Pass the anti LGBTQI+ promotion Bill without delay – Ashanti Regional Chief Imam tells Parliament
Ashanti Regional Chief Imam, Sheikh Abdul Mumin Haruna
The Ashanti Regional Chief Imam, Sheikh Abdul Mumin Haruna has joined the fight against the promotion of LGBTQI+ in Ghana and asked parliament to pass the Bill without delay.
Describing the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people activities as devilish, Sheikh Mumin Haruna asked Parliament not to leave the fight in the hands of only the proponents of the bill, but urged the leadership of the House to support the fight.
Speaking to OTECNEWS’ reporters Queen Zuleiha Nuhu and Ruth Catherine Takyi on Wednesday, November 10, 2021, the Regional Chief Imam reminded the parliamentarians that, they should not forget to represent the interest of the majority population adding that failure to pass the Bill will lead into chaos in the country.
According to him, Allah is strongly forbid the group, “its abomination, Allah is strongly against it so even if Parliament would have to vote to decide on the fate of the bill, we plead for it to be done transparently. This would enable us to know the voting pattern of our representatives in Parliament -whether they support good or evil, and to help us know the kind of persons we voted for”, the Chief Imam said.
The Bill before Parliament
Eight members of Ghana’s Parliament have jointly submitted a private bill to push for the criminalization of LGBTQI+ activities in the country.
The bill, which they term as a ‘Bill on the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values’, was presented to Speaker, Alban Bagbin on Tuesday, June 29, 2021.
The proponents of the bill want the promotion, advocacy, funding, and acts of homosexuality to be criminalized in the country.
In recent times, the LGBTQI+ community in Ghana have featured prominently in news, especially after the arrest of 21 activists in the Volta Regional capital, Ho.
Prior to that, police officers raided a house at Ashongman in Accra that was being used as an office of LGBQI+ Rights and shelter for the LGBTQI+ community.
The two incidents reignited public debate on the subject with some legislators including the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, publicly declaring their interest in criminalizing all forms of LGBTQI+ activities.
The bill, presented to the Speaker, is the first major step taken towards the criminalization.
Regional Chief Imam’s stands
Sheikh Abdul Mumin Haruna noted that homosexuality is “unacceptable behaviour that our God frowns upon” and “alien to the Ghanaian culture and family value system so the law will help safeguard our cherished family system in Ghana.”
He therefore, appealed to the Muslim community to continue to support them even as they continue to pray for Allah’s guidance and direction for the leaders to vote based on what the majority of Ghanaians want for the peace of the country.
According to him, LGBTQ+ when given opportunity will breed immorality into the country and spoil the youth.
According to him, anyone who indulges in any unnatural form of sex is to be killed per Islamic laws and that is how much Allah hates unnatural intercourse.
He further cited the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Holy Quran where Allah destroyed the whole city due to sexual immorality.
Source: Ghana/otecfmghana.com/ Ruth Catherine Takyi and Zuleiha Nuhu
