Editorial: Let Religious Tolerance Prevail

Last week, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Christian Tetteh Yohunu and the Police Management Board (POMAB) convened Ghana’s religious leaders for a high-level interfaith meeting at National Police Headquarters. The meeting followed a period of tension in Ghana’s religious space, triggered by viral social media videos containing inflammatory remarks about Islam and Christianity. The fallout included two arrests, a physical assault on a suspect in police custody, and interventions by state and faith leaders.

The controversy began when Apostle Daniel Junior Yaw Adjei, a Christian cleric, was arrested over a video in which he allegedly made derogatory comments about the Holy Prophet Muhammad. Separately, Imam Masud Abdullah was arrested after a sermon video surfaced in which he allegedly advocated violence against people who insult the Prophet.

Tensions escalated further when a video showed Adjei being slapped by another man while handcuffed inside a police station. Police subsequently arrested the assailant and said he would face due process. The Police Professional Standards Bureau has opened a separate inquiry into how the assault occurred inside police custody.

Addressing religious leaders at the meeting, Yohunu called on Christian and Muslim leaders to demonstrate interfaith unity publicly, rather than confine messages of tolerance to their sermons. He urged them to appear together at public events, share meals and engage communities jointly, arguing that visible cooperation would send an important signal to young people about religious diversity.

“Let the public see Christians and Islamic leaders standing together, sharing meals, issuing joint statements and walking through our communities hand in hand,” he said, adding that such solidarity would counter the perception of religion as a source of division.

The Chronicle commends the IGP and POMAB for moving swiftly to engage Christian, Muslim and other faith leaders. With extremist groups active in the Sahel, destabilising states and harming civilians, Ghana cannot afford to let its record of peaceful religious coexistence be eroded by social media incitement. Religion has repeatedly been exploited by extremist actors to penetrate and destabilise states elsewhere in the region; the urgency of this week’s meeting should be seen in that light.

The events of the past week raise legitimate questions about religious tolerance, coexistence and the governance of Ghana’s online space. We ask: does Ghana possess the practical means to promptly restrict inflammatory content circulating within its digital borders? We do not raise this to suggest curbing freedom of expression, but Ghana cannot allow its information space to remain open to content capable of inciting violence between faith communities.

Ghana has long been regarded as a country of strong religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence among its diverse faiths and ethnic groups. That reputation for religious and cultural diversity is also part of what makes the country an attractive destination for visitors. It is against this backdrop that The Chronicle commends the Police High Command and religious leaders for coming together to reaffirm that tradition.

It was encouraging to see religious leaders seated together in dialogue. Beyond the law, Ghana’s culture and custom have long counselled mutual respect between faiths, underscoring the need to reject religious intolerance in all its forms.

Under Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, Article 21(1)(c) guarantees every person the fundamental right to “freedom to practise any religion and to manifest such practice.” Article 17 additionally prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, guaranteeing equal treatment before the law.

The Chronicle urges religious leaders to model tolerance towards other faiths. Tolerance requires respecting other religions and refraining from disparaging remarks about them.

We also raise, again, whether Ghana has adequate capacity to regulate what content is permissible online. This episode is a test case for how the country approaches ownership and governance of its digital space, ahead of future disputes of this kind.

In a world where the internet has become the neighbourhood in which everyone lives, Ghana must take a clear interest in what is permitted within that space. Content of the kind at issue here — inflammatory remarks by religious figures capable of inciting violence — should have no place in our digital discourse.

No religion is superior to another. Let every faith community respect the others, in the interest of Ghana’s continued peaceful coexistence.

 

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