Top Imam vows to stop ‘demonic’ LGBT conference from coming to Ghana
Ashanti, Ghana, regional chief Imam Sheihk Muumin Abdul Haroun. (Rian Malan/ YouTube)
A regional chief Imam in Ghana has said that homosexuality is “evil” and he will not allow a “demonic” LGBT+ conference to “even step foot” in the country.
The Pan Africa ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) is set to hold its 2020 annual conference in Accra, Ghana, in July. It will be the organisation’s first conference held in West Africa.
According to Human Rights Watch, LGBT+ people living in Ghana suffer discrimination and abuse in public and in private, and are still living under colonial-era law which prohibits gay sex.
The Pan Africa ILGA conference aims to develop strategies to improve LGBT+ rights across Africa, protect queer youth and increase awareness of LGBT+ issues across the continent.
But Ashanti regional chief Imam Sheihk Muumin Abdul Haroun, who is a well-respected religious leader in the country, has vowed to stop the “demonic” conference from coming to Ghana.
According to MyNewsGH, the Imam said in a radio interview: “Wallahi tallahi [I swear to God] we will not agree; we Muslims, Christians and the traditional religion will all rise up.
“We will not allow them to even step foot here and not even the government can stand in our way.
“The country does not belong to them; it belongs to us so we decide who does what here.”
He described homosexuality as an “evil that must not be countenanced in any way because it is despised by God”.
He continued: “Allah does not permit that in any way and our Prophet Mohammed (SAW) said that if we see people who practice that behaviour, we should arrest them and kill them.”
The regional chief Imam said the Islamic faith community in Ghana would preach against the conference during the upcoming Ramadan period and Eid celebrations, and that it would announce its “devastating effects” at every outdoor event.
