BARAKA

POLICY INSTITUTE

Social Justice, Equity & Progress

Baraka

Policy Institute

Social Justice, Equity & Progress

Pre-empting Extremism and Terrorism in Ghana- The Role of the Muslim

Pre-empting Extremism and Terrorism in Ghana- The Role of the Muslim
By Dr Rabiatu Ammah

Recent events of recruitment of Ghanaian Muslim youth into Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are very worrying and regrettable. For me, this comes as a wake-up call to all the stakeholders in the Muslim community especially leaders, Imams, Ulama (scholars), youth and the state security institutions. It behoves on these stakeholders to work together to pre-empt acts of extremism and radicalization in the country and to ensure that the Muslim youth are not used by extremists to pursue their selfish agenda.
Conscientization and sensitization of Muslims particularly the youth, who are easily prone to this and other negative influences, (due to ignorance of the essentials of the religion) is one major way this can be attained. This imposes an enormous responsibility on leaders at the various levels. Leaders must themselves have frequent brainstorming workshops in order to abreast themselves with recent global happenings to facilitate guidance of the Muslim populace particularly the youth, who are easily influenced. They would have to constantly engage the youth and address both theological and social challenges that confront them in the local communities and possibly refer them to counsellors.

More importantly, it becomes imperative to adopt newer methods of teaching and preaching Islam for a better appreciation of this noble religion by Muslims. The youth must be taught that the Qur’an and Sunna of the Holy Prophet (SAW) must be properly studied to forestall distortion of Islam. This being the case, the Minbar (Pulpit) must be used more effectively in the Muslim community. So, rather than serially preach verbatim from khutbas (sermons) prepared during the classical period of Islam and subsequently handed down, properly trained and certified Ghanaian Imams should frequently intersperse these khutbas with expositions on contemporary topics such as the issue in question and other relevant ones.
Parents and guardians also have a big role to play in the execution of this herculean task; the home being the immediate environment for nurturing and socialization. It is the duty of parents to provide Islamic holistic education for their children and instil discipline in them. Good parenting demands supervising and monitoring the activities of children and ensuring that they are studying under the right Muslim scholar at the appropriate makaranta. Frequent monitoring and interaction with wards is also critical in the overall nurturing of children. Unfortunately, this is not the case in most Muslim homes. It is important to reiterate that we must not quieten our children by rejecting their views and interventions. If anything, we should encourage their interrogation of issues even on Islamic dogma and teachings. Parents should not have problems with such behaviour but show patience as children debate them and hold contrary opinions. Organizing conferences and workshops on good parenting from the Islamic perspective to re-learn, share ideas and strategize on becoming better parents will be of immense benefit to society. Obviously, when parents are abreast with modern trends and come down to the level of children, it makes for effective bonding and openness.

Whilst good parenting is of the essence, it is recommended that Ghanaian Muslim children and the youth, majority of who are students at different levels, take their education seriously and remain focused. Besides, the youth must avail themselves of the true teachings of Islam at the hands of properly trained local scholars who are well rounded. However, the children and youth should go beyond the traditional way of accepting anything without question and interrogate issues in an intelligent and respectful manner. This emboldens them to discuss theological and other issues that arise coherently and confidently; it also enables them to double as peer counsellors. Given the necessary skills of discernment Muslim children and youth hopefully, will be discretionary in their use of social media from where some have been recruited into ISIS. Bearing in mind that our tertiary institutions are the fertile grounds for this recruitment, it is prudent for the Muslim Student’s Associations to intensify their sensitization activities of this scourge.

Whether Muslims like it or not, social media must not be condemned as haram (forbidden). It has become the school of many of our children and youth. It contains invaluable information. But like the double edged sword it has the good and the bad. Thus, professionals in the field of ICT should liaise with renowned Muslim scholars and endeavour to create platforms from where all particularly the youth, will access correct Islamic teachings.
Islam in my understanding is a peaceful religion that promotes the welfare of humanity and expects Muslims to be good ambassadors of peace rather than violence. We must all be security alert and report any extremist tendencies to our opinion leaders, ulama (Trusted Islamic Scholars), Imams and most importantly the security agencies for quick response. But above all (we) Muslims must be role models for our children and the youth.
The writer is a Senior Lecturer of the University of Ghana, and an Associate Research Fellow of Baraka Policy Institute (BPI). Writer’s email: rabiammah@gmail.com.