Posted: Daily Guide |Thursday, 12 August 2010
By Charles Takyi-Boadu
Despite government’s claims that it has put the economy on a sound footing, the party’s founder, Jerry John Rawlings insists “Ghana is facing serious social, cultural and political challenges.”
He has therefore entreated all Muslims nationwide who would be fasting to pray for God to give the leadership of this country a good sense of direction.
This was contained in a statement issued by the former first family, Mr. and Mrs. Rawlings, as part of their message to Muslims for the Ramadan fasting.
“Our country, and indeed the whole world, is engulfed with several challenges - hunger, poverty, enmity, hatred, war and natural disasters,” the statement said.
The former President and his wife believe “these are signs of the negativity we create because we fail to express love to our fellow humans.”
It is therefore their prayer that at the conclusion of the Ramadan period, “we would have prayed for God to give us a sense of direction and to make us bold” since “Ramadan is an opportunity to pray to Allah for his mercies for him to give us strength of character to stay pure throughout the year and foster friendship, peace and love with our neighbours.”
The statement added: “Let us not lose this opportunity to seek Allah’s favour to turn around the atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust that has engulfed the world through concerted prayer” since “Ramadan gives us great opportunities and lessons, which we see through sight and insights.”
The Rawlingses asked Muslims the world over to strengthen cohesion and the feelings of compassion, love and the rebuilding of their respective common national aspirations based on great and high morals.
They asked Muslims embarking on this annual religious journey to re-evaluate their lives and enhance their inner purity, saying “Ramadan is the month of revelation of the Quran and the month of reading and reciting the whole Quran.”
It is also a month of significant demonstration of the love of Allah towards mankind and between Muslims and peoples of all faiths.
As Muslims embark on this month-long period of fasting, prayer and restraint from human pleasures, they urged them to use the opportunity to enhance the unity and strength of communities by praying for love and peace.
“Nana (Konadu) and I take this opportunity to wish you all a sound body and an enlightened mind and a pure heart so you may be able to fast and recite his revealed thoughts in the Quran, for only he is unhappy who is devoid of Allah’s forgiveness during this Holy month,” the statement said.