A concerned and a learned muslim, Mohammed Awal Khalilillahi has written an open letter of displeasure to Dr Samuel Ofori concerning his hash words of threats he has sent to the President over their decision to allow muslims in Wesley Girls High School fast in this ramadan period.

Dr Samuel Ofori has spit against such decision by the government and the Ghana Education Service and has threatened them to restrict it or they faced a whole christian demonstration against the ruling party.
Listen to voice below,

Been a learned concern muslim and an experienced educationist, Mohammed Awal Khalilillahi has taken to his social media handle to expressed his displeasure and disappointment in Dr Samuel Ofori with his facts labeled below,

“LETTER TO DR. SAMUEL OFORI

Dear Sir, it is my hope that this short letter reaches you in good health. While patiently waiting on time to break my fast, I came across your voice note on WhatsApp. I was quite taken aback hearing those strong words coming from a clergyman. I was hoping people of goodwill like your caliber would tackle this issue with the spirituality it deserves. And not the bottleneck reactions I see on social media by some Christian youth. Like Matin Luther King puts it, “shallow understanding from people of good will is much frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. As a man of God, people worshiping the same God but in different way should be of concern to you.

With all due respect Sir, you abhor the directive given by the ministry of education. But your statements fail to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the said directive. You strongly and emphatically stated that Muslims are in the minority and their opinions would not be accepted by the Christian majority. It is sad to hear a clergyman describe fasting, something which is of spirituality, as an opinion. Need I remind, or inform you, Sir, that, fasting forms one of the five pillars of Islam. It is thus compulsory on every sound Muslim to observe fasting, unless such a Muslim has underlying issues. Hence, whoever does not observe fasting and it’s intentional, falls out of the fold of Islam.

The presser released by the Methodist Church states that the policies of the school has been in existence for 186 years. It appears the Muslim minority will never make any single gain in their religious rights without determined legal and non violent pressure on government. Laws are made to uplift the human personality and not suppress certain groups of people. Laws that are unjust damages the personality and would only be changed by continuous physical pressure. History has taught us that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. I has to be constantly and painstakingly fought for.

Muslims are always the victims of discrimination just because we are in the minority. The education system since the colonial era has been designed to suit the Christian majority. But we’re not complaining. With all due respect Dr., wait until your son or daughter sit for a national examination on a Christmas or Eid day, then you’ll appreciate how Muslims are being discriminated against. Not until your son or daughter who is a Muslim go to school and come back singing Christian hymns, then you’ll appreciate that Muslim are being unfairly treated. My community basic School, Nyohini Presby primary school, where the student population is almost 100% Muslim, are all forced to attend Wednesday morning mass service. This is the extent to which Muslims are being unfairly treated, just because we are in the minority. But we are not complaining. The whole education system was designed to suit the Christian community. Yet, we are not complaining.

I get dazed anytime I come across a comment on social media that claims Muslims who find themselves in Christian missionary schools should do as they do.
It is easy for those who have not felt any form of segregation in their quest to worship to tell others to “do as the Romans do when in Rome”. When in fact, performing such religious duty will not and can never change the name of Rome. School rules should not be designed to segregate between worship. Rules that suppress the human freedom to worship are no rules at all. Making unjust rules that goes against natural law is just unfair as the rule itself.

There is no such Islamic school in the country that accepts only Muslims like you claim Sir. My alma mata, Ghana Lebanon Islamic School, had so many Christian students. And non of the Christian students was ever forced to join us in our daily morning devotions in the Mosque or our Wednesday religious service. They would at those times be in class until we were done and join them. Allah says in Quran chapter 2:256 that, “there is no compulsion in religion”. And also in Quran chapter 28:56, Allah says he guides whom He will and He knows those who’re rightly guided. For this matter, your claim that Christians are being forced to practice Islamic teachings in Islamic senior high school is unfounded.

How sad it is that you as a revered person is trying to use religion to threaten the president and his office. The president is a Christian, and you Christians are in the majority, and so the president shouldn’t allow natural justice to take it’s course? He should allow you the Christian majority to always have your way? This is very sad, especially coming from a clergyman. There is no such research that shows that a fasting student does not have the peace of mind to study or fasting actually causes ulcer. This is just a claim to prevent the Muslim student from practicing his or her religious right. Threatening the president, using the Christian majority to campaign against the government and inciting the Christian caucus in parliament against Muslims are acts of extremism. And extremism precipitates terrorism. The tone with which you even made those threats made me shiver.

I’m thankful however that some of our Christian missionary schools understand the need for Muslims to be spiritual and thus accommodate them during this holy month and even reserve warm food for them to eat when they break their fast. This is the religious tolerance we’re all rooting for. Interestingly, the colonial masters who built these missionary schools and have thence packed out of the country accommodate the Muslim minority in their countries. This is humanity beyond religion. I see people admitting to the peaceful coexistence between the Muslim and Christian communities in Ghana since independence. We all seek to uphold that peace. But there comes a problem when one community will constantly have to make sacrifices with their faith because they are the minority, to uphold that peace without any compromise from the other community.

Dear Dr. Ofori, Muslims are not insisting to change any established rules of the Methodist institutions like you claim. Muslims are just praying the Methodist school, for that matter, missionary schools, to allow them to be MUSLIMS in the institutions. Fasting and praying in the schools as Muslims will in no way affect the missions of such institutions. We are just reminding you that, for that peaceful coexistence to thrive, the Christian community should accommodate and tolerate the minority Muslim in their institutions. That is all what we ask.

Peace will be short lived when the majority fail to heed to the constant plea of the minority to allow them practice their natural religious right without any hindrance or intimidation.
Mohammed Awal Khalilillahi”