A STITCH IN TIME: ON THE RISING RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE IN GHANA

  

                  In a day and age where cross cultural and cross religious interaction has become a mainstay of international relations, it comes as big shame for me to read and hear about how sensitive and divisive religion still is in the domestic affairs of countries. One would think today’s world would accept the individual, religious and cultural differences of others and not result to twisted, bigoted attempts to force everyone to think, live, act and be like them. But the reality is, shamefully, very much as appalling. Many people do not seem to have learnt any valuable lessons from the pains and losses that the religious conflicts that cloud human history have inflicted on our collective consciences. As a Ghanaian I have always prided myself in the notion that despite having a diverse collection of religions, my country is devoid of religious intolerance and its component conflicts. In fact, I regularly chided our sister-state Nigeria for not learning from our level of decorum and civility. However, within the past week, this pure, concentrated, unadulterated sense of “Ghana-pride” has been watered down by news of religious intolerance in the nation’s education system. Intolerance which (I am embarrassed to admit) have long existed in our schools but were glossed over and ignored because they benefitted the majority and the minority never really had the freedom to oppose it.

          Hindsight, as we know, is always 20/20. Looking back at my childhood days in Ghana, I now realize the many instances where the religious freedoms of my Muslim brothers were curtailed simply because they made the “mistake” of enrolling in a non-Islamic institution. Outside of the Islamic “makaranta” schools, every education institution in Ghana, as I can recall, operated on Christian values. Public schools are still run like the Christian missionary schools many of them began as and Christian customs like “the Lord’s Prayer” and Christian hymns are compulsory rituals done every morning of every school day. In private schools, the trend is much worse since administrators and school owners virtually force their religious beliefs on teachers and students alike. It is not uncommon to come across schools in Ghana where morning assembly is a time to sing Christian hymns, say Christian Prayers and listen to a Bible sermon before school starts. In the vast majority of Ghana’s schools, one day in the week (most often Wednesday because it is mid-week) is set aside as a day of worship, (Christian worship that is) where students sing Christian songs, listen to sermons and pray all under the militaristic supervision of teachers who will not hesitate to whip you for non-participation. In this way, non-Christians (both religious and non-religious) are forced to either “Christianize” or change schools. Given that the overwhelming majority of schools are similarly “Christocentric” the only viable alternatives are to move to a school that practices your religion, stop schooling or enroll in one of the virtually non-existent and ridiculously expensive secular schools Ghana has to offer. Is this not unfair to religious minorities? Is this not an affront to the intellectual development and the religious and education freedoms of our future leaders? IT IS.

            I am a Christian who has attended public Christian missionary and “Christianized” private schools my whole life. I did not see why non-Christians (mostly Muslims) would want to attended the same Catholic and Presbyterian schools I attended and not want to engage in religious activities of the schools. I thought they were egoistic deviants who simply loathed the status quo and were ready to rebel against it even if it came at the price of their comfort and the skin on their butts and backs. I did not understand why anybody would not go to church if you get to avoid the pain of a wooden switch or plastic cane by doing so. But now I understand and agree to the decisions of these “activists”. They were the champions of a course that many other Ghanaians had ignored and pretended did not exist. Their opposition to forced religion were met with answers similar in meaning to “If you cannot stand the heat, leave the kitchen”. Many were told to abide or leave the school while many others endured the pain of the switch and/or the guilt of sitting through a religious session you do not even believe in. As per the constitution of Ghana, missionary schools have a right to exist and operate based on certain religious values, this means anyone who enrolls ought to be aware of the responsibilities and demands enrollment comes with. For me, this point of view is only valid if similar opportunities for inexpensive, quality education and academic excellence exist in Ghana’s public, secular institutions. As it stands, that does not seem to be the case. The vast majority of the renowned and esteemed Ghanaian schools (from the basic school to senior high school levels) are either missionary schools or “Christianized” public schools where religious diversity is seldom respected. This means that supporting this view will be to imply that people settle for comparatively lower standards of education and this is while discounting added problem factors like location/distance and cost.  

  But why should a universal right as basic as education be denied to people because they hold different religious values and beliefs? Why should one group’s beliefs be forced on all under the guise of laws and regulations? Is religious freedom not a universal right anymore? Is this what our forebears fought for? Is this what our founding fathers and mothers meant by “FREEDOM AND JUSTICE”? Certainly not. The present problem is the result of years of ignoring the problem. We have been condoning such blatant disrespect for religious diversity so long that we know feel it is the “norm” and anyone who voices out the reality of the matter is castigated for opening Pandora’s Box. Instead of admitting the problem and seeking solutions to it, we prefer to take the path of least resistance; dismissing the problem as irrelevant or non-existent and heckling anyone who brings it up into silence so we neither have to relive the guilt of our past nor make the effort to change things for the better.

Mother Ghana was born from a struggle for justice and the freedom to belong. She was born to liberate, to free and to become a symbol of hope, liberation and freedom for all of Africa. By not tolerating our own on the grounds of religious differences, we spit on the graves of those who died to make that dream a reality. Through our intolerance of opposing religious views and beliefs, we infringe on the rights of our brothers and sisters, stifle our hopes for progress in peace and unity and invite unto ourselves the demons of religious conflict. Ghana is applauded worldwide as an oasis of peace in a troubled continent, we cannot and must not let our childish attitude to religious differences taint that good reputation. Ghana is for all of us, we each have a huge stake in the peace and development it deserves to enjoy. Any form of religious conflict will only set us back and make our recovery and progress a more daunting task. Mind you, it will be very easy for any form of religious conflict to metamorphose into an ethnic conflict given Ghana’s ethno-religious demographics. If this should happen Ghana will face a long, bloody and violent armed conflict akin to what happened in the civil wars of Nigeria, Burundi and CAR. I do not wish such ill for Ghana or for any country that is why I find it prudent to point out this danger so we can nip the threat in the bud.

THE WAY FORWARD

           So far, the recent bad blood over religious tolerance has been non-violent and I thank all Ghanaians for that. But we cannot bask in that fake glory only to sweep the problem under the rug. It is about time we all discuss this issue and find lasting solutions to it to ensure that it never surfaces again. We need our religious and community leaders to lead discussions on how well the various religious and non-religious beliefs can coexist peacefully in Ghana. This what I think can be done.

First of all the freedom of religion provided under Article 21 of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights must be respected, protected and upheld. Public schools must be as such- public; open to people of diverse ethnic, cultural, religious and national backgrounds and not committed to the propagation and indoctrination of the beliefs of any religion. Public schools should be prosecuted for human rights violations if they force any religious activity or beliefs on people especially where students are beaten or punished for not engaging in “mandatory” religious activities. Any religious practice or custom enshrined in the rules and principles of public schools should be flexible enough to allow the exemption of individuals who do not share those beliefs. For instance, non-Christians should be exempted from Christian worship on campus and vice versa. Missionary schools that opt to diligently abide by their religious beliefs and teachings must identify themselves accordingly and be prepared to enroll only those who share their beliefs while all other private, secular schools must either be totally unreligious or tolerant and supportive of the religious diversity of their students.

 School administrators, teachers, supervisors of the Ministry of Education and students and pupils should be empowered and encouraged to report and to punish all forms of religious intolerance that occur in schools. Misbehavior like bullying and discrimination resulting from religious intolerance or bigotry must be discouraged through fines, suspensions and other sanctions including jail time. In addition, school authorities must be sensitized on the need to respect the diversity of students and the richness it brings to the school through education and training seminars and fora.

We have only one Ghana, let us focus on making it our dream home and eschew all acts of intolerance and violence that threaten the peace and sanctity Mother Ghana has enjoyed thus far. Ghana is a unified system and our religious differences are one of the many different parts that make that system work. To make all parts do similar things will make the system breakdown into diverse unusable parts so let’s stay united in our effort to make Ghana the paradise it deserves to be. GOD BLESS OUR HOMELAND GHANA.