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Press Release
NPP
February 07,
2016
Speak Against Evil, It is
a Divine Duty – Bawumia urges Muslim Youth
“The prophet Muhammad (SAW) is reported to have said that
“when you see evil, fight it with your hands, if you cannot,
fight it with your mouths, and if you cannot, hate it in
your heart; but the hating of it in your hearts is the
weakest of faiths.”
“Contrary to this prophetic admonishment, today it has
become difficult to speak against the ills that go on in
society. Those in power have disabled us from doing so, by
sowing seeds of division amongst us on the basis of
ethnicity and Religion. So when people speak against the
evils that threaten the stability of our nation, they are
labelled as haters of a northerner or Ewe or Akan person or
a Muslim or a Christian. I urge you, my brothers and
sisters, to speak against evil. It is divine duty.”
These were the words of Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, NPP
Running Mate, on Friday when he delivered a lecture at the
9th Annual GMSA Congress of the University of Development
Studies at its Tamale Campus on the Topic “The Role of
Muslim Youth In Combating Extremism and Radicalism For
Political Stability.”
Alhaji Dr. Bawumia urged Muslims and the youth especially to
speak against evils like corruption which are the causes of
most problems of the society.
“I dare say that in the 21st century, considering the
ravages of poverty, disease, ignorance and violence that
have plagued the world, the greater urgency is for us to
take up the greater mission in fighting against the baser
instincts of the soul, which is the cause of the problems of
the world. For example, it is estimated that African
countries lose about 148 billion dollars every year to
corruption. I need not tell you what this amount of money
can do for the development of our poor nations. Yet these
amounts of money are stashed away in foreign accounts of
thieving politicians.
“Corruption is actually a euphemism for theft. The only
reason people steal so much money which they cannot spend is
greed. It takes great striving to fight against the evil of
greed, whose seeds exist in every human being. If we were to
eliminate the evil of greed, we will eliminate a lot of the
suffering that plagues our nations”, he stated.
The Vice-Presidential candidate of the NPP explained how the
menace of corruption is affecting the lives of millions and
how it poses a direct threat to the stability of the Nation.
“As young people, you should speak against the evils of
corruption. This is because the unemployment situation that
faces us today, which has virtually reached epidemic
proportions, has a direct relation to corruption. The amount
of money that this nation has lost to corruption can only be
imagined. These amounts of money could have provided jobs
for our teeming youth who roam the streets without jobs.
These young men and women who finished university as far
back as in 2006, who still do not have jobs.
“A large army of unemployed youth can easily serve as a
recruiting ground for twisted ideologies. In Nigeria, Boko
Haram never lacks a reserve of young, unemployed and
disgruntled youth, who are ever willing engage to in
extremism and radicalism even at the peril of their lives.
Indeed they perceive themselves as living-dead. So to engage
in radicalism and extremism which they are assured
guarantees them a quick death and an even quicker entry to
paradise is certainly an alluring prospect. We have a duty
as Ghanaian Muslims to be on the guard against a similar
prospect in Ghana”, he stressed.
Alhaji Bawumia also called on the vast majority of Muslims
who are good Muslims to speak up against extremists who have
hijacked the Religion of Peace.
“Groups like ISIL, Al-Qaeda or Boko Haram are cowardly
criminals hiding behind the cloak of religion to undertake
dastardly acts. What they do is evil, pure and simple. Islam
in the twenty-first century is at a cross road. It is a sad
commentary on the religion of peace, that today it is
credited with being responsible for all the acts of
radicalism, extremism, violence and destabilisation that
take place around the world: from ISIL, through Al-Qaeda to
Al-Shabab to Boko Haram. While we may meet in places like
this and say that what they profess is not the true Islam,
the reality is that we have allowed the extremists to hijack
the religion of peace; we have allowed them to pervert its
values; we have allowed them to define it. It has often been
said that it is the silence of the righteous that allows
evil to triumph. Let the good Muslims who practice the Islam
of peace speak up. Let our youth shun violence. Let our
youth seek the path of knowledge, for it is the path of
illumination”, he said.
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