The National Muslim Conference of Ghana (NMCG) has clarified that Muslim students in government-assisted mission schools are not demanding the construction of mosques on campuses, but are simply seeking the right to freely observe their faith.
According to the Conference, Muslim students only wish to be allowed to pray, fast, and refrain from compulsory participation in church activities.
The clarification comes in response to a joint statement issued by the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) and the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC).
In a statement released under the leadership of the National Chief Imam, the NMCG expressed concern over the November 25 communiqué from the Christian bodies, which it said attempts to justify the suppression of minority religious rights in state-assisted mission schools.
The NMCG described such positions as unconstitutional and contrary to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on government-assisted mission schools, signed on April 15, 2024, and later endorsed by the Ghana Education Service (GES) in April 2025.
“The Constitution guarantees every Ghanaian student the right to practice and manifest their religion, and mission schools that receive state funding cannot act as private religious enclaves,” the statement stressed.
The Conference also cited the GES Directive on Religious Tolerance (2015), which prohibits compelling Muslim students to join Christian worship, denying them the hijab, or preventing them from practicing their faith.
It further noted that the MoU signed by mission schools and religious authorities requires respect for religious diversity, non-discrimination, and recognition of students’ practices such as fasting and prayer.
The NMCG urged all institutions to uphold these agreements rather than violate them.
The statement also highlighted the National Chief Imam’s longstanding commitment to peace and interfaith harmony, recalling his historic visit to Christ the King Catholic Church in Accra during his 100th birthday celebrations as a symbol of coexistence.
The Conference condemned what it described as the oppression of vulnerable students and called on Islamic schools to equally respect the rights of non-Muslim students. It emphasized that Islamic principles themselves uphold freedom of belief.
To illustrate this, the NMCG pointed to examples from Islamic senior high schools such as T.I. Ahmadiyyah in Kumasi, Suhum Islamic Girls SHS, and Siddiq SHS, where Christian female students are not required to wear the hijab.
“This shows that religious coexistence is not only possible but already being practiced,” the statement concluded.
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