A century of faith and progress in Ghana:
Posted on March 8th, 2024
by A. Abdul Aziz
Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso, and Togo in the north, Ghana covers an area of 239,567 km2 (92,497 sq mi), spanning diverse biomes that range from coastal savannas to tropical rainforests. With over 32 million inhabitants, Ghana is the second most popular country in West Africa. The capital and largest city is Accra.
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, (peace be on him), stated that he is the same Messiah and Mahdi that Allah the Almighty and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had promised would come in the Latter Days, and thereby laid the foundation of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in 1889. He did this in Qadian, a small town in India, where few people were acquainted with him.
He also made a magnificent prophecy that his message would spread all over the world, and people from all walks of life would accept him, and more than that, they would do anything for him.
Fast forward 135 years, and now tens of thousands of people in Ghana, a country on the coast of West Africa, are commemorating a century of Ahmadiyyat in Ghana in the form of an annual convention (Jalsa Salana), the 91st convention of its kind in Ghana, where over 40,000 people were gathered to congregate only because it was the desire of their founder, Promised Messiah, peace be on him, that they do so for their spiritual and moral upliftment. How did that happen?
How Ahmadiyyat came to Ghana
A trained and devoted Christian clergyman, Benjamin Sam, converted to Islam in 1885. Using his influence, he converted most of his Methodist followers to Islam. In 1917, after his passing, he was succeeded by one of his faithful converts – Opanyin Adoagyir Appah, who later became known as Chief Mahdi Appah when he became an Ahmadi Muslim.
In 1920, Yusuf Nyarko Sahib, a Fanti Muslim, dreamt that white” men were leading his community of Muslims in prayer”. This dream was mostly dismissed because, at that time, Fanti Muslims believed that every ‘Whiteman’ was a Christian.
It was indeed divine intervention that a Nigerian Muslim, Abdur Rahman Pedro from Saltpond, confirmed the existence of a Qadian-based white” Muslim sect with a branch office in London. It was then resolved to apply for an Ahmadi missionary from Qadian, India. (Khilafat Centenary Jubilee Souvenir Ghana 2008, pp. 27)
The Ghanaian Muslims, at the behest of Chief Mahdi Appah Sahib, therefore took the unique initiative to contact the second Khalifa of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmood Ahmad in Qadian who sent Abdur Rahim Nayyar to Ghana, thereby sowing the seed of Ahmadiyyat for the first time in the country.
When Maulvi Hakeem succeeded Maulana Nayyar he soon realised that the rapid expansion of the Movement depended not only on preaching but also on the production of a cadre of an educated class.
To this end, Maulvi Hakeem opened secular schools at Ekrawfo, Saltpond and Assin Kwaminatta and urged Ahmadi Muslim parents to send their children to these schools. Maulvi Hakeem also arranged further education at Achimota College in Accra for some talented Ahmadi young elementary school leavers to train as teachers.
Islamic education continued to expand and in 1950, the first Ahmadiyya Secondary School was opened and the real revolution in Islamic education occurred in Ghana. Many more primary and secondary schools were opened to cater not only to Muslim children but also to other children, irrespective of their religion.
The Nusrat Jehan Leap Forward Scheme was initiated by Third Khalifa of Ahmadiyya Community Hazrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad (may Allah have Mercy on him), in 1970. The scheme saw the opening of six secondary schools, funded and managed by Ahmadiyya Community throughout Ghana, until the government took over control in the 1980s.
One such School was turned into a Teacher Training College, the first ever and only Muslim Teacher Training College in Ghana. These schools have produced many important personalities holding important positions in Ghana.
Again, under the Nusrat Jehan Scheme of 1970, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission established hospitals, mostly in rural areas, to cater for the health needs of the rural people.
The first three-day Ahmadiyya Convention held in Ghana on 2-4 August 1923 and these conventions continued to be held every year.
A plot of land was purchased in Essiam in the name of the Ahmadiyya Community on October 4, 1923, for a mission house and an Ahmadiyya school. (Al Fazl Qadian, 20 November 1923)
Hearken the voice of the heavens! The Messiah has come! The Messiah has come!” was translated into the local language and had the wider publicity.
In April 1970, Ghana was blessed with the first visit of a Khalifa when Hazrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad, third Khalifa of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community visited Ghana, on a one-week tour. He travelled to different parts of the country and spoke to thousands of Ahmadis and non-Ahmadis.
The 60th Annual Convention (Jalsa Salana) Ghana took place from 8-10 January 1987. Fourth Khalifa of Ahmadiyya Community Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad sent a special message for the occasion.
When the 61st Ahmadiyya Convention Ghana held on 11 February 1988 he personally attended.
For the 63rd Ahmadiyya Convention Ghana In 1990, the Head of State, Jerry John Rawlings, visited the Convention, stated:
Ladies and gentlemen, it is gratifying to note that since the first Ahmadi Muslim Missionary set foot on our soil on 1 March, 1921 the Mission has made tremendous progress. It has by word and deed made a significant impact on the people of this country”.
By its progressive and dynamic policies, the Mission has made an appreciable contribution to our national development in education, health and agriculture”.
It is very sad to sometimes hear some Muslims grumble that Ahmadis are given too much preference when it comes to jobs and positions. The answer is very simple, and has nothing to do with any religious preferences. It is a matter of qualification and experience, nothing more and nothing less.
It should be noted with satisfaction that the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission has pursued a policy of tolerance and peaceful co-existence with all other faiths. The Ahmadiyya Mission was the first religious body to advocate the establishment of a Council of Religions in Ghana, which has now been set up.” (Khilafat Centenary Jubilee Souvenir Ghana 2008, pp. 142-143)
President John Agyekum Kufuor at 72nd Ahmadiyya Convention Ghana of 2001 said:
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Ghana deserves commendation for its achievements. Even more important, the Mission must be praised for carrying out its preaching activities in a peaceful manner.” (Khilafat Centenary Jubilee Souvenir Ghana 2008, p. 140)
The next year, in 2002, he again attended a session and stated:
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission has, since its introduction to the country in 1921, preached peace, tolerance and peaceful co-existence with all other religions and groups of people. It has also been a partner of the government in many social development projects.
Its schools that have produced some of the finest citizens of this country and its hospitals and clinics that continue to bring medical care to the doorsteps of the rural folk eloquently testify to this.
For all these, the Government is very grateful. It is to be expected that other religious communities will emulate this shining example of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission.” (Khilafat Centenary Jubilee Souvenir Ghana 2008, p. 141)
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the Present Khalifa of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community arrived in Ghana on 15 April 2008 as part of the very first Convention celebrating a century of Ahmadiyya Khilfat (Spiritual Leadership) marking yet another unique milestone for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in Ghana.
Ahmadiyya Khalifa met President John Agyekum Kufuor the next day on 16 April 2008. During the meeting, President Kufuor spoke of how Ghana was developing in all fields and clearly acknowledged that this development was a direct result of His Holiness’ prayers.
On 21 April 2008, Ahmadiyya Head attended a reception, held in his honour at the Central Mission. The event was also attended by His Excellency, Alhaj Aliu Mahama the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana.
Although it is very difficult to mention all the events and milestones that have shaped the growth of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Ghana, a humble effort has been made to include the principal events that are worthy of mention.
This year, Ahmadiyya Community Ghana marks a new milestone; the 91st Convention (Jalsa Salana) is also a commemoration of 100 years of the Establishment of Ahmadiyya Community (Jamaat) in Ghana.
(Source: Al Hakam – London.)