President Akufo-Addo has commissioned the $22 million ultra-modern National Mosque Complex in Accra.
The complex, the second largest in West Africa, and situated at Kanda, Accra, was built by the Turkish Hudai Foundation in Accra.
It comprises a 15,000 seater-capacity mosque, a library, an office complex and residence for the National Chief Imam, research centre, a senior high school, a clinic, an administration block, an auditorium, and a conference centre.
The mosque is a replica of the Ottoman-era historical Sultan Ahmed Mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque, located in Istanbul, Turkey.
Speaking at the colourful ceremony, President Akufo-Addo said it was heartwarming that Christians and Muslims are living together in harmony in the country.
He said the mosque, which is a symbol of Islam, is a beautiful addition to Accra’s skyline.
For him, “it is not just the beauty it adds to the Accra skyline,” but the fact that it demonstrates the religious harmony that exists in Ghana, which continues to be the envy of the rest of the world.
Apart from the religious aspect, the President noted that the mosque was not just a place of prayer, but a hub for social and cultural activities.
He, therefore, stressed the invaluable role the complex would play in positively impacting the lives of the people in Islamic communities in the country, saying, “a mosque is supposed to bring people together and not divide them.”
The President urged the National Chief Imam and Muslim leaders in the country to seize the opportunity to further foster the unity of the Muslim communities and other religions.
He charged managers of the Mosque Complex to take good care of the facility and build its profile as a tourist destination for travellers and devotees of the faith.
The President equally charged the Minister of Tourism to craft a strategy to make the edifice a place of pilgrimage and tourism.
He expressed gratitude to the government and people of Turkey for the sacrifice they had made to bring the National Mosque of Ghana project to fruition, saying, “you have indeed honoured our country with such a magnificent edifice. In the days to come, this edifice will serve as a historical reference point in Ghana-Turkey relationship.”
The land for the structure was donated to the Islamic community in replacement of the 1979 mosque demolished in the heady days of the AFRC junta.
Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia, the then Chairman of the Council of State, during one of the meetings to discuss the way forward for a replacement of the demolished mosque at Makola, Accra, in the 90s, reportedly remarked, “I wish this mosque would be built during my lifetime.”
He did not live to see it but his son, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, was there to support his boss President Akufo-Addo to unveil the mosque.
Eventually the Hudai Foundation, a Turkish organisation and two others joined hands to construct the Mosque Complex.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu