The Former Member of Parliament for Akwatia says there is nothing wrong with Mahama’s promise to construct morgues in Zongo communities when he returns to power after the elections.
He said even though the tenets of Islam do not allow Muslims keep the dead relatives for even a day before burial.
“Due to technology, it has become relevant that if someone dies, postmortem must be carried out and this may be contrary to the religion of the Muslims but it is a matter of law that if someone dies, there must be examined to find the cause of death as it is done”.
“One thing which is clear is that our manifesto is based on the interaction with people in our society and so when we went to the Zongos, we had a discussion with the elders of the Zongo Communities and Imams and the citizens of Zongo and they said one of the most important thing they need is to have mortuaries in some areas like Nima and Ashaiman Communities. ” he said.
“That is what we asked the elders of the Muslim communities and they said that what will bring an end to this issue is that if we are to construct morgues, we should make same available in major Zongo communities like Nima, Ashaiman, and Koforidua Zongos. This is because, whether we like it or not muslims in the Zongo communities will die”, he added.
Baba Jamal who is a legal practitioner and a Muslim cleric said the morgues do not violate the laws of the land and that even though Muslims are against keeping the dead, it is government’s responsibility to provide an environment for people who are not Muslims.
“There is freedom of worship in this country and everybody is free to pursue their religious beliefs and so if it is true that adherents of the Muslim faith are forbidden to keep their dead in morgues, then it is the responsibility of government to provide the environment for such category of people to abide by their religious tenets without any kind of state impediments,” he said.
Source: Ghana Waves
