The National Imam of Shia Muslims in Ghana, Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Kamaludeen, has condemned the decision by government to host two ex-detainees from Guantanamo Bay, indicating that it could brew radicalism in the country.
Secretary to the National Imam, Seidu Anas, had, in an interview with Citi FM, said that “government should repatriate or relocate them to another country where they can better and conveniently interact and live their lives. Like the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Dubai, and so on. This is what we want government to do,” he appealed.
The decision by the Shia Muslims is in contrast to that of the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr Osmanu Nuhu Sharubutu, who posited that the two ex-detainees should be accepted on humanitarian grounds.
“Any ‘criminal’, who has reformed and wants to reintegrate with any society must be accepted on humanitarian grounds, according to Islam, and that we consider as a duty,” the Chief Imam stated through his spokesperson, Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu.
A recent attack by al-Qaeda affiliate, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, on a luxury hotel in the capital of Ghana’s northern neighbour, Burkina Faso, on Friday 15 January leaving twenty-eight people dead and scores wounded, has heightened fears of a similar fate befalling Ghana, especially with the transfer of the two former terror suspects.
“We are in scaremongering and destabilised times, especially at this crucial juncture where countries in the West African sub region are being threatened with terrorism. So, we think that the presence of these two individuals will give rise to extremism and terrorism in Ghana,” the Shia Muslims maintain.
Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby, who were held at Guantanamo Bay for 14 years for alleged acts of terrorism, will be hosted in the country for two years, as part of a deal reached between the governments of the United States and Ghana.
According to the Secretary, there is no assurance of the safety of citizens and the two must not be allowed to stay within the country.
Source: GhanaWeb
