Section of audience at the lecture
The Presbyterian University College, Ghana (PUCG) has held its maiden “Discipline in Leadership Series” on the theme: “Inter-Religious Schooling and Christian-Muslim Relations in Ghana” at the Osu Ebenezer Church Hall in Accra.
The speakers, who are academic scholars, journeyed the audience through the historical antecedents of religious and secular education to contemporary realities in Ghana giving recognition to inter-religious schooling in Ghana.
The main speakers at the lecture, Rev. Professor John Azumah and Mr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, critiqued inter-religious schooling in Ghana vis a vis its merits, peaceful coexistence among the major faiths in Ghana and social development.
Rev. Professor John Azumah
Delivering his address, Rev. Professor John Azumah of World Christianity and Islam, Columbia Theological Seminary, USA, gave the history of Secular and Religious Schooling in Ghana making special mention of Jacobus Capitein, Andreas Riis and Edward Wilmot Blyden as persons who influenced education in Ghana.
The Christian scholar stated that Ghana is a inter-faith, inter-ethnic and inter-cultural country and has been so for centuries.
Rev. Professor John Azumah noted that considering the contemporary religious and irreligious realities in the country, “suspicions and aversions to inter-religious schooling and secular education,” only work to impede peace and development.
According to him “Inter-religious schooling breakdown cultural and religious barriers, prejudices, and promote educational and formational values, and long term relations” among the various faiths.
He stated that the Sunday schools, ‘Makarantas’, mosques and churches play crucial role in humanizing the religious other and promote dialogue, the quintessence to peace and development.
Rev. Professor John Azumah, however, concluded his address by cautioning the leaders of the various faiths to be wary and critical of foreign influence.
Mr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid
Taking his turn, an Islamic scholar and a senior lecturer at the University of Cape Coast, Mr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, recounted the relationship between Christians and Muslims and noted that even though there were interludes of conflict between 1980 and 1995, it has been largely peaceful
He quoted the constitution of 1992 which is the supreme law of the land to state that Ghana is a secular state and so no matter what our beliefs are we are subject to the enactments as contained in this constitution.
“It therefore means that we cannot set up schools purposely for the education of children who profess only a certain creed; except of course the purpose of that institution is to teach only principles related to that creed” he posited.
Mr. Adul-Hamid contended that no government sub-vented school can discriminate against any student on the basis of his or her faith.
In the wake of purported discrimination against Muslim students in the country, the devout Muslim cautioned that Muslim parents who are unsure of the Islamic foundation of their child’s faith should not send their wards to a mission-based school.
He said, “It is the reason why we have strictly government run schools and the mission run schools”, “We always have a choice and there are consequences for every choice that we make” he argued.
The Islamic scholar, however, expressed worry that even though there are more Arabic teachers available in Ghana to teach the subject than there are French teachers to teach French, Arabic is neither available for study nor is it examinable.
He called on the Ghana Education Service and the Ministry of Education to take steps to rectify this anomaly.
Rev. Professor Emmanuel Adow Obeng
The President of the Presbyterian University College, Ghana, Rev Professor Emmanuel Adow Obeng, in his opening address stated that the P. U. C. G. Public Lecture series seek to broaden the scope of dialogue towards the socio-economic development and religious harmony in the country.
He commended the matured handling by the major stakeholders of the seeming confrontation that resulted from a demonstration by Muslims in Takoradi in February this year against purported religious discrimination against Muslim students in Christian and public schools in Ghana.
“For us at PUCG, the problem at hand is not only sensitive to our peace as Ghanaians but quintessentially, our very development as people” he stated.
The President said “It is critical that Christians and Muslims in the view to pursue peace and development for the common good of humanity seek dialogue in resolving their differences”.
He further disclosed that PUCG deemed it a necessity to bring intellectual discourse to the table to enrich the processes and create good grounds for dialogue to resolving this sensitive religious issue non-violently based on understanding and necessity.
He argued that contemporary realities attest that the threat to a religion’s sacred practices and traditions is, to a large extent, the cancerous nature of modernization and secularization sweeping across the world and not necessarily another religion.