The Ghana Police Service, in collaboration with the National Signals Bureau (NSB), has arrested a 35-year-old Muslim preacher, Masud Abdullah, over alleged inciteful comments advocating violence against persons who speak ill of Prophet Mohammed.
The arrests follow growing concerns over inflammatory religious rhetoric capable of provoking violence and threatening Ghana’s longstanding tradition of religious tolerance.
Abdullah, an Imam, was captured in a video making the statements while delivering a sermon at a mosque at Ntensere in the Atwima Nwabiagya North District of the Ashanti Region.
The Police Cyber Vetting and Enforcement Team has also arrested Daniel Junior Yaw Adjei, alias Apostle Daniel JY Adjei, who was also captured in a video allegedly making derogatory and offensive comments about Prophet Mohammed.
The Police said investigations into both cases are ongoing and the suspects will be taken through due process of the law.
The Service has cautioned religious leaders, preachers, community leaders and social media commentators against using freedom of religion or expression as a justification for inciting violence or encouraging people to harm others.
According to the Police, such inciteful utterances constitute infractions of the law and perpetrators will be arrested and made to face the full rigours of the law.
Meanwhile, the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr Osmanu Nuhu Sharubutu, has condemned the inflammatory comments attributed to the Muslim preacher.
Sheikh Sharubutu stressed that calls for violence against persons who denigrate Prophet Mohammed are contrary to the teachings of Islam and have no place in Ghana’s peaceful and religiously diverse society.
The National Chief Imam’s condemnation has been widely seen as a strong reaffirmation of his longstanding advocacy for peace, religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence among Ghana’s various faith communities.
