A Muslim scholar, Sheikh Kishk Bashir Yandu, has clarified the misconception that Muslim students in Christian schools necessarily have to participate in all the activities there.
He explained that, for instance, in his experience, he had mates who did not even show a lot of interest in their own activities even though they were Christians.
He added in the true sense of the Muslim he is, he always knows that in such situations, Muslims only follow merely because of the state of being in an institution, and nothing more.
“In De-Youngsters, we were young kids and so we were just following authority and even sometimes, you find some of the Christian kids not even interested in worship, not even interested in singing and they complain. So, as a Muslim, if you realise that a Christian is complaining about a Christian activity, you get some respite from thinking that you don’t belong. In actual sense, you don’t belong there: that’s a fact, but because it’s school, you just follow it.
“For example, in St. Augustine’s College, mass was compulsory – you had to go to mass, and there was weekday mass… the issue is you are within that enclave and the enclave has rules and regulations, you just follow, because most of the schools also know that we are Muslims, we’re not pressured as much… We don’t join in the main religious activities,” he explained.
Speaking with Ismail Akwei, the host of The Lowdown on GhanaWeb TV, Sheikh Kishk Bashir Yandu, the Founder of the Al-islaah Centre Ghana, however said that he believes that regardless of the differences in religions, people should be respected for their choices.
“For me, I believe that when someone is having their religious activities, you need to respect it, and if you don’t believe that, don’t join them. Give them that respect, give them that distance, give them that reverence,” he added.
The Muslim scholar also spoke about major subjects pertaining to the common misconceptions that people have about Islam.
ghanaweb.com
