Ramadan was suscessful

A CROSS section of Muslims in Accra have described the just-ended Ramadan as very successful, especially because it was largely devoted to prayers for a peaceful election in December.
According to them, given the high stakes in this year’s polls, coupled with the recent political violence in the northern parts of the country, prayers were said for Allah’s favour to guarantee peace for the country before, during and after the elections.
Most of those the Daily Graphic spoke to at Achimota, Dome, Kokomlemle and the Kwame Nkrumah Circle underscored the need for the political leadership of the country to advise their supporters to shun any acts of violence and intemperate language.
Hajia Fati Bukari, a ‘Waakye’ seller at Achimota, told the Daily Graphic that for her, this year’s Eid-ul-fitr marked a turning moment in the political history of Ghana and expressed hope that Allah would “certainly see us through the period”.
She said her prayer was that Allah would give the country the right leaders to steer the affairs of the nation, come 2009, adding that she used the Ramadan to pray to Allah to guarantee her family long life and prosperity.
A cloth seller, who gave her name only as Jamila, stated that the Eid-ul-fitr should serve as an occasion for all Muslims in particular, and Ghanaians in general to unite, irrespective of their political persuasion.
Having devoted the Ramadan period towards a peaceful election, she noted that “Allah would not fail us”.
Two siblings, Mohammed and Aziz Yahaya, who are students and residents of Dome, noted that they hardly observed the Ramadan in the past, but this year, they resolved to observe the spiritual exercise in view of what they described as “turbulent political year for Ghana”.
Also in Dome, a “Hausa Kooko” seller, Zulfawu Alhassan, and a mechanic, Taufic Karim, both stressed their commitment to use the Eid-ul-fitr to reach out to friends opposed to them politically, with a view to promoting divergent views from supporters of the various political parties.
Some interviewees at Kokomlemle and the Kwame Nkrumah Circle who declined to mention their names to the Daily Graphic expressed similar views and agreed with the views of those who were interviewed earlier, but expressed anxiety about the polls, saying that the reported violence did not send positive signals about the country.