultural values are also taught in the Makaranta system.
6-5.2 Islamic Research and Reformation Center
The Islamic Research and Reformation Centre (IRRC) was the earliest organization 
established by the Wahhabiyya movement in Ghana. It was established in 1972 through the 
instrumentality of Umar Ibrahim and Western educated Muslims led by Mijima Saly and
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Abdulai Barou in Nima. These personalities who were political activists of the Convention 
People Party (CPP) of Kwame Nkrumah brought their experiences in party organisation to 
bear in the mobilization of people for IRRC. Originally, it used to be the rallying 
organization of the graduates from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States. The major aim of the 
centre is to propagate Islam and Wahhabism in the Muslim communities. The Islamic 
Research served the Wahhabiyya interests from its inception until when, in the early 1980s, 
disputes broke out among the members, resulting in the fragmentation of the regular 
members ot the movement in Ghana (Umar, interview, 20th February 2005).
The major role played by the IRRC was that it spread Wahhabism in Ghana’s Muslim 
communities. It represented the earliest organization which propagated Wahhabism in 
Ghana. This was made possible through the movement’s weekly outreach propagation 
programme in the Muslim community. This was mostly effective in the southern part of 
Ghana, especially in the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Eastern, Western, and the Volta regions. A 
careful observation of the nature of their religious proselytization method shows that the 
Arabian historical experience dictated its content. This could be discerned from the 
members’ condemnation of the veneration of saints and tombs, the use of charms and 
amulets and divination, which they considered superstitious and, in their estimation, un- 
Islamic. This form of propagation is not different from the founders’ perspective of Islam. 
Culturally, the centre played a role in its members’ outlook in respect of what, in their 
estimation, constitutes Islamic. This manifests itself in the members' dress style which is 
Arabian. A typical example of this tendency is the type of cloak that some Muslim Ulama 
wear, known as Aba ah, and headgear or a veil for men, which is culturally Arabian.
216
The other manifestation of Arabian style adopted by the Wahhabi followers in Ghana is in 
the grooming of beard, which to the followers is in line with the prophetic Sunnah. The 
major problem faced by Wahhabi members in their dress and other imitations of Arab 
culture outlook in Ghana is that some people associate them with terrorists, as portrayed 
recently in the media. The other weakness of the Islamic Research and Reformation Center - 
and most of the Gulf organization is their inability to play an advocacy role of any kind in 
the Ghana’s socio-political landscape. This might have partly been due to the fact that the 
type of education that they acquired is limited only to the religious domain. Lastly, they 
have not been able to reach out through Da 'wa to non-Muslims in Ghana.
6JS3 Supreme Council for Islamic Call and Research
The Supreme Council for Islamic Call and Research is another organization of the 
Wahhabiyya movement formed in Ghana in 1985. Originally its aim was to serve as the 
umbrella organization for all Ulama involved in Da'wa in Ghana, irrespective of their 
doctrinal affiliation. It has, however, become an organization for Muslim scholars from 
Ghana trained in the Arab and the Muslim world, especially graduates from the Arab and 
Gulf States universities. This, therefore, presupposes that it has become one of the leading 
organizations propagating Wahhabism in Ghana, with strong affiliation to the Gulf countries 
and Saudi Arabia. Related to this is the fact that many Gulf States governments and 
organizations acknowledge it in matters concerning Islam and Muslims in Ghana. This is 
because most of them either require or instruct individuals and institutions who want to 
have transactions with them to get a recommendation from the Supreme Council for Islamic 
Call and Research.
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Foreign backing initiated the establishment of the Supreme Council for Islamic Call and 
Research (SCICR). Available information suggests that one Abdallah Mu’ayad, the then 
Director in charge of Da'wa in the Muslim World League was in Ghana in 1985 (Rufai, 
interview, 13th February 2004). He observed the fragmented nature of Du ‘at (scholars who 
propagate Islam) trained in Saudi Arabia. This was partly because of the different 
organizations with Saudi Arabian affiliations which sponsor Muslim Du ‘at in Ghana. These 
include the Muslim World League and the Islamic Fatwa Centre (Darul ifta) of the Ministry 
of Islamic Att'air and Endowment. Consequently, Mu’ayad suggested a united umbrella 
organization of all Du "at in Ghana. The outcome of this was the formation of the Supreme 
Council for Islamic Call and Research in 1985 (Rufai, interview, 13th February 2004). The 
organization has since then maintained its elitist character in respect of membership 
composition.
Because, the leadership crisis within the Wahhabiyya movement was due to personality 
clash between Umar Ibrahim and Shuiab Abubakar, it was suggested that the tenure of 
office of the head of this newly founded organisation be rotated between these two 
personalities for a maximum of six (6) months, with Umar Ibrahim being the first president 
(Rufai, interview, 13th February 2004). When his tenure was over, his allies withdrew their 
supports for and cooperation with Shuaib Abubakar’s presidency. This nearly crumbled the 
organization. Muhammad Bun Ka’uud came from Saudi Arabia to Ghana to reconcile the 
differences between these two leading Wahhabi personalities. In order to bring about sanity 
and unity within the leadership of SCICR an election was held, with Umar Ibrahim Shuaib 
Abubakar, and Ahmed Umar contesting for the presidency. Eventually, Ahmed Umar won 
the election, and it is he who is currently serving as the leader of SCICR (Rufai, interview, 
13th February 2004).
218
onong the major roles that the SCICR plays in the Muslim community in recent times is 
aat it serves as the source of recruitment for Muslim students to study in the Gulf 
miversities. It also serves as a major point of reference for most Ghanaian Islamic 
Mganizations which have interests in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries. Currently it 
established a theological college at Tema, Accra, to train Muslim students who have 
graduated from Islamic secondary schools and wish to further their education at a higher 
level (Musah, interview, 3rd February 2007).
The major successes of the organization in recent times is that it has been able to forge 
closer ties with the Office of the National Chief Imam, to the extent that some of its 
members represent the Office at major ceremonies in Ghana and beyond. Significantly, the 
organization represents the moderate group among the Gulf-trained Ulama in Ghana in 
respect of Da 'wa s methodology and its relationship with other Muslim sects.
As a result of this moderate stance, the organization has been accused of undermining the 
larger Wahhabiyya group’s cause in Ghana and for not cooperating with others with similar 
ideological background in order to create a united Wahhabi front. It has also been suggested 
that its relationship with the Office of the Chief Imam is due to the ambition of individuals 
within its leadership who aspire to occupy the national office in case there is a vacancy. 
This is however, at the expense of uniting the larger Wahhabi community as a formidable 
group among Ghanaian Muslims.
However, a closer observation as to the composition of the National Executive Committee 
of the Supreme Council for Islamic Call and Research suggests that most members of the 
NEC have previously had problems with the Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama'ah (ASWAJ),
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another Wahhabi group in Ghana. Therefore, their relationship with the Office of the 
National Chief Imam is aimed at countering the influence of the Ahlus-Sunnah group in the 
Muslim community in Ghana. It also suggests that the purpose of the SClCR’s adoption of 
the moderate methodology in Da 'wa it is to show that they are diametrically different from 
the ASWAJ group, which is noted for extremism and radicalism. This argument is based on 
the feet that when most of the Supreme Council members were part of the Islamic Research 
and Reformation Centre propagating Wahhabism, they also adopted a radical approach to 
Da’»Y7. The group is perceived to be a rival orgnnization to the ASWAJ on almost every 
issue in the Muslim community partly due to personal differences, even though they 
represent a bloc in the propagation of Wahhabism in Ghana. It could be concluded that, the 
SCICR approach to Da 'wa was strategic as to make it relevant in the Ghanaian religio- 
political landscape. Their alignment with the Office of National Chief Imam and adoption 
of moderate Da 'wa enable them to reach out to larger audience in the Ghanaian Muslim 
religious context Lastly, because of this strategy, their members are also heralded as the 
forerunners to the national Muslim leadership in Ghana.
Generally, the influence of the SCICR is very limited in the Muslim communities of Ghana 
since the organization lacks mass membership. Yet, most of their members in their 
individual capacity have built up a high reputation for themselves in the Muslim 
communities, as a result of upholding their Wahhabiyya identity. Like IRRC, however, the 
organization does not play any significant advocacy role in the Ghanaian socio-political 
landscape. Also, the organization has not extended its Da'wa activities to non-Muslim 
communities. Lastly, the domain of the SCICR Da 'wa is found in the urban cities.
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6.5.4 Islamic Charity Centre for Women Orientation
The Islamic Charity Centre for Women Orientation, which was founded in 1989 by some 
women with Wahhabiyya background, is one of the dynamic Ahlus-Sunnah organizations in 
the Ghanaian Muslim community. It has branches in Accra, Kumasi, Eastern, Central, and 
Western regions of Ghana. A group of concerned Muslim women in the Ghanaian Muslim 
community founded the organization. It is linked to the Federation of Muslim Women’s 
Association of Ghana (FOMWAG). Some of the aims of the organization are to educate 
Muslim women about Islam, to encourage them, address the welfare needs of their children 
through the establishment of Islamic centres, and mobilize women to contribute towards 
Islam and the larger society.
Aida Jibril gave the interpretation of the organization’s logo: the image of a woman with 
sword and a pen. According to her the sword means the Muslim woman’s preparedness to 
fight ignorance. The pen signifies a Muslim woman seeking knowledge. She indicated that 
the organization established an educational complex at Mamobi in 1994. This offers 
facilities from a creche to a junior secondary school. The goal for enrolment at the school 
was 204 pupils. However, the school is now experiencing over-enrolment with about 300 
pupils. It has already acquired a plot of land at Kasoa Garba in the Central region for an 
Islamic secondary school (Aida, interview, 18th May 2005).
The most interesting change that the organization brought to the community is that, 
weekend Islamic classes are organized for Muslim women. Hajia Aida indicated that the 
enrolment at these classes has been overwhelming. She said that the school always registers 
women’s attendance at the classes at not below 1000 per a week. Subjects taught at the 
centre are:
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1. Qur‘an
2. Qur'anic exegesis (Tafseer)
3. Islamic culture
4. Tradition of the prophet (Hadith) etc.
Salma Tahir, a founding member of the organization indicated that it has 35 branches 
nationwide. When the researcher asked about the tutors’ educational background in Islamic 
studies, she said that none of the teachers has ever been to the Islamic ..orld Lr but
most had completed Islamic primary education in Ghana. Salma is of the view that their 
ability to impart knowledge to others is a gift from Allah despite their poor educational 
background. She, however, confessed that, for extra tutorials at home, some of the teachers 
rely on their husbands who are Wahhabi graduates from the Islamic world (Salma, 
interview, 18th May 2005).
In recent times the quest to impart quality Islamic education to other women compelled the 
tutors to contract Wahhabi male teachers for extra Islamic studies. Hussein Abdul Rahim is 
one of these tutors. He identified some of the Islamic courses that they run to instruct the 
female tutors. These include the foundation of Fiqh, Da 'wa methodology, Quranic sciences, 
Tauhid and Islamic jurisprudence at the highest level. Arabic is the medium of instruction 
(Hussain, interview, 5th June 2005).
Among some of the innovations that the Wahhabiyya women introduced into the Muslim 
community is that the entertainment of Muslim women during wedding and naming 
ceremonies which used to be in the form of music and dancing with its concomitant un- 
Islamic practices has now been given an Islamic outlook. This could be seen from the fact
222
that they have introduced propagation (Da'wa) during such ceremonies. In addition, the 
extravagance associated with most of the former entertainments has been done away with. 
Aida concluded that as a result of this new orientation that the Muslim women have 
undergone they have been channeling their resources towards the upbringing of their 
children by assisting in the establishment of educational and recreational centres. She 
indicated that the organization now has educational complexes at Madina, Ashaiman, and 
Zabarima line, all in the Greater Accra region. The group also has another educational 
complex at Kasoa in the Central region.
The resurgence of Wahhabiyya in Ghana could also be seen in the type of religious 
activities that were organized in the mosque. In most cases, the ASWAJ mosques in Accra 
have been turned into religious seminaries, in which the female tutors teach the women folk 
Islamic studies after dawn prayers (Salatul-Fajir). Aida indicated that they have such 
Islamic classes in about fifty (50) mosques in Accra alone with the enrolment of Muslim 
women at 30-40 for each centre (Aida Interview, 18th May 2005)
Another dimension of the group orientation of Muslim women in the community is that they 
engage in Da 'wa publicly. This was formerly unknown and condemned by some of the 
Wahhabiyya male leaders. They organize Da 'wa in the community during ceremonies and 
occasions such as weddings, outdooring, funerals, workshops and entertainments for 
Muslim women in conformity with Islamic teachings and standards.
Aida was of the view that what motivated some of them to take up this task was that in most 
Muslim ceremonies the dominance of the Muslim male group is such that it creates the 
impression that, religious issues in Islam are the exclusive preserve of the male, which as far
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as Islam is concerned, is not the case. This impression has far-reaching negative 
consequences for the development of Muslim women. This is because, in most of the 
Muslim ceremonies, the male Ulama always paint a bad picture of the Muslim women. 
According to her, the male Ulama always emphasize during their propagation that the best 
Islamic teachings for Muslim women is of absolute submission, subservience and obedience 
to their husbands as well as their confinement to household and domestic activities. She 
concluded that this was the situation that Muslim women faced before the emergence of her 
group (Aida Interview, 18,h May 2005). The study shows that Wahhabi women in Ghana arc 
contesting over the religious boundaries set by the male Ulama as also shown in other 
studies (Eickelman et al 1996:93)).This is partly to create their own vision for themselves 
and the society at large.
In short, the activities of the Islamic Charity Centre for Women orientation have generated a 
spirited enthusiastic dimension of Islamic resurgence within the Muslim women’s circles. 
This represents the Wahhabi women’s contributions towards the Islamic resurgence in 
Ghana. Most of the women who participate in the centre’s educational activities in the 
community perceive the organization as a non-sectarian: however the type of Islamic 
resurgence that the organization provides is purely Wahhabi in character. The prime activity 
of this centre could therefore be safely regarded as the ‘ Wahhabiyazation' of Muslim 
women in general in Ghana.
Historically, the involvement and participation of Muslim women in religious activities was 
not visible prior to Ghana’s diplomatic relations with the Islamic world. For example, the 
role of Muslim women in the performance of Salat (prayers) and identification with Islamic 
veiling (Hijab) were not noticed until they were married. However, the contemporary
224
situation of the Muslim women in the post-independence Ghana suggests that there is 
phenomenal upsurge in Muslim women’s participation in religious activities and 
identification with Islamic veiling as early as pre-puberty. This might be as a result of the 
fact that Muslim transnational contacts with the Muslim world after 1957 have facilitated 
the acquisition of higher Islamic education. This eventually created a greater awareness on 
the part of Ulama that Muslim women are as responsible as men in religious matters. This 
change in attitude could not, however, be credited solely to Ghanaian Muslims’ 
transnational interaction with die Muslim world. This is because Western cducaicd Muslim 
women also played a role significantly in invigorating the spirit of Islam among Muslim 
women in Ghana. These secularly educated Muslim women include Katumi Mahama, Lami 
Futa and Rabiatu Ammah.
6.5.5 Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama‘ah (ASWAJ)
The Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama‘ah is a new Wahhabi organization formed in 1997 in Ghana. 
It has become the leading Wahhabi organization due to the vibrant role that it has been 
playing in recent times. It also has the largest support base among the Wahhabiyya 
organizations in Ghana. It was formed to bring to the fore the public face of the Wahhabiyya 
way of life.
This organization is unique from the other Wahhabiyya organisations, because it has mass 
appeal and grass root support in the Ghanaian Muslim community. It has established 
branches in all parts of the country, from district to regional and national levels with a 
strong membership drive. Presently Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama'ah could arguably be regarded 
as the foremost Wahhabiyya organization which caters for the ordinary Wahhabis ' interest 
as against the Supreme Council and the rest. They preach Wahhabism loudly in the
225
Ghanaian Muslim community especially, through their quarterly and annual conventions. 
Equally important is their ability to forge closer ties with other sister organizations in the 
sub-region of West Africa. This resulted in the formation of the West African Ahlus-Sunnah 
Wal-Jama’ah in 2001 called Rabitatul Du al (the League of Muslim Preachers). This was 
not however without some external influence, since it has been realized that Tais Al-Jumaili 
was very instrumental in the formation of the West African Network of ASWAJ.1 
The National Imam of ASWAJ is Umar Ibrahim Imam. He informed the researcher about 
some of the problems that he and his group encountered that necessitated the formation of 
ASWAJ. He indicated that when he and his group first arrived in Ghana in the late 1960s, 
they did not intend forming an organization to represent the aspiration of the Muslims here. 
This is because they thought that they were all part of the Sunni Islam and could work hand 
in hand to advance the course of Islam and Muslims in Ghana. He indicated that this attitude 
of theirs manifested itself in their relationship with the Office of the National Chief Imam. 
For instance, both the Office of the National Chief Imam and the Wahhabis leadership 
collectively dealt with most decisions affecting Muslims, even though at that time, the 
Ahlus-Sunnah existed acephalously, without any organized structures in Ghana.
He indicated that at one time there were indications that the Ahlus-Sunnah sect would be 
marginalized in decision-making structures within the Muslim community. The net effect of 
this development was the strong agitation from the membership to mobilize an Ahlus- 
Sunnah group into an organization in order to withstand the challenges confronting it in 
Ghana. He indicated that at the initial stage of its formation the organization met with strong
This view was based on the researcher’s own involvement in Muslim activities at the community level, when 
he was the National Vice-President of the Ghana Muslim Students Association (OMSA). During one of Tais Al- 
Jumaih’s visit to Ghana in 2001 a meeting was scheduled t with Muslim Du at. At the meeting he pledged to 
assist in the formation of the largest forum for Du'at and to network with them in the sub-region of West Africa.
hostility and resistance such as harassment from the security forces. However, currently all 
is running smoothly (Umar, interview, 20u> February 2004).
Muhammad Kamil, the regional Imam of the group in the Ashanti region, also provided 
another dimension to the origin of Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama‘ah. He indicated that originally 
all the Wahhabi trained Ulama in Ghana were under one umbrella organization, namely the 
Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs and Research. He argues that at one time some of them 
ielt that die leadership of the Supreme Council was not doing enough to projcct the unique 
identity of the Ahlus-Sunnah group in Ghana. Among some of these personalities were the 
late Taufiq Bakr of the Ashanti region, Anas of Brong Ahafo region, Kamil in the Ashanti 
region, and Bashir Yendu of Accra (Kamil, interview,).
As a result, some of them embarked upon coordinated and aggressive Da 'wa within their 
respective regions with a view to enlightening their followers on the uniqueness of the 
movement as against the perceived adulterated and superstitious nature of the Tijaniyya sect 
in Ghana. He emphasized that this strategy resulted in divisions within the ranks of the 
Supreme Council of which they were all members. He admitted that it was as a result of 
their Da 'wa strategies that the doctrinal conflicts emerged in the Brong Ahafo and Ashanti 
regions between their followers and the Tijaniyya sect, especially the radical elements 
among them. This situation required the leadership of the Supreme Council to summarily 
dismiss some of them who held executive positions within the organization. The leadership 
of the Supreme Council also dissociated itself from the conflicts (Kamil, interview, 14* 
January 2007). According to Kamil, the outcome of the conflict was very regrettable and 
catastrophic because it resulted in the loss of lives, properties and the imprisonment of 
some, because of the role that they played.
227
However, this situation did not deter or discourage them from their Da ‘wa propagation. 
Rather, they intensified this by moving from one region to the other. Their Da ‘wa outreach 
programmes spread from the Brong Ahafo, Ashanti and Western regions until they finally 
converged at the Greater Accra region. He confirmed that the nature of their outreach 
programs further escalated the doctrinal differences and eventually the conflicts between the 
Tijaniyya and Ahlus-Sunnah group of which he was a member. It was during that period 
that they realized the helpless situation that they were in, in terms of lack of a centralized, 
effective, recognized leadership. This was because in most of the arbitration and litigation 
they tended to be at the receiving end. This is not withstanding the fact that the National 
Chief Imam, as the father of all Muslims in Ghana, is also a Tijaniyya by doctrinal 
orientation whose evidence tends to override any evidence that the Ahlus-Sunnah followers 
will give. This was partly due to the fact that the government at that time acknowledges the 
National Chief Imam as the sole leader of Muslims in Ghana, and partly as a result of a lack 
of effective and recognized sectarian Ahlus-Sunnah leadership (Kamil, interview, M* 
January 2007).
Consequently, they immediately resolved to establish structures throughout the entire 
country. This background therefore explained the actual differences between the Ahlus- 
Sunnah Wal-Jama’a, which represents a puritanical and less accommodative movement, as 
against the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs and Research, which represents a moderate 
group among the Wahhabi divisions in Ghana. This historical background on the origin of 
Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama‘ah therefore marked the differences in the nature and approaches 
between the ASWAJ and the Supreme Council.
228
Two issues are therefore discemable and worth stressing as to the nature of the Wahhabiyya
Movement in Ghana. It would be realized that:
1 The Wahhabiyya group lacks a coherent and united leadership front in Ghana. This
could be observed in the diametric leadership structures of the movement as in the 
nature of ASWAJ, the SCICR and the Anbariyya group. The Anbariyya group is 
being led by the disciples of the late Yussif Ajura in the Northern region (known as 
the Sakasaka Road Wahhabiyya or the Anbariyya Wahhabiyya).2 This was as a 
result of their marginalization in the national leadership structure of the ASWAJ.
2. Philosophically and ideologically, however, they all uphold their Wahhabi Islamic
identity and propagate the same brand of Wahhabism in Ghana.
Among some of the factors which consolidated the strong foundation for the early Wahhabi
leadership in Ghana and for that matter Accra in particular were:
1. The early pilgrims who have been exposed to Umar Ibrahim in Saudi Arabia while 
he was studying. They became his first supporters in Ghana before his arrival. This 
was due to the fact that these early pilgrims were convinced that Arabian Islam is the 
original and standard Islam.
2. The support base created by some of the youth in Nima and his mentor, Hamza 
Abdul Salam, was another factor. This was because of the great popularity he used 
to enjoy among the youth and the extent of popularity of his mentor in the 
community.
J'yrphic' .^ue3<^ay 26 June, 2007: 23. This publication captured news about the election ofSaeed 
u akar Zakana as the spiritual leader of the Al-Sunni Muslims in the country. This indicates that they are not 
parto the larger neither ASWAJ nor SCICR leaderships' respectively in Ghana and exist independently.
229
3 Because Umar emerged as the most learned person in the Islamic sciences at that 
time in Accra, this also gave him the upper hand in the community (Umar, 
interview, 20th February 2005).
6.6 BIOGRAPHY OF THE FOUNDER OF AHLUS-SUNNAH WAL-JAMA’A IN 
GHANA
The brain behind the formation of Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama’ah and Wahhabism in Ghana 
was Umar Ibrahim Imam, the current Imam of the organization. He happened to be first 
Ghanaian to have been enrolled at and graduated from the Islamic University in Medina, 
Saudi Arabia. He was bom in 1932 at Ankuma in the Eastern region of Ghana to a farmer, 
Ibrahim Abdullah, a native of Basila from the Republic of Benin (Umar, interview, 20th 
February 2005). He received his first Islamic education at his father’s feet. The father later 
handed him over to Bunyaminu Alhassan to be educated. He settled at Koforidua and then 
at Nima in 1945 with his Mallam. The Mallam, a professional tailor trained Umar as a 
tailor. He married in 1957 (Umar, interview, 20th February 2005).
When his Mallam passed away in 1956 he decided to continue his academic pursuits 
beyond Ghana’s borders. He made his first trip to Sudan in 1958, with a view to studying at 
Al-Azhar University in Egypt, which did not materialize. In the Sudan he joined the 
pilgrims traveling to Saudi Arabia in 1959 with the intention of performing the annual Hajj 
and seeking educational opportunities. Fortunately, after the performance of the Hajj in that 
year, he sat at the feet of an array of Wahhabi scholars in the Grand Holy Mosque in 
Makkah. He later continued his secondary Islamic education at Darul-Hadith in Mecca until 
1962 when the Islamic University of Medina was established (Umar, interview, 20th 
February 2005). He became a pioneer student of the University and was the first Ghanaian 
to enroll in Saudi University (Umar, interview, 20th February 2005). He indicated in
230
respect of his education in Saudi Arabia that the major books of Ibn Abdul Wahhab, the 
founder of Wahhabiyya, such as Kitab al-Tauhid, Kashful-Shub’hat, as well as the Hanbali 
literature of Islamic jurisprudence were extensively used in their studies (Umar, interview, 
20th February 2005).
He returned in 1964, home for summer holidays, where according to him, he discovered the 
deteriorating moral and spiritual laxity of Ghanaian Muslims. This reaffirmed his resolve to 
correct this distorted understanding of Islam. For instance, according to him, people used 
not to pray and fast in certain communities in Accra on the grounds that they have reached 
the highest point of Tijaniyya Tarbiyya. These categories of Muslims claim that Allah has 
taken away the burden of prayers in their life. Some even claim that they can see Allah with 
their naked eyes. This situation necessitated the emergence of Abubakar Abdullah Maula, 
popularly known as Mallam Maibolala (the Mallam who whips or canes in the Hausa 
language) with his strict enforcement of Islamic principles by insisting that women should 
be strictly veiled (Umar, interview, 20th February 2005).
The prevailing religious condition of the Ghanaian Muslims at that time also brought about 
the late Yussif Ajura’s active Da ‘wa propagation to the southern part of Ghana, especially 
Accra, in 1964. He then teamed up with Hamza Abdul Salam, the mentor of Umar Ibrahim, 
and Umar himself who was on a short vacation from Saudi Arabia to wage a crusade against 
the perceived prevailing religious condition of the Muslim Ummah. He intimated that it was 
normal to see Ghanaian Muslims involved in what he termed ‘superstitious beliefs’, like the 
belief in the powers of the dead, or what some people called saints, the use of talismans and 
amulets, and the veneration of saints, among others (Umar,interview, 20th February 
2005). Umar might have been influenced by his new interpretation of Islam from his
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Wahhabi tutors whose Islamic orientation was ultimately coloured by Muhammad b. Abdul 
Wahhab’s ideology of Islam.
6.7 THE DISTINCTIVE TEACHINGS OF AHLUS-SUNNAH (WAHABISM) IN 
GHANA
The orientation of the Wahhabiyya movement in Ghana in terms of their beliefs and 
practices are not different from any other Wahhabiyya anywhere. Nevertheless, socio­
cultural factors and people indigenous practices vary, from community to another. 
Therefore, the tendency on the part of some people to get involved in some acts which 
amount to infidelity according to the Ahlus-Sunnah leader is high. For instance, consulting a 
soothsayer and believing in him/her will amount to a person forfeiting his faith. In addition, 
the use of talisman and amulets and drinking of Quranic erasures mixed concoctions are 
among the topmost issues preached against by the Ahlus-Sunnah in Ghana (Umar, 
interview, 20th February 2005).
The Ahlus-Sunnah could also be distinguished from other religious sects in the Muslim 
community in Ghana, through what they claim to be their standard points of reference:
1. They claim to be strict adherents to the teachings of the Prophet, and what the 
Prophet approves through the practice of the companions. Perhaps that is why they 
are referred to Ahlus-Sunnah, that is, those who follow the teachings and the 
practices of the Prophet.
2. The major books of reference used by the Ahlus-Sunnah are the Quran and the 
Sunnah of the Prophet. In the estimation of the Ahlus-Sunnah, the reliability of any 
source cannot match that of the Quran and the Sunnah on matters of Islam and must 
be rejected outright (Umar, interview, 20th February 2005).
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The Ahlus-Sunnah group in Ghana could also be distinguished from other Muslim sects by 
their mode of dress. For instance, a typical Ahlus-Sunnah likes putting on a long dress 
known as Jalbab for men and a pair of short trousers ending just after the ankle. They could 
also be distinguished from other Muslims with long beards, which they claim is in 
conformity with the Prophet’s way of life.
In conclusion, the expression of the Islamic resurgence within the Wahhabi movements in 
Ghana varies. This Wahhabi expression of the Islamic resurgence could be discerned from 
the activities of the aforementioned organizations and educational institutions in Ghana. The 
outcome of the research within this section shows that the Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama‘ah 
organization facilitates the popular expression of the Wahhabi brand of Islamic resurgence 
in Ghana through mass and grassroot mobilization of members with its radical outlook and 
approach.
On the other hand, the Supreme Council for Islamic Call and Research also facilitates the 
expression of the Wahhabi brand of Islamic resurgence through the individual efforts of 
their members and because it is moderate and receptive to the Tijaniyya sect. This diametric 
approach might represent different notions of Da ‘wa within the two organizations. It was 
also found that, despite the fact that the two organizations have different approaches to 
Da’wa, none of them abdicate their Wahhabi identity in Ghana. In short, Wahhabism is 
progressively and increasingly gaining root in the Muslim community in Ghana through the 
conversion of some Tijaniyya members to the new sect or ideology.
Umar s embrace of the Ahlus-Sunnah or the Wahhabi orientation was a matter of 
coincidence, since it was not the Wahhabiyya teaching which ultimately endeared him to
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seek an education in Saudi Arabia. It must, however, be added that the wave of Wahhabiyya 
Islamic resurgence was already on the way and was to affect Ghanaian Muslims through 
globalization with the establishment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic relations 
with Ghana and of the Arabian Gulf states in Ghana. In short, Wahhabism manifested itself 
in Ghana through two major means, one being individual Muslim’s efforts in seeking 
academic laurels, as in the case of Umar. Secondly, the establishment of Saudi Mission in 
Ghana propelled the extent of the Wahhabi Islamic resurgence through granting of 
scholarships and incentives to the adherents of the movement. As indicated earlier the 
Wahhabiyya Movement in Ghana is to some extent fragmented. The origin of Shi‘ism in 
Ghana in the context of the Islamic resurgence will be discussed in the next section of the 
study.
6.8 SHTISM AND THE GHANAIAN MUSLIMS
6.8.1 The Origin of Shi‘ism (Historical Overview)
Shi‘ism is a religious doctrine and sect in Islam. Its origin could be traced back to the death 
of the Prophet. It is said that immediately after his death, a dispute broke out at the Saqiffa 
Assembly over the choice of his successor to the leadership of the Ummah. The dispute over 
the leadership was between the Madinan people (Ansar) on the one hand, the Makkans 
(Muhajiruri) on the other, and some cross section of the Sahabah or Companions of the 
Prophet camped at his residence mourning with Fatima, the only surviving daughter of the 
prophet, and her husband, Ali.
On the face of it, this dispute was based on the issue of personalities yet it also created a 
deeper and more immediate factor for the emergence of doctrinal and political views, all 
with almost divergent positions (Jafri 1989:27). The result of this incident gave birth to
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Shi'ism in the remote sense as a religious and political doctrine in Islam. Even though 
argument has been raised as to any serious study on Shi'ism must of necessity take into 
account the nature and the composition of the Muslim community which emerged in 
Madina. This community was neither homogenous in its cultural outlook and traditions nor 
in its politico-social institutions. This is because; the new community was the result of a 
unification of different people of divergent cultural backgrounds (Jafri 1989:27). However, 
this assumption does not eliminate the deep-rooted values and traditions of the people with 
regard to the position occupied by the Banu Hashim in the pre-Islamic Arabian Peninsula. 
Consequently, the inclination of some of the Companions to support Ali as the leader at 
Saqiffa was a natural consequence of the already existing situation among the Arabs.
The immediate factor which gave rise to Shi'ism as an organized religious and political 
institution in Islam was the Battle of Siffin and the resulting arbitration between Ali, the 
fourth Caliph, and Mua'wiya, the Governor of Syria at that time, by a committee of eminent 
companions from both parties. Shi'ism was not the only doctrine that emerged at Siffin. The 
battle also gave birth to Kharijites, as a group of Muslims who stood on the fence between 
Shi'at Ah (Ah’s party) and Mua'wiya supporters, and declared the two parties as 
unbelievers.
Originally, those who expressed special devotion and loyalty to Ali in the face of the Battle 
of Shiffin between Ali and Mua'wiya were known as Shi'at Ali, which simply means Ali's 
faction or party. However, in the course of time they changed their position from a political 
allegiance to a religious doctrine. They were therefore known in short as Shi ah. Gradually, 
over a period of three centuries, they formed a splinter group within the Muslim community 
with a separate religious creed and doctrines. For instance, the Zaidiyya are found mainly in
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the Yemen, whereas Isma‘iliyya are found within East Africa and India. The Immamiyya, 
being the largest segment of Shi 'ah in the world, is mostly found in Iran, southern regions 
of Iraq and Lebanon, they are also scattered in the Gulf States, Afghanistan, India, and 
Pakistan (Waines 1995:157).
The Imamiyya brand of Shi'ism is the prevailing Shi’i orientation in Ghana. Therefore, the 
major focus of this research will be the Imamiyya Shi ‘ah, which is the prevailing Shi’i 
orientation in Ghana. The next section of this research will focus on the Shi‘ah Imamiyya 
doctrine.
6.8.2 The Shi’i Doctrine (The Imamate Doctrine)
It is important to note that the Shi ‘ah, as is the case with any other religious groups, have 
divisions and sub-sects with different doctrines and beliefs such as Ismailiyya, Zaidiyya, 
and Imamiyya. The first doctrine of the Shi ‘ah Imamiya is the concept of Imamate or 
religious leadership. It is the belief of the Imamiya that, Allah bestows the prerogative of the 
Muslim leadership upon a chosen person from the family of the Prophet, who before his 
death and with the guidance of Allah, transfers the Imamate to another by explicit 
designation or text (Nass) (Jafri 1989:156).
By this doctrine, Imamate is exclusively the preserve of a particular family within the 
Muslim Ummah, which according to the Shi ‘ah is traceable from the Prophet to Ali (his 
son-in-law), from Ali to Hasan, from Hasan to Hussein up to Ja'far. That is the legacy of the 
chosen family. The Shi'ah are of the view that the number of the Imams is twelve, 
beginning from Ali b. Abi Talib, the fourth caliph (601-661 A.D) and ending with 
Muhammad b. Hasan (256-/870) who is known as Al-Mahdi (Rida 1999:32). Mahdi simply
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means the guidance and the reformer. To the Shi'ah the son of Imam Hasan al-Askari was 
called the Mahdi, because he has disappeared and will reappear later to reform the world 
from injustice, corruption and oppression.
Inherent in the doctrine of ‘special knowledge’ (Nass) is the scope of the applicability of the 
term Sacred House (Ahlul-Bayt). This was due to the fact that the larger family of the Banu 
Hashim was claiming ownership of the title, because they are all descendants of one great 
ancestor, whereas the Shi'ah argue that the title is exclusively restricted to the family of Ali 
and his wife Fatima and their children (Jafri 1989: 290). This is because, to the Shi'ah, the 
leadership of the Muslim Ummah would be meaningless unless it is traceable to the person 
of Ali.
The second important doctrine of Shi‘ism is the doctrine of knowledge (Jim). This doctrine 
holds that the Imam is a divinely inspired possessor of a special sum of knowledge of the 
religion. This type of knowledge is transferable before his death to the next Imam. This in a 
way makes the Imam an exclusively authoritative source of religious knowledge. It is 
through him that the masses draw their guidance. This special type of knowledge includes 
both external (Zahir) and the esoteric (Batin) meanings of the Qur'an (Jafri 1989: 290).
Another distinguishing doctrine of Shi‘ism is the concept of Taqiya, which has been 
translated to mean dissimulation that is a believer can conceal his true religious identity 
when faced with danger. This concept, according to the Shi ah, allows the believer to 
protect himself and his religion from the enemies in a situation where there is fear of being 
humiliated, killed, captured or abused. Also, the Shi 'ah pays much reverence to the shrines 
of the Imams. It is recommended that every Shi’i adherent should make at least a visit
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(Ziyara) in his/her life time to the shrines of the Imams. The essence of the visitation is to 
show fidelity and loyalty to the Imams (Muzaffar Rida 1999:32). In the light of this history 
of the doctrine, it is appropriate to survey the background of Shi'ism in Ghana and the 
nature of its orientation.
6.9 SHI‘AH IN THE GHANAIAN MUSLIM COMMUNITY
6.9.1 The Expression of Shi‘ism through Shi’i Organisations in Ghana
In Ghana, those who adhere to the teachings of Shi'ism are known as the Shi'ah. Their 
leader is Abdul Salam Abdul Hamid Bansi, the first Ghanaian to be educated in Iran as a 
Shi'ah. The expression of Shi'ism in Ghana could be discerned from the activities of 
organizations with strong attachment to Shi’i orientation or organizations founded by 
Ghanaian Muslims with that orientation.
Shi’i expression and orientation take place in the Shi'ah Community Mosque, which is 
located at Mamobi in the Greater Accra region, where they observe and carry out their 
religious activities. Within this mosque, religious and seminary education takes place for the 
Muslim youth interested in studying Islam along the Shi ‘ah perspective. In addition, Fatima 
bintu Zahra Vocational Training Centre is located within this mosque. This centre provides 
vocational training and Islamic studies to Muslim women in Accra. Educational orientation 
along the Shi’i line is an integral part of the vocational training at the mosque.
6.9.2 The World Ahlui-Bayt Assembly
The key Shi'ah organization in Ghana is the World Ahlul-Bayt Assembly located at 
Mamobi in Accra. This is the umbrella organization for Shi 'ah Ulama in Ghana. Through 
this organization Da ‘wa activities are carried out in the Muslim community. In addition,
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monthly allowances to the Ulama are paid through this organization. It was established that 
the religious activities of this organization are barely visible in the Muslim community in 
flhana ft has, however, been realized that most of its activities are limited to the Shi'ah 
community of believers in Ghana. It was also observed that membership to this organization 
is mainly made up of comparatively people aged 28 to 37. The educational background of 
the majority of the members’ shows that they are graduates of Islamic senior secondary. 
This might have therefore affected their ability to embark upon aggressive Da ‘wa to other 
non-Shi‘ah Muslims as they lack experience. In all, the operations of this organisation arc 
limited to the welfare of its members. Nevertheless, it embarks on some Da ’wa activities in 
the community. Lastly, what might have partly discouraged members from aggressive 
Da’wa is the lack of an audience of the majority of Muslims to listen to their message as a 
result of the fact that the larger Muslim community has already been assimilated into the 
Tijaniyya and the Ahlus-Sunnah blocs.
6.93 The Imam Hussein Islamic Foundation
The Imam Hussein Islamic Foundation is another organization of the Shi ‘ah community in 
Ghana. Abdul Salam Bansi established it in 1989. The aim of this organization is to 
distribute Islamic literature of Shi ‘ah orientation to interested Muslims in the community. It 
also provides other services in the area of students’ welfare, especially students’ allowances 
and scholarship within the community.
In recent times, the Foundation has played a limited role in the Muslim community, partly 
as a result of the establishment of the Iranian Cultural Centre in Ghana which has taken over 
part of its role. For instance, programmes related to the distribution of Shi 'ah literature and 
the granting of scholarship to Muslim students is no longer the role of the Imam Hussein
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Foundation. The Foundation, however, is still instrumental in organizing seminary 
education for Shi’i students in the Shi'ah Central Mosque at Mamobi. In short, the role of 
the Imam Hussein Foundation is not presently very noticeable in Ghana’s Muslim 
community except within the Shi’i circle and is further limited to Accra.
6.9.4 The Ghana Muslim Shi'ah Society
The Ghana Muslim Shi 'ah Society was founded in 2003. This organization is distinct from 
other Shi 'all groups because it projects Shi'ism in the media by using the English language. 
Abubakar Ahmed Kamaldeen is a founding member. He indicated that the educational 
background of the founders of most Shi'ah organizations in Ghana is from Shi’i seminary 
and they lack a Western educational background. According to him this makes their 
contribution to the Muslim community not in tune with current times, since their 
participation is limited to the traditional Islamic approach to Da ‘wa in the vernacular.
The Ghana Muslim Shi ‘ah Society’s members are the exception to this pattern, as they have 
a secular orientation. This, therefore, makes their participation in the Muslim community 
very relevant They rely on modem and sophisticated approaches to Da ‘wa. For instance, 
they make use of radio and television in their propagation. As they are graduates from 
tertiary institutions in Ghana they are able to use English as a medium of expression in their 
Da'wa. This enables them to attract a large audience consisting of Muslims and non- 
Muslims alike. The history of this organization suggests that it originated when some young 
Shi i wished to present a different kind of image of Shi‘ism in Ghana. This was necessary as 
the youth feel marginalized in the existing Shi’i leadership structure. Members of this new 
organization, for the moment, play a minimal role in the entire structure of the Shi’i 
movement in Ghana.
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6 9.5 The League of Ahlui-Bayt Islamic Organisations
The League of Ahlul-Bayt Islamic Organization is another organization within a section the 
Shi'ah. Its function is similar to that of the World Ahlul-Bayt Assembly. Abdul Hamid 
Abdul Salam Bansi is the leader of Shi'ism in Ghana. He was bom in 1956 at Tula in 
Burkina Faso. He received his primary education from his mother who was a learned person 
on Islam and later studied under his father, who was a religious leader at Tula (Bansi, 
interview, 13th February 2005). His quest for knowledge led him to travel at the age of 12 
years in 1971 to Bawku in the Upper East region of Ghana. There he studied under 
Mohammed Amin, a physically challenged person.
Bansi for at least two years served his Mallam (a religious teacher in Hausa) from morning 
to evening while he completed a thorough recitation of the Qur'an. He then left Amin to 
seek further Islamic knowledge. This search for knowledge made him travel to Nima in 
Accra in 1974. There he enrolled at the Ansaru-deen Islamic School at Accra New Town for 
his primary education. In 1977 he enrolled at the Institute of Islamic Studies, the foremost 
theological institute of the Wahhabiyya Movement in Accra for his advanced Islamic 
studies (Bansi, interview, 13th February 2005). His desire to secure a scholarship to pursue 
further Islamic studies in the Muslim World after completion from the Institute of Islamic 
Studies was delayed in 1983, due to a backlog of a considerable number of students who 
had already completed the studies at the institute. He was therefore engaged as a tutor and 
an assistant typist to Umar Ibrahim Imam, the present leader of the Wahhabi Movement in 
Ghana. After waiting for some time to secure a scholarship, which was not forthcoming, he 
decided to embark upon a trip to further his studies outside the country. He made his way 
through Togo to Benin to Nigeria and then to Niger. He taught for a while at Agades before 
making his way to Algeria and then to Libya in pursuit of further academic laurels.
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In Libya his hopes of being enrolled at the World Islamic Call Society’s College were 
dashed as he could not produce his passport and other relevant documents that were 
required. He made his way to Egypt with the hope of being admitted to the Al-Azhar 
University, but to no avail (Bansi, interview, 13th February 2005). Finally, he traveled to 
Syria where, when he saw some Shi’i Ulama preaching publicly he developed an interest in 
their preaching. Previously he was made to understand through his training at the 
Wahhabiyya Institute at Nima in Accra, that the Shi 'ah has separate a Qur‘an and a different 
prophet. Nevertheless, after listening to what they had to say he changed his views about 
them. According to him, he realized that they were not different from other Muslims he had 
met in his life, other than the fact that they always emphasize the importance of the family 
and household of the Prophet (Bansi, interview, 13th February 2005).
A Saudi philanthropist in Syria assisted him to study in Iran. He initially settled at Qum, a 
foremost Shi'ah religious learning centre. Interestingly, due to his earlier Wahhabiyya 
orientation he used to argue a great deal with the scholars during the course of his studies. 
In most cases he was referred to the major sources of Sunni books to disprove his own 
arguments. According to him, he stayed in Iran for five years until he thoroughly 
understood what Shi'ism is all about, without being coerced to convert to Shi’ism. He then 
decided to become a Shi 'ah on his own volition (Bansi, interview, 13,h February 2005). 
Quite apart from being thoroughly educated in Shi'ism, he also read a lot about philosophy, 
logic, jurisprudence, and grammar, that in a way broadened his perceptions of and 
relationship with other religious groups.
He intimated that before his trip to Iran he used to regard other Muslims who are not Ahlus- 
Sunnah (Wahhabiyya) as not proper Muslims who must not be tolerated. Nevertheless,
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following the education he acquired in Iran he realized that his notion about Islam was 
wrong. To Abdul Salam there are certain general principles of Islam that every true 
Muslims must practice, such as the performance of prayers, fasting, performance of Hajj, 
but beyond that there are minor areas of difference which to him do not make such people 
non-Muslims (Bansi, interview, 13th February 2005).
He claims that upon his return to Ghana in 1988 he became a strange person within the 
community, because he was the only Ghanaian Muslim Shi 'ah at that time. In other words, 
his own family, virtually ex-communicated him, and the larger Muslim community rejected 
him. Nevertheless, this did not deter him from making his way and proclaiming Shi‘ism in 
the community. He established the first Shi 'ah Islamic non-governmental organization in 
the community known as the Imam Hussein Islamic Foundation at Nima, in Accra. Through 
this organization much Islamic literature of Shi’i orientation were distributed before he 
embarked upon open propagation. The proprietor or the landlord of the building in which 
the Foundation was established later on sacked him due to pressure put on him by some 
Wahhabiyya Ulama on the grounds that he was harbouring an infidel (Kafir), and anybody 
doing that is a sinner. Nevertheless, the timely intervention of Kamaldeen Ahmed, the 
present National Deputy Chief Imam of Ghana who is a Tijaniyya by background saved 
Bansi’s organization from collapse by offering his residence to be used as an office for it 
and the Shi'ah community (Bansi, interview, 13th February 2005). At present, the Shi'ah 
community is growing gradually to the extent that Shi’ites are spread in all parts of Ghana.
610 DISTINCTIVE TEACHINGS OF SHI'AH IN GHANA
It must be emphasized that the Shi ‘ah community in Ghana is not necessary different from 
the Shi'ah in Iran, the homeland and place of origin of the Ghanaian Shi'ah, in terms of
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their emphasis on what the leadership deems to be significant and important. It is also an 
acceptable fact that the Ghanaian Shi'ah might be operating from a different socio-cultural 
level as opposed to any Shi 'ah group in other countries. There are yet some specific areas 
that Ghanaian Shi ah might be emphasizing in their teachings. Some of the areas that 
Ghanaian Shi ah put emphasis on are:
1. The first difference found in the Shi 'ah community as against other groups in Ghana 
deals with the interpretation of the Quran and the traditions of the Prophet. This is 
because members sometimes question the authenticity of the interpretation of certain 
Quranic verses and the traditions of the Prophet. At some point they emphasize 
certain Qur‘anic verses and traditions and reject others they deem unnecessary or 
which fall below their standards.
2. They also emphasize the reverence of the household of the Prophet (Ahlul Bayht). 
Emanating from this is the fact that they perceive the household of the Prophet as the 
best role model for every Muslim. Prominent among the household of the Prophet are 
the 12 Imams, starting from Ali to Muhammad b. Bakr.
3. They also prefer placing their forehead on bare sand or on a special stone on the 
ground when praying in case the spot is cemented or decorated inappropriately.
4. They insist on interpreting the true meaning of the concept of predestination. To the 
Shi 'ah predestination does not necessary mean that Allah has predestined what will 
happen to everybody, but has to do with Allah’s giving every human the free choice 
to do whatever he/she desires without being impeded. Therefore everybody would 
be judged according to his choice of action (Bansi, interview, 13th February 2005).
In conclusion, the Islamic resurgence of Shi'ism as backed by the Iranian Government did 
not make any considerable impact on the life of the Muslims in Ghana as it could be said
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was the case with the Ahlus-Sunnah and the Tijaniyya sects in Ghana. This is attributable to 
their late coming to the Ghanaian Muslim religious terrain. This might also well be due to 
the nature of the membership of the Shi’i sect in Ghana which is mainly made up of young 
people. This shows that the members have not matured religiously, as compared to the 
Tijaniyya and Ahlus-Sunnah followers, to engage in any serious D"wa activities. The 
inactivity of the organization was as a result of the centralization of Shi’i religious and 
political activities within the Iranian Cultural Consulate in Ghana, where most religious and 
political activities are being conducted under the aegis of the Cultural Centre.
It can also be seen that Abdul Salam Bansi’s embrace of the Shi’i was coincidental, as it 
was not Shi‘ism which ultimately endeared him to study in Iran as further study was his 
aim, not necessarily the adoption of Shi‘ism. This is evident from the fact that he made 
visits to Algeria, Libya, Egypt and finally to Syria where he was assisted by a Muslim 
philanthropist to study in Iran.
6.11 THE THIRD UNIVERSAL THEORY OF THE GREEN BOOK AND 
GHANAIAN MUSLIMS
The Libyan leader Muammar al-Gadhafi who came to power in 1969 put forward the ideas
contained in The Green Book, which was first published in 1975. The revolution which he
led toppled King Idriss, a descendant of the founder of the Sanusiyya sect in Islam. It is
known as the Al-Fateh September Revolution, which literally means the ‘opener’ or
conqueror. To Al-Gadhafi, the revolution signified the opening or ushering in of a new era.
By implication, it means the conquering of backwardness, ignorance, national impotence
and poverty (Ayoub 1987: 17). The Al-Fateh Libyan Revolution emphasized religious
freedom and the moral values as contained in the Quran, and a promise to defend and
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uphold the religious values of the Libyan and Muslim Ummah as a whole ( Ayoub 1987:
Al-Gadhafi’s political theory, the Third Universal Theory (TUT), is disseminated in The 
Green Book. This new socio-political theory of the Libyan Government was enunciated to 
give a new direction to the nation. The content of The Green Book is a revolutionary. This 
philosophy is known as the Third Universal Theory because it attempts to provide solutions 
to the world’s myriad socio-political and economic problems following the alleged failure 
of previous theories such as the Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels’s Communist Manifesto 
and the envisaged failure of Capitalism. The book is divided into three important chapters, 
namely, political, economic, and social. It is necessary to highlight some essential principles 
of the Third Universal Theory in order to better understand its teachings.
6.11.1 Teachings of The Green Book
The book identifies the instruments of government as being among the major problems 
confronting humankind. The book further contends that all political systems in the world 
today are products of the struggle for power between the different instruments of 
government. The struggle may be peaceful or armed as evidenced among classes, sects, 
tribes, parties or individuals. It therefore concludes that The Green Book presents the 
ultimate solution to the contemporary problems that humankind is facing (Gadhafi: 1980:5).
The political perspective of the book is premised on the popular participation of the 
citizenry on matters affecting them as against the representation system. It therefore argues 
that ‘the party is the rule of a part over the whole’ (Gadhafi: 1980:5). Therefore, it contends
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that the party system creates division in the society and as a means of creating opportunities 
for party cronies at the expense of the larger members of the society.
It also argues against the parliamentary system of government regarding it as a 
‘misrepresentation of the people’ (Gadhafi: 1980: 17). The book further calls for the direct 
participation of all citizens in political matters affecting them (Gadhafi: 1980:9). It 
emphatically stresses that ‘no representation in lieu of the people, that representation is a 
falsification of democracy and the party system aborts democracy’ (Gadhafi: 1980: 5).
On the economy and the production system, it regards both the Marxist and the Capitalist 
models as being exploitative of workers. The book therefore proposes a new form of society 
in which the resources of the nation are shared equitably, with a view to ensuring justice and 
fairness in the society. This, it believes, will free humanity from all forms of bondage and 
servitude. The central argument of the book in respect of an economic system is that the 
TUT is a theory of liberation of needs in order to emancipate the masses. It contends that: 
those who produce, consume, are wage earners (however improved their wages may be) are 
all slaves of a kind with a view to improving the lot of impoverished workers it calls for 
the abolition of the wage-system and the reversion to principles of the natural.
In addition, the book emphasizes that natural socialism is a product of natural rules. It 
insisted that the terms ‘workers’, ‘labourers’and ‘toilers’ in reference to those who carry out 
production at the workplace are deceptive and obsolete. They could however be replaced by 
the term ‘producers’, because workers, etc are undergoing qualitative and quantitative 
changes because of technological advancement.
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It identifies the major problem inhibiting human liberation, which is lacking. That is 
people’s needs must not be controlled by others since this can eventually lead to 
enslavement, thereby creating opportunities for exploitation. It emphasizes that an income is 
an imperative need for man. It argues that this should not be in the form of wages or charity 
from any person. The book also addresses the issue of transportation. It argued that it should 
not be in the hand of private persons for renting to others or to be able to control the needs 
of others (Gadhafi: 1980: 15). Housing as an essential need of humans and problems 
associated with it has also been recognized. In line with its philosophy it advocates the 
provision of housing facilities for the citizenry.
The book also deals with the problem of domestic servants, which it rejects and regards its 
perpetuation as a form of modem day slavery. The book heralds the emancipation of people 
from the fetters of injustice, despotism, exploitation and economic and political hegemony 
in order to establish a true society free from all forms of discrimination and exploitation. It 
therefore calls for the households to be serviced by their inhabitants in order to eliminate the 
need for domestic servants (Gadhafi: 1980: 17).
The social basis of the TUT is intertwined with the national factor which constitutes "the 
dynamic force of human history’. The book further sees the relationship between heroes 
who have struggled and sacrificed for the sake of others and the relationship they 
maintained with those people who are ‘the others’. It therefore establishes relationships 
between social and national causes.
The religious basis of the Third Universal Theory was explained in terms of the social 
factor. It argues that the religious factor is a rival to the social factor in influencing the unity
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of one group. It may divide the national group or unite groups with different nationalism. It 
further acknowledges that the social factor would eventually triumph as has been the nature 
of humankind throughout the ages (Gadhafi: 1980: 18).
The book identifies religion as an inevitable and natural factor in mankind’s endeavor in life 
and stresses that originally and historically each nation had a religion which was 
harmonious. The book posited a logical framework for humankind’s religious foundation 
and emphasizes that the sound rule was that each nation should have a religion. For it to be 
otherwise is abnormal. Such an abnormality creates an unsound situation, which becomes a 
real cause for disputes within one national group (Gadhafi: 1980: 18). It further sees the link 
between mankind’s religiosity and its conformity with the natural law which is an 
homogenous one, ’that is each nation has one religion1. It therefore concludes that, when the 
social factor is compatible with the religious factor, harmony prevails and the life of 
communities becomes stable and strong and develops soundly.
The emphasis of the family in The Green Book distinguishes it from other political theories, 
since it acknowledges the family as the cradle, the origin of mankind, and the social 
umbrella. It calls for the proper protection of family lineage and values which it regarded as 
the basis of human society due to its ripple effect on the nation as a whole.
Perhaps, the area that The Green Book excelled itself in its teaching is its concern for 
women and matters relating to them. It is the contention of the book that man and woman 
are both human beings with the same needs, desires, and behavioural tendencies. Therefore, 
discrimination against either one of them is flagrant act of oppression without any basis. It 
identifies “the natural role that women play in terms of motherhood in the society and thus
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calls for the need for children to be raised by their mothers in a family, where the true 
principles of motherhood, fatherhood, and fraternity prevail ” (Gadhafi: 1980: 106).
In the estimation of the book, raising children in a nursery is unnatural and affront to the 
natural practice of bringing up a child in the society. This in a way deprives the children of 
the true family and societal values that they deserve. It however makes exceptions in respect 
of the upbringing of orphans and destitute children. In this regard, the book calls for the 
societal leadership to give protection and guardianship to the underprivileged by 
establishing nurseries and related institutions.
6.11.2 The Shari’ah and The Green Book Principles
The compatibility of the TUT with aspect of the Shari’ah principles cannot be 
underestimated. This is because in the general understanding of many scholars of the (TUT) 
most of the TUT principles are compatible and in harmony with the Shari’ah teachings. It 
must, however, be acknowledged that the book did not lay any claim as to the superiority of 
any one particular religion over another. It rather espouses general principles that could be 
found in almost every religion, Islam being no exception.
For instance, the fact that it acknowledges the pivotal role of religion in eradicating vices 
and curbing the materialistic tendencies of mankind indicates the intention of the author of 
The Green Book to propose a different political concept with a blend of religion, with 
humanistic values underpinning it. This approach of the book therefore falls in line with the 
Shari’ah’s teachings and values, which call for social responsibility and fellow feeling, 
irrespective of religious affiliation or political, racial and geographical boundaries or on 
tribal or ethnic grounds. It was in the line with this that Abdullah Z. Abu Muammar argued
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that the Libyan people’s revolution, which gave birth to the Third Universal Theory, had 
three distinct aims in mind
(a) to bring about the basis of Qur'anic principles in the Libyan people s life,
(b) to put into practice the Quranic teachings as enshrined in The Green Book aimed at 
bringing happiness to humankind both on this earth and in the hereafter, and lastly
(c) to bring about equality among humankind (Abu Zaidan 1984: 9).
Importantly, it has further been argued that the ethos of the Green Book was defined by 
commitment to Islamically based socialist program (Voll, 1994:287). The basis of the Third 
Universal Theory on Shari’ah principles could be categorized into political, economic, and 
social.
6.11.3 Political Basis of the TUT in the Shari’ah
Politically, Mustafa A. Mahmoud argued that al-Gadhafi has always insisted that his Third 
Universal Theory is a common-sense interpretation of Islam (Ayoub: 1987:27). This is 
because the first part of The Green Book is an interpretation of one single verse of the Holy 
Quran ‘and their affairs are decided through consultation (Shura) among themselves.
The concept of Shura has occupied a special place in every Islamic political discourse. 
Consequently, it was given a practical meaning in the nature and content of the Third 
Universal Theory through the Libyan Muslim life. Therefore, the concept was interpreted 
through its direct bearing on the citizenry’s participation in political issues affecting them. 
This direct participation is in contrast to the situation in a representative democracy. 
Therefore, according to the philosophic basis of the TUT, representation has never been an 
effective means of obtaining the best feedback from the people.
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It must nevertheless be acknowledged that the concept of Shura provides a variety of 
interpretations within the Islamic political discourse. It could be the direct involvement of 
the citizenry in the deliberation of issues affecting them as is the case in Libya. On the other 
hand, in certain places such as Iran its interpretation could be seen in an indirect approach 
through delegated authority by the citizenry to their representatives and ‘the Mullahs’.
Perhaps, al-Gadhafi has been motivated to propound his political theory of Shura by his 
religious conviction that man is the vicegerent of God on earth. This gives him/her an 
unquestioning privilege and access to approach his Maker without any intersession or 
intermediary. The corollary of this, therefore, is the argument that a citizen should be given 
a similar chance and opportunity to determine issues that have a direct bearing on his/her 
life on this earth. This is in line with the prophetic model and teachings in which the 
Prophet dealt with all without recourse to intermediaries.
The putting into practice of the Shura concept manifested itself in the life of Libyan people 
through the direct participation of the citizenry in governance through people’s congresses 
and committees. This subsequently gives the leader the popular authority and the political 
will to champion the aspirations of the masses as reflected in their wishes and 
recommendations.
6.11.4 The Economic Basis of the TUT in the Shari’ah
One aspect of the economic teachings of The Green Book that is relevant to the Shari'a is 
the employee-employer relationship. Perhaps the author of The Green Book was motivated 
by his religious conviction to advocate for an equitable and a fair system of remuneration 
and reward at the workplace. As a starting point, the concept of workers as wage earners
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created the perception that workers are slaves in the workplace, which Islam unreservedly 
condemns. In addressing this shortfall at workplaces, al-Gadhafi insists that workers should 
be recognized as partners at workplaces, since their role is indispensable. This recognition 
of workers as partners is in conformity with the Shari’ah, which emphasizes an equality of 
every human being and expects fair treatment of everybody whether in the workplace or 
anywhere else. This philosophy emancipates workers who were under the bondage of their 
employers. It also helps in doing away with the emergence of classes in the workplaces with 
its concomitant negative effects on the larger society. This is in total conformity with the 
Shari’ah principle of natural justice and the equal treatment of all people.
The distribution of workplace output was another principle of The Green Book’s which 
conforms to the Shari’ah. Here the author looks at the factors determining economic 
production, which he argues consists of the raw materials, the means of production, and the 
producer. The author therefore insisted that the natural rule of equality requires that each of 
these components receive a fair share of the output. This means that each group within the 
components of production must receives an equal share based on their input. The significant 
of this principle to the Shari’a is embedded on the fact that it eliminates any attempt of 
exploitation and cheating on the part of the employer and also results in higher productivity 
on the part of the workers since they are motivated to achieve their best for the higher 
return.
This principle of the TUT could well be explained under the Islamic Shari'ah concept of 
partnership between capital and labour. It is argued that the Shari’a lays down the condition 
that in such a partnership, which is called al-mudariba or al-qirad, two or three parties are 
entitled to sharethe profits and loss, if any (Qaradawi 1994: 273). With this economic basis
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of the Third Universal Theory in mind, the Shari’ah principles have been well 
conceptualized in The Green Book.
6.11.5 The Social Basis of the TUT in the Shari’ah
The social basis of the TUT identifies the family, the tribe, the nation, women, minorities, 
black people and education as its major components. It lays emphasis on upholding and 
defending their interests in the society. Largely, these teachings have their basis in the 
Shari’ah rules. For instance, the book’s position on family holds that the flourishing society 
is one in which the individual grows naturally within the family and the family grows 
correspondingly in the society. The book therefore advocates the family as the central focus 
in the upbringing of children in order to give the society the best in human development. 
This principle has its basis in the Shari’ah, which calls for responsibility within the family. 
The responsibility for the proper upbringing of the family according to the Shari’ah rests 
with the head of the family, the father. Islam argues that the nature of the family’s 
upbringing would determine the extent of success of the entire family. It was with regard to 
this that the Prophet for ever said that, everybody is accountable for his stewardship and the 
head of the family is a shepherd and shall account for his stewardship. Islam therefore tied 
the success of the family in the mundane world to success in the hereafter.
Again, the philosophic basis of the tribe in the TUT which is relevant to the Shari’ah 
principle is reflected on the need to maximize human values such as unity, intimacy, and 
love. The bases of these values in the Shari’ah have to do with the fact that they bind the 
social structure of the human race and give true meaning to being a human, which Islam 
advocates. Even though Islam discourages Muslims to abandon their tribal and family ties 
as a result of differences in religious affiliations, it also condemns ethnocentric and
254
tribalistic tendencies. This is evident in Allah’s proclamation that He has created mankind 
in tribes and nations as a mark of distinction among humankind.
The TUT understands the nation as a social structure whose bond is nationalism. The basis 
of this argument stems from the fact that the unity of the nation is strengthened by 
patriotism. This view is not far from the Islamic position as to the ingredient of building a 
nation which derives its strength on the extent of unity among the citizens within a 
particular state. It was on the basis of this that the Prophet declared that ‘the love of a nation 
is a constituent of a believer’s faith in Islam. It is therefore expected that a believer 
demonstrates the extent of his commitment to his nation through nationalism and patriotism, 
which promotes social and political unity. The Shari’ah also expects that a citizen upholds 
the values which underpins the nation’s advancement as also expounded by the TUT.
The philosophic basis of the TUT on women is manifold since it identifies the unique 
identity of women. For instance, it begins by positing a logical argument on the necessity 
for women in society. It argues that the rationale behind the creation of two opposite sexes 
in the society is underscored by the uniquely different roles that each sex plays.. It therefore 
argues that the role of women in society is indispensable and irreplaceable. In other words, 
the book stresses the unique role of women in the society, one which men cannot play. 
These roles pertain to the biological and maternal uniqueness of women. This makes 
women the basis and the foundation of human society. It therefore emphasizes that, the 
woman as a mother is one of her greatest roles in the society. This view has as its basis the 
Shan ah where the Prophet is reported to have said that the gate of heaven or paradise is 
under the feet of mothers and people must seek the entrance of paradise through their 
mothers. Consequently, the Prophet identified serving the parents as one of the greatest
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forms of Jihad. This is partly because of the importance of the parental role in the rearing of 
a child.
The book’s social perspective on the rearing of children and their welfare emphasizes that 
they should be raised by their mothers in a family. It also argues that true and natural 
motherhood, fatherhood, and fraternity prevail in a familial setting. This basis certainly 
creates the natural environment for the proper upbringing of the child and links the child to 
its maternal and paternal origin. On the other hand, as explained earlier, the book also made 
provision for societal guardian for children who do not have parents. These provisions have 
their basis in the Islamic Shari’ah of social responsibility and solidarity and perhaps also 
from the Islamic concept of child adoption. Accordingly, the Prophet once said ‘I and the 
one, who raises an orphan, will be like these two in the Garden’.
The concern over the rights of minorities in a society was addressed by the TUT. It argues 
that the rights of the minority as to political and economic problems could be addressed in 
any society with well-entrenched values enforced by the masses in the political setting. 
Islamically, the concept of Dhimmi in reference to any minority within an Islamic state 
provides the best basis for this scenario. The Dhimmi enjoys every right and responsibility 
like any ordinary person within an Islamic political setting. They are therefore citizens of an 
Islamic state like anybody else, despite their minority status. It was in the light of this that 
the Prophet emphasized the need for the protection of the Dhimmi within the Islamic state. 
He said ‘Whoever hurts a Dhimmi, I am his adversary, and I shall be an adversary for him 
on the day of resurrection’.
256
In conclusion, the major social components of the TUT are in line with the general 
principles of human development in society. These principles could also be contextualized 
according to the basis of the Shari’ah principles and teachings.
The Green Book from being a transnational politico-religious concept of the Libyan leader’s 
remedy to the myriad problems of the Third World was embraced by the political and 
religious environment of Ghana. The next section of this study will attempt to explain how 
and why this happened and identify the mechanism that was used to spread the TUT ideas 
in Ghana and the principal personalities involved in this.
6.12 THE GREEN BOOK AND THE GHANAIAN COMMUNITY
The Third Universal Theory as contained in The Green Book made its way into Ghanaian 
society in 1982 through Abdulai Alhassan, a former Member of Parliament during the Third 
Republic of Ghana for the Popular Front Party (PFP) from the Gushegu constituency in the 
Northern region. According to him, the refusal of Ghanaian authorities to allow the national 
football team the Black Stars to participate in the African Cup of Nation tournament in 
Libya in 1982 initially provided the conduit through which he interacted with Libyan 
authorities (Abdulai, interview, 25th March 2005). The refusal by the Ghanaian authorities 
to participate in the Cup of Nation Tournament was due to Ghana’s suspicion that Libya 
was involved in internal political issues in Ghana (St John 1988:131)
Consequently, some Ghanaian Du al who had been trained in Libya requested Abdulai 
Alhassan to use his influence in Parliament to convince the Government to participate in the 
tournament. Several examples of Libyan involvement in the developments of African 
Muslim communities in various fields such as education, health, and agriculture were cited
257
by these scholars. They farther argued that Ghana’s refusal to participate in the competition 
would affect the development of the Muslim community in Ghana as the Libyan-assisted 
development projects could be cancelled (Abdulai, Interview, 25th March 2005).
Alhassan indicated that he was moved by the concerns expressed by the Muslim scholars. 
He was also aware that Libya, as a Muslim country, must be supported by other Muslims in 
this kind of situation. He addressed a press conference at the then Parliament House, urging 
the Government to send the national team to Libya for the tournament. Immediately after 
the press conference there were discussions on the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation’s 
.television and radio stations. These were, however, not broadcast since the press 
conference statement did not agree with the Government’s position (Abdulai, Interview, 
25th March 2005). In the end, the government was pressurized by the public as a result of 
the press conference into agreeing to the national team’s participation in the tournament. 
The Black Stars of course, won the tournament that year.
Alhassan indicated that during the revolution of 31 December 1982, he went into a self- 
imposed exile to Togo for his own personal security. By early 1983 the Libyan Bureau or 
Embassy was reopened in Ghana. Consequently, the Libyan Ambassador was asked by the 
Libyan Government to look for him. He returned to Ghana in August 1983 through the 
influence of the Libyan Government (Abdulai, Interview, 25th March 2005). When he met 
the Ambassador, he was informed that the Libyan Government wanted to open a centre in 
Ghana for the study of The Green Book. He agreed to assist in establishing the study centre. 
He was later assisted by the late Abdullah Botchwey, Ibrahim Adai, among others (Abdulai, 
Interview, 25* March 2005).
258
6.12.1 Activities Related to the Green Book in Ghana
After being thoroughly briefed by the Libyan Ambassador Alhassan embarked upon 
grassroots mobilization of members, including the academics to join the study centre. In the 
process, workshops and seminars were organized to educate people in the Ghanaian 
community on the relevance of the Third Universal Theory.
Alhassan’s involvement in the propagation of the Third Universal Theory (TUT) in Ghana 
attracted some people in the academia who developed a keen interest in the ideas and the 
practicability of the principles of the (TUT) as contained in the Green Book. It is of interest 
to note that not less than twenty-two (22) intellectuals and scholars of diverse religious, 
political, and social background were involved. The majority of these intellectuals were 
fiom academic institutions, especially the University of Ghana and the Cape Coast 
University. Their meetings were held at either one of the two universities. Through these 
meetings the principles contained in The Green Book resulted in the writing and compilation 
of twenty-seven articles in a 278 pages book addressed which various topics and subjects, 
including political, economic and educational issues. The editors of the book were G.K 
Nukunya and Tom Kumekpor.
Nukunya, for instance, indicated in his conclusion in an article on ‘The Third Universal 
Theory and the Vision of a Just Well Ordered Society’ ‘that some issues raised in The 
Green Book relating to the instrument of governing, housing, wages and transportation gave 
proof of a sound and desirable basis on the practicality of implementation of The Green 
Book in the society (Nukunya 1990:45). Another Ghanaian scholar who studied the book 
thoroughly and dissected its usefulness to the society regardless of its race, color, and 
geographic boundaries was Kwakuvi Azasu, a lecturer at the University of Education,
259
Winneba. He is currently the Director of Research, Documentation, and Doctrines of 
Africana Mission in Ghana. He indicated that he was motivated to write a commentary on 
the principles of The Green Book because he was bom during the time of Nkrumah who 
pursued one of the most socialist-friendly policies in Africa. Some of them were educated, 
thanks to the socialist policies of Nkrumah and are now making meaningful and positive 
contributions to the nation in various fields.
Azasu felt, after a thorough examination of its principles, that he was morally bound, to see 
a similar policy to Libya’s being pursued everywhere. He came to the conclusion that al- 
Gadhafi’s (TUT) was almost a replica of the socialist policies that Nkrumah pursued while 
he was in power. He felt that without these policies some Ghanaians would not have 
achieved what they have today. According to him it is Nkrumah who pursued one of the 
best socialist policies in Africa and now al-Gadhafi who is following a similar path. This 
can be seen in the fact that, unlimited chances and opportunities have been created for 
Libyans (Azasu, interview, 6th January 2005).
The other motivating factor, which influenced Azasu to write about The Green Book, was 
Gaddhafi’s concern for social values in society. In the book, Gaddhafi emphasizes the need 
for the maintenance of religious values in every society. Azasu commented that the book 
calls for a respect of traditional and religious values and that it is this that makes it unique 
and distinct from other political theories. Therefore, the point of convergence between 
Azasu and Qaddhafi is the view that everyone should practice his/her religion based on his 
ancestral and cultural background, which, as stipulated in the book, is the basis of natural 
law (Azasu interview, 6,h January 2005). He emphasized that the ideals and the 
practicability of The Green Book s principles are timeless and have no, geographic or racial
260
boundary. Azasu therefore recommends the book to the Western politicians so that they can 
compare its policies with the political, social and economic values of the West in order to 
determine the values that are best for mankind in general. As to the relevance of the book to 
contemporary society he indicated that the book calls for selflessness and the concern for 
all. In other words, it represents the true picture of human face because it calls for social 
responsibility for all (Azasu, interview, 6th January 2005).
Another figure who has been religiously influenced by the values of The Green Book is 
Yushau Tahiiu Kuta. He travelled to Libya in 1972. He was enrolled initially at the Institute 
of Islamic Research and then at Qar Yunus University in Benghazi where he read law for 
four years. After the completion of his university studies he practiced law for some time and 
then practiced as a teacher in the employment of the the World Islamic Call Society. As part 
of his teaching assignment with the World Call Islamic Society he was sent to Tanzania for 
six years as a principal of the Kibruhihi Islamic School. He returned to Ghana in 1993 and 
was employed as a tutor by the Libyan Arab Cultural Centre for the Libyan students in 
Ghana. At this Centre, he taught sociology and civic education, as well as the tenets 
outlined in The Green Book for eleven years (Yushau, interview, 13th March 2005).
According to Yushau, The Green Book is taught at Libyan universities and colleges. As part 
of the process of making the teaching of the book in Libya relevant, it is made compulsory 
in all tertiary institutions in Libya. In addition, during the teaching process there are 
practical demonstrations as to the relevance of the book in students’ life. During these 
students are divided into committees based on the principles contained in The Green Book 
According to him this is done in order to provide the students with a practical insight before 
they complete their studies and are faced with real life situations.
261
Every examination paper is written within the universities’ and colleges’ premises except 
for the subject dealing with The Green Book which are written in the army barracks, with 
the army commanders supervising the practical demonstration of the teachings contained in 
it. Yushau intimated that this is done to instill a high sense of commitment and discipline 
among the students. In addition, the method of dispatching students to the barracks is not 
limited to the Libyan students alone but includes the foreign students who are studying in 
Libya. The implication of this procedure is that it has a ripple effect on the outside world, 
because on completion of these foreign students’ studies at Libyan tertiary educational 
institutions they would have been imbued with the ideas and principles of The Green Book. 
Upon their return to their countries it is possible for them to make a considerable impact on 
their home countries as a result of the training they acquired on the values contained in the 
book (Yushau, interview, 13th March 2005).
He expressed his personal view on the practicality of implementing in Libya the principles 
of The Green Book. For instance, he claims that everybody in Libya has the right to 
participate in discussions on issues affecting them whether political, social or economic 
through the concept of the People Assembly. Of particular significance to him during his 
stay in Libya was the impact of the book on economic life there. He categorized some of the 
areas that the teachings contained in the book have influenced people's life in Libya. To 
begin with, the economic values as enshrined in The Green Book have prohibited cheating, 
exploitation, and extortion among other economic crimes. Workers get paid, according to a 
calculation based on their input every month.
As to the book’s impact on the lives of women, Yushau intimated that hitherto it used to be 
the men who controlled market activities in Libya but with the introduction of The Green
262
Book the situation changed. This resulted in the women competing with the men in the 
market. A similar situation has arisen in respect of the involvement of women in almost 
ever sphere of the Libyan economy. Perhaps the area in which The Green Book really 
affected the life of Libyans is those which affect women. To Yushau, the book’s principles 
as enunciated on women have brought about a total liberation of women in various ways. 
He gave examples of women holding key positions in the army, the police, and the prison 
services etc, these instances being the first of their kind in the Arab world (Yushau, 
interview, 13th March 2005). According to Yushau, Qaddhafi used to tell Libyan women 
that ‘when you were not given military training, the Italians came, killed your husbands, 
maimed, and raped you’.
As regards The Green Book’s impact on Islam, it is interesting to note that problems 
regarding religious leadership in Libya as they existed before the introduction of The Green 
Book has been eliminated due to the fact that it is Qaddhafi’s conviction that to allow some 
people to interpret Islam on behalf of others is tantamount to allowing them to impose their 
personal view on others. This to him is highly unfair (Yushau, interview, 13th March 
2005). Qaddhafi’s understanding is that everybody has the right to discuss and speak on 
every issue affecting him/her and, further, that Islam is not the exclusive prerogative of any 
chosen people. This would therefore make every Muslim to leam the religion and 
understand it properly. He further identified certain social vices that are not in conformity 
with Islam addressed by the Libyan authorities. Issues such gambling, intoxication and 
prostitution were all forbidden by them. This view is also supported by other studies, which 
argued that by banning intoxication beverages, gambling, and night clubs it shows how the 
Libyan regime was fundamentlist with its insistence of Quranic rules (Voll 1994: 289).
263
What has been the impact of The Green Book on Ghanaian Muslims? Which sphere of 
Ghanaian life is it that the book has mostly impacted? The next section of this study will 
attempt to answer that.
6.13 THE IMPACT OF THE GREEN BOOK ON GHANAIANS
The impact of The Green Book on the Ghanaian society could be viewed in diverse ways; 
particularly in the domain of politics. For instance, Nukunya indicated that he was 
motivated into active participation in the activities of The Green Book because of its lofty 
political teachings. Consequently, he and other colleagues in the academia made a trip to 
Libya to understudy the practical application of the Green Book.
Upon their return to Ghana, they promoted in public debate on aspects of The Green Book. 
The fruit of this debate resulted in the adoption in the Ghanaian political democratic 
dispensation of the unit committees and district assembly concept. The then military 
government of Rawlings adopted the principles of The Green Book under the People 
Defense Committees (PDC), which allows for mass participation of the citizenry in 
governance. These have been given different names in the current constitutional 
dispensation namely the Unit Committees, and the District Assembly.
The promotion and facilitation of debate on the TUT was without any opposition from some 
sections of the public. Generally, the major argument was that the TUT was an Islamically 
motivated political theory devised by the Libyan leader to spread Islam in disguise. 
Therefore, to accept aspects of its teachings in the Ghanaian political landscape is to tolerate 
the infusion of Islamic culture into Ghana (Nukunya, interviw). Nevertheless, such a view 
did not deter the facilitators of the TUT to push further for debate on its relevance.
264
One other way of viewing the impact of The Green Book on Ghanaian politicians is by 
reviewing what happened in the early days of the revolution. This could be seen in the 
officials who adopted the socialist policies in the early part of the revolutionary years. 
Hunwick argued that what endeared TUT to Rawlings and Thomas Sankara was its 
revolutionary or socialist orientated nature as contained in the book (Hunwick 1996:41).
Further evidence as to the influence of The Green Book on Ghanaian Muslims can be seen 
among the Ulama who have studied in Libya. These Ulama are Sunni by religious 
orientation; however, politically they are socialist. This is manifested in the way they 
interact with others in the Muslim community in Ghana. Also, the socialist orientation of 
these Ulama can be seen in the way they teach their students in Islamic institutions of 
Ghana.
This research reveals that the Islamic resurgence as championed and supported by the 
Libyan Government through the Third Universal Theory (TUT) mostly affected Ghanaians 
politically. This view is evident in the nature of participation in The Green Book's activities 
in Ghana which was limited to the academia. Perhaps the nature of the teachings of the book 
has necessitated such approach. This situation, therefore, resulted in the influence of The 
Green Book on the larger Muslim community being minimal. It was also found that the 
resources of many politicians, academics and the Muslim Ulama were used to spread the 
TUT values in Ghana. This is contrary to the outcome of other studies that, the impact of 
Libya’s foreign policies through the TUT in Sub-Saharan Africa has not persuaded other 
progressive regimes and government to adopt its principles (Joffe’ 1988:50). This view is 
based on generalization and lacks country-specific dissection of the impact of Libya’s 
foreign policy as in the case of Ghana. The Al-Fateh Revolution gave Gadhafi a religious
265
mandate as he presented himself as both Libya’s political and religious leader and 
eventually proclaimed himself Muslim world leader (Thaa 'ir Muslim). This was done 
purely to project himself in the Muslim world. Nevertheless, the activities of the World 
Islamic Call Society in Ghana also fostered and facilitated the religious interplay between 
r.hanaian Muslims and the Libyan Government in championing the Islamic resurgence in 
the Muslim communities of Ghana through seminars and international conferences. This 
Libyan organization epitomized the teachings of the TUT for and projected them at the 
Ghanaian Muslim community.
6.14 THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN MUSLIM SECTS IN GHANA 
‘Interplay’ is used in this section to refer to the factors fostering positive relations and 
friction among Muslim sects and groups in Ghana. These factors range from theological, 
ideological, social, to the political conditions. The main aim of this section is to identify 
how Ghanaian Muslims’ transnational relations with the outside Islamic world promote 
positive relations among Muslim sects or otherwise.
The known Islamic sects and groups in Ghana are the Tijaniyya, the Ahlus-Sunnah 
(Wahhabiyya), the Shi ‘ah, the Ahmadiyya, and the orthodox1 Muslims. The focus of this 
study will, however, be limited to the Tijaniyya, Ahlus-Sunnah, and Shi 'ah, since they fall 
within the purview of the thesis. The theological and ideological, social and global political 
effects of these sects will be examined.
In respect of the origin of these Islamic orientations, it is worth noting that the Tijaniyya and 
the Ahlus-Sunnah fall within the Sunni School of Thought. Even though the Tijaniyya
Orthodox in this section is used to denote Muslims who are non-sectarians but rather regard themselves as 
belonging to the mainstream Islam.
266
mysticism could be traced to mainstream Sufism, the orientation of the founder of the sect, 
Ahmad Tijani, has a direct connection with the Maliki School of Thought. Similarly, the 
Ahlus-Sunnah also derives its Islamic exposition from the Hanbali Islamic persuasion of the 
Sunni School of Thought. On the other hand, the Shi’i sect represents a different Islamic 
persuasion in relation to the Ahlus-Sunnah and the Tijaniyya, since it falls outside the 
purview of the Sunni School of Thought.
Theologically, both the Tijaniyya and the Shi'ah hold similar doctrinal notions. This in the 
end promotes affinity and a ground of convergence of doctrinal debate in Ghana between 
the Tijaniyya and the Shi'ah on one hand and the Ahlus-Sunnah on the other. These 
similarities in doctrinal orientation between the Tijaniyya and the Shi ‘ah include the concept 
of intercession of the Prophet, in which both sects believe that the Prophet, despite his 
death, could intercede on behalf of those who seek divine intervention through him (Tijani 
n.d:137). Other areas of doctrinal convergence between the Tijaniyya and the Shi 'ah include 
high regard for saints and some religious personalities, as well as reverence to the 
descendants of religious figures (Tijani n.d: 137). The two sects also believe that the Prophet 
and the saints are infallible. Seeking blessing through sacrifice is another tradition practiced 
by both sects. In one sense, the similarities in doctrinal values foster positive sectarian 
relations between the two sects in Ghana and at the same time pit them against any sect 
which attacks any of these commonly held values.
An aspect of the social concord between Shi‘ism and the Tijaniyya sects was partly 
facilitated by the Iranian establishments in Ghana. The Iranian Cultural Consulate has 
facilitated good relations between the two sects by highlighting the major commonalities 
between them. Among some of the activities of the Cultural Consulate which promote
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hannonious relations with the Tijaniyya sect in Ghana include the celebrations of the 
Maulid of Imam Ali, Fatima Zahra, Imam Rida, Jaffar Sadeq, and the anniversary of the 
Islamic Republic of Iran as well as the Ashura (the martyrdom of Imam Hussein). The 
Consulate also organizes refresher courses for the Tijaniyya Ulama on their roles as Imams. 
The activities of the Cultural Consulate in Ghana have been largely patronized by the larger 
Tijaniyya Ulama and the Muslims chiefs who are invariably Tijaniyya by orientation. This, 
therefore, shows the role of transnational Muslim institutions in promoting positive relations 
among a section of Muslims in Ghana.
Notwithstanding these doctrinal commonalities between the Tijaniyya and the Shi 'ah sects, 
the most contentious issue that sometimes drives the Tijaniyya away from the Shi ah, 
however, is the Shi ‘ah's frequent attacks on the integrity of the first three caliphs of Islam, 
namely Abubakar, Umar, and Uthman. This attack by the Shi ‘ah group manifests itself in 
the total vilification and repudiation of the legitimacy of these three Caliphs to the Islamic 
leadership (Enayat: 1986:32). The argument adduced by the Shi’ites is that the first three 
Caliphs have usurped the Muslim leadership from the Household of the Prophet. This 
attitude of the Shi’ites is visible on different platforms such as during doctrinal discourse, 
public preaching etc. In all, despite these inherent differences between the Tijaniyya and the 
Shi'ah, the two sects have more in common in terms of a broader and wider Islamic 
perspective and philosophy than any of the other Muslim sects in Ghana.
Again, the positive interplay between the Tijaniyya and the Shi 'ah in Ghana could be 
viewed also from the observance of certain Muslim social activities. This is mostly reflected 
in the performance of weekly, monthly, or annual funeral rites (adua in Hausa) and the 
celebration of the birthday of the Prophet (Maulid nabi). The Shi 'ah believes in the
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anniversary and the 40th day celebration of Imam Hussein and identifies its relevance in the 
Muslim social sphere. On the other hand, the Tijaniyya sect believes in the relevance of 
funeral rites for any Muslim and in the annual celebration of the birthday of the Prophet. 
Though the Shi’ites, except the Shi'ah Imams do not organize any forum for the celebration 
of the birthday of the Prophet, they most often join the Tijaniyya in the celebration.
Though the Tijaniyya and the Ahlus-Sunnah sects are all the offshoot of Sunni Islam, 
doctrinally many areas of tension exist between the two sects. This could be viewed from 
the Ahlus-Sunnah sect constant vilification and total censure of Tijaniyya beliefs such as 
divination, the manufacture of charms and amulets, Maulid nabi, funeral rites and the 
exorcism of witchcraft, spirits, etc. This therefore partly explains the fact that the 
contemporary sectarian conflicts have been mostly perpetrated between the Ahlus-Sunnah 
and the Tijaniyya sects over doctrinal differences. Similarly, to a large extent, the Ahlus- 
Sunnah and the Shi'ah do not have much doctrinal connection and each see the other’s 
values as corrupt Islamic expressions.
It is, however, worth observing that the major converging ground for the larger Muslim 
sects in Ghana is mosdy in the social realm, on issues pertaining to cross inter marriages, 
participation in wedding and naming ceremonies, paying condolences to the bereaved 
families regardless of his/her doctrinal orientations, as well as matters relating to societal 
development. It means that the role of the social factor in cultivating and enhancing positive 
relations among Muslim sects in Ghana cannot be underrated. This therefore suggests that 
the social factor overrides transnational influences among Muslim sects in Ghana.
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One area that always pits the Tijaniyya against the other Muslim sects in Ghana is the 
competition over religious space. This is reflected in the call by the other sects for a 
reconstitution of the Muslim leadership at the national level to reflect the reality of Muslim 
leadership in Ghana. This is so because these other sects and groups find themselves at the 
periphery of decision-making on Muslim matters at the national level which to a great 
extent gets its doctrinal colouration from the Tijaniyya sect. This is as a result of the 
domination of the sect at the national Muslim office. Perhaps, the larger Tijaniyya 
leadership is struggling to maintain the status quo as a result of the historical antecedents of 
the sect’s role in the national Muslim leadership in Ghana. The sect has always provided 
successive Muslim leaders in the Volta Basin, the Gold Coast, and present day Ghana. More 
importantly, one cannot downplay the leverages associated with the national leadership 
which influences the sect to torpedo the reconstitution of the office which would then reflect 
the aspiration of the newly emerged Muslim sects in post-independence Ghana. The result 
of this tendency on the part of the Tijaniyya leadership has been the strong agitation from 
the Ahlus-Sunnah, the Shi'ah and the Western trained scholars that the national leadership 
has been doctrinally skewed in favor of the Tijaniyya sect.
Currently, an acknowledgement of the need to have an umbrella organization to serve as the 
mouthpiece of all Muslims in Ghana is not being given enthusiastic support by some 
Muslim sects. This is partly because,the National Chief Imam, a Tijani by sectarian 
orientation, is not willing to share part of the good-will that he has established with the 
political establishment in Ghana. Nevertheless, one major point of interaction for Muslim 
sects in Ghana has been at the adhoc committees’ level. These adhoc committees include 
the National Hilal Committee of the Ramadan Conference, the National Hajj Council, and 
Inter-faith Waste Management Committees.
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The role of traditional leadership in the Muslim social sphere in Ghana also determines the 
nature of the relationship among Muslim sects in Ghana. This, however, varies in respect of 
the particular sect and the cultural orientation of a particular community. At one level, the 
Ahlus-Sunnah sect does not give recognition to traditional leadership in their structures and 
social functions. Apparently, the sect feels that religious issues are the exclusive domain of 
the Ulama who must therefore be empowered to perform their religious role in the society. 
Perhaps the origin of this ideological worldview of the sect dictates this scenario which 
historically delineated a separate political leadership from religious ones in Arabia. This is 
in sharp contrast to the relations between the Tijaniyya sect, on the one hand, and traditional 
leadership on the other. This could be viewed from the fact that the Tijaniyya sect gives due 
recognition to traditional leadership or tribal heads in the southern Ghana’s Muslim 
community. This always manifests itself in Muslim social programmes in respect of 
outdooring, wedding and funeral ceremonies, where the Tijaniyya custom within the south 
demands that the presiding Imam seeks permission from the Muslim chiefs and tribal heads 
present before initiating any religious service at such social functions. The major reason 
normally adduced for this state of affairs is that, traditionally and historically, the Ulama 
have been installed by the Muslim chiefs and consequently they derive their authority from 
the traditional leadership. However, the overriding reason might be that the Muslim chiefs 
and tribal heads might want to re-assert their authority in the cosmopolitan cities of the 
south, where they do not wield any considerable and significant influence over their 
subjects on religious issues. This tendency is always found in the southern part of Ghana 
especially the Zongos. This is in contrast to what obtains in the northern part of Ghana, 
where there is clear delineation between what are purely traditional and Islamic functions
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Part of the nature of the relationship among Muslim sects in Ghana is being determined by 
the nature of global politics in the Muslim world. This scenario is mostly applicable to 
states which are at loggerheads. This is when a particular government’s political relations 
are not the best with another government. The effect of this friction between two Muslim 
states with different Islamic ideologies eventually filters into the nature of relations between 
Muslims in Ghana with different doctrinal and theological allegiance to each of the state. In 
putting this into historical perspective, one could cite the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. This war 
created a cold war between the Ahlus-sunnah and Shi’iah sects in Ghana, as it was 
interpreted as a full war between members of the Shi ‘ah and the Ahlus-Sunnah in Ghana. 
Lastly, it is worth noting that the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq also pitted the Iraqi leadership 
against the larger Wahhabi Ulama in Ghana. Even though the invasion was a purely 
political issue, the Wahhabi scholars in the Gulf encouraged a negative perception against 
the Iraqi leadership among their counterparts in Ghana. The bottom line of the Wahhabi 
Ulama's resentment of the Iraqi leadership’s invasion of Kuwait has to do with the 
economic power that they obtain from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait which the Iraqi invasion 
would have halted. Lastly, the tendency on the part of the highest Ulama in the Muslim 
world to proclaim other Muslim leaders as infidels (Takfir) also has an effect on Ghanaian 
Muslim Ulama who hold a doctrinal inclination towards the opposing countries (Madawi 
2007: 41).Typical examples are Saudi Ulama proclaiming Takfir against other Muslim 
leaders such as Khomeini, Qaddhafi and Saddam Hussein. Although, the issues might have 
political undertone they tend to be displayed as religious matters and manifested among 
Muslims group with different doctrinal inclinations towards the different Islamic states.
Adherents of foreign Islamic sects in Ghana also play the role of advocacy, thereby 
influencing the direction of public opinion on foreign policies of the respective governments
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that represented these sects. In this regard, one could cite the 1988 Ayatollah Khomeini 
Fatwa on Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses and the role of the Shi'ah Muslims in 
mobilizing Ghanaian Muslims for protest and demonstration in that regard. Secondly, 
pressure put on Ghana’s Government by the Libyan-trained Ulama in Ghana to rescind its 
decision not to participate in the 1982 African Cup of Nations in Libya was another instance 
of Muslim’s Ulama with allegiance to some Islamic countries who wield influence on 
Ghana’s foreign policies direction. Lastly, the Libyan Ulama in Ghana became the first 
agents who were assigned by the Libyan Government to bcef-up the support base for 
Muammar Qadhafi’s proposed continental African Union government at the 9lh Ordinary 
Session of the AU’s Summit in Accra in 2007. The role that they played was in the area of 
mobilizing the masses to give popular support to Qadhafi during the Summit.2
Moreover, Muslim states or governments which propagate anti-imperialism and anti- 
Westemism perceive states in the Muslim world with opposing philosophies as rival states. 
This therefore justifies their tagging such states in negative religious terms. This mostly 
reflects on the nature of relations between the Libyan and Iranian Governments on one 
hand, the Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia and Kuwait on the other in respect of the 
latter’s relations with the United States and the West which Libya and Iran always interprets 
as a form of neo-colonialism and neo-imperialism (Madawi 2007:41). In short, the effect of 
such inter-states’ hostility between different Islamic governments finds its manifestation in 
the relations among Ghanaian Muslim Ulama trained in each of these different Islamic 
countries.
Yushau Kuta interviewed 2 July 2007.Yushau informed the researcher that, prior to the AU's Summit in Accra, 
jW the Libyan -rained Ulama in Ghana were invited to Libya by Gadhafi from 1 2 1 8  June 2007. They were 
oughly briefed as to the Libyan leader's agenda at the impending Summit. As a result of that they returned 
bana to mobilize the ordinary Ghanaian Muslims to show support for Gadhafi’s African Union government 
concept during the Summit
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Diversity as shown in the nature of Wahhabism, Shi'ism and Islamic Socialism which is 
found in different states in the Muslim world is also exploited by states with opposing 
Islamic perspectives or which do not share similar theological and ideological convictions. 
This is done by tagging the rival state with negative labels so as to make it appear that they 
do not belong to the right Islamic perspective. This tendency is displayed by Saudi Arabia 
against Iran and vice versa as they are struggling to win the hearts of many Muslims to their 
religious groups (Madawi 2007: 105). The higher institutions of Islamic learning of the 
various Muslim states facilitate this tendency. This situation in a way also reflects relations 
among Muslim sects in Ghana, which have strong allegiances to such states.
6.15 CONCLUSION
Generally, it could be discerned from this study that two types of Islamic resurgence were 
introduced in Ghana. Namely; the mainstream worldwide Islamic resurgence based on 
Islamic doctrinal beliefs such as the Ahlus-Sunnah and the Shi'ah. The second type of the 
Islamic resurgence introduced into Ghana was political in nature as in the nature of the 
Third Universal Theory (TUT). For instance, the Ahlus-Sunnah and the Shi 'ah represented 
worldwide Islamic ideologies with monotheistic (Tawhid) and the household (Ahlul-Bait) 
concepts and teachings of Islam in Ghana respectively. The interplay between these two 
worldwide Islamic ideologies is mainly limited to the Muslim Ummah alone.
On the other hand, the Third Universal Theory represented a new political movement in the 
world. The distinctive nature of this movement rests mainly on the fact that the Third 
Universal Theory claims to represent a political universal remedy to Third World countries. 
It must, however, be acknowledged that it has wider global ramifications beyond the 
Muslim Ummah since it interacts with others with religious persuasions other than Islam.
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The study also found that this political movement was individually inspired and motivated 
by Gadhafi.
Even though all the Muslim missions’ religious and political ideologies introduced in Ghana 
impacted on the orientation of Ghanaian Muslims, the intensity of their impact varies. For 
instance, the Ahlus-Sunnah and the Shi’iah, having their ideological and philosophical bases 
in Islam, attract more Muslims to the observation of their rules and tenets. Significantly, the 
two sects also give clearer distinctions in respect of labeling their adherents as being Ahlus- 
Sunnah Muslim and Shi 'ah Muslim. This could not, however, be said about the adherents of 
the Third Universal Theory in that outsiders do not label their followers.
It could therefore be argued that the hypothesis that Muslim diplomatic missions facilitated 
the classification of Ghanaian Muslims on doctrinal lines has not been fully established and 
founded. This is because such an hypothesis is mostly applicable to the impact of the Ahlus- 
Sunnah and the Shi ‘ah which give clearer identification to their adherents and followers.
The latent dimension of the hypothesis, on the other hand, could be that the home base and 
cultural orientation of all the Islamic ideologies introduced in Ghana impacted on their 
adherents in Ghana. For instance, the Ahlus-Sunnah or the Wahabiya orientated some 
sections of Ghanaian Muslims culturally towards Arabian Gulf values. Likewise, Shi'ism 
orientated some sections of Ghanaian Muslims towards an Iranian cultural background. The 
Third Universal Theory orientated some Ghanaian Muslims towards Berber cultural values. 
This view is evident in the mode of dress of the adherents of these sects in Ghana and other 
social interactions.
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It has also been found that the ideological foundations of the Ahus-Sunnah and the Shi 'ah 
sects are such that they could endure through many centurics and therefore the opportunity 
to attract more Muslims to these sects is high. This is in contrast to the ideological 
foundation of the TUT which is politically oriented and dependent on the ability of a 
particular political regime to survive.
Again, the study reveals that the interplay between the adherents of these sects and their 
ideology in Ghana in respect of their home base governments is not overtly observed. This 
could be seen in the lack of apparent collaboration between the Ghanaian adherents of the 
sects and ideologies and the home base governments. The research also reveals that all the 
institutions which facilitate Islamic resurgence in Ghana exclude Muslim women from the 
leadership structures.
Economically, Wahhabiyya, Shi ah, and the Libyan-trained Ulama in Ghana rely on their 
respective governments to carry out the activities of the Islamic resurgence in Ghana. The 
nature of the economic assistance given to the Ulama trained in these countries relate to 
monthly stipends and some developmental projects. This situation therefore underscores the 
role of the home base governments in propelling the activities of the Islamic resurgence in 
Ghana through economic assistance.
Lastly, it has been found that the origin of some of the institutions which facilitate the 
diversity of Islamic resurgence in the respective Muslim sects in Ghana were externally 
motivated and not the brainchild of Ghanaian Muslims. For instance, one could cite the 
origin of the Supreme Council for Islamic Call and Research, the West African Ahlus- 
Sunnah and the origin of the Center for Study of the Green Book in Ghana. This shows the
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extent of influence of foreign governments’ political and religious values on Ghanaian 
Muslims.
The next section deals with Ghanaian Muslims relations with the United States in the post 
9/11. It will eventually unravel the unique dimension of Muslims relations with the West. It 
further explores the major shapes that it assumes in Ghana.
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CHAPTER SEVEN
THE POST 9/11 FACTOR: GHANAIAN MUSLIMS’ RELATIONS WITH THE 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
7 0 BACKGROUND TO THE AMERICAN EMBASSY’S ENGAGEMENT WITH 
THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY IN GHANA
7.1 INTRODUCTION
As we observed in section II, which discussed the engagement of Ghanaian Muslims with the 
Arab/Muslim world, the present section will deal with their relations with the Western world, 
especially the United States of America, in the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 attacks.
In this chapter, we discuss the various levels of interactions and acts of rapprochement that 
have taken place between the United States through the American Embassy and the Muslim 
community in Ghana as a result of her global anti-terror campaign in the Muslim 
communities. This history of the United States’ engagement with the Muslims in Ghana can 
be divided into two periods namely, pre-11 September, 2001 and post-11 September
The pre-11-September period was largely characterized by an apparent lack of attention on 
the part of the American Embassy in designing and implementing programmes, specifically 
targeted at the Muslim community in Ghana. As a result, whatever American programmes 
and projects that Muslims benefited from during this period were incidental, and could be 
seen as part of a number of programmes for the larger Ghanaian community.
The effect of this apparent lack of attention displayed by the United States and the Western 
countries for Ghanaian Muslims in the provision of development projects made them tend to 
have a negative, even hostile, attitude towards them. Even though during the pre-9/11 period 
Ghanaian Muslims interacted with the Western world and the United States through the
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Nation of Islam, such interaction did not result in any significant changc in this perception. 
Lastly, this hostile attitude of Muslims towards the United States was reinforced by the 
source of funding of Muslim development projects in Ghana during the pre-9/11 period, 
which was largely from the Arab/Muslim world. This trend therefore reinforced the religious 
solidarity and affinity of Ghanaian Muslims with the Arab world.
In post-11 September, however, the United States Embassy consciously designed and 
implemented programmes specifically meant for the Muslim communities in Ghana. This has 
resulted in a positive change of attitude as regards the United States among Ghanaian 
Muslims. This chapter will concentrate on what it was post 9/11 which caused a mark of 
improvement in the United States-Muslims relations in Ghana. Since the American 
adventurous relations with Muslims in Ghana in the post 9/11 were related to her anti-terror 
campaign and education in the Muslim communities, this chapter further discusses aspects of 
Muslims views on terrorism.
U HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE POST 9/11 UNITED STATES’ 
ENGAGEMENT IN GHANA
In putting this section into historical perspective interviews were conducted with several
Muslim leaders who had, in diverse ways, facilitated, the engagement of Ghanaian Muslims
with the United States of America since the 11 September 2001 attacks against the United
States. Among such personalities was Armiyau Shuiab, the General Secretary of Friends
Against Global Terrorism (FAGLAT), one of the organizations through which the American
Embassy relates with the Muslim community in Ghana.
Armiyau indicated that the American Embassy’s interest in the Ghanaian Muslim community 
took a new turn in the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 attacks on America which sent
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shockwave around the world. According to him, the initiative towards this new engagement 
came from the Americans themselves. Eric Sillah, an official of the American Embassy, 
initiated the engagement. He conducted research in the Muslim community on the reaction of 
Ghanaian Muslims to the 11 September event and their feelings about the United States in 
general. Cross-sections of the Muslim leaders in Accra were interviewed. Later, there was an 
informal meeting organized by the American Embassy with a section of these Muslim 
leaders, especially those who were interviewed in November 2001. The essence of this 
meeting was to ascertain the concerns of Ghanaian Muslims about the United States. 
Armiyau thought that, presumably, there was a wave of anti-American sentiments all over the 
Muslim world (Shuiab, interview, 13th March 2005).
The American Embassy sought to ascertain the basis of such sentiments and address to them. 
Some of the individuals who participated in the initial informal meeting, such as Umar 
Ahmed Sanda, Armiyau Shuaib, and Hamidu Chodi, then decided to extend the new 
engagement a little further. They did this by examining acceptable Islamic methods of 
addressing issues especially matters relating to political differences, conflicts and violence. 
They also questioned the basis of using terror and violence as a tool to protest against 
disagreeable issues. Lastly, one issue that they discussed was who was to lead the Muslim 
Ummah in addressing whatever concerns they might have about the United States and other 
countries in the world (Shuiab, interview, 13th March 2005).
In the course of their deliberations, they conceived of an idea to form an organization to 
address and educate Muslims on matters relating to the use of terror and violence. They 
therefore formed Friends Against Global Terrorism (FAGLAT), to serve as a platform and an 
instrument for examining the relationship between Ghanaian Muslims, America and the West
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(Shuiab, interview, 13th March 2005). It can be realized, therefore, that the 11 September 
gftndrs created a basis for a new relationship with and engagement between Ghanaian 
Muslims and the United States.
73 THE UNITED STATES’ PERSPECTIVE ON THE ENGAGEMENT
The perspective of the United States on their rapprochement towards Ghanaian Muslims 
was corroborated by David Queen a counselor at the United States’ Department of Public 
Affairs in the Embassy. He claimed that what necessitated the engagement was the fact that 
in the past no attention had been paid by the Embassy to the Muslim community in Ghana. 
The Embassy also realized that many Ghanaian Muslims were not aware of the United 
States’ development programmes in Ghana, especially programmes pertaining to primary 
education and public health, which benefited all Ghanaians, including Muslims (David, 
Interview, 10th March 2005)
David emphasized that the basis of the United States’ rapprochement towards the Muslim 
community is borne out of the United States’ broad policy and out of her desire to help the 
underprivileged Muslim communities in Ghana in general. Through this initiative some 
projects relating to education were commissioned in the Northern part of Ghana (David, 
Interview, 10Ih March 2005). Specifically, a branch of the United States Embassy’s 
reference library was commissioned, and a satellite internet facility established. These 
facilities could be accessed by the students and staff of the University for Development 
Studies (UDS), in Tamale due to their proximity to the campus. All these were done with a 
view to assisting the Ghanaian Muslim community in the Northern region in particular 
(David, Interview, lO^March 2005).
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The United States also made efforts to link up with the Muslim community in the southern 
part of Ghana. However, such efforts were limited to one particular office, that of the 
National Chief Imam and a sect, the Tijaniyya sect in particular. Gradually, the Ahlus- 
Sunnah group and other Muslim leaders were brought in (David, Interview, 10th March
2005).
David indicated that though the purpose of their relations with Muslims is to see how best 
the United States Government officials through its embassy would be able to direct good 
proposals from Muslim organizations. He identified another benefit of the engagement that 
being the fostering of a better understanding and the promotion of matters of mutual interest 
between the two groups in various disciplines (David, interview, 10th March 2005). 
Among some of the projects of the engagement are special meetings, round table 
discussions, public lectures to explain United States programmes and policies. Also 
included was the participation of the United States officials in Muslim religious holidays 
and ceremonies, particularly the celebration of Eid-Fitr and Eid-Adha (David, interview, 
10th March 2005).
Initially, Iftar during the month of Ramadan was organized for some selected Muslim 
leaders in Accra. Due to the keen interest generated from this interaction with the Muslim 
leadership, a public forum was also organized to educate the staff of the Embassy about 
Islam and the social conditions of the Ghanaian Muslim community in particular. These 
ventures were undertaken to ascertain the possible interventions intended to be made by the 
United States’ development agencies interested in Muslim development in Ghana (David, 
interview, 10th March 2005).
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The outcome of these forums was the development intervention initiated by the United 
States Peace Corps to help the Muslim community in particular. The Peace Corps had 
already been actively involved in assisting the Ghanaian community in general. Out of this 
initiative the Ahlus-Sunnah group is being assisted to construct an ultra modem office 
centre at Nima in Accra. Initially, enough was not done to extend this initiative to Muslims 
outside Greater Accra. However, now the activities of the United States cover virtually the 
entire country.
As part of this initiative some American Muslims were invited to interact with their 
Ghanaian counterparts. Notable among them was Imam Hendi, a chaplain at the 
Georgetown University in the United States. He was taken to almost all Muslim institutions 
and organizations in Accra and Kumasi (David, interview, 10th March 2005). In addition, 
he was given the opportunity to interact with the Muslim students at the University of 
Ghana, Legon and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi. In 
order to further reach out to Ghanaian Muslims nationwide, the United States officials 
organized television talk shows for Imam Hendi with Ghanaian Muslims. The climax of 
these was a dinner for some selected Muslim leaders in Accra at David Queen’s residence 
(David, interview, 10th March 2005). Lastly, the United States also organized exchange 
programmes to the United States for Ghanaian Muslim leaders, Ulama, Imams and other 
important dignitaries.
David opined that, with this assistance in mind, the expectation of the United States 
regarding the Muslim community is that prejudices, biased perceptions, and attitudes 
towards the United States should be done away with (David, interview, 10th March 2005). 
He indicated that there would not be any significant change in the mode of the engagement.
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Depending upon the budget available there could be more exchanges for, for example, 
Ghanaian Muslim students who wish to study in the United States.
David did not think any problems had arisen during this engagement. He emphasized that, 
generally, Ghanaian Muslims are very open and friendly, even when they disagree with 
some of the policies of the United States. He observed that some young men and students 
had been loudly critical but he did not consider that a problem, as everybody should have 
the opportunity to speak openly.
Among some of the minor problems they identified in the process of engagement were:
(a) lack of understanding of the United States’ policies.
(b) incorrect information about the United States.
(c) too much reliance on the mass media for information about the United States.
(d) the lack of assertiveness on the part of Ghanaian Muslims to make their needs 
known to the government (David, interview, 10th March 2005).
He was of the view that the only motivation to continue with this policy is for people to 
make informed judgments based on an understanding of all viewpoints. In this regard, the 
United States officials would want their views to be heard and understood. He gave an 
assurance that the United States Government has good intentions regarding Muslims 
globally (David, interview, 10,h March 2005).
7-4 THE BROADER POLICY OF THE ENGAGEMENT
The broader policy of the United States Government, which calls for a need for the 
engagement, is to create a platform for dialogue with Muslims world-wide. It is specifically
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the anti-terrorism policy of the United States, which requires this engagement (David, 
interview, 10th March 2005). According to him, the erroneous perception by some 
Muslims is that Islam has been branded as a religion of terrorism which is not so. The other 
problem was the assumption that the United States is not committed to resolving the 
problems of the Middle-East. He however, expressed the view that, the U.S. is committed to 
solving the problem in the near future.
David indicated that the effects of the engagements have been generally positive. He argued 
that many Ghanaian Muslims had never met Americans and, as a result, some Muslims had 
distorted views about the United States. The United States’ attitude is that even if they do 
not always agree people should respect each other’s views and try to understand where they 
come from (David, interview, 10th March 2005).
An outcome of this new policy was, as mentioned above, the formation of a pro-U.S. 
Muslim group in Ghana, known as Friends Against Global Terrorism (FAGLAT). The 
initiative of FAGLAT was however a difficult one. For instance, Armiyau indicated that 
there was a feeling in the Ghanaian Muslim community that America was against Islam and 
Muslims. So there was an outcry against any Muslim pioneering such a dialogue. Some 
Muslims labeled the founders of FAGLAT as agents of the Central Intelligence Agency 
(CIA) (Shuiab, interview, 3rd January 2005). Armiyau indicated that they were however 
vindicated, when some leading Muslims also joined the American-Muslims dialogue in 
Ghana. These personalities included Umar Ibrahim and Shuaib Abubakar, two of the 
founding fathers of the Ahlus-Sunnah (Wahhabism) in Ghana (Shuiab, interview, 3rd 
January 2005). The next section will therefore focus on the objectives of FAGLAT.
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75 THE OBJECTIVES OF FRIENDS AGAINST GLOBAL TERRORISM 
(FAGLAT)
Formed in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on the United States of America, FAGLAT is a
non-religious and non-political movement, which aims at uniting all peace-loving
Ghanaians. Among some of the concerns it intends to address are:
1. the unity of all nations and peoples of the world to fight for an internationally acceptable 
definition of terrorism and the formulation, adoption and implementation of a convention 
on global terrorism.
2. the combating by all means necessary, of threats to international peace and security, 
terrorist acts committed by govemment(s) or movement(s) operating in their own country 
of origin or in a foreign country against citizens and property in a third country as well as 
individuals and groups (including psychopaths, who seem to exhibit less restraint in 
senseless acts of terrorism at diplomatic missions, mass transportation systems, sporting 
events, hotels/tourist sites).
3. the provision of education through lectures, seminars, symposia, research (studies and 
reports) or other forms of knowledge to the international community by relentlessly 
drawing attention to changing threats and challenges posed by terrorism especially bio- 
terrorism, use of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons as well as the proliferation of 
other forms of weapons of mass destruction. Cyber terrorism-hackers who use hi-tech 
methods to attack web sites and or viruses which eat up or freeze computers [information 
network]. Eco-terrorism, arsons, bombings, and sabotage in the name of saving the 
environment, disrupting logging, recreational use of the wilderness and or animals for 
food and for research.
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4 working in close collaboration with governments, agencies and other organizations in 
fanning freedom, dignity, justice and human values and to promote world peace, co­
operation and understanding by eliminating hatred [bigotry and ignorance], oppression 
and injustice [frustration with seemingly intractable political, social and economic 
forces], as some of the factors that induce violent acts or tenor.
The First Executive Council members were:
(i) Nii Adjei Larbie, former Member of Parliament for Tema East.
(ii) Hamidu Chodi, a journalist and the Acting Director of Administration Ghana 
Broadcasting Corporation (GBC)
(iii) Umar Sanda Ahmed, a Muslim Military Chaplain, Ghana Armed Forces.
(iv) Aimiyau Shauib, an educationist, and the Accra Regional Director of the 
Islamic Education Unit, Ghana Education Service. And
(v) Hudu Mogtari, a pharmacist with the pharmaceutical company, Rees and Co.
7.6 THE NATURE OF FAGLAT ACTIVITIES IN GHANA
Some of the activities that are organized by FAGLAT include the following:
1. Iftar programmes (food for Muslims to break the fast during the month of Ramadan): 
Initially, the venue for the Iftar programmes was Nima Police Park. It has however 
been extended to other parts of Accra, to cover places such as Shukura, Sabon Zongo, 
Ashaiman and Tema all in the Greater Accra region. Iftar has also been extended to 
other regions namely; Ashanti, Northern, Upper East, Western, Upper West, and 
Western. The Iftar programme has so far been extended to virtually all regions in 
Ghana.
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During the Iftar programme, a section of the Muslim leaders are invited, especially, 
the Imams led by the National Chief Imam or his representative, the Ulama, the 
Council of Muslim Chiefs and a cross section of the women folk. Within this 
programme, some quantities of food are distributed to needy Muslims during the 
Month of Ramadan to help ease the breaking of their fast.
The essence of the organization of Iftar for the Muslim community by the United 
States Embassy is to show its solidarity with the Muslim Ummah during the Ramadan 
season. The Public Affairs Section of the United States Embassy sponsors the Iftar, 
and the FAGLAT facilitates and organizes the function for the Muslim community.
The Ambassador’s Iftar programme for Muslim leaders in Ghana is another such 
occasion. This provides an opportunity for interaction with the Ghanaian Muslim 
community and fosters relationship between them and the Embassy during the month 
of Ramadan. This programme is specifically and exclusively meant for top Muslim 
leaders in the country and those in responsible positions within the Muslim 
community.
The United States Embassy through FAGLAT also organizes quiz competitions for 
Muslim students in the tertiary and pre-tertiary institutions in the country. In recent 
times, such competitions are broadcast live on national television and some radio 
stations for the benefit of all Ghanaians. Prizes and awards are given to the winners. 
In recent times, the winners are given guidance as to some of the educational 
opportunities in the United States for those who wish to pursue higher education in 
the States.
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3 Another new dimension to the activities of the United States Embassy in Ghana is
their attention to women’s groups in the Muslim community. Recently, the women’s 
wing of FAGLAT, MIRAJ1, was formed with the aim of educating Muslim women, 
through workshops on reproductive issues, women’s empowerment and 
entrepreneurial and vocational training.
4. Open forums, lectures, and roundtable discussions with Muslim leaders in Ghana are
aimed at providing a platform for learning more about Islam and Muslims generally in 
Ghana. It also seeks to highlight some of the problems of the Muslim community. 
Some agencies within the United States Embassy, through this programme, will then 
make informed decisions to help Muslims in specific areas.
5. A football competition for Muslim youth is organized during the Eidul-Fitr season. 
The aim of this programme is to provide useful entertainment for young Muslim men 
in the community. This then provides a productive activity and entertainment for the 
youth rather than enabling them to engage in certain nefarious activities during the 
Eidul-Fitr festivities. Participating teams are drawn from almost all parts of the 
regions in Ghana Greater Accra, Central, Ashanti regions, Northern, Upper West, and 
Upper East. Trophies and other incentives are awarded to deserving teams.
7.7 THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF FAGLAT
One of the areas in which FAGLAT has excelled in recent times is in its ability to create 
opportunities for the Muslim Ulama and Imams to visit the United States. This opportunity 
hitherto 9/11 was not available. Consequently, some of the staunchest critics of the United
heaven meaDS ascending to the seventh heaven. This is in reference to the Prophet’s ascendance to the
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States and her foreign policy tend to change their attitude upon their return to Ghana. This is 
because the common perception of some of the Ulama and the Imams was that there were 
no Muslims in the United States. Some of them think that the United States is anti-Islam 
and not Muslim friendly. However, upon visiting the United States and observing, for 
example, that Muslims are performing valuable services in the cause of Islam, they change 
these perceptions.
Thanks to this programme, numerous Ghanaian Muslims have changed their attitudes 
towards the United States. A typical example of one of them is the National Imam of the 
Ahlus-Sunnah, Wal-Jama’ah. According to him, his perception about America was mostly 
coloured by his understanding of her foreign policies. However, his trip to the United States 
made him lose this negative stereotype about America. He often quotes a prominent Muslim 
scholar, Muhammad Abduh who once said “in Europe I found Islam but not Muslims. Here 
in the East I find Muslims but not Islam” (Soage 2008:14). Umar predicted that the future of 
Islamic civilization would come from the direction of the Western world, where the Muslim 
Ummah is capable of expressing their views and creating new dimensions to Islam (Umar, 
interview, 20* February 2005).
Equally important is the International Visitors Program (I.V.P), which some Ghanaian 
Muslims have benefited from. This programme is geared towards having some Ghanaians to 
visit the United States where they will leam, among other things; how the U.S. is governed. 
It also includes cultural and educational exchanges between the Ghanaian Muslims and the 
United States citizens.
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Irrinm Hendi Yahaya, a chaplain of Georgetown University, visited Ghana in 2005 as part of 
the United States’ rapprochement towards Ghanaian Muslims. As said earlier his interaction 
took him to almost all the Muslim institutions in Accra. He also interacted with the 
leadership of the Federation of Muslim Women’s Association of Ghana (FOMWAG) which 
is the umbrella organization of Muslim women’s groups in Ghana, and with Muslim 
students.
Part of FAGLAT’s achievement has been that it has exposed Ghanaian Muslim students to 
educational opportunities in the United States through access to the facilities of the Martin 
Luther King Library in Accra to enhance their chances of being admitted to higher 
educational institutions in the United States. Perhaps, the most remarkable achievement of 
this engagement was the allocation of money to construct a regional secretariat of the 
Islamic Education Unit for the Muslim community in Accra in 2005. Also, the construction 
of National Secretariat of the Ahlus-Sunnah group in the Greater Accra region was an 
achievement made by FAGLAT. Another achievement was the construction of a health unit 
at Aboabo in Kumasi in 2006 for the Muslim community.
7.8 FINDINGS ON GHANAIAN MUSLIMS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE UNITED 
STATES
As indicated earlier, the outcome of 9/11 prompted the interest of the United States in the 
Muslim community in Ghana. The United States, in designing her broader policy for her 
engagement in Ghana, took into consideration the diversity of the Muslim community 
because of the different doctrinal groups that Ghanaian Muslims belong to, as well as 
differences in occupations, age and gender.
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In order to obtain information from the respondents in the field about the activities of the 
United States in the Muslim communities, this very diversity was utilized. Questionnaires 
were designed, and administered in the field; to obtain information about the perception of 
Ghanaian Muslims on the recent interest of the United States had shown in them. Among 
some of the broader questions and issues that we ascertained were,: we sought the 
respondents’ appraisal of the United States in the Muslim community, we explore avenues 
for cooperation between the U.S. and Ghanaian Muslims, the perception of Ghanaian 
Muslims about the U.S. before and after 9/11, avenues for constructive cultural dialogue 
and the compatibility of Islamic values with Western values.
Since the post 9/11 American interest among Muslims is to educate them about terrorism, 
we sought Muslims understanding of the causes of terrorism its impact on Ghanaian 
Muslims and eradication. We further identified the role of the Ulama in Dawa on terrorism 
and factors affecting them. Where necessary, the research analysis will focus on the gender, 
occupation, and doctrinal background of the respondents in respect of each question.
7-8.1 The Appraisal of the United States’ Engagement in the Muslim Community
As a starting point of assessing Muslims understanding of the American interest in their
community, the survey obtains from the respondents their evaluation of the United States’
engagement in the Muslim community. This was with a view to finding out from them
whether they appreciate the U.S. efforts or not. Secondly, the results of the survey identified
•he specific problems that the respondents associate with the nature of the engagement.
Muslim women the Imams, public servants and the Ahlus-Sunnah sect members were those
who most positively appraised the United States’ interest in the Muslim community in 
Ghana.
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Though, the gender dimension of the participants in the United States activities in the 
Muslim community in Ghana shows that it was skewed towards the interest of the men, this 
has not however completely changed their negative perceptions of the United States. The 
major factor accounting for this is the critical posture that they have adopted towards the 
United States foreign policies in the Middle-East and other parts of the world, which to 
some of them is highly unfavourable to the Muslims.
The Imams and businessmen generally appreciated the essence of the United States 
programmes because of their participation in it. This thus enabled them to fairly appraise the 
nature of the engagement and its benefit to Muslim communities in Ghana.
Doctrinally, Ahlus-Sunnah members mostly appreciated the value of the engagement more 
than other sects. This is partly due to the fruit of the concentration of the engagement of the 
United States’ officials with the sect. Secondly, the members of the sect have enjoyed 
abundant advantages as against other sects during the engagement. For instance, an ultra­
modern Islamic centre has been established by the United States’ Embassy in Ghana for the 
sect at Nima in the Greater Accra region. The Embassy has also put up a multi-million 
Cedis clinic with all accessories for the members of the sect in the Ashanti region. 
Moreover, access to a U.S. Visa has been made easier to the members of the sect to visit the 
States, and some were even made to apply for the Visa. Lastly, officials of the United States 
frequently participate in the religious activities of the ASWAJ. All these interventions have 
done much to change the minds of the members of the sect about the nature of the 
engagement. These, and many other factors, have influenced the respondents' positive
appraisal of the engagement.
rB 1- Doctrinal background of the respondents and their evaluation of the worth of 
the United States interest in the Muslim communities in Ghana;
50
[Source: survey data 2005|
An attempt was made to identify the specific reasons which influenced the respondents’ 
views for or against the United States’ rapprochement towards the Ghanaian Muslims. 
Consequently, respondents were asked for reasons for either their positive or negative 
response to the engagement. Generally, three (3) major reasons which could be categorized 
into positive or negative were provided by the respondents.
One view was identified as representing the extent to which the responses were negative. 
For example, about 35 percent of the respondents indicated that the United States has a 
hidden agenda for initiating the rapprochement. This negative perception was mostly found 
among the males, students, and non-sectarian Muslims.
The reason given by these respondents for the position they expressed was that prior to 
Ml, the United States had not shown any keen interest in having any programme with the 
Muslim communities. Importantly, some of the respondents cited as a reason for their 
negative attitude the nature of the United States’ foreign policies in some Muslim countries,
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which they considered unfavourable to the Muslims. Perhaps, it will be prudent to return to 
the reactions of a section of Muslims in Ghana which was opposed to United States’ interest 
in the Muslim communities to support the point.2 The problems raised by these Muslims 
include:
1. The abuse of prisoners by the Coalition Forces led by the United States in Iraq. 
These respondents raised this to show the double standards of the United States 
towards Muslims generally.
2. Non-Muslims constructing religious centres for Muslims. These respondents feel 
that the Qur'an forbids Muslims to allow non-Muslims to construct Islamic centres 
for them.
Part of the respondents’ problem with the United States’ interest in the Muslim 
communities in Ghana, emanates from their perceived double-standards exhibited by their 
Ulama towards the U.S, foreign policies. These include:
1. The ASWAJ Ulama had earlier organized prayer sessions to seek victory for the 
Iraqis against the Coalition Forces led by the United States. In the course of time, the 
ASWAJ is seen campaigning for, and having harmonious relations with the American 
Embassy, and
2. Some of the ASWAJ Ulama have changed their attitudes towards the United States' 
assisted Iftar programmes in the Muslim communities which they had earlier 
condemned.
This was a recorded audio-visual material of the ASWAJ outreach programme on the eradication of terrorism 
solicit the members support on their engagement with US officials in Ghana, organized at Islamic 
search and Reformation Center, Nima, Accra 24 August, 2004.
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They were therefore of the view that the United States did not have the interests of the 
Muslim world at heart. This was further aggravated by the attitude of their Ulama.
On the other hand, the findings also reveal that the Imams (42%) and the public servants 
(41%), respectively, identified positively with the United States’ interest in the Muslim 
immunities in Ghana. The views of these respondents are encapsulated on the beneficial 
outcome of the engagement to Muslims, namely :
1. The dialogue will create the basis for an understanding between Ghanaian Muslims 
and the United States (27.6%).
2. The rapprochement will enable Ghanaian Muslims to tap the expertise of the United 
States (25.9%).
3. Those who did not respond to the question represented 12.1%.
It is worth stating that the Imams mostly identified with the view that the dialogue or 
engagement will create a platform for understanding between the United States and the 
Ghanaian Muslims. This has been necessitated partly because; it is they who are mostly 
involved in inter-faith dialogue. Part of the Imams’ positive appraisal of the United States 
was because substantial benefits flowing from the rapprochement towards Muslims in Ghana 
was channeled to them.
The public servants were of the view that engagement will result in acquiring expertise from 
the United States for the benefit of Ghanaian Muslims. Their view must have been 
influenced by their professional acquaintance with factors promoting inter-state relations.
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Also in view of the intensive involvement of the Ahlus-Sunnah sect in almost all facets of 
the United States programmes in the Muslim communities in Ghana, their appraisal of the 
benefits of engagement was positive. This could be discerned from the fact that about 39 
percent of the ASWAJ members, who represented the majority, were of the view that the 
rapprochement will create a basis for understanding between Ghanaian Muslims and the 
United States. This, therefore, means that prejudices against each other will be discarded 
depending upon the extent of the interaction between people with different backgrounds. 
This finding is in agreement with the inter-group contact hypothesis, which suggests that if 
two people of different racial or religious backgrounds could be brought together the 
hostility, antagonism, and prejudice expressed by each of them would be eroded, and 
eventually a positive attitude would develop (Deaux Wrightmann, 1981i370). Although it is 
acknowledged that mere contacts or interactions could not erase prejudices and biases, they 
have the potential of improving people’s attitudes towards others positively.
The next section explores some avenues through which respondents believe that Ghanaian 
Muslims can cooperate with the United States in the interests of Islam and Muslims. It 
subsequently identifies the specific type of the issues for cooperation between the two groups 
in Ghana.
7-8.2 Avenues for Cooperation between the United States and Ghanaian Muslims
The purpose of the United States engagement is to identify the possible avenues of interest
with Muslims in Ghana for cooperation (David, interview, 10th March 2005). Such
avenues for cooperation must also be underpinned by their general appeal to the Ghanaian 
Muslims leadership.
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The findings reveal that an overwhelming 84 percent of the respondents believe that the 
United States and Ghanaian Muslims could cooperate in the interests of Islam and Muslims 
in Ghana in the following areas:
(i) Education (62.6).
(ii) Health (10.9%).
(iii) Assisting Muslims to break the fast during the month of Ramadan (6.9%).
(iv) Fighting HIV/AIDS in the Muslim community (5.7%).
(v) Fighting terrorism (3.4%).
Fig. 2: The areas of cooperation between Ghanaian Muslims and the United States?
[Source: Survey Data 2005|
Areas of cooperation between Ghanaian Muslims and the United States selected by the 
respondents vary. For instance, the men (100%), students and Ahlus-Sunnah (67) identified 
fighting terrorism and promoting cultural exchanges between Ghanaian Muslims and their 
Western counterparts as the major avenues of cooperation. This is in contrast to the issues 
of interest of the Imams, the non-sectarian respondents and the Muslim females who think 
that the focus of cooperation should be on educating Ghanaian Muslims on HIV/AIDS and 
providing health facilities.
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The results show the diversity of interests in the areas of cooperation between Ghanaian 
Muslims and the United States. It shows the importance that the men, the Ahlus-Sunnah and 
the students’ group attach to fighting terrorism and to distinguish their religiosity from the 
position of terrorism. It further shows their interest to interact with their counterparts 
Western Muslims as a result of the opportunity afforded by this new transnational 
engagement. It implies that these respondents are interested in issues of peace and security 
of Ghanaians and the sharing of ideas through interaction between the two groups so as to 
ensure stability and ridding the world of biases and prejudices. This will eventually improve 
relations between Ghanaian Muslims and the American officials in Ghana.
On the other hand, the well-being of Ghanaian Muslims was the concern of the Imams, as 
well as the non-sectarian Muslims and the female respondents. This is encapsulated in the 
need to fighting HIV/AIDS and to providing health facilities for Muslims. These areas of 
cooperation between Ghanaian Muslims and the United States which have been identified 
are in line with the broader policy of the United States’ programmes for Ghanaian Muslims. 
This is because though the overall objective of the engagement is to educate the Muslim 
Ummah globally on the menace of terrorism. It has also been realized that terrorism could 
be countered by providing development projects and basic amenities for deprived 
communities (Makinda, 2002: 27). This is partly so because terrorism can thrive among the 
destitute and the impoverished. This means that the fight against terrorism also involves a 
trade-off development for better relations between the United States and Ghanaian Muslims 
and a more positive attitude of the one for the other.
The interest of the United States to facilitate Ghanaian Muslims’ interaction with their 
Western counterparts has dwindled in recent times. This was due to alleged exploitation by
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Visa fraudsters and the intransigent postures adopted by the youth and the Muslim students 
towards the US sponsored scholars to Ghana.
7.83. Perception about the United States before and after 9/11
In view of the intensive nature of American engagement in the Muslim communities in 
Ghana in the aftermath of the 9/11, the research sought from the respondents their 
perception about the United States before and after the 9/11 incidents. This was necessary in 
order to ascertain whether the image of the United States is improving or not in the Muslim 
communities of Ghana because of the interaction.
In order to avoid ambiguity as to the purpose of the research, specific variables were used to 
ensure precision and measure the perception of the respondents about the United States. For 
instance, respondents were asked about their perceptions of the United States before and 
after 9/11 on the following variables:
1. United States is a friend of Islam and Muslims.
2. United States is interested in developing the Muslim communities.
3. United States has nothing in common with the Muslim communities. And
4. The United States is anti-Islam and anti-Muslims.
The respondents’ perceptions about the United States were tested on these views ‘before and 
after’ and comparative assessment was made. The result shows an improved positive 
perception about the United States after 9/11 as against before the 9/11 events. The variables 
which recorded positive improvements in the respondents’ perception about the United States 
after 9/11 include, ‘the United States is interested in developing the Muslim communities’ 
and that ‘the United States has nothing in common with Muslims’. The view of these
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respondents is based on the apparent accessibility of the United States assisted development 
projects in the Muslim community in Ghana in the post 9/11.
On the other hand, the results show a growth in the respondents’ perception of the United 
States after 9/11, as reflected in the views that ‘the United States is anti-Islam and Muslims’ 
and ‘the United States is a friend of Islam and Muslims’. The possible reason necessitating 
this view was the aggressive nature of the United States’ military operations in some Muslim 
countries after 9/11 as seen in her war on terrorism.
Fig. 3: Respondents perception about the United States before and after 9/11
□ Before 9/11 
■ After 9/11
[Source: Survey Data 2005|
A cross comparative assessment of the respondents’ perception of the United States before 
and after 9/11 of respondents reveals mixed results, dependant on their gender. For instance, 
view as expressed after 9/11 that the United States is interested in developing the Muslim 
^communities improved positively from 9.2% recorded before 9/11 and 12.1% recorded after. 
Also, the negative view was that ‘the United States has nothing in common with the Muslim 
communities’ recorded 23.6% before 9/11, and improved significantly down to 19.5% after 
^11. The positive improvement as shown in these views is as a result of the engagement of 
"he United States with the Muslim communities in Ghana.
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For example, the view that the United States is interested in the development of Muslim 
communities recorded an improvement after 9/11 partly because it was during the post- 9/11 
period that the United States initiated specific projects to assist the Muslim communities and 
address issues in them. These included projects with respect to educational infrastructure for 
the Islamic Education Unit at Kawokudi and an ultra-modern office complex for the ASWAJ 
at Nima, both in the Greater Accra region. Also, significant was the provision of Iftar for 
Muslims from all walks of life. The United States also constructed a health unit for the 
Kumasi Muslim community in the Ashanti region. Also, a sizeable number of Muslim Ulama 
was invited by the US Embassy in Ghana to visit the United States for the first time. All such 
programmes have, in one way or the other, positively changed the perception of the 
respondents about the United States’ interest in developing the Muslim communities. This 
was also reiterated by the National Chief Imam during a farewell visit paid to him by David 
Queen. The National Chief Imam was quoted as saying that he would never forget the 
tremendous help America and her embassy rendered to Ghanaian Muslims and Ghana in 
general. He emphasized that there have been various embassies in Ghana, but the American 
Embassy has proven to be exceptional as far as Muslims in Ghana are concerned (National 
democrat, 1, 2005/
Again, the view that ‘the United States has nothing in common with Muslims’ saw significant 
improvement after the 9/11 incidents. This is because 23.6% of the respondents recorded this 
view before 9/11, whereas this figure dropped down to 19.5%. The major contributory factor 
is that, for the first time, the United States initiated development projects for the Muslim 
communities. That, in itself is considered a proof of the U.S’s common interest with the 
Muslims in Ghana. This has, therefore made the respondents appreciate such initiatives which 
eventually are reflected in the favourable positive upsurge of this view after 9/11.
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Conversely, the view which was expressed negatively after 9/11 was that ‘the United States is 
anti-Islam and Muslims’. This is discernible from the fact that whereas 40.2% of the 
respondents expressed this view before 9/11, the response was 44.8% in post 9/11. Similarly, 
17.8% of the respondents before 9/11 felt that ‘the United States is a friend of Islam and 
Muslims’. The percentage of this, however, was reduced to 14.4% in post 9/11.
This situation therefore points to the fact that anti-American feeling and sentiment in the 
Muslim communities rose after 9/11. The reason for this negativity is that in the aftermath of 
9/11 the United States intensified her military operations against terrorism in some Muslim 
countries. Consequently, Ghanaian Muslims perceived the United States as anti-Islam and 
anti-Muslims. This view is epitomized in some of the respondents’ constant reference to the 
United States military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan in the course of the fieldwork. Again, 
the United States’ support for Israel rather than the Palestinian people is a typical concern 
raised by the respondents to justify this view. Other studies also support the view that anti- 
American and anti-Western sentiments are being fueled by specific events which affect 
common Muslim identity especially in periods of confrontation with non-Muslims (Fuller 
2003:18). This therefore underscores the appropriateness of the United States officials’ 
engagement on anti-terror campaign with Muslim leaders in Ghana. The outcome of research 
thus shows that, the success of FAGLAT in its anti-tenor campaign has been a mixed one. 
While some of the respondents have appreciated the interest of the United States to develop 
the Muslim communities some also view her as anti-Islam and Muslim unfriendly. Despite 
that some of the United States officials’ during their outreach to Muslim communities do 
emphasize that ‘the United States is not against Islam’ this has not completely changed 
Muslims attitudes towards her. An official of the United States in one of the outreach 
programmes in the Muslim community at Larabanga in the Northern region emphasized that
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‘the United States is not against Islam as [is] being misconstrued by some Muslims’. He 
farther reiterated that ‘the United States is fighting a war against global terrorism and not a 
war against Islam’ and that, ‘We know that Islam is a religion of peace and the large majority 
ofMuslims have joined the United States to oppose terrorism’ (The independent 31 October, 
2005: 4). In another instance, the National Chief Imam in one of his roles to mitigate the 
anti-American sentiment in the Muslim community also said that ‘President George Bush is 
not out to antagonize Islam but rather to see that the world is free from terror’. Thus the view 
is that the United States is practicing what it preaches (National Democrat, 2005:1).
The major factor which influenced Ghanaian Muslims to judge the US negatively has been
partly due to the Islamic brotherhood factor. Islamic brotherhood has served as a filter for
Muslims to perceive the direction and the impact of United States’ foreign policy in the
Muslim world. While Ghanaian Muslims appreciate the United States interest in developing
Muslim communities in Ghana, they also criticize aspects of her foreign policy which have
devastating effects on some Muslims elsewhere. Esposito also located the source of this
Islamic brotherhood or Ummatic factor in the context of globalization. He said that:
Globalization of communications, technology, and travel has 
heightened a new consciousness of the transnational identity 
and the interconnectedness of the Islamic community (Ummah) 
that follows events across the Muslim world on a daily and even 
on hourly basis. They reinforce a sense of solidarity and 
identification. Regardless of national and cultural identities, most 
Muslims are not secular; they do self-consciously identify 
themselves as Muslims. They celebrate or bemoan successes and 
failures of Muslim struggles for self-determination, freedom from 
oppression .. .as well as militant Jihad holy and unholy wars.
(Esposito, 2003: 158.)
In all, the respondents’ perception about the United States could be categorized into two 
perspectives. In the first, it could be argued that Ghanaian Muslims appreciated certain 
conunonalities binding them and the United States after 9/11 in regard to the United States’
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interest in developing their communities. In assisting Muslims with development projects the 
United States can be seen to have something in common with Ghanaian Muslims. 
Notwithstanding this, the United States’ war on terror made the respondents think that she is 
anti-Islam and Muslim un-friendly. Looking at the gender perspective in totality, the men 
tend to hold views that are more negative about the United States both before and after 9/11 
as against the more positive outlook of the female respondents. This has partly arisen because 
the men invariably dominate in the facilitation of transnational Islamic interaction and 
connection with the Muslim and the Arab world. The consequence of this is the intense 
religious solidarity held by the male respondents with the Muslim and Arab world. This, 
therefore, serves as a mirror forjudging others especially the United States.
Occupationally, the teachers and the businessmen within the sampled population hold a 
sentiment that is more anti-American. This shows that the teachers’ perception of the United 
States remained constant and was representative of people with the highest score holding 
anti-American feeling as against other occupational groups, with about 51 percent for before 
and after 9/11. Moreover, the perception of the businessmen about the United States before 
9/11 was about 22.0%, rising to about 44% for after 9/11, which means that their perception 
about the United States increased negatively from 22 percent to 44 percent. Again, their 
perception about the United States as a friend of Islam and Muslims generally dropped from 
about 33 percent before 9/11 to about 11 percent after. This means that anti-American 
sentiment among the businessmen rose higher after the 9/11, partly as a result of their 
perception of the United States’ war on terrorism which they saw was targeting Muslim 
countries predominantly.
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It points to the fact that, the anti-American sentiment in the Muslim community is real, with 
potential devastating effects on the United States’ interests globally. It also shows the 
appropriateness and the relevance of the United States’ rapprochement towards Muslims, 
since it will diffuse the negative perception about the United States among Muslims 
generally.
The other noticeable trend seen in the research was that it was the Imams who had positive 
perceptions of the United States. For instance, about 42 percent of the Imams indicated that 
the United States before 9/11 was anti-Islam and anti-Muslim. However, the finding showed 
that after 9/11 there was a decrease in the scoring for the same variable, with about 25 % of 
the Imams indicating anti-American sentiments. This shows a significant improvement in the 
Imams’ perception of the United States after 9/11. This could be because in her official 
projects around the engagement with Ghanaian Muslims, the United States has focused on the 
Imams in particular.
Perhaps, it will be instructive to survey the religious conviction of one of the prominent 
Imams and Alim (a Muslim scholar) to illustrate widely held notions about and perceptions of 
the United States among the Muslim Ulama and Imams in Ghana before 9/11,3
This is a verbatim transcription of the late Taufiq’s commentary on the Holy Qur'an 
following the 9/11 incidents against the United States. Within this translation he argued that 
the 9/11 incidents had been already predicted in the Qur'an for over 1500 years. Basically, he 
relied on numerals in the Quran in his commentary rather than a specific text which identified 
the events. Below is his statement on the commentary.
3Taufiq was the Ashanti Regional Imam of ASWAJ and a leading figure of the sect.
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‘God destroy infidelity and infidels’ (3) ‘God raise Islam and Muslims’ (3)
Interpretation of the verse in the Quran, chapter; 9; verse; 108-109 
The verse said;
‘Which is the best? He who laid his foundation on the piety 
to God and His pleasure? - Or he that laid his foundation on 
an undermined sand-cliff ready to crumble to pieces? And it 
does crumble to pieces with him and into the hell fire. And 
God guide not people that do wrong.’
(Yusuf Ali’s translation of the verse page 473).
However, Taufiq interpreted the verse in this way: (verbatim statement)
‘He who built a foundation on the fear of Allah and his pleasure 
it is the best. He who built a foundation on a deep hole and this 
hole threw the person into the hell fire.’
He further added that,
‘I would want to call your attention to this important verse in the 
Qur‘an. It is in Suratul Taubat, which is Juz’u 11, coincidentally; 
the event in the United States occurred on September 11th.
Again, Suratul Taubat is the 9* chapter in the Qur'an. If you count 
the number of words in this chapter, you will obtain 2001 words 
from the beginning of the verse to that verse. What I am trying to 
say is that to sum up everything in this chapter one gets 
11,9,2001. The 11 represents the day of the event, which 
corresponds with the division of Qur‘an to the 11th number.
The 9 represents the month of the event, which was September 
and corresponds with the number of the chapter in the Quran.
And the 2001 represents the number of the words in the chaptcr 
this corresponds with the year of the event.’
Taufiq added, (in reference to the Twin Towers),
‘Therefore, who demolished the building?’
Moreover, one of the buildings’ room numbers is written 108 
and the other 109. This also corresponds to the actual verse, 
which occurred in the Qur'an. My simple answer is that it 
was God who demolished it. Even if they build a new one, 
it will come down.’
307
He then quoted a verse in the Quran:
‘are they not making sense from the Quran, if it were 
from any source other than Allah they would 
have found many contradictions.’
He added that ‘the Quran was revealed when the father of 
George Bush was not bom’.
He then concluded that
‘the 9/11 was therefore a divine fulfillment’.
A farther illustration of the meaning of this verse is needed. Taufiq added the 108 and 109 
were the actual verses that talk about the event in the chapter. This also corresponds with 
the specific floors which were mostly affected by the attack. The year that the event 
occurred was 2001, which was the number of words that occurred in the chapter from the 
beginning to 109. The chapter falls within the Juz’u 1 l^of the Qur'an, which corresponds 
with the day of the event.
Taufiq concluded that since the beginning of creation, Allah foretold the occurrence of this 
event, which will happen in the reign of George Bush, the Great Infidel.
Surprisingly, after Taufiq Bakr‘s trip to the United States and his subsequent return to 
Ghana in August 2003, he became an anti-terror campaigner and pro-American activist in 
the Muslim communities. A specimen of his last radio programme on 14 July 2004 on Zuria 
FM in the Ashanti region sheds light on the sudden change in his attitude towards the 
United State, before his untimely death four days later on 18 July, 2004. Below is the
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conversation with the audience on the radio about his perception of America and her foreign
Question; People regard America as an enemy of Islam, what 
is your position about this view?
Taufiq: before my trip to America, I was holding such a negative 
view. My negative perception about America was coloured by the 
American foreign policies, which invariably affect Muslim countries, 
such as the American invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan and the problem 
of Palestinians. However, upon my few days stay in the United States 
I gathered a contrary view altogether about America. For example, 
there are sizeable numbers of Muslims who are in the States but 
are not being harassed or persecuted.
Question; It has been alleged that you have been bought by the 
American government, because you used to be a staunch critic of 
the United States’ foreign policies, what accounts for your change 
of attitude?
Taufiq; I have been hearing these utterances before my trip and 
when I came from the States it worsened people’s perception about 
me. It is rather an unfortunate perception; I will advise that people 
always think well about others and do away with rumours.
You know that it is a fact that somebody like me cannot be 
employed by the United States, because of my religious stance 
and principles. My earlier view about the United States’ foreign 
policies has never changed so why should people be accusing me 
that I have changed from my critical stance against United States. 
Granted we realize that Muslims are being given a raw deal and 
persecuted everywhere. I will launch a campaign against such a 
country or the people involved in the practice. What then is the 
problem?
I do not think it is even necessary to be reacting to rumours. I have 
even heard that I have been given unique standing to the United 
States President. This is strange, I will have wished so, so that I 
will tell him the truth and demand the right of every Muslim in 
the world. I am proud that it was through me that some of the 
Ulama in Kumasi have had the chance to travel to America.
Question; is there any difference between the practices of Islam in 
America and that of Ghana?
Taufiq; There are vast differences. The major difference is that 
in Africa, the understanding of Islam is mixed and coloured with 
our cultural practices and in reality; most African cultural practices
309
are negative which outweighed the actual Islamic practices.
On the other hand, most Muslims in the United States do not have 
strong attachment to their traditional and cultural practices, thereby 
giving them the opportunity to be imbued with the real and strict 
Islamic principles.
Perhaps the other contributory factor is the strict enforcement of 
the rule of law in America. For instance, when I was in Detroit as if 
I was in Makkah, because I have not seen any Muslim woman 
without a veil, it is only her face that could be seen. You can even 
see men dressed as though they are in Makkah. In another area 
known as Manhattan, the Muslim woman could only be identified 
by her dress.
It can therefore be observed that in targeting for dialogue of Imams and Ulama the 
American officials eventually brought about a substantial decrease in anti-American 
sentiment in Ghana. This changed perception of the United States has become the major 
position of the majority of the Ulama and Imams in Ghana. It shows that Ulama interaction 
with the West and the United States in the post 9/11 is yielding positive results in terms of 
an altered perception of the West on the part of the Muslim communities. It further suggests 
that these Ulama have had much insight into the progressive nature of the American Islam 
which could be replicated in Ghana.
Though the late Taufiq’s sudden change in attitude, from being anti-American to pro- 
American after his trip to the United States was due to his earlier ignorance as to the extent 
of liberty and freedom that Muslims enjoy in the United States, it has also been 
opportunistic, for his own convenience. This is because the very conditions of Muslims on 
which his criticism of the United States’ foreign policies depended on prior to his trip to the 
United States have not changed for the better. They have rather worsened specifically, the 
United States’ invasion of Iraq following its invasion of Afghanistan. Moreover, Taufiq’s 
altered positive attitude towards the United States was partly a trade-off for development
310
projects. This is evident from the fact that United States built a health unit and a vocational 
training centre for the ASWAJ members in Kumasi, who were led by the late Taufiq. 
Finally, he was favourably treated by the American Embassy in Ghana, in that; some of his 
colleagues were recruited to visit the United States through him. In all, the stance taking by 
the late Taufiq shows the realism and pragmatism a Muslim scholar can adopt towards 
global issues, by taking into account the immediate interest of his community and moving 
away from being an ignorant critic to an objective analyst.
It can thus be seen that the Ghanaian Muslims’ perception of the United States is being 
dictated by two factors, namely internal and external. The internal factors influenced the 
respondents to perceive the United States in a positive way, whereas the external factors 
influenced them to perceive the United States in a negative way. The internal factor in this 
context could be that the extension of the United States’ development projects to Ghanaian 
Muslims is greatly changing their perceptions of the United States. This is manifested in the 
respondents’ altered view of the United States, namely, that it is interested in developing 
Muslim communities in Ghana, and their realization that these communities have something 
in common with the United States.
The external factors influencing the respondents’ negative perception of the United States 
could be her military operations in some Muslim countries as part of her war on terrorism. It 
is clear that despite the fact that the United States has established a good rapport with the 
leadership of the Ghanaian Muslim and their organizations, their perception of the United 
States as a friend of Islam and Muslims remains negative. In short, the United States’ 
foreign policies in the Middle-East and her war on terrorism are affecting Ghanaian’s 
perceptions of her negatively and she is seen as being anti-Islam and anti-Muslims. This
311
finding is in conformity with the United States National Intelligence Estimate which is 
based on an analysis of all 16 of America’s intelligence agencies. This has established that 
the United State’s war in Iraq is fueling anti-American sentiment world-wide (Daily 
graphic, 25 September, 2006).
7.8.4 Compatibility between Islamic and Western Values
The other major issue that the research dwelt on was the cultural compatibility between 
Islamic and Western values. This was with a view to ascertaining from the respondents 
whether Islamic values and Western culture converge. It was also part of the broad objective 
of the research to identify from them a point of convergence on which Ghanaian Muslims, 
the West, and more specifically, the United States could cooperate. The result reveals that 
about 56 percent of the respondents think that Islam is in a perpetual conflict with the West 
in terms of values, whereas 19 percent of the respondents indicated that Islamic and 
Western values are in harmony. About 25 percent of the respondents indicated that they 
had no views to express on this issue.
As to whether Islam is in a perpetual conflict with the Western world in terms of values, as 
far as the gender of the respondents is concerned, about 60 percent of the male respondents 
as against 40 percent of the female think that Islamic and Western cultures do not 
correspond. On the other hand, about 27 percent of the female respondents as against about 
17 percent of the male argue that Islamic and Western cultures are in harmony. The finding 
therefore shows two distinct views and perspectives on the convergence or otherwise of 
Islamic and Western cultures, based on the gender of the respondents. Although it is men 
who generally shape the minds of Muslims in Ghana on religious issues, coincidentally, the 
research result shows that they hold negative perceptions of the congruity of Western
312
culture with Islamic values. However, women who invariably depend on men for religious 
education hold a different view of this congruity of Western and Islamic values. While 
much is not known about the reasons for the women’s view, it does suggest that they are 
more receptive and more open in their opinions about Islamic and Western cultures. It 
could, therefore, be concluded that Muslim women tend to look at the commonalities which 
bring the Western and Islamic or Muslim values together. The Muslim males, on the other 
hand, concentrate on the major differences between the two values before arriving at this
Again, the results show that about 43 and 18 percent of the students and the Imams believe 
that Islamic and Western values are incongruous. The Imams who represent the nucleus for 
the interpretation of Islam have a variant perspective as to the differences between Islamic 
and Western cultures. The major argument offered by some of the Imams is that Islamic 
culture and values impose some extent of limitation on Muslim behaviour and activities, in 
contrast with the nature of Western culture which is, to a larger extent, too permissive as to 
behaviours and activities.
That this view emanates from the Imams implies that, since it is they who are responsible 
for moulding Muslim character and culture they impart such irreconcilable religious 
orientation on the ordinary Muslims. In other words, they make the ordinary Muslims 
accept the view that Islamic values and the Western culture are incongruous. The origin of 
this cultural incompatibility between Islamic and Western values among the Imams could 
be partly attributed to in the vast difference between the centers of education and orientation 
where the Ghanaian Ulama and Imams in Ghana were trained. The fact is that Muslim 
Vlma and Imams invariably receive their professional training from the Arab world which
313
is culturally and homogenously Islamic and devoid of any Western cultural influence. Thus, 
there is a greater tendency on their part to conclude that Islamic values are more congruous 
with Arabian culture than that of the West as a result of their lack of exposure to the 
Western world.
The students’ position could also be that the Islamic resurgence supported by the Ghana 
Muslim Students Association (GMSA) in the higher educational institutions has created 
awareness among the student groups of the fact that their cultural values differ from those of 
the West One cannot also underestimate the influence of the transnational Muslim 
organizations in Ghana among the Muslim students such as Al-Muntada Al-Islami, Huda 
Islami, and the Revival Islamic Heritage Society. These transnational Muslim organizations 
serve as the largest source of funding for students’ activities and programmes in organizing 
forums, religious camps and workshops geared towards orienting Muslim students in Ghana 
along a particular Islamic perspective.
The congruity of Islamic values or otherwise with the West is sometimes shaky. Studies 
suggest that it is much related to historical episodes as it sometimes overlaps and diverges at 
different time. For instance, Ali Mazrui argues that relations between Islamic and Western 
values suggest a complex account of convergences and divergences in the 20th and 21st 
centuries. The specific area in which both values were congruous in the first half of the 20* 
century, were in the areas of sexual behavior, gender roles, alcohol consumption and the 
death penalty (Mazrui 2007: 793). However, in the second half of 20th century, the 
relationship between Euro-American values and traditional Islamic values diverged in as far 
as sex, alcohol and drugs are concerned. In the 21"' century the relationship between Euro- 
American and Islamic values still continue to diverge as American social norms become too
314
permissive with the idea of same sex marriages, and intolerant tendencies between the two 
cultures continue to flourish (Ibid). Lastly, this century is also witnessing a deeper 
democratization of the Muslim world as there is recognition of the impotence of political 
structures in it (Mazrui 2007:793). In my opinion, it is significant to state that Islamic 
values throughout its historical encounter with the West have remained largely stable and 
exceptionally consistent. It is rather Western values which sometimes converge with Islam 
or otherwise.
This cultural incongruity as shown by these Ghanaian respondents is also being partially 
influenced by the transnational Muslim Ulama in the West African sub-region who visit 
Ghana. The network created by the Ahlus-Sunnah sect in Ghana with other sister 
organizations in the Sub-region of West Africa provides such forum. The annual convention 
of the Ahlus-Sunnah movement is one of these forums which attract like-minded scholars 
from the Sub-region. Kabir H.Gombe, a member of the Yan Izala in Nigeria and a well 
respected scholar in Ghana holds the notion of cultural incongruity between the Islamic and 
the Western values.
In one of his presentation at the annual convention of ASWAJ on 28 September 2006, he 
linked Western values as being too steep in immorality. He argued that Western conspiracy 
makes the Muslim youth to believe that it is fashionable to be immoral. He identified the 
Western-driven technology as the major instruments through which the West corrupts the 
Muslim youth. The mobile phone is one of such instrument, as it is used to promote 
immorality in diverse ways (Gombe presentation, 28 September 2006). From the onset, to 
activate the Nokia handset, for example, a man extends a hand to a woman is seen; and this, 
in a way, promotes immorality, Gombecontended. Secondly, he continued, Muslim youth
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have now been taught how to down-load immoral materials on their handsets which are 
accessible anywhere and any time
Further reasons were cited by Gombe as to the incongruity of Islamic and Western values. 
For instance, in his estimation, it is rare to meet a virgin in the United States older than 15. 
The adage that ‘a person’s problem is like somebody who has been assigned to identify a 
virgin lady in the United States’ is a common saying used to describe how difficult it is to 
come by something one needs. Also at Oklahoma University in the United States it is quite 
usual for someone to have sex with any woman one wants (Gombe presentation, 28 
September 2006). Also, same sex marriages are permissible in the West by two states of the 
United States. He indicated that it has reached a point that a husband can put an 
advertisement inviting people to have sex with his wife on a commercial basis. This he 
concludes that the Western propaganda targets the youth with a view to diluting the Islamic 
values in the world. (Gombe presentation, 28th September 2006)
However, it has been argued that to assume that Islam is incompatible with Western values 
and civilization is to ignore past and present exchanges and cross-fertilizations. It also 
implies that civilizations are mutually exclusive and diametrically opposed (Esposito, 
2002:123). This tendency therefore encourages prejudices and a sense of exclusivity of one 
group above the other, with potential for breeding conflicts and misunderstandings in the 
world.
Notwithstanding this, some respondents also believe that Islamic and Western values are 
compatible. This view was mostly seen in respondents in the teaching profession (33%), 
non-sectarian Muslims (39%), and public servants (15%). The background of these
316
respondents suggests that the nature of their professions entails interacting with people of 
diverse background and religious orientations. This therefore made them to appreciate the 
common values binding them to others. Thus, it could be concluded that a person’s 
occupation which makes him/her interact with others with different religious backgrounds 
will infuse a sense of commonality with the people concerned rather than identifying the 
differences with the group.
In conclusion, it has been observed that Islamic and Western values have expcricnccd some 
level of flexibility during the course of history. However, various factors have influenced 
the views of the respondents as to the compatibility between Islamic and Western values. 
For instance, the Imams, men and the students’ hold the view that Islamic and Western 
values do not converge due to the role that they play in the society and the relationships they 
have or maintain with the Muslim world and the role of transnational Muslim bodies in 
Ghana. Further, it has also been established that those who believe that Islamic and Western 
values are compatible were influenced by the nature of their occupation which exposes them 
to people of different religious orientations.
7.8.5 Avenues for Constructive Cultural Dialogue
As shown earlier, the majority of the respondents think that Islamic and Western values are 
not congruous. They, however, suggested possible areas of cultural dialogue which could 
improve constructive engagement between the West and the Muslim Ummah globally. Such 
constructive cultural engagement will dispel and demystify the widely held notion in the 
Muslim communities that the Western world is basically biased towards Christianity 
whereas the Arab world is biased towards Islam. This tendency will eventually promote 
harmonious and shared transnational relations in Ghana.
317
Generally, the result reveals that a fair representation of Islamic and Muslim issues in the 
Western media (52.9%) emerged as the topmost, followed by inter-faith dialogue (26.4%), 
assistance in the form of development projects (12.1 %), among many other issues.
As to the gender of the respondent, the survey reveals that men mostly identified issues that 
reflect their profession or related to their domain, such as inter-faith dialogue and the 
participation of Western Muslims in the cultural dialogue. In fact, about 29 percent of the 
men, as against 19 percent of the women identified inter-faith dialogue as a possible area for 
improving constructive cultural dialogue between the West and the Muslims globally. The 
other characteristic drawn from the survey’s findings is that the men identified with the 
participation of Western Muslims in improving cultural dialogue as against the women who 
did not identify with this view. This, therefore, means that the views of the men have been 
dictated by the direct benefit of such programmes to them.
On the other hand, the result also shows that about 22 percent of the female respondents as 
against 10 percent of the men dominated in the view that cultural dialogue could improve 
constructive engagement between the West and Muslim Ummah through assistance in the 
form of development projects. It could therefore be observed that the women focus on those 
issues which have direct benefit to the larger society rather than to themselves.
Fig. 4: Gender perspective as to whether Islam is in a perpetual conflict with the 
Western world in terms of values
70 
60 
50 
40 
30 
20 
10  
0
Yea No No Idea
ISource: Survey Data 2005)
318
Fj 5. Gender perspective and avenues of cultural dialogue to improving constructive
engagement between the West and Muslim Ummah globally
Avenues for Constructive 
Engagement
[Source: Survey Data 2005|
The result also shows that the students (46%), the Tijaniyya (27%), and the Ahlus-Sunnah 
sect members (26%) in that order, proposed that the best platform for creating cultural 
dialogue between the West and the Muslim Ummah globally is through inter-faith dialogue. 
Hie nature of the respondents’ proposal suggests that they believe that contemporary global 
problems originate from religious differences between Muslims and non-Muslims. Even 
though inter-faith dialogue has not generated much interest in the relations between 
Muslims and non-Muslims in Ghana, lack of it has caused some religious skirmishes 
between Muslims and non-Muslims in recent times (Samwini, 2003: 200-208.).
The respondents identified the fair representation of Islam and Muslim issues in the Western 
media as the best possible avenue for improving cultural dialogue for constructive 
®gagement. The result shows that non-sectarian Muslims (33%) and those in the teaching 
profession (28%) were associated with this view. This implies that the nature of the 
Portrayal of Islamic and Muslim issues has been the major source of concern of people 
w*thin this group. The obvious deduction from this negative portrayal of Muslim issues and 
toe images of Islam in the Western media is its effect on the identity of Muslims globally.
319
This tendency has therefore compelled the respondents to suggest the need for corrective 
measures to remedy the situation.
The outcome of the research therefore shows that two distinct positions were suggested by 
foe respondents for constructive cultural dialogue initiatives to bridge the cultural gap 
between the Muslim Ummah and the West. The first proposition for cultural dialogue 
between the West and the Muslim Ummah is through inter-faith dialogue. The second view 
is the need for fair representation of Islamic and Muslim issues in the Western media. Each 
view has its advantages. For instance, one cannot underestimate the role of inter-religious 
dialogue in fostering understanding and accommodation of each other's faith, gaining 
respect, and promoting unity in shared endeavo“urs (Ramadan, 2004:200). However, one 
major contradiction in the respondents’ view on the inter-religious dialogue is the concern 
attached to dialogue with non-Muslims in the West at the expense of Ghanaian non- 
Muslims. The reason that some of the respondents is that the Western world tends to 
misinform the non-Muslims in the Third World about Islam and Muslim issues through the 
media and governmental policies.
% 6: Occupational perspectives and the view that Islam is in perpetual conflict with 
the Western world in terms of values
ISource: Survey Data 2005)
320
ftp. 7: Occupational perspectives and avenues for cultural dialogue to improving
constructive engagement between the West and Muslim Ummah globally
□ Students 
■ Imams
□ Businessmen 
f ^ □ Public Servants
^5^ ^ 'Tp ■ Teaching
Avenues of Constructive 
Engagement
[Source: Survey Data 2005|
As the American rapprochement to Muslims in Ghana was linked to her interest to educate 
Muslims globally on the menace of terrorism, the next section further explores that. It will 
do that by examining Muslims understanding of the causes of terrorism and how it has 
impacted on them.
7.9 CONCLUSION
The post 11 September 2001 incidents ushered in the third phase of Ghanaian Muslims’ 
transnational relations with the West, especially the United States. The significance of 
Muslim relations with the United States in the post 9/11 period is that it offers an 
opportunity to narrow the cultural gap existing between Ghanaian Muslims and the United 
States. This, in the end, has helped to dilute Ghanaian Muslims’ propensity to anti-Western 
®d anti-American sentiment. While Ghanaian Muslims’ relations with the Arab world were 
championed by Islamic seminary trained Ulama, the United States rapprochement to 
Ghanaian Muslims was purely propelled by Western educated Muslims. This shows the 
wtent to which acquisition of a particular education can predispose people to certain 
regimes interest.
321
The result shows that the initial stage of this new rapprochement shown by the United States 
towards Muslims in Ghana was difficult for the facilitators (FAGLAT). Despite this, 
Ghanaian Muslims suggested the focus of their relationship with the West and United States 
to be in the realms of providing educational opportunities, health facilities, HIV/AIDS 
education etc. This is partly to maximize the benefits of their transnational relations with the 
United States.
The value of the United States’ dialogue with Ghanaian Muslims is shown in the fact that 
majority of them think that the United States has a hidden agenda for initiating this 
rapprochement. Others, however, also believe that it will promote understanding and result 
in opportunities to tap the expertise of the United States.
The perception of Ghanaian Muslims about the United States before and after 9/11 provides 
a mixed response. This is evident in their appreciation that the United States has something 
in common with Ghanaian Muslims and she is interested in developing Muslim 
communities in Ghana. They, nevertheless, argue that the United States is anti-Islam and 
not Muslims friendly.
In view of the fact that the United States relations with Muslims was a novel one in Muslim 
history in Ghana, some respondents believe that Islamic and Western values are 
incongruous. However, the research explores from these respondents new avenues that 
cultural congrouity between the Islamic and the Western world could be established. In the 
estimation of these respondents, cultural congruity between them and the United States can 
he constructed on the following areas; fair representation of Islam in the Western media, 
inter-faith dialogue, and the participation of Western Muslims to improve cultural dialogue
322
between Muslims and the West. In all, it shows that Muslims in Ghana attach much concern 
about their religious identity.
This exploratory background captures Muslims new relations with the United States. 
However one important issue which is not addressed is what has been the overriding interest 
of this new rapprochement towards Muslims in Ghana? The next section identifies issues 
arising from that which is tied to the United States policy of educating Muslims on 
terrorism.
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CHAPTER EIGHT
go TERRORISM: THE THRUST OF UNITED STATES ENGAGEMENT IN THE 
MUSLIM COMMUMITY
8.1 INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, the attitude of Ghanaian Muslims towards terrorism is discussed in the light 
of the United States’ movement towards rapprochement with the Muslim world. As 
observed in our introduction to chapter eight which deals with Ghanaian Muslims relations 
with the United States in the post-9/11, the present chapter deals with the motive behind the 
interest of the United States in the Muslim communities, that being the need to educate 
Muslims on the causes and the possible solutions to terrorism.
Such discussion is necessary because of the interconnectedness of Ghanaian Muslims with 
the wider Muslim world. Fundamentally, Muslim world has been described by the West and 
the United States as those states which fan trans-Islamic terrorism throughout the world. 
Transnational Muslim extremism directed at the West and the United States drove their 
interest in the Muslim communities globally. This interest is aimed at mitigating anti- 
Western and anti-American sentiments, as well as to bridge the perceived cultural gap 
between the Muslim Ummah and the West.
Generally, the post 9/11 period provides a unique opportunity to narrow the extreme gap 
between an understanding of the causes of and solutions to terrorism. That this 
understanding is conflicted can be seen in the fact that Muslims refer to the conditions 
which give rise to terrorism, while the West is concerned about the appropriate means of 
seeking redress to issues. Another concern of the Western world is the need on the part of 
Muslims to separate political grievances from religious motives.
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g3 BACKGROUND TO TERRORISM
The word ‘terrorism’ was first used in a political context in the latter part of the 18th century 
during the French Revolution especially in (1789-1799). The harsh rule of the Committee of 
Public Safety (1793-1795) led by Maximilien Robespierre was known as the Reign of 
Terror, during which time thousands were guillotined. The term continues to be used, 
although now it refers to the targeting of civilians and institutions through mass destruction 
and aimed at achieving political, religious, ethnic, or other goals.
So far, there is no universal and acceptable definition for the term terrorism among the 
international community. As a result, this has been restricted to an individual nation-state’s 
understanding of the term. The lack of international consensus on what terrorism is, resulted 
in its definition being based on what it constitutes.
However, it can be argued that, terrorism could be recognized on the basis of the following 
criteria: violence, target, objective, motive, perpetrator, and legitimacy or legality of the act. 
For instance, it is unanimously agreed that, terrorism involves acts of violence or threats of 
violence. Nevertheless, violence alone does not constitute an act of terrorism. In addition, 
the act of terrorism involves deliberate targeting of civilians. The objective of terrorism 
involves an attempt to put fear and intimidation in the civilian population, government 
functionaries, and society. Again, terrorism could also be understood in terms of its motive. 
This could be to achieve political, religious, and ethnic goals through the spread of fear and 
mayhem. Perpetrators of acts of terrorism could include a government, as the case of state- 
sponsored terrorism, organizations, and individuals.
325
Despite that there is no unanimous definition of terrorism, Alex P. Schmid after a 
comprehensive review and consultations with other academics proposed that, an act of 
terrorism is the ‘peacetime equivalent of a war crime’ (Quoted by P.Heymann 2004:4). 
Similarly, the United States Defense Department defines terrorism as ‘the calculated use of 
unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear intended to coerce or to 
intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, 
religious, or ideological.’ Also, Ghana’s Anti-Terrorism Act defines terrorism as an ‘act or 
threat of action in or outside the Republic which constitutes an offence within the scope of 
an international counterterrorism convention to which the Republic is a party’ (Ghana Anti- 
Terrorism Act, 2005).
The international community, realizing the potential threat of terrorism, has taken several 
measures to address this menace. These originate from international organizations or 
continental, sub-regional or national level. Some of the international conventions enacted by 
the international community to address the menace of terrorism were the 1963 Tokyo 
Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft; the 1970 
Hague Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft; and the 1971 
Montreal Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Act against the Safety of Civil 
Aviation.
Significantly, in the wake of terrorist attacks on the United States of America, in 2001 the 
United Nations under the mandate of its Security Council adopted resolution 1373, which 
obliges member countries to deny safe haven to those who finance, plan, support, or commit 
terrorist acts. Also, the Commonwealth Plan of Action on Terrorism enjoins member states 
to implement the United Nations Resolution 1373. In respect of the African continent, there
326
is the Algiers Convention on the Prevention and Combat of Terrorism known as the 1999 
OAU Convention. Ghana, being a signatory to these international conventions, drafted an 
Anti-Terrorism Act to address the menace of terrorism within its territorial boundaries.
Religious terrorism is one of the main threats to international peace and civilization. 
Religious extremism is embodied in the use of violence in furtherance of a perceived 
divinely commanded purpose. This religious extremism is not exclusive to one religion but 
permeates all. In the case of Islam, the perception of Islamic organizations which represent 
the focal point of Islamic Resurgence is a mixed one, depending upon the perceiver. For 
instance, they are perceived by the West and others as embodying the Islamic threat to the 
world. It is argued that Islamic organizations are destabilizing forces in the world that will 
use any tactics to gain power and achieve their aim. For others, however, they represent an 
authentic alternative to corrupt, exhausted, and ineffectual regimes (Esposito, 1992: 119).
The destabilizing nature of some Islamic organizations in the contemporary times emanate 
from the manner and the method that they employ to achieve their goals. This is largely 
through violence. Also, they utilize Islamic symbols and images in respect of their political 
agenda and identities to achieve their goals. Examples of these organizations’ include; the 
Party of God (jHizbullah), Holy War (Jihad), Army of God (Jundullah), and Salvation from 
Hell (Takfir Wa Hijra). These names, therefore, conjure up among non-Muslims images of 
religious fanaticism and extremism with their devastating consequences on mankind.
The causes of religious terrorism in the Muslim world could be sought through the origin of 
Islamic reform and renewal embedded in the Islamic concept of Tajdid (revival) and Islah 
(reform). In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries revivalist leadership sprang up across
327
the Islamic world with the aim of bettering the lot of the Ummah. For instance, in the 
Sudan, the Mahdi (1848-85), emerged, whereas in Libya the Sanusi arose from 1787-1859. 
In Saudi Arabia, the Wahhabi, with their puritanical and Unitarian ideology, appeared in 
1703-92. The West African version of Islamic revival emanated from the modem day 
Nigeria led by the Fulani leaders from 1754-1817 (Esposito, 1992: 119). There were similar 
movements in other parts of the world to meet the challenges confronted by the Muslim 
Ummah.
The origin and the causes of Islamic revivalism were internally motivated, because they 
responded to decline in the various Islamic States. Muslim leaders in the eighteenth century 
responded to economic and socio-moral decline, military defeats, and political division 
within the imperial sultanates. Muslim leaders at that time argued that the causes of Muslim 
decline were due to the departure from true Islamic values (Esposito, 1992:55). Though, the 
struggles that these Muslim leaders embarked upon to bring about socio-moral reform in 
their respective societies were not necessarily intended to create mayhem, their actions were 
embodied in violence. However, terrorism in recent times has taken on a transnational 
dimension, particularly targeting the interest of the West and the United States.
The position of the Ghanaian Muslims must be seen, not in isolation, but in the context of 
the West African sub-region in which they live, since they interrelate with neighboring 
West African Muslims religiously, ethnically and culturally. Ghana is surrounded by Cote 
d Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Togo. None of these states, however, wields any strong Islamic 
influence on Ghanaian Muslims, like its other neighbour, Nigeria. This can be discerned in 
an examination of the role played by transnational and itinerant Nigerian scholars in the 
Muslim communities in Ghana. David Dickson supports the view that the Nigerian Islamic
328
Resurgence, which was encouraged by the long-standing transnational connections of West 
African Muslims to Middle Eastern centres of learning, could result in the spread of the 
Nigerian brand of puritanical Islam to West African sub-region (Dickson, 2004). This is 
also supported by African security analyst’s assessment of Nigeria in that recent events in 
the north-east Nigeria, particularly in Bomo and Yobe, point to evidence of a connection 
between a militant youth group of Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama‘ah and the Taliban of 
Afghanistan. The group has been involved in attacks on police stations, government offices 
and civilians. The likelihood of the group exporting their brand of Islam to and recruiting 
others in the sub-region of West Africa is high (Obi, 2007: 25). The fact that the Hausa 
language has its origins in Nigeria, being the dominant lingua franca in the southern and 
northern Muslim part of Ghana, and is used in the exposition of Islam in Ghana further 
attests to the fact the Nigerian Hausa Ulama still wield influence on Ghanaian Muslims. The 
recent conviction of a Ghanaian Muslim, Sumaila Abubakari (who used the fake name 
Manfo Kwaku Asiedu) in London over the failed 2005 London bombings suggests that acts 
of terrorism could also be perpetrated by Ghanaian nationals both inside and outside the 
territorial borders of Ghana (Daily Graphic, November 21, 2007: 24). The long-standing 
transnational connections of post-independence Ghanaian Muslims with the Middle-Eastern 
centers of Islamic learning which have been variously blamed as the source of transnational 
terrorism in the world, reinforces the potential threat of terrorism in Ghana (Rabasa et al, 
2004:81). While the interest of Ghanaian Muslims in the Arab/Islamic world is primarily 
dictated by two major factors, namely to seek religious direction and acquire funding for 
Islamic activities and development projects, it in effect exposes them to potential external 
manipulation and influences with their concomitant terrorist undertone.
329
The thrust of this study is the United States’ rapprochement with Ghanaian Muslims, with 
her anti-terror campaign, and education projects in the Muslim communities of Ghana. This 
thesis will ascertain how Ghanaian Muslims balance their interconnection with their ethnic, 
cultural and religious counterparts among the Muslims in the West African sub-region and 
their co-religionists in the Middle-East on the one hand and their objective perspectives on 
the causes and solutions to terrorism in the world on the other hand.
Questionnaires were administered in the field. These were targeted at the various strata in 
the Muslim communities of Ghana and the respondents’ responses were analyzed. 
Specifically, the research targeted the Muslims’ gender as well as age, occupation, and 
adherence to a particular doctrine in the Muslim communities, among other factors.
The major issues that we ascertained from the respondents were the causes of terrorism, the 
impact of terrorism on Ghanaian Muslims and its eradication. Other issues also included 
Ulama in Da 'wa against terrorism as well as the factors affecting their role.
8.3 CAUSES OF TERRORISM
The respondents expressed their views as to the causes of terrorism. It must be emphasized 
that the causes of terrorism are complex and therefore cannot be discussed exhaustively in 
this study. Thus, the opinions of the scholars who study terrorism have also been varied. In 
this regard, the causes of international terrorism are normally seen by others as reflecting 
chronic moral and conscious crises experienced by the international political system 
(Hageel, 2002: 81). This is because these crises are results of contradictions between the 
ideal objectives of the international system and certain actions perpetrated by the super 
Powers. The significance of identifying the causes of terrorism in the world has been
330
supported by Mazrui. In order to reinforce the significance and the adequate diagnosis of the 
causes of terrorism, he compares the role of detectives who identify the anonymous 
murderer to someone identifying the causes of terrorism. He argues that in investigating a 
simple murder, the detectives seek clues from the victim of the homicide, asking for 
instance, why this person was the target? They then try to identify the motive for the 
murder, that is, which issue precipitated the crime? The detectives try to fathom what kind 
of person would have committed such a crime, that is, the profile of the killer (Mazrui, 
2005:16).
The Higher Committee for Fighting Terrorism of the United Nations (UN) has in a report 
issued on 29/2 /1979, identified the causes of terrorism as ranging from political, economic 
and social conditions. The political conditions could be discerned from the reports as 
emanating from hegemony of one country, racism, use of force against weak states and 
countries. Others include, complete or partial foreign occupation, interference in the affairs 
of other countries etc (Hageel 2002:81). The economic factors have to do with lack of 
balance in the international economic system and foreign exploitation of natural resources
of others. The social conditions include violation of human rights, deprivation,s tarvation,
misery and illiteracy.
Aspects of the research findings also corroborate the UN’s perspective on the causes of 
terrorism in the world. Among the causes of terrorism as identified by the respondents from 
the survey was:
1. injustice, unfairness, and oppression of others (52.3),
2. denial of people of their rights (19.2%),
3. interference in internal affairs of other nation (14.5%),
331
4. unlawful occupation of the lands of other states (11.9%), and
5. Governments’ harassment and oppression of religious leaders (2.1 %).
Thus, the causes of terrorism identified by the United Nations are accidentally similar to the 
perception of terrorism identified by Ghanaian Muslims.
The majority of the respondents identified injustice, unfairness, and oppression as the leading 
causes of terrorism in the world. The following were identified by the respondents as 
secondary causes of terrorism, namely, the denial of people’s rights, followed by the 
interference in the internal affairs of other nations and, finally, the unlawful occupation of the 
lands of other states. As shown above, government harassment and oppression of religious 
leaders was the least significant cause of terrorism as identified by some respondents. Chart 
1, below, indicates the causes of terrorism.
Fig. 8: Causes of terrorism
60
[Source: Survey Data 2006)
With this background in mind, the survey result will critically assess the views of respondents 
® relation to the causes of world terrorism while taking into consideration their demographic 
characteristics.
332
The male group representing (79%), Ahlus-Sunnah sect (53%), and the Imams (24%) were 
those who mostly identified injustice, unfairness, and oppression of others as probable causes 
of terrorism. On the other hand, 50% of both the students and the teachers also believe that 
harassment and oppression of religious leaders by the government give an impetus to world 
terrorism. Lastly, the view that terrorism is precipitated by the unlawful occupation of others 
lands was largely that of the students, the Ahlus-Sunnah, and the non-sectarian Muslims.
The possible reasons accounting for the respondents’ identification of these diverse views as 
to the causes of terrorism emanates from their unique demographic background. Generally, 
the Ahlus-Sunnah and the Imams are associated with the view that terrorism is being caused 
by injustice, unfairness, and oppression of other people, means that these groups prefer to 
identify certain attributes and values which describe the action or inaction of others. This 
could be gleaned from the fact that injustice and unfairness are values connoting undesirable 
and unacceptable behaviour towards other people. The partial reason for this view of the 
Imams is that their role in the society which is to give religious direction has enabled than to 
pass judgment in respect of people’s conduct and behaviour. This is because they preside 
over and adjudicate cases on religious and social matters. This can, of course, suggest that 
these respondents pass value judgment on certain political events. These events serve as a 
catalyst for the breeding and perpetuation of terrorism. The danger that terrorism can thrive 
on injustice and unfairness has also been stressed. It has been argued that terrorism attacks a 
perceived injustice by imposing an indiscriminate message of fear. It does not distinguish 
between the guilty or innocent and destroys all without regard to culpability or individual 
responsibility (El Fadl, 2001: 118).
333
In Islam, justice (Adi) and fairness (Hakim) are the attributes of Allah. Muslims are 
expected to emulate these qualities in order to attain and achieve the highest divine favour. 
Islam also expects that humankind treats one another with the sense of fairness regardless of 
the other person’s religious, political, and or ethnic persuasions. This view is amply 
demonstrated in the Quran, which states:
'0 you who believe stand out firmly, as witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of 
others to you make you swer\’e to wrong and depart from justice. Be just: that is next to 
piety: and fear God, for God is well acquainted with all that you do'.
The foundation of the respondents’ argument is therefore well-based on Islamic values and 
the application of these values is universal to all humankind irrespective of a person’s 
background. It therefore means that justice and fairness are values with which everybody 
deserves to be treated, regardless of the background of either party. Nevertheless, it is 
difficult to measure what actually constitutes these values justice and fairness since they can 
be subjective sometimes. This makes it difficult to address issues of justice and fairness 
from an objective and universal perspective.
The religious dimension of the causes of terrorism is based on the premise that terrorism is 
brought about by the harassment of religious leaders by governments. This explains why 
some governments see a link between religious leaders and the causes of terrorism. There 
are several matters that have influenced the views of the respondents as to the relationship 
between religion and terrorism. First, these respondents tend to observe the religious 
symbols and concepts that terrorists associate with their cause, such as Jihad (Holy war), 
Shahid (martyrdom), war against infidels, etc. Not much could be derived from the 
background of the teachers and the students and their having any transnational contact with
334
the Muslim world. It could, however, be said that they have relied upon mass media to 
corroborate this view. Because when the view of these respondents was further examined, 
some of them were referring to events leading to political unrest in Algeria, Saudi Arabia 
and Egypt as a result of the Islamists making strong in-roads into the politics of those 
countries.
Some instances of the religious harassment and persecution of Ulama in the Muslim world 
are evident when Saudi dissidents’ seizure of the Grand Mosque and accusing the Saudi 
royal family of compromising their Wahhabiyya faith. This resulted in brutal reprisals at the 
hands of the government against the group, without calling for dialogue to resolve the 
problem (Esposito, 2002:48). Again, in the 1990s and the aftermath of the Gulf War, the 
Saudi Government had to move forcefully to arrest and silence independent civilian Ulama 
in Mecca, Medina and Riyadh who were calling for greater political participation and 
accountability, and denouncing religious deviance and corruption. The same could be said 
about the Egyptian and Algerian governments’ relations with Islamists in their respective 
countries (Esposito, 2002:48). All these add to the respondents’ perception that the 
harassment of religious leaders in the Muslim world by government precipitates terrorism.
It is, however, worth stating that, the Islamists’ approach to political issues in the Muslim 
world partly contributes to this tendency. In Egypt, for example, Muslim dissidents in a 
desperate attempt to coerce the government to implement Islamic law, attacked Coptic 
Chnstian churches, and destroyed Christian’s shops and properties: bars and nightclubs, 
cinemas and video stores. All symbols of Western influence and immorality, were burned or 
bombed (Esposito, 1995: 98) Again, in the aftermath of the implementation of the Shari‘ah
335
in Northern Nigeria, similar negative pictures were painted by the Islamists, where they 
closed non-Muslim drinking bars, cinemas and other entertainment centres.
In addition, the view that terrorism is caused by the unlawful occupation of the lands of 
another nation was shared by some respondents. This view is as a result of the respondents’ 
observation of the problems in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan. Islam is the predominant 
religious affiliation of the citizens of these states. Also, conditions that cause terrorism can 
be found in these countries, thereby suggesting that in recent times they have contributed 
most to the causes of terrorism. This view is supported by the statement of the would-be 
London bomber, Usman Hussain, that he and two of his colleagues were motivated by the 
invasion of Iraq by the Coalition Forces led by the United States with the resultant killing of 
children and innocent people. He added that one Said Mukhtar showed them a DVD with 
images of children and women killed by American and British soldiers. Hussain concluded 
that films showing the atrocities committed by the coalition’s occupation forces in Iraq 
helped to foster the group’s political conviction to target Western interests (The Muslim 
searchlight, 2005: 5).
Perhaps, the understanding of these would-be terrorists might have arisen from their 
misinterpretation of the religious stance of some Muslim Ulama on how to deal with 
Western super-powers’ occupation of Muslim lands, Yusuf Al-Qaradawi being one of them. 
He argues that fighting against the occupation of the Coalition Forces led by the United 
States in Iraq and other occupied Muslim countries is a legitimate form of resistance 
(Muslim searchlight, 2004: 9). He added that, fighting the Western invaders in Iraq is an 
obligation, which is endorsed by heavenly religions and international agreements. He,
336
however, distinguished between Western civilians whom Islam strictly forbids to be 
attacked in this sense as against the invading soldiers who could be legitimately targeted.
In short, various causes of terrorism were identified by the respondents. These include 
injustice and unfairness, government harassment of religious leaders, denial of other people 
of their rights and the unlawful occupation of another nation.
8.4 THE IMPACT OF TERRORISM ON GHANAIAN MUSLIMS
The impact of global terrorism on humankind has no geographic boundaries. This is due to 
the intertwined and interdependent nature of our lives with people of other continents. The 
Ghanaian Muslims’ relationship with the wider world is no exception. More importantly, 
the post-independence period has significantly reinforced Ghanaian Muslims relations with 
the Arab and Islamic world, making the Ummah factor in Muslim life more prominent. Part 
of the positive relations between Ghanaian Muslims and the Muslim world (as observed in 
chapters’ four and five) has been reinforced by the constant flow of resources and funding 
from the Muslim world for developmental projects and Islamic activities in Ghana
However, the consequences of war on terrorism have had its manifold effects on Ghanaian 
Muslims/Arab world relations. This is because aspects of the broader policy of the war 
against terrorism put emphasis on scrutinizing Islamic Non-governmental Organizations 
(NGOs) and institutions which provide developments to Muslims globally and Ghanaian 
Muslims are no exception. The Islamic NGOs have been variously labeled by the United 
States and the West as a haven for terrorists because; they lack effective governmental 
supervision (Benthall, 2007:6). It was against this background that the assessment of the 
impact of terrorism on Ghanaian Muslims was necessary in order to reveal its unique nature.
337
Although about 53 percent of the respondents could not indicate the impact of terrorism on 
them or on the Ghanaian Muslim society, six (6) areas of concern were identified by 47 
percent of the other respondents. The following are the general findings on the impact of 
terrorism on Ghanaian Muslims in descending order:
1. it has affected the smooth flow of resources to Islamic NGOs (16.6%),
2. refusal of job opportunities to Muslims (15.0%),
3. it has affected the reputation and the image of Ghanaian Muslims (8.3%),
4. the effect of terrorism in the Dagbon traditional area (3.6%).
5. Muslims are labeled terrorists when they are involved in any act of violence (3.1%), 
and.
6. Islam is not attractive to enlightened non-Muslims (.5%).
Fig. 9: Areas that terrorism has impacted on Ghanaian Muslims
60
[Source: Survey Data 2006)
The background of the respondents shows that the male (85%), teachers (44%) and the 
Ahhis-Sunnah (38%) respondents, in that order, believe that terrorism has affected the 
■roage and reputation of Ghanaian Muslims. This means that the actions of a minority of 
Muslims do affect the larger Muslim Ummah. This also implies that the larger Muslim
338
Ummah is made to cany the burden of some Muslims who have not been mandated by them 
to carry out acts of terrorism.
Part of the effect on the Muslim image and identity could also be the stereotypical tendency 
on the part of others to question the moral probity of the Islamic tradition and that of the 
larger Muslim Ummah‘s culture. This is because in every religious category, there are 
people whose actions and behaviour cannot be taken as truly representative of the larger 
group. This situation has therefore found its expression among the respondents who believe 
that the action of a minority of Muslims has affected their integrity and image as Muslims.
The Imams (33%) and the Ahlus-Sunnah members (72%) respectively raised the issue of 
the impact of terrorism on the smooth flow of resources to Ghanaian Muslims from the 
Arab and the Muslim world. The dominance of the Imams and the Ahlus-Sunnah members 
in respect of this view implies that the operation of Islamic NGOs is mostly being 
spearheaded by the Ulama and Ahlus-Sunnah members. This is shown in the ownership of 
such Islamic organizations in Ghana such as Al-Huda Islamic Society, Al-Muntada, Al- 
Hudaibiya, and Al-Furqan Islamic Society among other groups. These organizations have 
saved as the focal points for attracting developmental projects from the Muslim world to 
Ghana. This view, therefore, shows the interconnected background of the Ghanaian Muslim 
Imams with the Muslim world regarding religious activities in Ghana. It also identifies the 
virtual dependence of the Ghanaian Muslim religious leaders on the Muslim world for 
funding of developmental projects.
The specific impact of terrorism on the Islamic NGOs in Ghana was further elucidated 
through interviews with the proprietors and some directors of the NGOs in Ghana to help
339
shed more light on the issue: For instance, one Director lamented that the worldwide 
promulgation of laws against global terrorism outlawed generous donations to the Islamic 
NGOs, from individual philanthropists without similarly outlawing such donations from the 
government recognized charitable institutions in certain Arab countries (Muzu, interview, , 
9th May 2005). The net result was that, because these philanthropists do not trust the 
government charitable organizations to serve as the channel to disburse their resources to 
their desired beneficiaries they halted their assistance to the Islamic NGOs on account of 
this legislation. This was in spite of the fact that these legislations were promulgated by 
governments from the Muslim world. This situation eventually affected the operation of 
some fbreign-affiliated Islamic NGOs in Ghana. It must, however, be emphasized that 
although the impact of the global war against terrorism affected the operation of NGOs in 
Ghana it did not completely halt the activities of most of the NGOs.
Ghanaian Muslim NGOs were also affected by the global war on terrorism in another area, 
but then only for a short while. An operator of an Islamic NGO indicated that the effect of 
the global fight against terrorism with the resultant promulgation of anti-terrorism laws 
affected his organization for a short while (Mustapha, interview, 2nd April 2006). This was 
when remittances for projects were cut short for a year. The explanation given was that 
most Islamic governments’ halted donation to beneficiary communities until they initiated 
laws and restructured the operation of humanitarian organizations in their countries 
(Mustapha, interview, 2nd April 2006)
It was also established that the fight against global terrorism resulted in the local banks 
applying due diligence in their dealing with foreign-affiliated Islamic NGOs. This is known 
38 Customer Due Diligence (CDD) process. Hitherto, the CDD’s processes were applicable
'y a r\
only to customers who contracted loans from the banks. It has however been broadened in 
the post 9/11 to cover Muslim NGOs with foreign affiliations. For instance, an Operations 
Manager of one NGO (on the basis of anonymity) said that the banks in the aftermath of 
fight against terrorism at a point in time demanded certain legal documentations before 
confirming to offer their services to Islamic NGOs with foreign affiliation (anonymity, 
interview, 7th March 2007). Some of the legal documents that the banks demanded were a 
Certificate of Commencement of Business from the Registrar General and a Certificate of 
NGOs or a Social Welfare Certificate. The banks further demanded passport pictures of the 
signatories to the NGOs’ accounts (anonymity, interview 7th March 207). Again, they 
demanded utility bills for the residence of the operators of the NGOs. This was with the 
view to ascertaining the domiciles of the operators. Lastly, the banks also demanded a 
record of expenditures and the location of the projects in the country, which an Operator of 
an NGO argued that such role does not fall under the mandate of the banks (anonymity, 
interview, 7th March 207). Lastly, the blacklisting of certain Muslim regimes by the United 
States as countries harboring terrorism also has it repercussion on some Muslim NGOs in 
Ghana. Notably, certain international banks such as the Barclays Banks and the Standard 
Chartered Bank refrained from having transactions with the Iranian NGOs, organizations 
and individuals (Daud, interview, 2nd January 2007).
The findings also reveal that about 24 percent of both teachers and public servants feel some 
Muslims were denied job opportunities and visas to certain countries as a result of the 
impact of terrorism on Ghana. This suggests that they have experienced discrimination 
when seeking jobs. This is because, as Muslims, they were unfairly considered as potential 
terrorists.
341
flms research shows that there are internal and external impacts of terrorism on Ghanaian 
Muslims. The internal impact of terrorism could be identified as the Western and the United 
States’ embassies refusal to grant Muslims visas and travel opportunities, some corporate 
bodies denied them job opportunities. The external impact involves the source of funding 
for the Ghanaian Islamic NGOs which largely dependent on the Arab and the Muslim world 
for developmental projects. It could be said that the impact of terrorism on Ghanaian 
Muslims is multi-faceted, since it affects people of different backgrounds.
85 ERADICATION OF TERRORISM
It has been argued that the causes of terrorism are influenced by variation in time and place 
of instances (Hageel, 2002: 87). This view thus implies that the eradication of terrorism is 
also influenced by the variation in time and circumstances. It therefore means that 
contemporary factors which trigger terrorism must be properly understood as these will 
enable us identify the appropriate means of eradicating it world-wide. It is in this light that 
an understanding of Ghanaian Muslims’ perspective on the eradication of terrorism is 
necessary, since it will contribute towards the global solution to terrorism.
Generally, the findings reveal the following:
1. terrorism could be eradicated through justice and fair treatment of all manner of people 
(40.4%),
2. education of the public on the negative consequences of terrorism (30.1 %),.
3. fair understanding of Islam and Muslims by the West and the United States (11.4%),
4. terrorism could be eradicated if the United States and the West stop imposing their views 
on others (9.8%, and.
5. The need for a unified definition of terrorism (8.3%).
342
pig. 10: Avenues to eradicating terrorism
AS -i——------------------------------------------------—--------------------------------------------------
AO
35 
30 
25 
20 
15 
10
' ' / / / /  s
Source: Survey Data 2006
The background of the respondents is reflected in the diverse responses that they offered on 
he eradication of terrorism in the world. For instance, the male (90%), the students (42%), 
and the Ahlus-Sunnah members (32%), in that order, believe that terrorism could be 
eradicated if the United States and the West stopped imposing their ideas and powers on 
other nations. The Americans and the Western powers project their cultures into the world 
and nations are being compelled to accept them or be mercilessly opposed, fought and cast 
as pariahs and outlaws (El-Fadl, 2001 :l 18). International bodies such as the United Nations 
(UN) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have been the major tool for peddling 
Western hegemonic tendencies. Huntington (1996:184), for instance, argued that decisions 
®ade at the UN or in the IMF reflect the interests of the West and are presented to the world 
as the desires of the world community. The effects of this are the high levels of 
dissatisfaction and disenchantment from the overwhelming majority of the citizens of the 
Iks developed countries and the Muslim world alike. This view is further buttressed by El- 
Fadl, that hegemony manifests itself in the supremacy over the production and control of 
"Mges that transmit value and culture in the world (El-Fadl 2001:118). It also manipulates 
•he symbolic values by which we understand the good, the bad, the ugly and beautiful (El-
343
Fadl 2001:118). Consequently, this establishes the relationship between hegemony and 
terrorism. The outcome of this tendency manifest in conflicts, wars, and terrorist activities 
we experience presently.
Inherent in halting the hegemonic tendencies which trigger terrorism is the need to ensure 
that justice and fair treatment of all people prevail. This was the view expressed by Ahlus- 
Sunnah sect (50.0%). The unfairness of the West emanates from the double-standards of 
Western policies which have the potential to trigger terrorism. These Western double­
standard policies manifest in the way that democracy is promoted-as long as it does not 
bring Islamic fundamentalists to power. Similarly non-proliferation of nuclear arms is 
preached for Iran and Iraq, but not for Israel. Human rights are an issue in China but not 
with Saudi Arabia. Finally, aggression against oil-owning Kuwaitis but not against non-oil 
owning Bosnians, Sudan Dafurians and other war-torn African countries is repulsive 
(Huntington, 1996: 128). Thus, it has been established that terrorism could be eradicated if 
the twin evil concepts of hegemony and unfairness or lack of justice could be done away 
with. The view of these respondents on the eradication of terrorism suggests that its causes 
have some political undertones, since they identify unaddressed grievances emanating from 
the lack of justice and fair treatment of others as being responsible for it
The view expressed by these respondents indicates that they have observed the frustration 
and desperation that some people go through in the course of struggling for their rights and 
for self-determination while the international community is unconcerned about their plight. 
His position is similar to the view expressed by Hageel who argued that terrorism did not 
emerge as an aimless, crazy violence, but as a resounding cry of protest against the previous 
internationally agreed and accepted values of an humanitarian ideal (Hageel, 2002: 81).
344
Furthermore, the view held by the students and the Tijaniyya sect members was that 
terrorism could be eradicated through fair understanding of Muslims and Islam. This 
implies that the identity of the larger Muslims have come under the onslaught of the West 
and their major propagandist tools. These respondents have been bombarded by the negative 
perceptions of Islam and Muslims. The anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim sentiment in the West 
could be traced to three main sources: some Western academics, the Western media, and 
some Western evangelists.
Samuel P. Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations. ..and Bernard Lewis’s The Root of Muslim 
Rage, respectively, provide typical examples of how some Western academics fan anti- 
Islamic and anti-Muslim sentiments. For instance, Huntington characterizes Islam and the 
West as age-old enemies and that conflict along the fault lines between Western and Islamic 
civilization has been going on for over 300 years (Huntington, 1996:252). He further 
argued that ‘the underlying problem for the West is not Islamic fundamentalism, but rather 
it is Islam, a different civilization whose people is convinced of the superiority of their 
culture and is obsessed with the inferiority of their power’ (1996:217). John Esposito, 
however, argues that this view implies that civilizations are mutually exclusive and 
diametrically opposed to each other. It also does not take into account the past and present 
cross-fertilizations of global culture (Esposito, 2002:127).
Western media is the other agent that peddles such anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim sentiments. 
This is seen in the images of self-seeking Muslims who do not have the mandate of the 
larger Muslim Ummah and who perpetrate acts of terrorism are given the prominence in the 
media, thus implying that their actions are approved by Islam or they draw their mandate 
and authority from the Muslim Ummah. These negative images and perceptions presented in
345
the Western media are reflected in the reaction of the respondents who articulate the need 
for a fair understanding of Islam and Muslims by the West and the United States.
Western evangelists’ failure to understand Islam and Muslims fairly sometimes tends to 
exacerbate and create tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims. For example, Christian 
evangelistic leader Franklin Graham, Billy Graham’s son, declared in November 2001 in 
the aftermath of 9/11 incidents that’ the God of Islam is not the same God of the Christians. 
He is not the son of the Christian or Judeo-Christian faith. It is a different God, and I believe 
it is a very evil and wicked religion’ (Fuller, 2003 : 148).
The Western media has therefore been identified by the respondents as the major means of 
demonization of the Muslim image and Islamic religion. A careful analysis of the ownership 
of contemporary media in the world shows that about 80% of the news disseminated in the 
media emanates from the West and the United States, examples being Cable News Network 
(CNN), Star Television, Reuters, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Deutsche Welle 
TV, Voice of America (VOA), Radio France International etc. The philosophic foundations 
that guide the nature of these Western media are capitalism and the interest of the state and 
government they represent. In other words, they are the major instruments for promoting the 
values of these countries policies world-wide. This view was amply demonstrated in the 
words of the then head of External Services of the BBC, John Tusa, who once said that ‘we 
are Britain’s greatest cultural export and we are effective because we are listened to and we 
are believed’ (Quoted in Harun, 1993: 300). This trend, therefore, has a far-reaching 
implication for the image of Islam and that of Muslims which also represent a different 
ideological bloc. This is so because the Muslim Ummah and developing countries’ interests 
which do not find favours with the Western world are demonized. Regrettably these
346
countries and the Muslim Ummah have not been able to build similar global media empires 
to champion their aspirations and could release the type of information that is desirable for 
the consumption of the Ummah. In most cases, the information released by the Western 
media tends to affect the image of Muslims and Islam. The outcome of the research, 
therefore, shows the diversity of the solutions to the causes of terrorism in the world which 
include fair representation of Islam.
In conclusion, an anecdote for eradicating terrorism has been given by Mazrui and this 
involves a holistic dissection of its causes. For instance, he gave as an example detectives’ 
role in identifying a crime. He argued that, in investigating an unsolved murder, the 
detectives seek clues from the victim of the homicide to establish why such a person was 
the target. Then, they try to identify the real motive for the murder for instance, what was 
the issue which precipitated the crime. Finally, they try to establish what kind of person 
committed such a crime (Mazrui, 2004: 2).
8.6 ULAMA INVOLVEMENT CM DA‘WA ON TERRORISM
The role of the Ulama in Da'wa (religious propagation) on terrorism is a recent 
phenomenon in Ghana. It was stimulated and promoted by the American Embassy officials 
during their engagement with the Ulama in Ghana in the aftermath of 9/11. It thus marked 
as a shift from lack of Dawa on terrorism to preaching against it. The fruit of 11 September 
incidents was that it brought about an appreciable level of Muslim understanding regarding 
the unlawful and irreligious nature of terrorism. This could be largely credited to the active 
role that Ulama have played in educating Muslims on terrorism. The role of the Ulama on 
the eradication of terrorism has been further reinforced by the terrorists’ tendency to link 
toeir motive to Islamic symbols and images in order to win the sympathy of the larger
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Muslim Ummah (HAMAS Charter: 127). It was in this regard that the respondents’ 
appraisal was sought on the role of Ulama in Da ‘wa against terrorism.
The general trend of the survey’s findings reveals that about 77 percent of the respondents 
within the sampled population indicated in the affirmative their awareness of the Ulama 
involvement in Da'wa against terrorism. The result shows that the rating of Ulama 
involvement in Da'wa against terrorism could be categorized into positive and negative 
rating:
The respondents’ positive ratings include:
(a) very effective 23.2%, and
(b) effective 30.1%,
On the other hand, the negative ratings of the respondents were:
(a) not effective 17.6%,
(b) poor 4.7%, and
(c) very poor 3.6%.,
The respondents’ responses differed dependent upon their gender. It suggests that men were 
more aware of Ulama in Dawa against terrorism than women. This is partly because of the 
dominance of and the leading role being played by men in Muslim religious activities. This 
therefore has made them well informed as to the role of Ulama in Da wa on terrorism. Men 
also hold a more positive view of the role of Ulama in Da mo against terrorism than 
women. About 83 percent of the male respondents scored the effectiveness of the Ulama 
role in Da ‘wa very highly, in contrast to the perception of the female who think that Ulama 
were not effective in Da ‘wa against terrorism.
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The study shows that about 58 and 33 percent of the Imams and the Ahlus-Sunnah sect 
respectively rated the Ulama in Da 'wa on terrorism as very effective or effective. The 
identification of this view with the Imams is attributable to their own self-assessment as to 
the extent to which that they handle religious issues in respect of terrorism.
On the other hand, the students (57%), non-sectarian Muslims (56%), and the Shi 'ah sect 
members (43%) rated Ulama involvement in Da 'wa on terrorism as very poor and poor in 
that order. The fact that it was largely the students and the non-sectarian Muslims that 
identified with this view suggests that they were not satisfied with the Ulama approach on 
the propagation on terrorism. On the other hand, the association of this view with the Shi'ah 
respondents means that the Shi'ah leadership in Ghana was not originally included by the 
anti-terror campaigners in Da'wa on terrorism in the community. This, therefore, is 
reflected in their rating of the Ulama as very poor. Thus, any Da'wa by the Shi'ah 
leadership on terrorism could be a coincidence and not necessary mean that they were 
targeted by the activities of the anti-terror campaigners in the Muslim community.
8.7 FACTORS AFFECTING ULAMA IN DA‘WA AGAINST TERRORISM
The research also identified the major factors affecting Ulama in Da ’wa on terrorism. This 
was with the view to ascertain the specific problems that the Ulama encounter during 
Da ’wa on terrorism.
Although the results show that 57.5% of the respondents could not identify any specific 
problems that the Ulama encounter, four (4) main factors and problems were identified by 
some of the respondents as affecting Ulama in Dawa on terrorism. These factors include: 
terrorism has been construed as the American and the Western label used against
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Muslims -19.7%,
2 lack of education of Ulama on the effect of terrorism - 8.3%,
3, inadequate understanding of ten-orism by the Ulama - 7.8%, and
4, lack of sincerity of Ulama on terrorism- 6.7%
The result shows that while the male respondents assert that the major handicap of Ulama in 
Da’wa in respect of terrorism is due to their lack of proper perspective on the effect of 
terrorism, the women think that Ulama lack the sincerity of purpose in the dissemination of 
their views on terrorism. This view has been raised against the backdrop of the fact that the 
anti-terror campaigners did not organize special workshops and seminars to educate the 
larger Ulama in Ghana on the effects of terrorism. They rather concentrated on the 
distribution of food to ordinary Muslims, gala competitions for the youth, and special 
forums for few selected Ulama in Accra through which education on terrorism was 
disseminated. On the other hand, the women were also concerned about the double 
standards displayed by some of the Ulama in Da 'wa on terrorism. The basis of this view 
suggests that some of the Ulama previously seemed to give approval to acts of terrorism 
through their preachings but later became anti-terror campaigners. This led to the women 
becoming disenchanted with the Ulama who were in Da 'wa on terrorism in Ghana.
The study also reveals that 53 and 32 percent of the Ahlus-Sunnah and the students' 
respondents, respectively, were concerned about the propensity of the Western world and 
the United States at labeling Muslims as potential terrorists. Even though the tagging of 
Muslims as potential terrorists refers to just a minority of Muslims it has hampered the 
smooth Da 'wa of the Ulama. This view was well articulated by an Ahlus-Sunnah member 
in the Greater Accra region when he said:
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Some of us (Ulama) sometimes encounter problems in the 
course of Da 'wa on terrorism. This is when you raise an 
argument from the Quran against terrorism, only to be asked 
by your audience “what is die Islamic ruling on the perception 
that some non-Muslims regard your religion as inciting terrorism 
and therefore being a Muslim you are a potential terrorist, 
meanwhile the reality suggests contrary”?( Sualah, interview).
This illustrates the effect of external prejudices and biases by non-Muslims on the Da ’wa on 
terrorism led by the Ulama.
Again, the seemingly double standards articulated by some in Da \va on terrorism can be 
seen in the view of non-sectarian Muslims that Ulama lack sincerity of purpose in Da 'wa on 
terrorism. The respondents who are identified with this view are generally neutral Muslims as 
far as their doctrinal affiliation in the community is concerned.
It is important that this argument is illustrated with evidence from the Ahlus-Sunnah on their 
role in educating their members on the menace of terrorism. The education forum took place 
in September 2004 at the Islamic Research and Reformation Centre, Nima, in Accra. The 
effect of the type of orientation handed down to the larger Wahhabi members and the 
students by the Ulama has reflected in their attitude towards an understanding of terrorism is 
discussed.
After the key note address on the menace of terrorism given by the National Imam of the sect, 
Umar Ibrahim Imam, the open forum provided an opportunity for questions and answers. 
Excerpts given below are questions from the audience and the answers from the National 
toaro and his executives.
Question; Some of your Ulama claim that, it is forbidden (Haram) 
for any Muslim to participate in any IJlar program organized by 
the United States officials for Muslim communities, how is that
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one different from the assistance that the ASWAJ is enjoying 
through the construction of the National Headquarters of the 
sect in Ghana?
Answer: In the first place, I was not in the country during the 
first period, so I did not know what really happened.
Question: Imam, we were at an outreach programme with you 
where you gave a pledge to all that you will always go by the 
consensus of your people. However, you seem to be contradicting 
yourself by engaging the Americans at the ASWAJ site at the 
displeasure of your people?
Answer: Yes, I still stand by the popular position of my people, 
provided it is realistic, and lead to the future progress of the group.
Question: According to Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim, the 
prophet is noted to have said that “ I shall sack the Jews and the
Christians in the Arabian Gulf. ” Again, he also said that “sack
the Jews and the Christians in the Arabian Gulf... ,”What is your 
explanation to these traditions in respect of your relation with 
Americans?
Answer: people need to know the background of such statements 
from the prophet in order to put things in perspective. This was 
when some of the Jews and the Christians betrayed the Prophet 
and formed alliance with the Makkans against the Prophet.
This therefore necessitated such statements from the Prophet.
One Suallah Abubakar intervened and replied that;
The prophet was noted upon all these statements transacted businesses 
with Jews to the extent that he was indebted to a Jew before his death.
Question: The Qur‘an says “never take Jews and Christians as friends 
let alone to accept their religion”. What is your understanding of 
this verse in relation to the American assistance to ASWAJ?
Answer: The consensus of the Ulama is that Muslims can benefit from 
non-Muslims, provided there are no conditions and restrictions attached 
to the project
These seemingly irreconcilable perspectives between the ASWAJ leadership, on the one 
hand, and the ordinary members perception on terrorism on the other were partly due to the 
type of earlier orientation handed down to the members by the leadership in Ghana. It 
suggests that a larger number of ordinary Muslims passed a vote of no-confidence on the
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Ulama who engaged in Da ‘wa on terrorism. This is no doubt due to the perceived double 
standards employed by some of the Ulama. Specifically, the ordinary members of ASWAJ 
do not trust the position of the leadership on terrorism due to their seeming approval of it 
through Da'wa before. The study however shows the pragmatic tendency of the Ulama to 
readjust their role to meet the accepted international standard in respect of eradication of 
terrorism in the world.
It also shows how critical the respondents were in respect of their understanding of the
problems affecting the Ulama on terrorism. This position also emanated from the
contradictory and opposing Fatwa on terrorism given by the Ulama. This view is not
strange, since previously the majorities of the Ulama in the Muslims communities were
invariably pro-terror and regarded the terrorist as freedom fighters even before their
engagement with the West and the United States. Yet the Ulama later came to realize that
the approach of some Muslims in relation to their legitimate cause was wrongly misdirected
and hence not in conformity with Islamic values. This necessitated a leading figure of
ASWAJ in the Ashanti region, the late Taufiq Bakr, to declare on 14 July 2004 at Zuria
FM, a local radio progrmme in the Ashanti region that:
Islamic scholars in Ghana are fond of issuing hasty religious 
Verdicts (Fatwa), which later they tend to regret, by that time 
they have misled many people.
This view is amply reflected in the respondents’ perception that the Ulama lack sincerity of 
purpose.
8-8 CONCLUSION
The primary interest of the United States in the Muslim communities was largely motivated 
to reach out to them with her anti-terror education. It was also meant to get closer to
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Muslims for possible collaboration in various spheres in order to minimize and eradicate 
anti-Western and anti-American sentiment. However, many of the instability in the Muslim 
world were perceived by Muslims as being precipitated by American foreign policies 
interests.
Thus, in the estimation of Ghanaian Muslims, terrorism is being instigated by injustice, 
unfairness and denial of others of their rights as well as interference in the affairs of other 
nation. The findings further corroborated the United Nations Higher Committee findings on 
Terrorism. As a consequence of this, they suggested justice and fairness, educating the 
public on the menace of terrorism, fair understanding of Islam as well as the West to stop 
imposing their hegemonic tendencies on other nations.
As Ghanaian Muslims are also interconnected with the larger Muslims world through higher 
Islamic education and development projects, the impact of terrorism has its undercurrent 
effect on them. The research result shows that, Ghanaian Muslims were affected by the 
global war on terrorism in the domain of flow of resources from the Arab world to Muslims 
NGOs, the image of Muslims and that of Islam as well as refusal of job opportunities.
The Muslim NGOs in particular were affected in various ways both as a result of measures 
taken within and outside Ghana. For instance, in the wake of global war on terrorism, the 
world wide promulgation of laws on terrorism also resulted in local banks stretching their 
legal regimes to include strict scrutiny of Muslims NGOs. Originally these legal regimes 
were not meant to target Muslims NGOs, such as the CDD as we mentioned in chapter eight
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The external impact of the global war on terrorism was also identified as remittances to 
some Muslim NGOs were cut short for a while for some NGOs while others were affected 
by the promulgation of laws which outlawed generous donations from individual 
philanthropist to NGOs other than the governments designated institutions in the Muslim 
world.
Notwithstanding this, Muslim Ulama were identified to have played a tremendous role in 
the education on the menace of terrorism and the respondents evaluated their role as fairly 
positive. However, their role in educating the masses on the menace of terrorism was 
without problem. The major problem that they confronted from the ordinary Muslims was 
the Weston label of Muslims as terrorists, lack of adequate understanding of the menace of 
terrorism by the Ulama themselves and double standards exhibited by some Ulama.
The study thus shows the complex situation that Muslims have found themselves in regard 
to the United States rapprochement towards them. While the Americans were expecting 
Muslims to fairly appreciate and understand her foreign policies within the context of their 
new relations, her foreign policies in some Muslim countries contributed to Muslims 
negatively perceiving her. Nevertheless, for the first time Ghanaian Muslims have 
appreciated the need to denounce terrorism within the framework of the larger Muslims 
seeking to address their grievances regardless of their nature. In short, the fruit of the post 
9/11 Muslim transnational contacts with the United States provided a window of feedback 
to Americans about Muslims grievances on the causes on terrorism and its eradication. At 
the same time, Muslims also appreciated the need to denounce terrorism as well as the need 
to resort to appropriate channels of seeking redress to other grievances.
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CHAPTER NINE
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 
90 CONCLUSIONS
This research has sought to identify the origin of diverse manifestations of Islam in modem 
Ghana and how these have impacted on the identities of Ghanaian Muslims. This was done 
by establishing the nature of Ghanaian Muslims’ transnational relations with the Islamic 
world. These relations occurred in the various periods (including the pre-colonial, colonial, 
post-independence and the post 9/11) during which Ghanaian Muslims interacted with the 
Muslim world.
The main research question which guided the study was ‘What brought about the 
introduction of different Islamic ideologies and identities in modem Ghana and the current 
interest of the United States in Muslim communities in Ghana?’
The thesis also aimed at identifying among other things, the type of Islamic and cultural 
orientation handed down to Ghanaian Muslims in each of these periods, to explore Ghana’s 
diplomatic relations with selected Muslim States and these states’ major contributions to 
Ghanaian Muslims; to examine the role of the Muslim diplomatic missions in the rise of 
Islamic Resurgence in Ghana with an emphasis on the type of doctrinal and religio-political 
ideologies introduced into Ghana; to examine the impact of Muslim diplomatic missions’ 
contributions to Ghanaian Muslims, to explore the nature of Ghanaian Muslims relationship 
with the United States; and, lastly, to identify the Ghanaian Muslims’ stance on terrorism.
Having identified the origins of Islam as it is practiced in the modem Ghana and shown how 
it has shaped its adherents’ identity, the study reveals that the diversity of Islamic
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expressions in Ghana was a result of Ghanaian Muslims’ transnational interactions with the 
different Muslim world. For instance, Volta Basin and the Gold Coast Muslims’ interaction 
within the West African sub-region during the pre-colonial and colonial periods introduced 
the practices of the Tijaniyya sect into Ghana. Again, Ghanaian Muslims’ interaction with 
the North Africa and the Middle East after independence facilitated the arrival in Ghana of 
the tenets of the Ahlus-Sunnah and Shi'ah sects, and the ideology of Libya’s the Green 
Book. Lastly, the tendency of religion-inspired terrorism stimulated the interest of the West 
in Muslim communities in the aftermath of the 11 September, 2001 incidents. This interest 
is at educating Muslims as to the menace of terrorism because some Muslim 
extremists’ manipulate Islamic symbols in order to execute acts of terrorism.
The study shows that in each period there were different major players in the introduction 
and development of Islam and the Islamic way of life in Ghana. For instance, traders, 
itinerant Muslim scholars, the colonial master’s policy, the Hajj, and the Lebanese Muslim 
factor aided the spread of Islam in the Volta Basin and the Gold Coast in the pre-colonial 
and colonial periods. Again, during the post-independence period Islam was spread in 
Ghana by the Muslim diplomatic missions and their affiliate institutions and NGOs. Lastly, 
the post 9/11 the United States promotes her agenda among Ghanaian Muslims through 
Western educated Muslims via FAGLAT. What is also shown is that, in these periods the 
professional background of the transmitters of Islam differs. The transmitters of Islam in the 
Gold Coast during the pre-colonial and colonial periods were individual Muslim traders. 
This is in contrast to the state-propelled Islamic activism in the post-independence period as 
a result of Ghana’s diplomatic relations with the Arab world. Lastly, Western educated and 
•rained Muslim leaders encourage Ghanaian Muslims’ relations with the West and, in 
particular, the United States in the post 9/11.
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In all, Ghanaian Muslims’ transnational interactions with the different continents have 
^ught about a profound transformation. This includes the adoption of the Hausa-Fulani 
cultures of West Africa, the Arabian Islamic culture from the Middle East, as well as the 
appreciation of Western values and concerns in the Volta Basin, the Gold Coast and the 
present day Ghana, in that order. This can be observed through the use of Arabic names, 
language, mode of dress and social manners among Muslims in Ghana, as well as the 
adoption of Hausa cultural values on Muslims social functions such as outdooring or 
naming ceremonies and marriage ceremonies, mode of dress, etc. The study therefore 
reveals the impact of globalization on Muslim identity in Ghana. This could be seen from 
the specific impact that each of the interaction made on Ghanaian Muslims identity.
By facilitating cultural, doctrinal diversities and orientations in Ghana, these different 
Muslim worlds have linked Ghanaian Muslims with the larger Muslim Ummah. This, in a 
way gives an identity to Ghanaian Muslims as being part of the distinct Muslim world, 
including also a sectarian Ummah.
Each of the Muslim worlds influenced and impacted on the Muslim Ummah in Ghana in 
different ways. For instance, the fact that the purveyors of Islam in Ghana in the pre­
colonial and colonial periods were Africans gave the religion an African identity. This they 
did by blending Islam with some indigenous African communal and social values thereby 
creating a Ghanaian Islamic tradition. This, therefore, makes the practices of the Tijaniyya 
an African form of Islam, more amenable to African values.
The impact of the post-independence Islamic traditions on Ghanaian Muslims suggests that 
the North African and the Middle Eastern brand of Islam can be seen in the ethos of the the
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Islamic socialism of Libya’s The Green Book, the puritanical Islam of Wahhabism, and the 
Prophet’s household brand of Islam of Shi'ism. The adherents of these post-independence 
Islamic traditions in Ghana formed cultural enclaves and constituencies which are 
considered ‘foreign’. Though, their emergences in Ghana have reinforced Ghanaian 
Muslims identity with the larger Muslim Ummah. Thus, the Muslim diplomatic missions 
maintained their influence on Ghanaian Muslims through these new Islamic expressions that 
they have facilitated in Ghana.
He United States’ post 9/11 vision of Islam in respect of Ghanaian Muslims is evidenced in 
its emphasis on Ghana’s having an indigenous Islamic tradition devoid of external Arab 
world influences. It also calls for a national Muslim agenda and vision which takes into 
consideration the singularity and uniqueness of the Ghanaian Muslims’ socio-economic and 
political needs.
These different periods in the introduction of Islam into Ghana also facilitated the growth of 
different forms of Islam in the present day Ghana. Although the Tijaniyya sect’s practices in 
Ghana are largely conservative, it has, however, represented the major medium through 
which Islamic tradition has been preserved and bequeathed from generation to generation 
during the pre-colonial and colonial periods. Furthermore, the Tijaniyya sect also promoted 
the growth of Islam in the Volta Basin and the Gold Coast through education. It did this by 
establishing educational infrastructures, developing from within the residences of the tutors 
into modem educational infrastructures. It was also the major medium through which the 
early Ulama were recruited in the Volta Basin and the Gold Coast. Lastly, the sect also 
promoted the growth of Islam by providing spiritual services. These were not offered to 
Muslims alone as non-Muslims also benefited from them. The sect is, as it was then is
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popular among non-Muslims, politicians, businessmen, and people seeking success in life. 
In effect, the sect gives Islam a sense of spiritualism and fostered strong social bond 
between Muslims and non-Muslims in the Gold Coast and Ghana.
The post-independence state-propelled North African and Middle Eastern Islamic traditions 
in Ghana also promote growth in diverse ways. This could be seen in the areas of modem 
health facilities, educational infrastructures, agriculture, women empowerment, and 
construction of Islamic centres (mosques) as well as some monthly emoluments for some 
Muslim scholars. The type of growth that the Middle Eastern Islamic traditions attracted for 
flhanaian Muslims was in keeping with modem trends in development. This is in contrast to 
the type of growth facilitated by Muslims in the pre-colonial and colonial periods.
Lastly, the post-9/11 Ghanaian Muslims’ engagement with the United States attracts growth 
in the areas of human resources development such as the construction of vocational centres 
and educational infrastructures. The uniqueness of the type of growth of Islam brought 
about by the United States for Ghanaian Muslims emphasizes the synthesis of the local 
Islamic tradition and secular values. This could be seen in the fact that the United States 
advocates for a better integration of Islamic and secular subjects in the mainstream Muslim 
educational system, the training of Arabic and Islamic teachers as well as infrastructural 
expansion and support for schools from the primary to JSS and SSS levels. This is quite 
distinct from the post-independence growth of Islam encouraged by Muslim diplomatic 
missions in Ghana.
The different Islamic expressions which were introduced into Ghana from different 
continents also link Ghanaian Muslims with a variety of Muslim worlds in different ways.
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For example, contemporary Ghanaian Muslims’ relations with the Muslims in the sub- 
region of West Africa are being promoted mainly by the Tijaniyya Sufiyya order. Secondly, 
as a result of some Ghanaian Muslims’ ethnic allegiance to the people of neighboring 
states, such as the Wangara, Fulani, Hausa, Zabarma, Moshi, Kotokoli, Dendi, Chamba,
The findings reveal that this ethnic factor of Muslims with West African origin does not 
wield any considerable influence in the relations between Ghanaian Muslims and their co­
religionists in the sub-region of West Africa. This is because major events affecting 
Muslims in West Africa are not interpreted by Ghanaian Muslims along religious lines. In 
other words, the Islamic Ummatic factor, or religious solidarity, is not often manifested in 
relations between Ghanaian Muslims and other West African Muslims, such as those in 
Cote‘d Ivoire, etc. This could be seen from the fact that events affecting neighbouring 
countries with a largely Muslim population neither attracts special prayer sessions nor a 
strong public and media advocacy for their plight.
This is in contrast to the intense religious solidarity that exists between Ghanaian Muslims 
and the Arab/Muslim world. Virtually every event is perceived by Ghanaian Muslims 
through religious lenses, such as their concern for the plight of Palestinians, their 
condemnation of the Israelis invasion of Lebanon in 2006, as well as their condemnation of 
the United-States led Coalition Forces’ invasion of Iraq.
The continental doctrinal connection of Ghanaian Muslims with the Muslim world reveals 
that the Tijaniyya sect is more likely than most of the expressions to be coloured by an 
African connection. This could be viewed from the fact that the adherents of the Tijaniyya
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sect in Ghana pay high regard to certain religious centres in Fez, Morocco and Koalakh, 
Senegal, the home towns of the founder of the sect, Ahmad Tijani and Ibrahim Nyass, the 
charismatic revivalist of the sect in West Africa, respectively. On the other hand, the 
Ghanaian adherents of the Ahlus-Sunnah and the Shi 'ah sects regard the Kingdom of Saudi 
Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, respectively, as the homes and centres of their 
doctrinal orientations. In effect it shows that, these various centers in the Muslim world 
wield influences over Ghanaian Muslims who adhere to their religious groups. The overall 
consequence is that it drives Muslims in Ghana apart on doctrinal lines from forming a 
common national and Islamic identity determined by the Ghanaian socio-cultural and 
political environment.
Despite the fact that tensions exist among the different Muslim groups in Ghana in respect 
of internal Muslim politics, they are however able to reach consensus on both internal and 
external issues affecting Ghanaian Muslims and the Muslim Ummah globally. This, 
therefore, suggests that the evolution of a Ghanaian Islamic identity which is concerned 
about Ghanaian collective Islamic culture is gradually taking place, taking the socio­
political dynamics of their society into consideration. One could cite as examples of this, 
Ghanaian Muslims’ stance on the Population and Housing Census of 2001 and numerous 
press releases on the plight of Muslims in the Middle East.
Moreover, Muslims relations with the Arab/Islamic world after 1957 were largely facilitated 
by the government of the newly independent nation-state. The study shows that various 
reasons propelled Ghana’s diplomatic relations with selected Muslim countries, these being 
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Libya, and Iran. These reasons included, Pan-African unity, driven by 
Ghana’s newly elected President, Kwane Nkrumah, and her non-alignment policies. The
common revolutionary philosophy experienced and shared by Ghana with Libya in 1969, as 
well as Iran in 1979 contributed immensely to reinforcing their diplomatic relations. 
Because Saudi Arabia is the birth place of the Prophet of Islam and the destination of 
millions of Muslims on the annual pilgrimage to the Ka'bah and the mosque of the Prophet, 
her status in the Muslim world is enormous. This, and the fact that she holds considerable 
oil reserves encourages many countries with Muslim citizens to share diplomatic relations 
with her, Ghana is no exception here. However, the role of Ghanaian Muslims in promoting 
relations with the Muslim countries varies according to whether these are individual 
Muslims, or those working in the Islamic NGOs and the affiliate offices of diplomatic 
missions’.
Muslim diplomatic missions in the post-independence period also initiated developmental 
projects for Ghanaian Muslims. These development packages are focused on education, 
health, agriculture and women’s empowerment, as well as the building and endowment of 
Islamic centres (mosque). In addition, the influence of the aforementioned Muslim countries 
on Ghanaian Muslims varies, depending on the type of development projects they 
facilitated. Generally, the economic conditions in the country of origin dictated the extent of 
the diplomatic missions’ contributions to Ghana and the development of Ghanaian Muslims, 
in particular. This, too, had a bearing on the influence that the various countries exerted on 
Ghanaian Muslims. This could be discerned from the fact that the countries of Saudi Arabia, 
Iran and Libya, which are well-endowed with natural resources, exert a stronger Islamic 
influence on the Muslim community of Ghana, as opposed to a relatively poorer Egypt.
These Muslim missions’ developmental contributions to Ghanaian Muslims in the post- 
mdependence period made possible the introduction of their countries’ Islamic religious,
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cultural and political ideologies into Ghana. These ideologies were related to specific 
Islamic expressions such as Wahhabism, Shi'ism, and Islamic Socialism, as found in the 
various countries. These eventually resulted in the categorisation of Ghanaian Muslims on 
doctrinal lines in the post-independence Ghana.
The diplomatic missions’ educational contributions to Ghanaian Muslims related to the 
granting of scholarships to students. These in effect, facilitated the indoctrination of number 
of the Ghanaian Muslim community with the prevailing sectarian ideologies found in the 
Muslim world. Wahhabism of Saudi Arabia, Shi‘ism from the Islamic Republic of Iran, and 
the Third Universal Theory of the Libyan Government were then wholeheartedly absorbed 
by Ghanaian Muslims. The intensity of the Islamic orientation in respect of these ideologies 
varies, with Wahhabism (Ahlus-Sunnah) and Shi‘ism having a clearer sectarian 
categorisation and labeling of their adherents in Ghana. This was partly possible because of 
the type of foreign policies which dictated their relationship with Ghanaian Muslims. One 
could realize that globalization afforded these states to compete over the membership of 
Muslims to their ‘official’ religious expressions in the world.
Notwithstanding the fact that the educational contributions of the Muslim diplomatic 
missions created opportunities for Ghanaian Muslims and consolidated their gains and 
fortunes in Ghana, scholarships granted to the Ghanaian students were purely motivated by 
the Islamic regimes’ desire to create their sectarian constituencies in Ghana. This view is 
supported by the fact that the scholarship packages were invariably restricted to the 
religious sciences. Regrettably, these scholarships ignored the need for developing the 
human resource potential of Ghanaian Muslims that would have enabled them to meet the 
competitive nature of the political and economic fortunes in their country.
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The research reveals that the development projects facilitated by Muslim diplomatic 
missions have impacted on Ghanaian Muslims in diverse ways. In one sense, they have 
improved and enhanced the living standards and the status of the beneficiary communities. 
However, the socio-economic and the political landscape of Ghanaian society was not the 
major determining factor which influences the nature of the Muslim missions’ development 
projects. This could be seen from the virtual lack of support by Saudi Arabia and Egypt for 
Ghanaian Muslims in the area of agriculture and women’s empowerment.
Despite the fact that those development projects in Ghana facilitated by the Muslim 
diplomatic missions had some shortcomings, such as lack of teacher training colleges, lack 
of incorporation of secular subjects in their educational curricula, etc., they still represent 
the major source of funding for development projects for Ghanaian Muslims. Moreover, the 
relevance of Muslim missions in Ghana lay in the dependence of the majority of the 
Ghanaian Ulama on the outside Arab/Muslim world for economic survival through the 
monthly emoluments earned by some Ulama.
The research also identified two main objectives in respect of the role of foreign-based 
Islamic organizations in Ghana. The first role of some of the Islamic NGOs in the post­
independence period was sectarian Islamic proselytisation. The organizations which fall 
within these categories include the Islamic Research and Reformation Centre, Ahlus- 
Sunnah Wal-Jama’ah, the Supreme Council for Islamic Call and Research, the World 
Islamic Call Society and the League of Ahlul-Bayt. The second objective of Islamic 
organizations includes providing development projects. The organizations which provide 
development include Al-Muntada, Al-Huda Islamic Society, Al-Hudaibiyya, Islamic 
Development Bank, Agriculture, the Iranian Cultural Consulate and Rural Development.
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This, therefore, suggests that Ghanaian Muslims in the post-independence period realized 
the potential that the Arab/Islamic NGOs held. This made them to harness their relations 
with the Arab/Islamic world for the development of Islam and Muslims in Ghana.
The study reveals that the diversity of the Islamic Resurgence, in the form of doctrinal 
expressions such the Ahlus-Sunnah and the Shi ‘ah, introduced by the Muslim missions in 
Ghana in the post-independence period was in keeping with what existed in other parts of 
the Muslim world. For instance, the Ahlus-Sunnah and the Shi ‘ah sects found in Ghana are 
manifestations of worldwide Islamic ideologies with monotheistic (Tauhid) and the 
household (Ahlul-Bait) concepts of Islam, respectively. The interplay between these two 
worldwide Islamic ideologies is mainly limited to the Muslim Ummah or the Muslim 
communities alone. As a result of this, states which adopted these two Islamic groups 
exploited them as part of their foreign policy objectives to propagate their political interests 
globally through religion. This was achieved by harnessing the benefit of these Islamic 
doctrinal groups’ attractiveness and appeal in the Muslim world. In this sense, 
Juergenmeyer’s theory is proved. In the case of Ghana in particular, these state-propelled 
religious groups such as Ahlus-Sunnah (Wahhabism) and Shi'ah enjoy Saudi Arabia and 
Islamic Republic of Iran support to carry out their activities in Ghana,
However, the Islamic Resurgence’s political ideology that was introduced into Ghana in the 
post-mdependence period was in the form of Libya’s the Third Universal Theory (TUT). 
The fundamental principles of this suggest that it can permeate the secular political structure 
and has political ramifications for a community wider than the Muslim Ummah. This has 
therefore necessitated the Libyans to exploit the Ghanaian political structures with the 
values of the Green Book.
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In all, Ghanaian political and religious landscape became the battlefield for Muslim states 
with which Ghana established diplomatic relations with in the post independence period. 
Though, this could be an inevitable tendency, it however represents the impact of 
globalization on Muslims in Ghana.
The study also reveals that the intensity of these Islamic ideologies varies. For instance, the 
Ahlus-Sunnah and the Shi’iah attract more Muslims to the observation of their rules and 
tenets. These two sects have adherents who clearly identify with them in contrast with the 
Third Universal Theory (TUT) that has not wielded the same sort of influence. 
Economically, Ghanaian Muslims relations with the Arab/Muslim world in the post- 
independence period created opportunities for the respective sectarian institutions in Ghana 
which depend on the outside Muslim world to carry out the activities of the Islamic 
Resurgence in Ghana.
Lastly, it has been found that the origin of some of the institutions which facilitate the 
diversity of Islamic Resurgence in the respective Muslim sects in Ghana were externally 
propelled and motivated and not the brainchild of Ghanaian Muslims. One could cite as 
examples of this, in the origin of the Supreme Council for Islamic Call and Research, the 
West African Ahlus-Sunnah and of the Centre for Study of the Green Book in Ghana.
Generally, the net effect of the interconnectedness of Ghanaian Muslims' relations with the 
Arab and the Muslim world in the post-independence period could be seen in development 
projects and an ideological affinity that fostered both religious and political solidarity 
between Ghanaian Muslims and the larger Muslim world. As a result the Ghanaian Muslims 
were not able to perceive global events affecting the Arab and the Muslim world from a
367
more religious view point, rather than as objective observers. Some of these global events 
include the 36 days Lebanon-lsrael war, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Coalition 
Forces’ invasion of Iraq.
The consequence of this situation was the lack of distinction made in the understanding of 
the ordinary Ghanaian Muslims between an act of terror and being a liberation fighter. This 
therefore meant that 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States of America were 
viewed with approval.
The nature of post 9/11 Ghanaian Muslims relations with the United States suggest that they 
woe largely framed and precipitated by the widespread anti-American sentiment felt in the 
Muslim world. United States’ relations with Ghanaian Muslims were to undergo a complete 
change, driven by the Western world’s concerns as to the dangers of transnational Muslim 
extremism and terrorism in the world. This change also exposed Ghanaian Muslims to the 
dynamics of multicultural nature of Western and, particularly, American society. Finally, 
the post 9/11 period serves as a springboard of Western and the United States sponsored 
development projects in the Muslim communities in Ghana. These development projects are 
in the area of the provision of educational infrastructure, health units, and vocational 
training centres.
The research findings also reveal that even though some respondents think that the major 
propelling motive for the United States’ interaction with Muslims in Ghana was to improve 
her image globally, others think that the engagement will promote understanding and attract 
nited States funded development projects for Ghanaian Muslims.
368
Again, a cumulative comparison of respondents’ perceptions of the United States before and 
after 9/11 show that, though they appreciated the interest of the United States in the 
development of the Muslim communities after 9/11, they did not view the United States as 
a friend of Islam and Muslims. The result also shows an increase in the perception that after 
9/11 the United States was anti-Islam and anti-Muslims.
The findings also showed that although Islamic and the Western values are not culturally 
congruous, constructive cultural dialogue and engagement could take place between Muslim 
Ummah and the West through a fair representation of Islam and Muslims issues in the 
Western media, inter-faith dialogue, and Western facilitation of development projects in the 
Muslim communities. Because Ghanaian Muslims lag behind as far as secular education is 
concerned, majority of the respondents identified education as the paramount area in which 
the United States should assist Ghanaian Muslims.
Because interest in the Muslim community globally on the part of the West and America 
was generated by the impact on them of transnational Muslim extremism, an appraisal of 
the views of Ghanaian Muslims on the causes and solutions to terrorism was sought. The 
result shows that, injustice, unfairness, and suppression of others emerged as the greatest 
causes of world terrorism. Arising from this, Ghanaian Muslims identified the need for 
justice and fairness, halting the Western hegemonic tendencies, fair understanding of Islam 
and Muslims, and a unified definition of terrorism in the world as solutions to the causes of 
terrorism,
The respondents’ rating of the Ulama in Da'wa on terrorism reveals that these were 
appreciated. They nevertheless identified major problems militati : of the
369
Ulama in Da 'wa on terrorism, including the view that terrorism is a Western construct with 
the view to labelling Muslims negatively. The study also found that the global war on 
terrorism affected Ghanaian Muslims in three ways, namely; the flow of resources from the 
Arab and the Muslim world to Ghanaian Muslims, the refusal of visas and the denial of job 
opportunities.
The demographic background of the respondents reveals the following: As far as gender is 
concerned it is males that mostly hold extreme and negative perceptions about the West and 
the United States in contrast to the women who are more likely to be favorably disposed 
towards the West.
Furthermore, there is a contrast in attitude towards terrorism between men and women, 
with the men identifying themselves with and associating positive motives behind the 
extremists’ cause, while women inevitably will rather argue against terrorism because of 
its effects on mankind and societal development. The result shows that women most often 
adopt accepted societal and religious values as against the men whose views are most often 
anti-social.
A study of the responses in terms of the occupation of the respondents indicates that the 
Imams are more in tune with their religious role and appreciate the need to engage with the 
West and the United States. This is in contrast with the viewpoint of the students who were 
less accommodative, and represented a radical position within the research population. The 
doctrinal background of the respondents generally reveals that the Ahlus-Sunnah sect, 
whose members the United States’ engagement efforts had targeted eventually have a 
positive outlook about the West and are playing a tremendous role in eradicating terrorism
370
in qh»na- Lastly, because the Ahlus-Sunnah sect has transnational relations with the 
Arab/Muslim world its members were affected more than any other sect by the war on 
terrorism in respect area of the distribution of resources to them from the Arab and Islamic 
world.
In the pre-colonial and colonial periods, the Gold Coast Muslims’ relation with the Ummah 
was mainly in respect of Muslims in the West African sub-region with whom they shared an 
ethnic identity. Even though Muslims interacted with their colonial masters in that period 
they did not relate in any degree to the West.
Ghana’s relations in the post-independence period with the Arab/Muslim world were 
manifested through diplomatic relations. This period brought about unequal manifestation 
of religious affinity and solidarity between Ghanaian Muslims and the Arab world.
Muslims relations with the West in the post 9/11 period witnessed a complete change in 
global relations driven by the efforts of the United States of America. Muslim transnational 
relations with different continents were thus a result of the eventual facilitation of diverse 
Islamic and political orientations of the Ghanaian Muslims.
The study therefore reveals the extent to which some states managed to influence Ghanaian 
Muslims with their respective ‘official’ religious ideas in the post-independence period and 
post 9/11. Though, it shows how the aforementioned states have appropriated the potency of 
these religious groups for their powers. However it also implicitly related to the profundity 
of globalization, inevitably Muslims in Ghana will have experienced these religious ideas in 
one way or the other.
371
9.1 RECOMMENDATIONS
As observed earlier, the research explored the three-tiered nature of Ghanaian Muslims’ 
relations with the external Muslim worlds and the West. The recommendations which 
follow, therefore, focus on Muslims relations within each of the three periods, namely, pre­
colonial and colonial, post-independence, and the post 9/11, in that order:
It is recommended that further research be done on the impact of transnational Da ‘wa being 
embarked on by Muslim leaders in the sub-region of West Africa, specifically in Ghana. 
This is with a view to unraveling the socio-cultural impact of Ghanaian Ulama on the sub- 
region and vice versa.
Again, further research needs to be conducted on the extent of the ethnic impact of West 
African Muslims in fostering relations with Ghanaian Muslims. This will consequently 
determine the extent of ethnic influences on religious orientations in Ghana.
In view of the fact that there are little academic resources for the indepth study of Islam in 
the pre-colonial and colonial period, it is recommended that researchers can depend on the 
Timbuctu Research Project being managed by the University of Cape Town in South 
Africa. This will help shed further light on the contours of Muslims in Africa relations with 
the Muslim world.
As to the role of the Muslim diplomatic missions in the development of Ghanaian Muslims 
in the post-independence period, despite the fact that various developmental contributions 
were made by the Muslim missions in Ghana for Ghanaian Muslims, the respective Islamic 
ideologies and doctrinal orientations of the Muslim missions were mostly felt on Ghanaian
372
Muslims. More therefore needs to be accomplished in the area of human resource so that 
Ghanaian Muslims are able to meet head on the competitive nature of the Ghanaian political 
and economic landscape.
It has also been observed that little attention was paid by the Islamic diplomatic missions to 
women’s development and agriculture. This situation therefore retarded the development of 
Muslim women and agriculture as a means of raising their economic fortunes of in Ghana. 
It is therefore recommended that the developmental contributions of diplomatic missions 
should take into consideration the needs of both Ghanaian Muslim women and men and the 
economic development.
The study found out that Muslims perception about the West and more specifically the 
United States was negative and American perception about Muslims was negative. Thus, 
the only way of eradicating this negativity is through intensified education.
In view of the fact that the radical posture of the student respondents has its source in their 
isolation and exclusion from engagement with the United States, it is therefore suggested 
that efforts should be made to draw them into this engagement. This is with a view to 
mitigating their spreading anti-American and anti-Western propaganda in the Ghana's 
Muslim community.
373
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6. Imoro Baba Issah, interviewed, 18th February, 2005 Nima, Accra.
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Languages, University of Ghana, Legon.
8. Nuhu Abubakar Jajah, interviewed, 25*h May 2006. Mamobi, Accra.
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381
22. Nuhu Abdallah, interviewed, 22nd December 2006. Pig Farm Accra
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26. Omid Kamara, interviewed, 14th April 2004, Asylum Down, Accra.
27. Alaru Ibrahim, interviewed, 22nd May 2004, Nima, Accra.
28. Mohammed Zakaria 2nd November 2004, Airport Residential Area, Accra.
29. Yunus Abdul Nabi, interviewed, 17th March 2005,East Legon
30. Kamal Yussif, interviewed, 17th March 2005, East Legon.
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32. Aida Jibril, interviewed, 18th May 2005, Mamobi, Accra.
33. Salma Tahir, interviewed, 18th May 2005, Mamobi, Accra
34. Bansi Abdul Salam Abdul Hamid, interviewed, 13th February 2005. Nima,
Accra
35. Alhassan Abdulai, interviewed, 25th March 2005, Tamale.
36. Kwakuvi Azasu, interviewed, University of Education, 6th January 2005,
Winneba, Central region.
37. Yushau Kuta Tahiru, interviewed, 13th March 2005. Madina, Accra.
38. David Queen, interviewed, 10th March 2005, Accra.
39. Kamil Khalifa, interviewed, 10th March 2006, Kumasi, Ashanti region.
40. Basha Ibrahim Iddriss, interviewed, 8th December 2006, Tamale, Northern region
41. Armiyau Shuiab interviewed, 11th January 2007. Nima, Accra
42. Musah Abdul Qadir, interviewed 3rd February 2007. Nima, Accra
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Ashanti region
44. Mustapha Ibrahim, interviewed, 2nd April 2006, Abavana Down, Accra
382
APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1: (Questionnaires)
DEPARTMENT FOR THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS 
UNIVERSITY OF GHANA
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE POST 9/11 FACTOR MUSLIMS’ RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES 
IN GHANA
This questionnaire is meant to seek information on the relations between the Western world, 
particularly the United States of America and Ghanaian Muslims. All information given 
would be treated as confidential and for academic purposes only.
TICK [ V ] APPROPRIATE
1. Sex: (a) Male [ ] (b) Female [ ]
2. Age:
(a) 18-25 Years [ ]
(b) 26-35 Years [ ]
(c) 36-45 Years [ ]
(d) Over 45 Years [ ]
3. Occupation..........................................................................
4. Educational Background:
(a) Islamic Education:
(i) Early Makaranta [ ]
(ii) Post Early Makaranta [ ]
(iv) Tertiary Education [ ]
(b) Secular Education
(i) Primary Education [ ]
(ii) Junior Secondary Education [ ]
(iii) Senior Secondary Education [ ]
(iv) Tertiary Education [ ]
5. Which doctrinal group do you belong to?
(a) Tijaniyya [ ]
(b) Ahlus-Sunnah [ ]
(c) Shi’ah [ ]
(d) Ahmadiyya [ j
(e) Do not belong to any group [ ]
(0 Other (Please Specify)..................................................
Do the Qur’an and Sunnah permit Muslims to have relations with non-Muslims? 
(a) Yes [ ] (b) No [ ] (c) No idea [ ]'
Do the Quran and the Sunnah permit Muslims to have relations with non-Muslim 
countries?
(a) Yes [ ] (b) No [ ] (c) No idea [ J
Do you think that good relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims should be
encouraged?
(a) Yes [ ] (b) No [ ] (c) No idea [ J
Give reasons for your answer.....................................................................................
If yes, in what areas should the relationship be cultivated? 
(Please specify your answer in order of preference)
(a) Education [ ]
(b) Health [ ]
(c) Environmental issues [ ]
(d) Promoting world peace and justice [ ]
(e) Others.......................................... t ]
Give reasons for the choice of your answer
Are you aware of any engagement by the United States of America with the Muslim 
communities in Ghana?
(a) Yes [ ] (b) No [ ]
The UnitedS tates of America in recent time has developed keen interest in assisting
the Muslim community in Ghana. Do you think it is worth encouraging?
(a) Yes [ ] (b) No [ ]
Give reasons for the choice of your answer..............................................................
Do you believe that Ghanaian Muslims and the United States can cooperate for the 
benefit of Islam and Muslims?
(a) Yes [ ] (b) No [ ]
If yes, which of the following areas below do you think they can cooperate?
(Provide your answer in order of preference by ticking 1 as the most important follow 
by next as 2)
(a) Education [ ]
(b) Fighting against HIV/AIDS. [ ]
(c) Assisting Muslims to break fasting in the month of Ramadan [ 1
(d) Health. [ ]
(e) Fighting terrorism [ ]
(f) Exposing GhanaianM uslims to Western Muslim counterparts [ )
(g) None of the above r i
(h) All of the above r i
(i) No idea. r i
(j) Others
15. What do you think is the reason behind the United States of America’s engagement
with the Ghanaian Muslim community?
(a) To provide development to the Muslim community. [ ]
(b) To strengthen the Muslim leadership in Ghana [ 1
(c) To improve the image of the United States of America [ ]
(d) To fight terrorism ( 1
16. What was your perception of the United States of America before the September 11 
attack on America?
(a) Friends of Islam and Muslims [ 1
(b) Nothing in common with Muslims [ ]
(c) Interested in developing the Muslim community [ ]
(d) Anti-Islam and Muslims [ ]
17. What is your current perception of United States in the aftermath of September 11* 
attack?
(a) Friends of Islam and Muslims. [ ]
(b) Interested in developing the Muslim community [ ]
(c) Nothing in common with Muslims [ ]
(d) Anti-Islam and Muslim [ ]
18. Do you know the United States’ mode of engagement with the Ghanaian Muslims?
(a) Yes [ ] (b) No [ ]
19. Do you appreciate the mode of the engagement?
(a) Yes [ ] (b) No [ ]
20. If no, what are your suggestions for improving it?
21. Do you agree with the view that Islam is in perpetual conflict with the Western world 
in terms of values?
(a) Yes [ ] (b) No (c) No idea [ ]
22. In what ways do you think cultural dialogue will improve constructive engagement
between the West and the Muslim Ummah globally?
(a) Inter-faith dialogue. [ ]
(b) Assistance in the form of development projects. [ ]
(c) A fair representation of Islam in the Western media [ ]
(d) Others..................................................................................................
Any further comments on the relationship between the United States and Ghanaian 
Muslims...................................................................................
TIIANK YOU
385
APPENDIX 2: (QUESTIONAIRE)
DEPARTMENT FOR THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS 
UNIVERSITY OF GHANA
CHAPTER NINE
TERRORISM: THE THRUST OF THE UNITED STATES ENGAGEMENT IN THE 
MUSLIM COMMUNITY
This questionnaire is meant to seek information on the Ghanaian Muslims and terrorism and 
its impacts on Islam and Muslims. All information given would be treated as confidential and 
for academic purposes only.
TICK IV1 APPROPRIATE
1. Sex: (a) Male [ ] (b) Female [ ]
2. Age:
(a) 18-25 Years [ ]
(b) 26-35 Years [ ]
(c) 36-45 Years [ ]
(d) Over 45 Years [ ]
3. Occupation..........................................................................
4. Educational Background:
(a) Islamic Education:
(i) Early Makaranta [ ]
(ii) Post Early Makaranta [ j
(iii) Tertiary Education [ ]
(b) Secular Education
(i) Primary Education [ ]
(ii) Junior Secondary Education [ ]
(iii) Senior Secondary Education [ ]
(iv) Tertiary Education [ ]
5. Which doctrinal group do you belong to?
(a) Tijaniyya [ ]
(b) Ahlus-Sunnah [ ]
(c) Shi’ah [ ]
(d) Ahmadiyya [ ]
(e) Do Not Belong to any Group [ ]
(f) Others (Please Specify)................................................
Does the Qur’an condemn act(s) of terrorism?
(a) Yes [ ] (b) No [ ] (c) No idea [ ]
Docs prophctic tradition condcmn act(s) of terrorism?
(a) Yes [ ] (b) No [ ] (c) No idea f
386
8. In your opinion, which act(s) constitute terrorism?
9. In your opinion, how has the term been used in recent times?
10. What do you think are the causes of terrorism?
11. Are some Muslims involved in act(s) of terrorism with Islamic slogan?
(a) Yes [ ] (b) No [ ] (c) No idea [ ]
12. If yes, what do you think is their motive?
13. Are you familiar with the concepts of Darul Harb (abode of war) and Darul Islam 
(abode of Islam)
(a) Yes [ ] (b) No [ ] (c) No idea [ ]
14. Are the concepts of Darul Harb (the abode of war) and Darul Islam (abode of Islam) 
still relevant in modem times?
(a) Yes [ ] (b) No [ ] (c) No idea [ ]
15. If yes, how should these concepts manifest themselves in the relations between 
Muslims and non-Muslims?.......................................................................................
16. How have these concepts affected the relations between Muslims and non-Muslims?
17. In your view, are acts of terrorism Islamically and morally justifiable?
(a) Yes [ ] (b) No [ ] (c) No idea [ ]
(b) Give reasons for answer................................................................................................
18. In your estimation, has such approach improved or affected the image of Islam and 
Muslims generally? Choose any of the answers below:
(a) Improve the image of Islam and Muslims. [ ]
(b) Affected the image of Islam and Muslims [ ]
19. What will be the future of Islam and Muslims if terrorism is being perpetrated by 
some Muslims?
(a) Perpetual suspicion of Muslims by non-Muslims. [ ]
(b) Muslims would be well-respected and rccognizcd by
non-Muslims. j j
(a) It will curtail the development of Islam and Muslims [ ]
(c) Muslims would not be acccpted by others in certain parts of the
world r ,
387
(d) Muslims would be regarded as anti-civilization. I •>
20. Certain countries including the United States and Europe have promulgated 
legislations to curb terrorism. Do you think such initiatives are worth encouraging 
(a) Yes [ ] (b) No [ ] (c) No idea [ ]
21 Are there some difficulties with such pieces of legislations?
(a) Yes [] (b) No [ ] (c) No idea [ J
22. If yes, can you identify some of the shortfalls of such laws?
(a) The laws are culturally and religiously skewed against some
people. [ ]
(b) The laws impede the development of Islam and Muslims
globally. [ ]
(c) The laws represent ideological warfare initiated against Islam
and Muslims by the West and the United States. [ ]
(d) All the above [ ]
(e) None of the above [ 1
(f) Others. Specify.................................................................................
In your estimation, what images represent tacit support for terrorism?
(a) Naming certain places after infamous terrorist networks [ ]
(b) Putting on insignias named after terrorist organizations [ ]
(c) Individuals nicknaming themselves after notorious terrorists I ]
(d) All the above. [ ]
(e) None of the above. [ J
(f) Others. Specify..................................................................................
Do such images exist in the Ghanaian society?
(a) Yes [ ] (b) No [ ] (c) No idea [
25. Are these images available in the Ghanaian Muslim community?
(a) Yes [ ] (b) No [ ] (c) No idea [ ]
26. Are these images traceable or associated with some people of a particular doctrinal
background in Ghana?
(a) Yes [ ] (b) No [ ] (c) No idea [] 
27. Have you observed some Ghanaian Ulama involve in Da’wa against terrorism.
(a) Yes [ ] (b) No [ ] (c) No idea [ ]
28. If yes, how effective are their efforts against terrorism through Da'wa?
(a) Very effective. [ ] (b) Effective [ ]
(c) Not effective [ ] (e) Very poor f 1
(f) Poor. [ ]
29. If no, what are some of the militating factors?
(a) Lack of orientation of the Ulama about the effects of terrorism. [ ]
(b) It has been construed to be the Western and United States label [ 1
against Islam and Muslims r i
388
(c) Lack of sincerity of purpose by the Ulama I j
(d) Inadequate understanding of terrorism by the Ulama. [ J
(e) Any other?..................................................................................................
30. What do you think are the root causes of terrorism?
31. What is jihad?
(a) Armed struggle or holy war against non-Muslims to convert
them to Islam [ ]
(b) Personal struggle against vices and other un-Islamic behaviors
and practices [ ]
(c) Intellectual struggle to promote or defend Islam ( ]
(d) Financial and material support to promote and defend Islam 1 ]
(e) Any other?.......................................................................................
32. What is the relationship between jihad and terrorism?
33. How can terrorism be eradicated?..............................................................................
34. Can you identify some of the areas in which terrorism have impacted on Ghanaian
Muslims....................................................................................................................
THANK YOU.
389
TTIEDAILY GUIDE WEDNESDAY MAV12TH2005 PACES
libel he nlgbt onr, UilMAJrtf Hfwrfam# /*»//«. TSTB "tnjfttit; theTttqrtBrMlg—pKOifc* n*d auio.attottngot MiflD filed n motion oppotfngtfw ont*.__________________ .
Virgo Augvil 2J-$e|*l21 Veep Honours David Queen
Yem eta«b*otatHy trustiJrcprnmlwi made»younow,bo 
they huvnrxf or pesMoat'artd jmu’U be jott u idvnxnt (gyJtriaaJ«miyl AmVuudor. bad bctn to Ike hndih ccetiea. a community M noted Oiat Mr 9mb bad about k«pinj you own word Reaped-and reiponsibftity country, since 2002, and wa* eatna at Ntma. borvboks. as been loctnsaenat aawtOai r-f bt?scair TUB VICE proiiitnt, AlhaJI at the Castle to bid fuewellto wcQ « food dorwnon, during played acrifeiSrate in to 
•}-* ✓»\ Sq*» Lt-OrfTt A m ^Iahams.on MnndjQ^Vfry. Uir Vice President, after a du$rt tomdMfasiSng. •gainl Mi Mtf ibaat.need nsrecofflhetbe H hoo»nrn» D. vfJ Qujwn. ,ou in I'.too'way PrQeuierefne tmhan kCedl sth ue *V.icIe  omrkx yivn trkfoctcv fri tftdmhriMf 
Tber*r» got > *mwM ion* onibeir fkec. andtbey'ire OMnsdMir nrru.t.wu«.. i ' - -  • i?*' \mm 'Mhstir-. rvtuw^u.1
tart nwOooed tbat they want |rt talk to you. Don't wony. at fbeEmhasiy efthe Called •ere tnnconccpdora between ftteh one to the Muilim com- oleaer to i 
Nor aQ set tau eoneeraatloits mm out badly. Tbftt §oei State* of America, for Mfiap» (be Mtultm oomrmnitte* and hutfT 
double fordilaooe. pert far the gomronent, and theAmeflcana, benotMavhlt APa|IAIh»MAaatt.oBhla *n» t us
Scorpio ft* V— Ocl 13-No* 21 ibc Mntlfm crnnmimfM**, In to hold round-table dlscvt* Mary Carft*Va>e« pledged# 
partiraUc, at (be Ctude, Omu •toos with d» Mcaftm «ona»> Cf hooattltarian^ewloo. US readloeaa to mi wi 
He ««t presented whb a cities, (hnwghoet the ccntry. rtreeatof that be bod pleytjJ a MstSm cnooooltu*, n fo* 
ThryVcg« a vt*y cenoui iocx on their tec; and they've 
jMst mccfioncd that they want to talk to you. Oon*» vrmry. certificate ofbonour, aaraocfc* to eoable them exchange
iigniOcastraletntbcranlftr* create their aadetHandtng,
eat, ftspectatly (he Moilim
u> Not «j1 serious eoavemt'»on» tun out twfly. Util got* Fuguaod Katie* for Ufi wife. jnwrramme*. _;«diatAcpHpfe 
OVO double for thk one.
D*rid Queen, who waaie- Mr Qaoen staled that Ms 
eompsnicd to the CwKle by J-yeat any in Oh*m,aaw-tb« 
>t af^instHlW heece.^wcwjQdoaOdieycio 
Satfttarfu* Nov 22-DecJI :»fUVicemto^ belp IntUsdkcealan .Mn Mary Carlin-Yartes, US eosntmctlon of project* at
You're aeovf been oae to mince wofd*, bat ytn’rm r*po- 
ckDy unwilliog to waste time on small talk now. Anything 
odw than */u« (be fact *»m*’am.'will leave you cold—-ind 
MwbO tWtrtwtopirttn^rw^rrm-wnuwrflJdalbiJteJyfcicl that
Capricorn Ore 2?-Jan 12
It’j tine to trice stock v. ».w« ^ vala*. That might n*»n 
d»ehccT(t>ook—never yowftvorfle paidr>e-~ 
orittrdgii lerpcr. ffithor way, give youraelf a IWe
time to fit
Jin 20-fcbtl
f«t» Jf.Morr* 20
A (Hiod U aboet Hfirowjwl bow vriorbta — op, bow 
prfwini— fltay a/e. Wi4^ you J»rtflg to aafc. they'!)
APPENDIX 3: NEWSPAPERS
24 Dally Graphic, Wednesday, November 21,2007.
Ghanaian bomber
mHI K last of five would-bcibera to target London 
JL on July 21,2005 wna ywrter- 
day jailed for 33 yenrs* nfter 
admitting conspiracy to cnum 
explosions. jailed 33 years
Earlier this »i*r, n jury m unable 
to rvweh a verdict when Manfo Kwsku 
Aaiedu. whose rrn) name i* Sumaila 
Abubekori. went on trial, Browed of con­ said the public had waited for him to Atiedu then began attending a 
spiracy to murder THn! rhsrgv wn admit his pari in the attack* and tnoimoe Finchley, North Ionium,‘'explain hi* motivation far the ootnmw- which «
ftejudee recommended Ihat Asiedu, «ion of such a dreadful crime". dant Ymtsin Omar
34. should he doportnri hnrklo Ghana 'You have effectively chosen net tn da In June 2005, after a fire in Ms flat, 
Feur et}\er nwn were jailed for Mb so,' he co id. he moved in with Omar at Curtis 
alter being convicted of ronspirocy to Tho judge added that Aaiedu not Haw in Mew Southgate 
murder over the foiled 2005 bombings. <mly failed t<i warn the police or bjn Curti* “ 
Muktar Ibrahim, Yasnln Omar, doner* of the plot but nbo oontnmed t« factory*, iw Ii t_h_ _h_u_n_d_r_e_d_s _o_f bottle* of 
Ramil Mohammed raid Hussain Ovmon aasnt the ran«pirntuni liy tiying t»« di* iu Tta r.u -cr n penw-pra-e- r-ao-u-cxn«iodE- e«u — T-  ,itteri—ngk  ithe flat
were told they would serve * minimum pnM of incriminating evidence. Taking the stand during the trial 
of 40 yean. But he told Asieaui "The maximum Atiedu presented hioiwtfaa a terrified 
A sixth man, Adel Ynhyn. pleaded •entente lor this vlTdnnt la one (if life man mid cm unwilling participant in 
guilty to a I ewer chfirrr curlier this imprisonment. I do not believe that ih« the events oT July 11.
month sod wai jailrd for six yearn ond criteria for such it sentence are met in However, he etas Intimately 
tone month*. your oho. invclwd tn the buying of bomb Ingredi­
After the jury In the original trial 'Although your involvemont wi 
was unable to reach n vcrriict, Axiedu central, you were certainly not the 
ent*, including tho critical dement of 
hydruRwi nennide hair bleach.
wo* due fer retrial, which would have der or organiser of the plat* He hod been working aa a pointer 
been extrtincly costly. ...A ;s-le--d-u- ---h-a-d-- --o-l-u-i-m--ed that ha nan ; and derornuir tit the time and hod told until 1 whntusalen that be needed the 
conspiring to Cauae explosions, tbs pro*- into al to bleach wood or to atrip
eeutun dropped tho chnri'n of eoneplrnry action.
to murder and he um« i»ntetu»d at Ha mid that as soon a* he had hud dr Sweeney said: *He is i 
Khufina Crown Court > the chonoo, ha had dumpOd hi* ruck­ think* he Is. a unwmsn
Mr Justice Calvert-Smlth told tti huwe sack containing exploeivee in n park nt dnwiver — only wawa 1
court Out Asiodu had lied on an ' Little Wormwood ficruhn In West t/m. •Further, he tank part in a caver^in that could go about fa
Kale* about bis part in tho bomb dan. after the bomb* failed to explode, both 
md that ft was Nneoncci*»bU»* he Dut Nigel Sweeney, <)C, pnwaeutina, (hr his benefit and The benefit of his con-
oot know the gnatf a motive*. said: "The defendant's principal ml* In 
Ms told Asiodu ho hod become the I he remplmcy wa* In the purchase of Having aririrvtveedd  In the UK from 
’central figure* in rtnatvhinir and <"13 lilrw <110 gallon*) of hydrogen per-C hans on a fb(Mlaiu  panport ha adopted 
ng tho chemicals needed far ti oxide, which <qp n vital Ingredient In, the name A**)e|edd u after, finding oon> 
‘ Mrr  JJuusstitcine* C Colevlcvrcrrtr-t.-HSmitli (tombed the mein ohargttf tbo wploivu dovttaa menta belongliing  tat previous lodger of
Ssdedu as an 'aaonsBllshed_ ( In' and__  inquired tab* * ' ■ thatnafip. ,,
Daily Graphic, lUt-’sday, Nnvciftbor ]* 2005. I -
US embassy 'r.
assists Muslims
THE United Kliitm UrabaMv but U»l» >■««■ 
provided Sfln million in food aid «nd Injpla- 
mcutiiliftn or prugmmmfu geo red toward* 
vnvurlnK detaocrney. good aov*rn»n«. pri­ f
vate amor economic tfro«tn and liatk vdu. 
rut fun in the country. The facility •-** pro­
p^jt3 vided through the United Stale* Agency for Intwnutii.nal Development.
Additionnlly. the US novamiacnt aaupurlr 
aiu.noit jn'iqiki in Muslim aimmuaibc* in Ghana 
■iiiimullv. »h ili Diriiiuiit 10  312tmlEao mty y f u r  
'fir Jaliifioilnn Officer at ihr US 
Mr f'lirvttnjdirr 'IhcWwwnJt lu-» tn an in'c?
>ly\\ rt.ll lh. JJ.I/A tB Tlml«Jr HU I Il'JI -
ril»- tt\i* ilti I ft»**- |irt MrftlAtien 44 tin* •
;»».*< Mial (V»t f la vomit!* Mtibllfir v'Oin|1-«»ri U' ' -I 
Ut.iil Ait t! \\i%l tivuM PUlJKi *i3E<i M li* 
iVnifjil unii Aiibmnjiu miumjjm in lh** 9
A toLaJ of 1KU Lmu* uf Tint* and SO baj?*-«►?' eiutu i
were |»i rHvrttud tu Uic cT’ronvumlies. I
Mi MtiC^ps i.^rrvt'd that US » >a i
the Mfu»irrv onvrf.il the piovUion %& vLaicn <i& t I
itimmuMiiy ci/mrcn in Muslim communities, 
tic Vx«.tvd llittt Uiu "US i< a »var
glubtil leiruriHin and not a w-nr ucuia.-t
LunttT,
Tin' lnfniTruiti’tn CJTficvr ub^ix*’"! tf®t Ulun 
’va» s* r&l pt pt /Kt?, ndiOnr dial I Left *>*.- 
•••■it uuliion Miip-Iinji in toe US-
Avr^rdiMp iu liiin, lh- l*S Kftbwt Um 
t*>jwr* ‘W^liur auin Mo Jin* in^man 
ij j*» «i*U'n‘»rilv Lhr fttarn&riun
< 'i».t f.vf {,nrvban^A. AVnajt htuihtr- Ah«t u, B
Uiflnkwl il>i* »Mikbn>*jj fin IIul' pt*>Ju'x t u t u t >  *
c*w l*Ji ^iv fi’nTltalnut‘*  ua vmm tlit* nfikl u ivunnc^jrt. nallt 
rmArrfwrraettK
iiiuu to
iuqiiuv
  tr* ifc» *»Vv-.I 
cr sonts^efv^apoffB/ ftems, including AhTilnt?l lNuttJrlulutrtn  sKV«f4TM .nf'lMl Mimlc taler Mr It vuf.it-' 'ucniiQn Ltinxuii; fourth fr&n right is jl slijuI ^Uv!|Ij <k
‘ 'foftfci (6£P | «**-»!♦*iIr>t J ,i > It (i nrfly unii» t»uuiinvi.|iv <.i ». *|i| sv;lh Lciftiiilt . ml Ai
U*. ' U„, *Jj~ . t. I ;•!».♦» V</uld i‘. rj
J*- u£d. t l»* tW.M lit Ufi’.l ^ Tlvl < Arv u| TiUUJ^. ta
i-*» * M•){ l»i lit **l»U J |\fm*lwMi, nrpt’tl U* pruy T«t v,
«Tili m I ,mii 1<*jr (iritA|»>r»ly iii jJn? JSkwtit UH
bt
\ d m-isK b% •
392
-.vW^
JljrC" Jwjb.fr
President, Saudi Prince 
naugurate school at
SIDBMT * *. Kaft«j «™i £• 
«H Mm. *1 VaM bln 
UiMJunMhutryw;
«thr ianiunM a *300.000 
4hmI farth* of
hU In the Ayawiwo Sub*
d AHWead wha2n b* I &K
<M conpW. wtkfc to MiMd 
Saocfe PrsMt. caaprwea a ktoder- 
lodt far »» w*3x a ra-umt ort- 
mi thiwamhloA, a Uim-wut
wtoiYJchorf fJSSbtock. aeora
(U^tatoteSlkivpkwg R»
/>3 ad ptdr*tn*a «!««*>
1 *"** ft-™-*? *’*_■!' p**p**fc 
Imu Ib tW Ayww Sci^wtim
itbctiL 
toes Kabar and tho prwuttA «f 
d fiwgjn^B to toe with !he
ratpnfc* , . * Pruiditt Kufuor (right) ftetr® milled by ttm Saudi Prince AI WaiamtJ bin Tat*______
kae«tod**d the tmd tia? la tha . tta ktaugwatioo of tha Mfawato commutOty hamlng oanttw at Nima h Accra fMtnHf. 
biqjbiy ctonbtnt and raaisly
pofcaJ wdjifaiiiwlid b* tafet- male or (taude._if Chew children arr to the President gave ihc . 
   tt&n tschnokfT achieve thoir full pmenual and enjoy fal- ganmuMm vault! provtdi • 
(f Had become • DuiriiNt Oil in* proCrxwaoJ and «mul lt*e* is ondarj school »FSS» wi 
Nlm«/Maam*b»
He urged parent* la *ce th* aduation of pcpdallon of about }3W»
■w thaae JwhpawU. denying their ch_i_ld_r_e_n_ asa  «rred duty aad per- . »>w Mininer of Edoalnnand Sporta. at^ ,
KradaiJ fbemal eduealion, fjtai it «Ufigdc MT-r- -Y--a--w-- -O--u--b---M--u--!-*-.- -u-p--n--o-d-- -t-h--e- -h--o--p-e Pnaa 
— Praaident Kuhwr thaahed Prince A) »tbbnntt  ththee a aeehboocJo l« «<*n*mpip«U* *w woouuldld po • leaf app
it Ma» or btr I* a Ur &T Limited Wal*«d for [ fooda for (he pro wav to irapac: rinufitnaly on um nt» an _ ___
Km.* hk painted ouL Mi, which wwikd to the Saudi trj\ development pracr** facilitate th
<e Kafcar said “ parent. aad Prim a fim vitit la »K>3 "‘lKc  »  oai;J wnvitiim that the premnstof
fr can cm lancer dm to ocficct t &JT th«* peop}#, [hk »chopl J  »plc* to (hr PBBntunfty «flD hiJM M-V , „„
etoe sf their children whether helptochanrr iha |wn»ptkpaf frait byfalwaiwiiiyai
">l Missing
,tol Ri af kr[| Sale Connie Anna* Obasanio arrives for tvvo-day visi
](. to reported mis» 
,s Stanr'TflBM0»d KMi rabotft ) KtfAa Iwwiwwrib )PRFSfDKNT J 11U. «1».
Axtyon* with infor- ObMonJii «( .N.cvr,. T~mk. *&?<£& km*
MLeaon hut> ahmild Am** jr»*»erdnjf iMnliWfar • ff
-TS2 Mart to the near* it IwoWy inbtrouil -Utt uv y ^ { W * a »  t>Wu M»
■Kr atacon nr ta Mr 
huu«! Amu AkiJfo •to *» McMnpamtd fc#> th* **
* * af Hewn No. C O CnwmcuiOt *C. Sowwvumry o«f itfb» ifc or. f* &Wf Tw* tP A*Vf*t* C™OawK aa njt^o * (U->-  t—h rfrmn rf  H- --k tWfk*kMM«rM
[ I 714. or call Svotf (ECOWLC^. ti. MrfnmoiH lW? *’^.*,TV •^JP4^ »•" * **
. telephone n umbci r HmQamiuiv a«a*M *Ml Praafcad* fW. fcmeat 0U*r» •* -am
rI DZ>4IKU» Safe Connte Amu IV ~>ttv iw« «i mrwrt ot ih '!w^ TT*; •* ► **• W»j
393
THE DAILY GUIDE WEDNESDAY MAYI2TH 2005 PAGE 5
git* younSTfSn !SSS nns ^fiuBSKffS mre3T5t55T.7o?CI 
mi auured it will be the right one. iJOuhlrM Manlamt In Ptllet l'*nt,'Uicia«-nn ms—pnM««, and tfua.viAtuigora)» motion oppaingflio car*.__________ ,
Virgo August 23- Sept 22
You cm absolutely mist thejromises made to you now, be Veep Honours David Queen
they business or personal,'and you'll be just u adamant Ambassador, had been hi the health centres, a community deufnoiod that Mr Queen had 
about keeping your own word. Res peel and responsibility [tty Sh cilia Sackey] country, since 2002, and was centre at Nima, boreholes, aa been Inatnimrntal. aa wdl as 
ere in Ihc air. a THE VICE President. Alhaji at the Castle tobidftrewellto well as food donation, during pkyedacridealntiefaMbefigfcl
/j\yK S:pi M-Od?: A«iMahama,on Monday May. the Vice President, after a duty Ramadan Fasting.?■*. honour*. <> D.siJ Queen, the country. Queen thanked (he Vice “We need io n iou. fit President for inc l.u>.o»y dsnc rtk you have played tnbrittf- 
Tbey've got a very scnmis look on their facet and they've Counsellor lor r i.. i >* ftest.riz z, **• * ’**" r~ziz t? i~ M"»lin coTxrnuaitj :i 
just mentioned that they want to talk to you. Don't worry. at the Embassy of (be United were misconceptions between reach out to the Muslim com­ closer id locAnohah. 
Not all serious conversations turn out badly. Thai goes States of America, for his sup­ the Muslim communities and munities. baaay*".
double for this ooe. port for the government, and (he Americans, hence his visit Alhaji Alio Maham^on his The US Ambassador. 
Scorpio Oct 23-Nov21 (he Muslim communities. In to hold round-table discus­ Mary Carfo-Yattspfcdged tie 
particular, at the Castle, Os a. sions with the Muslim commu­ (rif*humanitarian Service, US readiness to svork with 
He was presented with a nities. throughout the country, stressing (hat be had ptayef) ■ Mosfim commnnltica. to in­it a very serious toot on their face, and tbey've significant role in the nailer^ crease their mderstanding, 
u> just mentioned that they want to talk to you. Don't worry.
certificate ofbonour, a smock. to enable them exchange
Pugu and Kente, for his wife. eas, especially the Muslim adding, *heaM» and education all serious conversations rum out badly. That goea 
VO double for this one. David Queen, who was ac- Mr Queen stated that his 
commusltKS. are priority needs of fee people 
-b. companied to the Castle by 3-year stay in Ghana, saw the On the fight against HIV/ hence, ~WewiD do aDtbev can Sagittarius Nov 22-Dec21 AIDS pandemic, Ibe Vice IVcsi- to brlp m tins direction".Mrs Mary Cariin-Yartes, US construction of projects at
You’ve never been one to miner wofds, but you’re e*po- 
ciaUy unwilling to waste time on small talk sow. Anything 
other dan yust the facts, ma'am,’will leave you cold — and 
whoever tries to put on* nw «i vmi will definitely feel that 
chill 
Capricorn Dee 22-Jan 12
It's time to take stock %/» RIMM ;OW value. That might mean 
balancing the checkbook—never your favorite pastime— 
or *t rmgbt go a bit deeper. Either way. give yourself a lfttlo 
time (o figure il out.
Aquarius Jan 20-Ptb II
You're nothinIn*# i fi fn noot tf afammoouuss f ofor rb beeiningg f rfereewwhheeeliln g, in ad 
categoric* W~ hy, however, you ma"y  be1  thinkin"g f iint ot elremrnsI Don’t be seared. If you’ve found thetted*a o!ff .
or the right person, go for it
Fab 19-Mare* 20
V &
A fVWurJ h dxni MjvvnJM how nkufatt — no, Im 
prkwinr o>ey am Wldmt ym fcmtng to uk, fhry't 
pnwfcle on. <Matjmon«l)y, rati, OMd
Daily Graphic, Tuesday, November 1,2003.
US embassy HV.
’•V-
assists Muslims rr
THE United Stains Embassy bus this year 
provided $60 million in food aid and imple­ it.
mentation of programmes geared toward* 
ensuring democracy, good coveronoce. pri- 
vute sector economic growth and basic edu­
cation in the count™ The facility a n* pro­
vided through the United States Agency fur 
International Development.
Additionally, the US government supports 
200.0(H) ptviple in Muslim communities in Ghana 
annually, which amount to $12 milliun every year i
Tin- inforniuiiun Officcr of the US Emba^y, i
Mr <’hnstonln»r Hodges, disclosed this in an inter* 
t|;iv \i"\\ w.th inc Dtufy (itofihu in Tam*t«r ui» Thur—
This* w i.« the pr*M*i»Ultion of food rt«-r » 
u».»i ru^i put- j«» vuri<m> Muslim cnsni»«in«uc-f -t 
Li.aiiat'^u iii the Wi*hi (tQiijd District ifld at the 
Outrai and Anbany.’i mosque* in th* Tamale 
nairni^lih.
A total of 1H0 bag* uf rice and 90 batc* ofaugar <
were presented to the communities.. 4 I
Mr Hodges observed that US intervention* :n i
the country covered the provision of clinics ant 1
community centres in Muslim communities ;
Ue stated that the “US is fighting is war *S 
agains*. global terror is in and not a war aga:n*t
Islam".
The information Officer observed that isLim i
Hits a religion ui peace, adding that there we.*e t
over seven million Muslims in toe US
According to Inin, the L‘b Embasav had Ue«. 
privileged w join the Ghanaian Muslim i^n.mun’ 
ty lo celebrate the Ramadan
The t.'hujfof Larabanga. Alhaji lhrt«lui > Abuiu. H
thanked the embassy for the gesture but chilled i»n &
the I’S government to assist the compnwitv tu 
rehabilitate the ancient mosque in tin urc.*. 
which s»-rve as a tourist attraction. }
'.er some educational items, including The Northern Kegior.nl Minister. Mr SVuifatv 
•♦!JcaKion Directur; fourth from right is Ahiihakar Sad nutm. noted th.-ii Mu.*!"i * k
nro/eci (GEPL ivnriincd ,t • Iih imIIv i/tuple and enin •{.- At««>mnoir.ity In i t - a t  f<mri*t* with Ituiniutv ml n
.'i • itu I *J*4: list ii.»« m-ilion uiiuld >'• MvijuCl
Ik'ijlf'f:. ; Wit' *a:i> 1«* .iD|iriiVc then I he f>nU)oi.v Ar» hbl.-ho;> uf Tamale t»reg»*r Ii
for U»! raUa-r rA iudur«l of oduca- Kpichav.i, urged Mu-lim* in pmy fur p4-.«o* i« ?n- 
Uir.f vail in Ilaglxm and far prosperity m the North HIK
*• -Ufc pt .
" ;3f* P-
b<:
:V*.
395
GHANA’S UKiCitSTlp^----------------------------------------
f, APRIL 9, >003. NO. 148794 PRICE: <1,
^Muslims 1 o pray 
for end to w ar in Iraq
MUSLIMS throughout t a country are to 
observe special fnsting on Thursday. April 10, 
to seek Allah's intorveniio in the war in Iraq.
Muslims .iiv nl.no Lo hold '•■ciiil j)!ny<:r.- “ii !‘r 
il:iy, Aprsi 11, m ask Allnl’ io <j Tvi'vc anil! iTlhi
v.-. r ir. Iraq In ar. end anti n*< I l! p' H I It: !>;;>» t fjUS.-
try and Cthui troubled par's . lilC tlf
A statement issued ir. Ac. 1 '-■> L i l t  L  0J. i l ' ’C l :  1
M';s!;rc Organisations in C aru 1 • '< ar.d
s.2Tiea by :ts President. Major rtcii Viho; 
•Voharr.rnea Kas&h. eaici M'.:#1 •:;s .'6*0 ."ir Mv cor. 
c* T.ed whenever pcatc in o; |MI’ in " i v : id .-
- si-rood.
It aairf. 'Wo detost. depart ma cur.cic.nr.
J...U terrorism in all their fori - and runr.!f:r
The tailed on ." JslilliH t(l , *1 ,s
‘;:16 Aid nrav fervently to ll • Almighty A: 
c.r.,v to halt the war in Ircc, b i also to end ,i LiitlV
uni opprweiun ;n oil parts o: i\« world.
' It r.o:c-J it the r::jr'!’ • wa- ir. Iraf :s r. •
brough; to 'ii, t-nu tirr-e',•  !V{/CrcU.S5t : < Afl.
affect the whe.e o'l”J'.:.airr. ;iari from the 
'>f innocent, dt fenceiess I-V civilians. t*sr
i-hilc’-en and mathcrs and •. v • Tn:*sn rJesiri.>. • i »n  si
ll'1. couhtry.
The - fitnluinenl calkf i\‘ Chi
! ants, lulai.iic scholars .
' nrr.ah lo r,- ke tlh:. the . « : J^on
'lolrJurr - nt prryors c” I
M IV VV' yjjjcnce. terro
* o vv i .y :t<o>>
V ^ry\ 
fMandint , l ' . ».:i nnni \  
'■'l peatt'ful *kijitcnce in * 1 ’ U;Ol‘d
. .-u.T.nisai ' #>?■■
101
Muslim coalition calls for end of war
THE Coalition of Mus­ should rather seek to pro­
lim Organisations, tect and preserve and not the name of justice to the 
Tbe
Ghana (COMOG) has destroy the integrity and innocent Iraqi victim*.* it ing. should oat be made fc
called on the United authqrity of the UN. saidThe statement
States of America and adding that "bjr unilateral­ su&'s&siz
the United Kingdom to ly launching this war. the expressed gratitude to all 
respect and heed the US has effectively under­ peace-loving people of the 
Kan > |«aii«! uunets 
world who boldly vowed tenee * k afawrad appeals of the vast mined the integrity and The
nugority of the world authority of the UN and their disapproval of the war 
for an end to the war this has serious implk*- and tuged them, as well as 
against Iraq. uons fur the security and Muslim and Arabcounlnes. 
It said COMOG peace of the world' to continue to exert moral 
unequivocally deplores the ‘America should stop and other forms of pressure on the US and the l?K to maturity and ranam cjfc> ongoing rar and described this war in the name of God 
its repercussions as unfor­ in wltucn it trusts, in the ensure a speedy end to the 
and pnwrfd m Uw* &£ 
cull and Uving bom.
tunate and an affront to the name of humanity and in war
conscience of humanity
This was contained in a 
press scnirmi-nt issued by 
COMOG in Accra yester­
day and jointly signed bv 
its Prxsoenr. Major trtd* 
Monammed blasah. and 
the Genera) Secretary, 
Alhaji Mohammed Batin 
Alhassan.
It said as Muslims, they 
are saddened by the spate 
of killings, devastation and 
mayhem now being inflict 
ed on the innocent and 
defenceless people of Iraq, 
especially women, children 
and ti* aged.
The statement noted 
that "while we of COMOG 
abhor terrorism in all its 
forms, w© Crown on the 
decision of the US to defy 
the United Nations CUN) 
and the overwhelming 
wortd opinion and wage the 
war against Iraq”
It said as the wnrW«
398
\ <*wU
.. NewspaperTĵs. QJL̂om̂Date:
Muslims grateful to US embassy
  . ThTits.'.  was w  hI__e__  (9. ^# . THE National Chief n Mr 
. Ghanaians for working 
Imam, Alhaji Osmanu Queen and Mr Anthony closely with the embassy 
Nuhu Sharubutu, present­ Yowel, also of the embassy, and expressed the hope that 
ing a certificate of honour called oh the Chief Imam to it will continue to bring de­
to Mr Duvld Queen Coun­ say goodbye after their term velopment to the country.
sellor for Public 4 ffairs of of office in Ghana, and also The Chief Imam said 
/*“ -■.. i> ress to introduce the in-coming the US should not see 
■i the economic officer, Joseph muslims as enemies but 
.uuuice to the Ellis. rather as people fighting 
|'(lb*..,i, Community in Mr Queen, thanked the for a worthy cause.
Ghana. Muslim Community and Picture: Stephen EJT»h
399
The Accra Daily Mail, Thursday, December 16,2004 LETTERS/IMEWS
Terror has no place 
in Islam - Imam
At&u lddraisu Hendi cited a Hadith in dialogue as I see hatred, war together in unity 
A Muslin chaplain at which Prophet Muhammcd and bloodshed when I look He said the US Government 
Georgetown Uoivcnily in said anyone who attacks around the world*. after the September 11 attack 
Washington D C Imam Jews and Christians attacks The world. Imam Hendi said. in 2001 has taken various 
Yahya Hcndi hat condemned him, and said h« saw no Is a small-integrated village measures to protect 
extremism and terrorism reason why a Muslim could in which people must American Muslims from any 
■inrrihing both as ^avmc pUni a bomb at a Christian coordinate and work possible recist attacks. He 
no place is lstam*. 'imam place of worship for such together in peace for it to said more mosques were 
Yabjra who is on a week’s acts go coatraiy to the survive. He said Martin built in the US in the last four 
visit to nllwl iw lh# teachinp of the Prophet Luther King Jnr named the yean than it was done during oo
National Chief bum Sheikh Allah, he said, ’challenged three enemies of the world as the last ten years. He said the 
Usmanu Nubu Siunibtmi. us in the Holy Koran to reach militarism, racism and US boasts of as many as 
The voices of extremism Mid out to one another, but not to poverty, but said all these 6,138 mosques, 447 Islamic 
uara ism, he said, "are not despise one another... I enemies could come lo an schools, and S colleges. Imam Hcndi (left,) and Imam Shanbutu 
voices of Islam*. !»»■■ believe in the need for end when people work Contd. on page 8 to a warm embrace
We want more devt 
projects - Tema residents
A number of residents
In the Tema 
J. ^municipality, have 
called on President Kufuorto 
use his second tenn in office 
to initiate more development 
projects and. create jobs 
especially fof the youth In tho 
HnrbourClly ;>
Random sampling of views 
by the Ohana News Agency
APPENDIX 4: ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTS
sssm m
h'om I Oa.SiO, CSXKBATi MiCA.iL
so i RBsroao unasrai, amjkhs.
Ho it of Marsh 5th. 1313.
Repeated to HSttBSra imaSTi.B, AXitt. (s«tln*)
Volloving far yoar information. Kxottenant rad oonst«cnetlfln 
have been erased onrag the Labano Syrian oolory ahioh rubbers 
aaae 10,000 nesfeers In ft-ench Toat AlVloa owing to a rodetratiou 
notice Mhloh applies only to ths» and forelpiors ejuhoui nationality 
end uhloh they Interpret as a prslL~d nary no** to fadblllantic*. %rUm
state that thin measure has not been taken Us Morocco, Algiers or my
other Sarrltory, and oonsldor It as j rt another pibof of tbs hostility
nhlah the local authorities hare samj tested tovardis then Atiing raeant
years, ^hay a<ld that they do not pn woe to oo-.pl r vlth this order*
I have dealined to reoaive a depoteti cm of leading Vlu* and hart
explained that this la not a matter i it sbUh can interfere.
Copy of despat oh to Ford$i OfTioa ft lloea.
' . >. «• ,r:.
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5JC ■>'&'
p
(*)
Ctrl'
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401
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H* C* S* f No.
The action of the French is viewed with 
some Bpprehension here by the Syrians who fear 
that a similar order may be introduced here.
Some of the Syrians hei«)have expressed a desire 
to Join the Home Guard b'jit it is believed that 
they do not like the idei> of beings posted to 
.Aflli_cen Platoons.
2. It is anticipated hat quite i number of 
Syrians in French Africa will apply to enter 
British Colonies in orde 1 to escape conscription.
v
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2.U.U3. cam SSIuNSR,SHE GOLD CC AST PCJLIC3.
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uaao til o (toy orWtl&PTJOPS, between ,y- unwriD *L 1BLM
( horoinnrtor cnllca tjhc '■ucnoraotor" wnlcn ecpresnlot wnerc, tnc 
contoxt ao rojulnvo err muate lnciu/'.oi ltn rqproaaitstlvra, «c<iita i, 
asoi©\8, ote.) iin HuO. rtitll ltn HcakjjfiirtGra 1*? jic$r<*». 
acting by ltn WJraei.ok, B1U3K SauKu, with tjio conocnt, ooncunvr.cn 
knowleilco nfid approval oi‘ the BonKl of Dlroctorfi rf-d Kanogoaait 
of the Organisation oil ono Toi’t hpjyAnaftnr call od the lot Party, 
aid THE IflJSLIH UOIEUMTY of Koti Bar, SIXiataBa vicr !Tokoradl, 
cHnna, '(hcrcliioi'tor collcfi tho"Safariclary ucsssunity" which expre­
ssion whore tho contort oo ro-rulreo or admits inoluoo Its rcpresft- 
ntotivos, otfcnta, nsnip-'.s, oto.) acting Uy tlic viccr Umlna^i or 
tho MAaJIUAU-aJO,iH tXi HlWTAUl OOHUIVl'iSn, BHKtHH YU SI? YAKU3U 
IbhahIu with the conacnt eoncurrcttco knowledge cna app'ro vsl or the 
Muclln Com unity at Kohl Bar, KffloJcatta via TafcorBCf at the .other 
Part ho rein ait nr ealloa the Zna Party..
TtoisusjB tho 1st,Party, Bcnd'aotor Organisation., has expressed 
a acnlrc to ac$ilro tj plot of land, construct'a OoaplDX Hos&ic
end ottKfr rncllltloii to he run, monogcyi Mid supervised 
hy its osn ^K>olntc?.}xhA», the 2x1 Party, tho Bciiaa&ory uoectBilty 
agrees to worship, p*cy ana reoa q’ranic lc3eoncr In- taie Uoq-tuo as 
a coagrcsatton T7ithout any laterrcronco by any other 'boiy/berswns 
with the rnmnlug, management and supervision or the' Itoa-fic ty tie 
SHJOlntcxI HU4l. . '^.£
JPu .ftusiUUta t\ic Bcnefactor Ora.misatict tho 1‘s t Party continues . a a ■
to run, manage ana; supervise thCiMosouo,- the £c&cri clary Goaxunlty
the 2na Party Trill assist ‘to m^iintnln tho aps.Tue Coop Id .-ad its
surrounilncB to avoid filth mfl oth'er UAacsl vatic'ok thr ccf^jooid.
, - I' f! *' ; . >< •. "
NOS/ THiSBfOKtS it io licrohy mutually agrec^that^tho Parties ••
heroin hcrcty nsreo. xaot tnc 1st'Party ir. clothed with the sole 
authority end rcrcgatlw to elect, appoint ,*,a lnstal an Hue ror 
the operation -nrt raa.in^ or the Uonnuc U9GI>ler eUoBlrt the need 11
arise.
IH WITriaaS BEERSOr Tns PaktIjsS ttBKSV) ha'JZ nsjtUfc'iO SaT TKilK tsjffub 
Jllv SEALS i'H£ BH.a'D Y&flk K1HST AaOVn HjarXiSif.
BXCtJfljj 8BJSLt:u <11D DULIVii_-!I.'D ay ]
BUS Bll-tnH.WjWiU StlBjR «/UUSU - 
UJtSCHOK, A MJnTnU Alj-ISSLMIl j
If I ‘JHa PHkbjsw Ci 0>‘s ]
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KUHA VjA TAKOKAjJL In. HtJS 
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ali- yuj+uoAii <y
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•: i I : n- •■ ■:
The contents of this; Agi'ce:vr.i J 
have"bit«h foadu over Interpreted ) 
and explainotl to the deponent ■. )
(the only illitrnto among the * )'
; t&gntitorl os) In the Hausa J
Lancuago "by All Billnh of Effia- ) 
kuwavla.TakoradJ. . a n d  he scc.cC •) 
perfectly to l*ive underr.tool. sac ) 
"before, niking his laark/thucb-print.)
stotef ^ -Se.ic.0HfM • ‘ ' ras' )  
£L0Tt+ DAT OfH^E^D.>E^2CC2 I
BKi‘0 Re. tic
TrUWBK
O-CB or BHOPJf
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On tho ^jjv<tay ^
Hi tho ..SvaT!^'nor.ft, this matronent wa> 
before ae by the Oath a" thr witnliw>o»ttl .1
.'MV.IAAtS— .to fcivc b^m ftuiy executed * 
within Rswod kHkTk SaEku.
arv>H UftuKR MY H.AJ1/ #<1) OirKlLlAJj Bit
MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD BETWEEN THE jgQUQQ COMMUNITY AN.B 
/ THE DIRECTOR OF ALMUNTADA SHEIK SASEP ANP HIS ASSISTANT 
• SHEIK MliZZU ON THE 21ST PF MARQH.jfigl
The Community and the Almuntada directors meet at the Chiefs house immediately 
^ *£ after the Jumu'a prayers. Opening prayer was said by the Imam Jibiril Alhassan
The first to speak was Sheik Saeed. he thanked the Community, the chief and his 
eBers for coming to the meeting and called for Allah's guidance in the deliberation*
He began his main speech by saying that, they had been made to understand that 
there is a serious misunderstand between the chief and Alhaji Ada mu Ali. Adding 
that if indeed that is the case, then it will certainly retard the progress of the 
community.
It was pointed out to him that there is no misunderstanding between the two and 
that the misunderstanding is about the appointment of a new Imam for us by 
Almuntada and the ownership of the land on which the new Mosque is built In his 
reply Sheik Saeed said that, there should not be any misunderstanding what so 
ever about the appointment because they are not appointing an Imam for the 
community. What they are doing is appointing an Imam for the Mosque and by ther 
definition an Imam is a PREACHER and TEACHER
He want on to say that the community should not become apprehensive about the 
person they are bringing and emphatically added that he is only coming to assist 
our Imam
He also made the community to understand that, it has always been their police to 
have an Imam who is a native of the local community to be the Imam of their 
mosque, but pointed out that there are conditions attached
The first condition is that he should be somebody who have at least a certificate in 
secondary education in Islamic and Arabic knowledge The second condition is he 
must have a good character background.
The Sheik goes on to say that, if our Imam has those qualifications they were going 
to interview him and straight away appoint him as the Imam of the Mosque
Baba Ali pointed out to the director that our Imam has no certificate because he has 
not attended any institution, since it is the practice in our part of the world for Islamic 
students to learn at the feet of learned Mallams and Sheiks who don't give •'
certificates.
The Sheik replied that he has taken note of the situation adding that . one of the 
main duties of the Imam they are bringing is to assist our Imam to reach the level 
they want After which they will take their Imam away
406
r'
-2-
On the issue of who will lead prayers at the mosque his reply is that the two Imams 
will decide for themselves who will lead what prayers and at what time
On Jumu'a prayers he said one of them can read the sermon whilst the other lead 
the prayers. Alhaji Amadu asked them to give our Imam scholarship to study 
abroad but it was pointed out to him that, it will be difficult since he has no 
secondary education but they promised to help him get one by enrolling him in a 
school in Accra come September
Sheik Saeed said that last year alone Almuntada gave thirty scholarships to young 
educated Moslems to study abroad and it is his wish that within the next year or two 
the community can also benefit, and that the community must encourage its young 
men to study hard so that it can get a number of educated young men who can 
easily take over from Ollie in his absence.
On where their Imam will stay when he finally comes down, the Sheik said that they 
were going to rent a room for him in town so as not to depend on any body.
The Zongo Chief demanded that copies of all documents covenng the mosque and 
the land on which it is built must be given to him, the Sheik promised to send it to 
him the moment he gets to Accra. The keys of the mosque was given to Sheik 
Sulleymana Muzza deputy director of Almuntada.
The community was told that their Imam will come with an appointment and a pt> 
description letter.
A committee was set up to run the mosque they are - 
1. Sarkin Zabarma Chairman
3. Abdul Karim Treasurer
5. Mohammed Arko
7. Sulleyman Muzzu ^ JsXr
The following people were at the meetino
1. Sarkin Zongo Alhaji Amadu 
2. Sarkin Zabarma Tonko Gariba 
3 Sarkin Tuba Tanko Mallam Umar i - C
4. Baba Giwa Abdul Karim 
Baba Mohamadu Mallam Issa 
6. Ali Arzika Baba Tsalhatu 
7- Ollie Arzika Oantani
Alhaji Adamuali Mallam Amadu Agona 
Alhassan Jibiril flmarrrt
407
lu-saos •: !9T rn cos ca»««
Oear Sir. j ,
I have been directed by the Chief, the Mosque Committee and ihe enure Zengo 
community to inform you thai. they have 90: your letter end thv content* wet: 
noted
Hwever thay have also directed me to inform you that, they totally obert to any 
attempt oy you end your organiso’ion to impose an imam on trve community
I nave also been 3/ecicO to inform you that, you ore einer conscousty or 
unconsciously going against the letter ana tne spiot cf the agreement made 
between your organisation era ttie community on the 21 s; ol March 2003
The community have no problem with the coming ol the Imim in any way what 
. so ever.
The problem lies with Ihe doles of tne tmsm you era bnnyrng
1
Per ir the lone of your letter is anything to go by than, what you inteno 10 00 is to 
relegates our imam 10 the background, this the community shall not accept
Our siax: is informed by tne second paragraph of your latlar. ana 1 aooi^hi 
duty of incoming Imam is leading lha prayers Including Friday KutOah*’
This to us is a complete departure from tne ajreement -.vs haa *ith Site* Seeeo 
the former director and his assistan: Sheik Muau.
. Sir. incrder lo avoid future misunoerstandmg and confrontations 1 have eooosed 
a ccpy of the minutes of th6 meeting the community had \vitn your directors 
Sheiks Saeed and Muzzu. For you to study carefully this we oelieve wai net 
you to appreciate the community sentiments and lo avoid taken urvatera: 
decisions in future
Yours isfchUiy
Baba Ttalhetu
(Mosque Commlltoe Secretary)
- 1 0 1 ( 0  I2005
408
cMSAomcx
APPLICATION FOR JUSTICE
Background 07/04/0-1
In January 2002 Mallam Eesa Zakariya, a native and resident of Itcena Kyitn, 
Tarkwa forwarded an application letter to Suleyman Ahmed Mozu , (he Deputy 
Director of the above mentioned organization and also a native of Tarkwa For a 
Mosque to be constructed for Muslims in Becnakyim - Tarkwa.
With assistance and follow up from Mr Mozu the application was given a serious 
attention, hcnce a delegation was sent to Tarkwa to conduct a feasibility studies 
on the proposed site for the construction of the Mosque in Sept 2002.
After critical studies on the site the delegation realized that the proposed site is 
on! suitable for the project sincc it is far from the residential houses of the 
beneficiaries.
The organization therefore decided to shin the project from VViui Kiatc to any 
suitable location within the region.
Mallam Kcsa sensing the organizations intention to relocate the project out side 
Tarkwa called the organization that he has spotted a ncn site as a result of an 
appeal from three people from the Zongo community namely : J.ibril Alhsasan . 
AIhIuI karim Musa and llamed Mohamed Tanko to bring in the Mosque to 
their community. ”
Mallam ,Eesa in a good way explained to the team, the conditions of the 
organization if (hey arc ready to abide by.
Conditions:
(a) Al-Muntada Islami will demand a full transfer i
(b) After the construction of the Mosque, Al-Muntada Islami will appoint its 
Imam to the mosque.
In a response to those conditions Mallam Jibril Alhassan and his tram agreed to 
the conditions of Al-Muntada hlauii explained to them by Mallam F.csa.
This prompted Madam Eesa to draw the attention of the olTice on the new site .
A delegation from the organization visited the new site and met the chief and 
elders of /ongo community in Tarkwa in Oct 2002 with the accompany of 
Mallam ICassa .
I he delegation explained again to the chief and his elders the conditions attached 
to llic project which they accepted, hence the organization decided tu relocate the 
project in /.ongo .Tarkwa.
AGREEMENT: gmanaohtce
At the beginning of the prnjcct the organization and the zongo community signed 
mi agreement to govern the relationship between the two and the chief signed on 
behalf of the community .
'I'lie project was executed and duly commissioned in February 2003 at the cost of 
1X9,QUO,000.110 (one hundred and eighty nine million cedis).
. ■ t IA tMlV I*-**
AFTERMATH OF THE PROJECT * M'S'V V^^wS*- ^
When the project was completed Che organization appointed an Imam to the 
mnsquc in the person of Sliiekli Bashiru Yakubu , but the Chief and his 
assistants opposed to the Imam of the organization in contrary to the agreement 
and rather appointed their own Imam to the mosque in the person of Jibrill 
Alhassan , one of the above mentioned three people who appealed to Mallam 
Eassa to bring the project to zongo and accepted the conditions of the 
organization.
Our Imam was sent to the community in November 2003, but has been classified
as a 2”1 Deputy Imam for the mosque which is a breach of contract. Jf- i>k
^Ct C y f l l  CC*V
CONCLUSION: 1
Dear Nana We therefore appeal to your high office as the overall king of Wassa
Kiase traditional area to come into the aid of my organization and help restore
law and order to our mosque as agreed upon between the two parties.
Oxagycfo Nana Kwamena Enimil VI 
Oiuanlicuc of Wassa Kiasc Traditional Area,
Tarkwa.
Yours faithfully
Suleyman Almicd Mom 
Deputy Director & and native of Tarkwa
I‘lease find attached:
1. Copy of the agreement.
2. The document of Hie mosque.
1 A report containing information about my organization and its activities.
. I i. Ini
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TOWN * COUNTRY as^ +Vr.1 3^4-
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Permit No)^|iC>T|ScC/i|<jQ_j It
Tin YA^^S**- Wgr»>  PlANNINU AM*
PERMIT TO DEVELOP LAND OR TO CONSTRUCT OR CARRY OUT WORK 11'ON 
* A BUILDING WITHIN A PLANNING AREA
The r*. ‘_____________________________ Planning CommiUee, In pursuance of the |wn» itricgaiol
lo it by the Minister responsible lor Town & Country Planning under Secuon.
It (o) of the Town & Country Planning Ordinance, hereby grant] permission to:
  /vi.- N\.v.virr>vL^^. At. - T L & C _
_________________ VvJW - I (6i c~~,______
* (0) Develop the land indicated on the attached I/250* 1(2500*
S.te phn for ig_____________________________________   purposes.
and/or* (6) Construct a building indicated on the attached I/125* I/2500 site (dan for use as.
Vv\c. «J>+V I ?______
asd/or* (a) Demolish (b) Alter
(r) Extend (rf) Repair
(<) Renew the building indicated on the attached I/I 250* I/2500 site plan subject to the following 
conditions:— ___ .
I (/) Tlur tbe»ntk iscomptcled within .?. -----years/months from the date of issue. If development
is not completed within the time application for renewal mutt be made lo the Planning Com­
mittee.
fc\v_ Tc £•. T-& L> ^ s-t\G nO ygg. fe.Lc.-uc PusM r%tT^r-vn5JN
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andin accordance with the attached plan.
t Thu permit dots not relieve the applicant from the necessity of compliance with any building 
or planning regulations for the lime being in force in the Planning Area.
3. This permit does not imply or confirm the right of title of the applicant to the land or building 
comprised herein
Dated this. _". L - . day of JiV ^
By Order of the Planning Commiltee
411
LAND RELEASE AGREEMENT / MEMORANDUM 
01- UNDERSIANDfNG
LAND RELEASE AGREEMENT / MEMORANDUM OF 
UNDERSTANDING is hereby entered this 31" day of October, 
2002 BETWEEN the Chief and the Muslim Zongo Community, 
Tarkwa (hereinafter callal Ihc 'Lessor') on the one part AND 
Almuntada Al islami ol Accra (hereinafter called the 'Lessee) on 
the other pan
I IT IS HEREBY AGREED THAT:
(a) The Is party shall lease out Plot No.2 
.Situate ami being at Xongo/Tnrkwn to llie 2 
I’arn
(b) The 2l,d Party shall be subject to pulling down the 
existing old mosque, its place of which has been 
earmarked for the construction of the new one.
(c) The 2nd party shall construct a mosque on the said plot 
for the benefit of the Zongo Community.
(.d) The 2"J party shall have the right to appoint an imam 
for the Mosque in line with the procedure of the 
Al-Muntada Islami, but priority will be given to 
ihe Community.
2 The Local Imam shall continue lo exercise his officiating 
right as the Deputy Imam during (a) funeral (b) outdooring 
and (cj marriage
3 All documents, covering the mosque or the leased out plot 
shall be in the custody of the 2,ul party.
4. That there shall be no interference in the culture of the 
Muslim Community.
That the above terms ol this agreement are binding on both parties 
unless otherwise revoked
. n
412
SEALED.SIGNED/MARKED by the ) 
representative of the Lessor )
(Salifu Azika) Chief of Zongo )
Community in the presence of: ) LESSOR
(ISSAH ZAK.AR1A)
SEALED, SIGNED/MARKED by the ) 
representative of the Lessee )
(ALHAJI YAHYA SHAFIK) in the ) 
presence of: )
S+i.
(ABDUL MAJEED SUALAH)
OATH OF PROOF
On the J day of fHv, 2002 at^O 'clock
in the noon this  Instrument was proved before me by the 
parties herein to have been duly executed by them.
GIVEN UNDER MY HAND ANQ OFFICIAL SEAL
DEPUTY OPROT'ftmteTWifflRXmG H COURT - 
HIGH CC'JXT Ci'-ySTlCE
T
I — 11- <\X-C51>C2
413