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'Religion should not form the basis of Gitmos discussion'

Chairman of the National Peace Council, Most Rev Prof Emmanuel Asante said the debate over whether Ghana should reject or accept the two detainees should be approached in terms of the security of the nation.

 

Chairman of the National Peace Council, Most Rev Prof Emmanuel Asante has asked Ghanaians not to use religion as the basis for either accepting or rejecting the two former Guantanamo Bay detainees.

According to him, the debate over whether Ghana should reject or accept the two detainees should be approached in terms of the security of the nation.

Several religious bodies including the Christian Council and Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches have called on government to return the two detainees for fear they might pose a security threat.

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But, the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu has urged the Muslim community and Ghanaians to accept the detainees on humanitarian grounds.

He said accepting to receive and protect the two Gitmo detainees was in line with the Islamic mission of compassion and humanitarianism.

"The Chief Imam’s position is that Ghana is known for these excellent attributes of hospitality, compassion, respect for human rights and those accolades are things that single out Ghana in the comity of nations. By receiving and protecting them, we give more credence to these attributes," Sheikh Armiyawo Shaibu, spokesperson for the National Chief Imam said.

However, speaking to Accra-based Joy FM, Most Rev. Prof. Asante said religious polarization on the issue of the ex-Guantanamo Bay detainee should be avoided.

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“I don’t think we should use religion as a means of addressing this issue… Security of the nation should be the prime concern of all of us. And we do not accept people just because they belong to our religion or we do not reject them just because they do not belong to our religion, but we should look at it in terms of the security of the nation.”

He believed that dialogue should be the way forward on the discussion on whether to accept or return the two former terror suspects.

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