President John Dramani Mahama has used the occasion of Eid al-Adha to appeal for global peace.
He urged Ghanaians to pray for peace in Bawku (Ghana), Sudan, and wherever conflict was raging, like Ukraine and Russia.
“Let us walk together in hope and never forget that Ghana belongs to all of us and not just a few,” President Mahama stated in his address during the national Eid al-Adha prayers held at the Blackstar Square in Accra.
The president said Eid al-Adha was not only about the physical act of sacrifice, it was also about compassion, sharing and community.
He said those who have had the means to sacrifice an animal must remember that the meat must be divided; one portion going to their family, one portion to their friends and neighbours, and one portion to the poor.
This, he said was the spirit of Islam, generosity, social responsibility and love for one another.
“Let this celebration be an opportunity to reach out to those in need, not just with food, but with kindness, support and presence of mind.”
He said Ghana would be at its best when Ghanaians cared for each other across faiths and backgrounds in the spirit of national unity and brotherhood.
On the matter of Hajj, the President said he was deeply aware of the financial burden it had placed on many Muslim families.
“This year, despite efforts, the costs remain high, even though we cut it. But I want to assure you that we are working closely with the relevant agencies and our Saudi counterparts,” he said.
“And if Allah accepts our supplications and the cedi continues to show the recent strength that it has shown, I am optimistic that next year we will see a very significant drop in the Hajj fare.”
He noted that if the Muslim pilgrims who went to Hajj this year were going at this time, the Hajj fare would be something like GH₵45,000.
Additionally, in response to the long-standing appeals from the Muslim community, the President announced that they had prepared a Bill to designate the additional holiday of Eid al-Fitr as a public holiday, which would soon be presented to Parliament.
He said once Parliament passed the Bill and it received Presidential assent, it would be a law and no longer by Executive Instruments.
The president said the move recognised the profound spiritual importance of the festival of Eid al-Fitr in Muslims’ life.
President Mahama said, as part of the manifesto commitments, he had directed the Minister of Education to begin engagement with the Islamic Education Unit to strengthen its operations and expand the recruitment and training of qualified Arabic instructors across the country.
He said the aim was to ensure that Arabic education was no longer marginalised and that Islamic schools had the necessary resources to thrive.
“In addition, I am pleased to inform you that work will soon resume on all the abandoned infrastructure projects at the Al-Faruq College of Education in Wenchi,” he said.
The college, he said, would become a critical institution for training professional teachers within the Islamic education framework.
The president said he had also instructed the Director-General of the Scholarship Secretariat with developing a dedicated support programme for Muslim students who wish to pursue advanced studies in key disciplines such as medicine, law, ICT, engineering, and social sciences.
He said this was part of the government’s broader equity agenda to empower all segments of the Ghanaian society to contribute meaningfully to national development.
