Sammy Gyamfi has been quoted as saying that the National Mosque was built by a grant from Turkey and that former President Mahama was the one who facilitated the construction.
This emphatic claim by the NDC national executive appears to have irked the Progressive Zongo Youth, who issued a statement expressing “repugnance” at what members describe as deliberate lies and propaganda by Sammy Gyamfi.
They say Sammy Gyamfi is only using the national mosque for cheap political points in his anti-National Cathedral crusade.
The group, which described Sammy Gyamfi’s claims as completely false, referenced an official document which set the record straight.
The statement also cautioned Sammy Gyamfi to respect Muslims, the men who facilitated the construction, the philanthropic Turkish NGO that fully funded the mosque and the sanctity of the mosque itself, by staying away with his propaganda and politics.
“The Chief NDC Communicator, in his zeal to perhaps, bastardise the construction of the National Cathedral, was quoted by a number of publications, including Ghanaweb and Peacefmonline, as saying that former President John Mahama facilitated the construction of the National Mosque. He also also added
the National Mosque was financed through a grant from the Turkish government,” the statement read.
“The claim by Sammy Gyamfi that Mahama facilitated the construction of the mosque is an outrageous lie. As for the ridiculous claim that the mosque was funded through a grant from the Turkish government, it could only have come from a desperate propagandist trying to justify his opposition to the construction of the National Cathedral by making baseless claims with the National Mosque.
“These claims by Sammy Gyamfi are not only lies and a shameless attempt to score cheap political points for former President Mahama, using the National Mosque, it is also disrespectful to Ghanaian Muslims, and the philanthropic NGO, which fully-funded the construction of the Mosque.”
Below is the full statement:
PRESS STATEMENT BY PROGRESSIVE ZONGO YOUTH ON REPUGNANT LIES BY SAMMY GYAMFI THAT FORMER PRESIDENT MAHAMA FACILITATED THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE NATIONAL MOSQUE AND THAT IT WAS BUILT BY A GRANT BY TURKEY
The Progressive Zongo Youth has read with abhorrence the sickening politicization of the National Mosque in Accra, and the spread of lies about it by Sammy Gyamfi, the National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The Chief NDC Communicator, in his zeal to perhaps, bastardise the construction of the National Cathedral, was quoted by a number of publications as saying that former President John Mahama facilitated the construction of the National Mosque. He also also added that the National Mosque was financed through a grant from the Turkish government.
These claims by Sammy Gyamfi are not only outrageous lies, his attempt to score cheap political points for former President Mahama, using the National Mosque, is also disrespectful to Ghanaian Muslims, and the philanthropic NGO, which fully-funded the construction of the Mosque.
In recent times, we have watched on and ignored attempts by various uninformed groups to spread misinformation and lies about the origin and funding of the National Mosque; but when a senior member of a leading political party joins this lying bandwagon and deliberately spreads falsehood, we cannot allow it to slide without setting the records straight.
The claim by Sammy Gyamfi that Mahama facilitated the construction of the mosque is a blatant h lie. As for the ridiculous claim that the mosque was funded through a grant from the Turkish government, it could only have come from a desperate propagandist trying to justify his opposition to the construction of the National Cathedral by making baseless claims with the National Mosque.
We dare say Sammy Gyamfi knows very well his claims are unfounded, but he still pushed it through, knowing that public records and the facts can never support his falsehood. Sadly he deliberately chose to push through his lies, clearly out of his disregard for Ghanaian Muslims, the donors and the sanctity of the mosque itself.
We do not believe Sammy Gyamfi, and those who reason like him, are oblivious of the origin and all the facts on the National Mosque. If they are, then they should seek for clarity and stop the lies and cheap politics with the national mosque.
We recommend to Sammy Gyamfi and his ilk, the official commissioning brochure of the National Mosque published on Friday July 16th 2021. In this comprehensive document, everything about the mosque, from origin to funding are clearly stated.
In pages 11, 12, and 13 of the brochure, the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, in his welcome notes, gave a comprehensive account of the history behind the national mosque, including its origin, national mosque construction committee members, initial contributors and facilitators for the arrival of the Turkish NGO that fully funded the project through their charity organization. It was not a grant from the Turkish government as Sammy Gyamfi claimed, and nowhere in this comprehensive report was former President Mahama named as the one who facilitated.
In fact, the National Chief Imam’s comprehensive down-memory-lane account, rightly credits the facilitator of the National Mosque, through whom the Turkish NGO decided to fund the construction of the mosque.
Facts about the national mosque, just as the mosque itself, are sacred. However, it has now become a new trend, for both opponents and supporters of the construction of the National Cathedral, to distort these facts to further their own agendas. We can forgive others, for this ignorant or deliberate posture, which continue to disrespect the efforts of many stalwarts and the financiers, but we cannot ignore the deliberate falsehood of Sammy Gyamfi.
Sammy Gyamfi can go on with his anti National Cathedral campaign; that is his business, and not our concern. But in pursuing his propaganda, he should leave the National Mosque out of it, and he should stop giving credit to people for roles they did not play.
The National Mosque, is a sacred monument of unity for all Muslims in the country irrespective of political affiliation, and it should not be the place for this kind of unfortunate politicization by Sammy Gyamfi.
SIGNED
ABDUL RAHMAN ISHAQ
(CHAIRMAN)
