Several varied events call for celebrations in a lifetime. Such events come with some intrinsic relevance which brings to celebrants special feelings. Not limited to but especially, important national events and religious festivities call for holidays which give way for those events’ proper commemoration.
Zooming in on profound religious events in Ghana, most holy days are again holidays — or at worst, present time-off for celebrations where suitable.
As young lads who attended a Christian established basic school, it was an exciting moment for my twin brother (Kamal) and I, as we mingled and enjoyed those enthralling childhood moments with friends from diverse divides. Peers from different cultural backgrounds, different socio-economic backgrounds, and of course diverse religious-faith denominations.
In Christ Revolutionary International School (C.R.I.S), not a single moment came where a student was forced or consciously trained to admit the Christian beliefs and practices. Students lived as a family with no better bonding factor than sheer brotherhood. Witnessing students sing melodious Christian songs of praises as well as related hymns every morning at the assembly grounds, it was not uncommon to spot the Muslim students enthusiastically join the rhythmic session – and it was just fine for everyone.
Fridays were somewhat mini holidays for some of us as the school authority always allowed Muslim students to freely attend Jummah (Friday) prayers with no hindrance. Expectedly, this seemed a bigger holiday for our Christian colleagues as they had that unique chance to stroll and play around till their Muslim colleagues returned. It was not uncommon anyway, to see Charity escorting her twin friends, Faiza and Fauzia, to ‘Masalachin Jummah’ (Jummah Mosque) as she finds a suitable waiting place to lodge (in wait for her friends) during those prayer times.
One eye-catching moment in C.R.I.S came during the school’s morning assembly. Witnessing both ‘Al-Fatiha’ and ‘The Lord’s prayer’ been recited one after the other with such genuity – despite the religious divides students found themselves in, was one which epitomized tolerance. And yes! Christ Revolutionary International School (C.H.R.I.S) was purely a Christian established school.
Leaving High School, T.I.Ahmadiyya Senior High School (T.I. AMASS) – A Muslim mission school, was our (Kamal and I) next destination. It was again an amazing experience witnessing that affable bond Muslim students had with their Christian colleagues and vice versa. While Muslim ladies dawned their white ‘hijabs’, their Christian counterparts had their hairs beautifully shaved without any coercion whatsoever to practice veiling. Also with the existence of multiple denominations of the Christain faith on campus, prayer service was one holy activity regularly witnessed and freely practiced.
Weekends were free days open for Christian students to move out of the school premises to practice their religious obligations with denominations they so wished. Again in this certain, never was one forced to attend the mosque.
Being friends in the same dormitory, Mustapha never relented in waking Atuahene up early every Sunday morning as a reminder for him to prepare for his Church service. It was a lovely sight as Mustapha almost always escorted Atuahene to his church-related campus programs.
As also expected in this case, some Muslim students saw weekends as an advantage to somewhat stroll outside the school premises during those free times they never merit to have enjoyed. Hehehe!
At assemblies, the ‘Al-Fatiha’ and ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ were together recited as a prayer for the mornings – and this was just fine for everyone. And yes! T.I.Ahmadiyya S.H.S was purely a school established by a Muslim mission.
As I write this piece, I am imagining how unpleasant my life in basic school would have been if anyone forcefully instructed me to go to church or even to attend morning devotions. I again wonder how unpleasant the lives of my Christian friends would have been if they were coerced to pray five times a day during those Senior High School days. But thank God for schools like C.R.I.S and T.I. AMASS – Kumasi.
There is no denying the fact that as children at those young ages, such socially differentiating elements never determined who we freely mingled with nor did it determine who we closely befriended. It is worth noting that children as pure as they are, are better drawn to peers with whom they share similar interests and enjoy similar expeditions with. This, I believe, should be the determinant of a purposeful life towards universal good for the generality of humanity.
Undeniably, there have been cases where some schools profess that it’s not a big deal to force students to go to Church or Mosque – holding on to a reason that they have mandates for the establishments of their schools. However, the small deal is that there is nothing wrong with allowing the Christian/Muslim student to sit outside the mosque/church when the Muslim/Christian children are praying.
As stipulated in Article 21 (1) (C) of the constitution of Ghana, all persons shall have the rights and freedom to practice their religion and to manifest it. In this light, we must promote religious freedom in all facets of our lives devoid of emotions or sentiments. We should be taking cues from the Holy Books as the Holy Qur’an highlights that,
“There is no compulsion in religion”.
Also, the Holy Bible admonishes that,
“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but as servants of God”.
To this end, every individual, irrespective of the divide he/she may find him/herself deserves to have enough space and freedom to practice his/her religious credo in peace and not in pieces.
Peace!
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