The Bissa Chief Imam of the State of New Jersey, Bashir Seidu Sewuni, has backed the call on Bissa Muslims to invite their Christian kinsmen and women to Iftar programmes in the month of Ramadan.
Imam Bashir Sewuni says the call by the Greater Accra Bissa Chief Imam Shaikh Hassan Uthman Nombre is “in the right direction”, further backing it with a verse from the Holy Quran.
Muslims across the World are fasting in the month of Ramadan, an annual 29- or 30-day dawn-to-dusk ritual that heralds the Eid ul Fitr festival.
However, it is the daily Ifar (fast-breaking dinner) session that is increasingly becoming a unifying trend in the Islamic world.
Some Muslims have resorted to holding a dinner banquet at least once in the fasting month to end a daily fast.
And Imam Hassan Nombre, who is one of the prominent Bissas championing the Zekula campaign, on Friday, charged his Muslim brothers and sisters in the fraternity to extend invitations to their Christian kinsmen when holding a public Iftar, a call his compatriot in New Jersey has firmly supported.
“There is nothing wrong with that; it’s a call in the right direction, and it’s absolutely loudable,” Shaikh Bashir Sewuni said.
“The prophet SAW extended invitations to non-Muslims in different forms and accepted their invitations also.
“The Prophet allowed Christians of Najran to observe their Church services in the mosque when they visited him.
“So inviting them to our Iftar today is an avenue to show them our hospitality and eradicate the misconception about Islam.”
He said dealing justly and peacefully with a Christian is a demand from Allah.
“Allah said in Quran 60:8: ‘Allah forbids you not, with regard to those who fight you not for (your) Faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them; for Allah loveth those who are just.”‘
“If we don’t invite them to our programmes such as Iftar, Eid celebrations, etc., how can we herald the true messages of Islam to them?” he quizzed.
Ramadan marks the month when the Koran was revealed to the prophet Muhammad. During daylight, Muslims are required to abstain from food until sunset.
In Ramadan, Muslims are encouraged to do good in multiple ways; hence, hosting a public iftar is now almost a requirement for those Muslims who can afford it.
Some Bissa Muslims have already announced their intentions to host an Iftar Banquet in the coming days.
And like Imam Nombre, Imam Sewuni shares the same view of getting many Bissa Christians invited to feast with their kinsmen as a mark of zekula”.
“I agree perfectly with my brother, Imam Hassan Nombre, on that call,” he said.
“Living in Zekula should transcend religious boundaries, and this is one of the ways to show we love our Christian brothers.
“We need to give them an audience and have them participate in our activities so they can see the true Islam and be able to distinguish between the extremist western media Islam and the Actual Islam.
“That will be one great mark of Zekula.”
Read also:Invite your Christian brothers and sisters to your Iftar programmes – Imam Hassan Nombre
Majority of Ghanaian Muslims are in their 9th day of Ramadan as at Monday 11th of April.
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