Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr. Osman Nuhu Sharubutu
leaves after the close-door meeting
Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com
By William Yaw Owusu
Accra, Wednesday September 19, 2012
As part of the to curb the violence that is
engulfing the Islamic world in the wake of a documentary that purportedly slanders
the Islamic religion, United States Embassy officials in Accra have met the
National Chief Imam and his elders to discuss how to forestall similar
occurrences in the country.
In the past week, wave of violent protests have
rocked the Islamic countries following the documentary allegedly produced by a
California-based Sam Bacile (whom many claim is also called Nakoula Basseley Nakoula), which
Moslems have argued that it is an insult to the Prophet Mohammed.
Countries
such as Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia,
Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan and Tunisia have witnessed violent
protests but it became deadly in Libya leading to the deaths of the United
States Ambassador Christopher Stevens in Benghazi and other embassy officials.
Close
allies of the United States have also not been spared as protests have hit Australia,
Belgium Denmark France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
According
to United States sources, the film: ‘Innocence of Muslims’ had been on social
networking site You Tube since July but it sparked outrage in September.
The US
Embassy officials: Pat Alsup –Charge d’ Affairs, Cheryl Anderson – Director of
USAID Ghana, Vanelle Trim – Political Section Officer and four other officials,
who had met the Chief Imam in Accra, declined to speak to the media about what
transpired at the close-door meeting.
Alhaji
Maman Gardo Mohammed, spokesperson of the Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr. Osman Nuhu
Sharubutu, later told the media that “the American Embassy yesterday called the
Chief Imam to say they want to come and see him in connection with events in
Libya leading to the death of their ambassador. They believed that in Ghana we
have a lot of Moslems and there is the possibility that there may well be some
reaction so this is why they came to see the man.
“What
transpired was that there was a dialogue of what happened and the implications
of it not only to Ghana but to the Moslem world.
“They
gave us their perception of what has happened and said it was reprehensible.
They condemned the video and said the condemnation is from the top – from the
President to the Secretary of State.”
He
said the constitutional provision that allows Americans to have free speech might
have been the cause of the production of the video saying “People are taking
advantage of that clause.”
He said
the visiting officials believed that whoever produced the film is ‘ignorant’
and did not ‘understand Islam’.
Asked
if he anticipates the protests spilling over into Ghana, Alhaji Gardo Mohammed
said “already it is happening all over Islamic countries and we have Moslems
here…We should not forget that Moslems have a shared vision all over the world
so the same reaction could come from here.”
“The
embassy official came to us to explain their feelings about the damages that
the documentary has caused. If you look at the reactions across the Islamic
world, we may not have gone on demonstration but we feel the same way because
our prophet has been abused.
“The Chief
Imam believes that the visit by the embassy officials is a mark of respect that
they have come all the way to see him on a matter of considerable implications
to Moslems all over the world.
“What
we are concerned about is that we told them that we do not want a repetition of
the current situation. If there is a way that we can put our heads together to
ensure that similar provocations do not recur, then we must find that way.
“We
were clearly provoked by the producer of the film and we made our feelings
known to the American.”
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