“Ignore terrorist tag against me,” Islamic preacher urges Muslims

A renowned international Islamic preacher whose visit to Ghana has ignited controversy is downplaying his supposed links to terrorist groups.

The preacher, Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips is therefore urging Muslims around the world to ignore all negative media propaganda geared at tarnishing the image of Islam and his hard-earned reputation.

He said the tag on Muslim scholars who preach what the religion stands for, as terrorists did not start today, but rather dates back to the era of Prophet Mohammed (ASW).

Dr Bilal whose parents are from Jamaica and Canada arrived in Ghana for a series of public lectures, both in Accra and the Northern Regional capital-Tamale, which is the center of Islam in Ghana.

Dr Bilal’s arrival sparked some controversy after some media houses attempted linking  him to terrorist organizations around the world.

Reports that Ghana is hosting Dr. Bilal, who has been banned from entering several countries, including the UK, US and Kenya, provoked a firestorm of controversy and consternation among some Ghanaians.

On social media, news of Dr. Bilal’s arrival in Ghana drew condemnation from some users, who expressed fear that the Canadian citizen could incite Ghanaian Muslims to violence.

Ghana’s National Security Coordinator, Yaw Donkor, had to grant the state-owned Daily Graphic an interview to calm nerves on Monday, after reports emerged in a section of the media that an Islamic scholar with alleged terrorism links had been preaching in the country.

Before the commencement of the lecture, the deputy head of the Ambarryia Islamic Institute, Sheik Issahaq Tanko Abubakar stated that Dr Bilal’s is not a stranger in Ghana, particularly in Tamale.

He said Dr Bilal taught him and the head of Ambarryia Institute Sheik Saeed Abubakar Zakaria in 1974-75 and that it is therefore can’t be true that this year’s visit is his first time in Ghana.

But delivering a public lecture at Afa Yussif Ajura Mosque in Tamale on the topic; “Whose Responsibility is it to spread Islam,” Dr. Bilal described all publications seeking to portray him as a bad person since his arrival as false information and a deliberate attempt by some people whose aim was to stop the public lecture in Tamale. “Their false publications nearly stopped the lecture, I met with the authorities, the minister and the police commander and after carefully looking at my credentials and academic records, they gave the green light for the lecture,” he stated.

On sectarianism, Dr. Bilal said there are sects in Islam but they are those who deviated completely from the dictates of Islam. Anyone who believes that there was a prophet after Prophet Mohammed left Islam, Dr, Bilal explained.