Sheikh Hassan Hassan, Chief Imam of the Madina Central Mosque, has described the National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving as a needless exercise.
The Islamic cleric argued that the initiative is insignificant, especially when citizens lack patriotism and discipline.
He stated that Ghana has a large religious population, Christians forming the majority, followed by Muslims and other religious sects.
Despite this, he noted, corruption, indiscipline, immorality, criminality, and deception remain rampant in the country.
Speaking on Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, he stressed, “We have Christians who go to church every Sunday and sometimes even during the week, while Muslims pray five times a day—yet evil continues to thrive in the country.”
Sheikh Hassan called on citizens to “turn over a new leaf and be patriotic,” emphasising that without these qualities, “our prayers are a waste of time and resources.”
“Thanksgiving and prayer are things we already do regularly. This is nothing special. The African understanding of religion is problematic—we have a misconception about God,” he said.
“God has granted us the wisdom to act and succeed. It is not always about prayer. God has given us the land to till, sow, harvest, and eat. If we don’t work hard, we will starve.”
He further questioned the essence of the event: “While they were praying, they cited China, Japan, the US, the UK, and other countries that are more developed than we are—yet these countries do not set aside any special day for prayer and thanksgiving.
“So why the obsession with this exercise? We are joking.”
He concluded, “Christians and Muslims make up the majority of the population, yet the theft, corruption, and evil in society are mostly perpetrated by them. Look at the time people report to work—and we expect God to come from heaven and transform the country?
“That is ridiculous. The countries mentioned during the prayers achieved development through hard work and discipline, not laziness.”
