In honor of Eid ul-Fitr, I would like to share with you the story of my buddy Ismaila from Kumasi, whom I choose to call Alhaji despite the fact that he has never visited Mecca. Who cares, though? Many Ghanaians believe that a Muslim woman is called Hajia and any Muslim male is called Alhaji. That is all there is to it.
Friendship
The fact that we practice different religions has never been a problem or even obvious in our interactions over the ten or so years that we have been friends. This isn’t because either of us would rather avoid or sidestep the topic, but it’s just not a problem, and our friendship isn’t defined by our religious differences.
He once said that I would look beautiful as an Alhaji and playfully urged me to convert to Islam. As if to trap me, he even reminded me that I might have up to four wives.
I talked about how I would definitely struggle to give up my five daily prayers, my beer and pork consumption, and the entire fasting thing. This made us both laugh a lot, me with a cool beer and him nursing a soft drink. I informed him that I would take the name “Abdul Karim” if I ever thought about converting. He smiled.
I always make it a point to stop by his shop in Adum when I’m in Kumasi, and sometimes we’ll have lunch at one of the city’s fufu restaurants. I still hold his two wives, whom I call Hajia, in the highest regard. Both his mother, a “proper” Hajia, and his late father, a “proper” Alhaji whom I referred to as “Senior Alhaji,” regarded me as a son. For my friend, it would be “haram” to travel to Accra without speaking to me.
Alhaji would participate wholeheartedly in the festivities and all that Christmas has to offer, including going to the watch night services.
Overcoming the gap
I use my friendship with Alhaji to illustrate a larger concept that many people can relate to: friendships that transcend religious boundaries are rather prevalent in this nation.
This is especially true in multicultural cities like Accra and Kumasi, where a large number of Christians and Muslims have grown up and gone to school with friends from the other side of the religious spectrum and do not perceive any theological distinctions in their interactions. It gives me great pride to have many Muslims as close friends. Once more, religion isn’t even on the menu for our interactions.
Of course, to act as though everything in this field is shiny would be completely naïve. A few years ago, there were violent clashes between Christian and Muslim youths in different parts of the country over the years, the ban on fasting in some Christian mission schools during Ramadan, the near-volatile situation after Rev. OwusuBempah’s public “prophecy” about the venerable National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, and frequent clashes between Christians and followers of African traditional religion over the annual noise ban in Accra, among other issues.
Despite all of this, it appears that as a country, we have done a good job of making sure that these flashpoints don’t dangerously escalate and tarnish our positive interfaith ties. In this area, we have to jealously avoid complacency.
The National Chief Imam’s well-publicized visit to the Christ the King Catholic Church in April 2019 and the recent vice president Dr. Bawumia’s numerous church trips over the previous few years are two examples of high-profile optics that have been beneficial.
President John Mahama hosted a “iftar” in the Jubilee House just last week for Muslim leaders and a few diplomatic corps personnel to break their daily fast. With the exception of 2020 because to COVID-19 constraints, the Jubilee House iftar has been hosted annually since it was first launched by former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2017.
All of these well-publicized occurrences, along with the frequent football games between Muslim and Christian adolescents across and numerous unpublicized events that happen in different localities, serve as a reminder that we are a single nation and that our similarities outweigh our differences.
Fostering a shared goal
Religious overtones have been and still are present in a number of military conflicts throughout Africa. These conflicts combine elements such as ethnicity, political disagreements, and economic hardship to create a lethal concoction that leads to political instability. Somalia, Nigeria, Mali, and South Sudan are all excellent instances.
The state, in my opinion, must consciously and continuously foster a sense of shared purpose and a set of values that allow a nation to flourish and give meaning to material prosperity—irrigating the nation’s soul, if you will. This goes beyond the physical infrastructure of roads, schools, hospitals, and all the other gaudy signs of “development.” In this story, religious tolerance is crucial.
I celebrate by saying “Barka da Sallah” to all of my Muslim friends. May Allah accept your fasting and prayers throughout the holy month of Ramadan and bestow upon us all of his blessings and mercy.
I literally drool at the thought of breaking into Alhaji’s house on Monday afternoon and demanding my couple pounds of sallahmeat, accompanied by sobolo or orange juice, as I work tirelessly on my laptop on Sunday night.
After all, even though I am an honorary, temporary Alhaji, I may also claim to be one for the purposes of Eid.
Where’s my jalabiya now?
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