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Islam in Ghana

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Ghanaian Muslims
Total population
19.9% of Ghana's population in 2021[1]
Regions with significant populations
Tamale, Kumasi, Accra (0.35 million and above; 2002)
Languages
English, French, Akan, Dagbanli, Hausa, others

Sects of Islam in Ghana (ARDA 2020)

  Sunni Islam (63.5%)
  Ahmadiyya (36.5%)
Islam by country
World percentage of Muslims by country
Africa
Asia
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Europe
Oceania
Islam portal
Ahmadiyya Central Mosque, Tamale, Northern region.

Islam was the first Abrahamic monotheistic religion to arrive in Ghana. Today, it is the second most widely professed religion in the country behind Christianity. Its presence in Ghana dates back to the 10th century. According to the Ghana Statistical Service's Population and Housing census (2021), the percentage of Muslims in Ghana is about 19.9%.[1]

According to a 2020 report by Association of Religion Data Archives, 63.5 of Muslims in Ghana are followers of Sunni Islam, while approximately 36.5% belong to the Ahmadiyya community.[2] The Maliki school of jurisprudence was the most common until Afa Ajura's reformist activities in the 1960s saw an overwhelming shift toward Hanbali doctrine.[3] Sufism, once widespread, has waned considerably over the years; the Tijaniyyah and the Qadiriyyah Sufi orders, however, are still represented among Ghana's traditionalist Muslims.

Muslims and Christians in Ghana have had excellent relations. Guided by the authority of the Muslim Representative Council, religious, social, and economic matters affecting Muslims have often been redressed through negotiations. The National Hajj Council observes the responsibility of arranging pilgrimages to Mecca for believers who can afford the journey.[4] The National Chief Imam of Ghana is the highest authority on Muslim affairs in Ghana.

Some metropolitan areas and cities, especially in areas with a significant Muslim population, have Islamic or Arabic schools offering primary, junior secondary, senior secondary and tertiary education.

History of Islam in Ghana

Islam was introduced by traders from the Sahel regions of West Africa. Prior to that, Da'wah workers had made contact and written extensively about the people including inhabitants of Bonoman states located in the hinterlands of contemporary Ghana.[5] The introduction of Islam into Ghana was mainly the result of the commercial activities of Mande and Hausa Speaking traders.[6]

Spread of Islam in Ghana

Islam spread through several pathways; the Mande came through the north and north-western corridors of Ghana while the Borno and Hausa traders came from the north-east. Islam is thought to have successfully penetrated southern Ghana following the "collapse of the Bono and the Begho states, and its increase was encouraged by the fact that the slave trade became more lucrative and competitive".[7] Furthermore, the British colonial administration in the nineteenth century enlisted people from various northern predominantly Muslim communities into the colonial army. Finally, the mass exodus of immigrants into forest areas of Ghana following the 1892 Sack of Salaga by joint incursion by Dagomba, Namumba and Gonja tribes depleted Muslim populations in the north while boosting that of the south.[8][9]

Population of Muslims in Ghana

Larabanga Mosque, built in the 15th century.

Muslim population is concentrated in northern Ghana and in zongo communities scattered across the country. Zongo communities are settlements predominated by immigrants from Sahelian areas of West Africa (Mandinka, Soninke, Hausa, Songhai, Fulani, etc.) who have adopted Hausa language as a lingua franca. Members of the Zongo community are mistakenly but commonly regarded as Northerners. However, the two communities are distinct, having different cultures and languages.[10][11][12]

The official Ghana Statistical Service census reports approximately 20% as being Muslims[13] although that figure is being protested by independent organizations. The Coalition of Muslim Organizations maintain that the final figures released in 2002 "contained serious flaws and as a result could not be used as reliable data for planning and projecting the country’s development agenda".[14][15] The call came at the same time groups mainly from the North petitioned the government to withdraw the results, expressing concern that some ethnic groups were underrepresented in the population count and that the service should open up their procedures for public scrutiny. CIA statistics put the population of Muslims in Ghana at 17.6 percent.[16] Other accounts place the figure at 25 percent.[17][18][19][note 1] The government of Ghana's allocation of funds for national development is heavily influenced by population demographics.[20][21]

Geographical distribution

According to the 2017 Census, Muslims constitute about 18 percent of the population of Ghana.[22]

Region
Population
(2017 census)
[23]
Percentage Muslims
Northern 2,479,461 80.0%
Upper East 1,046,545 45.1%
Upper West 702,110 40.1%
Ashanti 4,780,380 20.2%
Brong-Ahafo 2,310,983 17.0%
Greater Accra 4,010,054 15.9%
Western 2,376,021 9.4%
Central 2,201,863 8.7%
Eastern 2,633,154 6.7%
Volta 2,118,252 5.7%
Ghana 24,658,823 18%

Muslims constitute a majority in Northern Region, the biggest religion in Upper East Region and a large minority Upper West Region. There a slightly less Muslims in the southern parts of Ghana.

Sub groups

Ahmadiyya

Main article: Ahmadiyya in Ghana

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at, formally established in 1921, is the oldest continuous Muslim community in Ghana. Ahmadi Muslims were among the earliest Muslim missionaries in Ghana, and by 1957, they had converted over 100,000 (mostly Christian) people to Islam.[7][24] The first Ahmadi missionary to Ghana, Maulvi Abdul Rahim Nayyar, came upon invitation from Muslims in Saltpond.[25] At 36.5%, Ghana hosts the largest proportion of Ahmadi Muslims to the wider Muslim population by country.[4]

Sufi

See also: Sufism

Sufism is the most traditional form of Islam in Ghana because of its long presence, close association and tolerance for the culture of the indigenous peoples even though they have never come together to form an establishment or a unified community.[26] Prominent Sufi orders represented in Ghana are the Tijaniyya and Qadiriyya. Sufism is common among the immigrant Muslim population of Ghana, also known as the Zongos. About 37 percent of Muslims in Ghana say they belong to a Sufi order.[4]

Sunni

See also: Sunni Islam

Sunni Islam was introduced into Ghana as part of the 1940s reformist activities of late Ghanaian Mujaddid, Afa Ajura. Afa Ajura's campaign challenged the status quo of the Sufi doctrine and pitted him against the already established Sufi social structures. It was not until the 1970s that his message gained wide acceptance, resulting in a Sunni majority of Muslims, 63.5 percent (2020),[4] now affiliating with the Anbariyya Sunni Community. For most of its established time in Ghana, Sunni Islam was propagated across the country in Dagbanli - the mother tongue of Afa Ajura. Recently Sunni adherents in Zongo communities in southern Ghana (18% of Muslims)[4] have formed the "Ahlusunnah wal Jamaa" (ASWaJ) organization in order to reach the Hausa-speaking population. ASWaJ still draws inspiration from their parent Anbariyya leadership, headed by Afa Seidu in Tamale.[27][28][29]

Shia

See also: Shia Islam

Shia Islam is also present in Ghana. It came to wider prominence since the 1980’s when the Shia Lebanese businessmen came to the country and with the return of Ghanians who studied Islam in Iran. The population of Shias in Ghana is approximately one million. Shias freely operate religious schools and mosques.[30][31]

Other denominations

  • Non-denominational

Notable Muslims

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Ghana's Muslims have previously raised concern over the census figures which states that 17% of Ghanaians belong to the Muslim faith. It is claimed that Muslims represent somewhere between 20 and 25% of Ghana. Under this, the Ahmadiyya population would number almost 2 million. The Ahmadiyya Muslim community itself gives an estimate of over 2 million Ahmadis in Ghana. See:
    • "Muslims cry foul over population figures". News From Africa. Retrieved April 30, 2014. (ref 8)
    • Ahmadiyya Muslim Mosques around the World. p. 70 (ref 11)

References

  1. ^ a b "2021 PHC General Report Vol 3C, Background Characteristics" (PDF). Ghana Statistical Service.
  2. ^ The World's Muslims: Unity and Diversity (Report). Pew Research Center, Forum on Religious & Public life. August 9, 2012. pp. 29–31. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  3. ^ Mohammad Saani, Ibrahim (2011). The decline of Sufism in West Africa: Some factor contributing to the political and social ascendancy of Wahhabist Islam in Northern Ghana. Montreal: Institute of Islamic Studies - McGill University. Archived from the original on 2014-12-15. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
  4. ^ a b c d e The World's Muslims: Unity and Diversity (PDF) (Report). Pew Research Center, Forum on Religious & Public life. August 9, 2012. pp. 29–31. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  5. ^ "Islam in Ghana - Report". HI/OB/IINA. IslamicPopulation.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  6. ^ Pontzen, Benedikt (2021). Islam in a Zongo: Muslim Lifeworlds in Asante, Ghana. The International African Library. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-83024-9.
  7. ^ a b Turkson, Peter-K. (1 October 2007). "Ghana, if Islam Becomes an Enigma". Oasiscenter. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  8. ^ J. A. Braimah, J. R. Goody (1969). Salaga: The Struggle for Power. Historical Society of Ghana. p. 222.
  9. ^ Abdulai Iddrisu (2009). Contesting Islam: "Homegrown Wahhabism," Education and Muslim Identity in Northern Ghana, 1920--2005. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. p. 283. ISBN 9781109220643.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ^ "300 Year Stay In Ghana Does Not Make You A Ghanaian". Al-Hajj. Accra - Ghana. GhanaWeb. 29 March 2012. Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  11. ^ Yahaya, Tanko Ali (31 July 2013). "NDC's Phanton Sympathy For The Zongo And Northerners". Independent Minded Zongorians. Accra - Ghana. GhanaWeb. Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  12. ^ Yahaya, Tanko Ali (5 August 2013). "Zongo:the eleventh region?". Accra Ghana. GhanaWeb. Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  13. ^ Field Listing :: Religions Archived 2014-05-12 at the Wayback Machine.cia.gov. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  14. ^ Amos Safo (2002). "Muslims cry foul over population figures". Ghana. NewsFromAfrica. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  15. ^ "International Religious Freedom Report 2006 Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor". US State Department. Archived from the original on December 12, 2019. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  16. ^ "Field Listing :: Religions". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 2020-03-07. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  17. ^ Ed. John L. Esposito. "Ghana, Islam in". Oxford Islamic Studies. Archived from the original on December 19, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  18. ^ Ahmadiyya Muslim Mosques Around the World: A Pictorial Presentation. USA: Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. 2008. p. 352. ISBN 9781882494514.
  19. ^ Hashim, M. Ali Mahdi (PhD) (1 March 2013). "A Journey Through Islam: Muslims have come up well in Ghana". Arab News. Saudi Arabia. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  20. ^ h olger Weiss (2007). "the expansion of Muslim ngo's in ghana" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  21. ^ Branoah Banful, Afua. "Can Institutions Reduce Clientelism? A study of the District Assemblies Common Fund in Ghana" (PDF). Harvard University.
  22. ^ "Ghana Census 2010 statistics". Archived from the original on 2020-10-23. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  23. ^ Ghana Archived 2014-11-13 at the Wayback Machine at GeoHive.
  24. ^ Nathan Samwini (2006). The Muslim Resurgence in Ghana Since 1950: Its Effects Upon Muslims and Muslim-Christian Relations Christentum und Islam Im Dialog Christian - Muslim Relations Series Volume 7 of Christentum und Islam im Dialog Christian - Muslim Relations. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 342. ISBN 9783825889913.
  25. ^ "Jamia Ahmadiyya International Ghana". Jamiaghana.org. 17 April 2013. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  26. ^ Steven J. Salm (2002). Culture and Customs of Ghana. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 224. ISBN 9780313320507.
  27. ^ "Al Sunni Muslim sect gets new leader". GNA. Tamale Ghana. Ghana Web. 23 June 2007. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  28. ^ "Brief history of the coming together of the Ahlusunnah wal Jama'a in Ghana". Archived from the original on December 19, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  29. ^ "Anbariya Sunni Community". Archived from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  30. ^ "Shia Muslims in Ghana". Archived from the original on 2021-06-02. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
  31. ^ "Muslims in Ghana". 3 December 2018. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.

Further reading

  • Hanson, John H. The Ahmadiyya in the Gold Coast: Muslim Cosmopolitans in the British Empire (Indiana University Press, 2017).
  • Ryan, Patrick J. "Islam in Ghana: its major influences and the situation today." Orita: Ibadan Journal of Religious Studies 28.1-2 (1996): 70–84.
  • Skinner, David E. "Conversion to Islam and the promotion of ‘Modern’Islamic Schools in Ghana." Journal of religion in Africa 43.4 (2013): 426–450.
  • Weiss, Holger. "Variations in the colonial representation of Islam and Muslims in Northern Ghana, Ca. 1900–1930." Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 25.1 (2005): 73–95.
  • Wilks, Ivor. "The growth of Islamic learning in Ghana." Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria 2.4 (1963): 409–417. online
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