In part I and part II of this article, I discussed the nexus between religion (Islam) and politics in Ghana. I argued that often, the show of righteous self-indignation by some Muslims when it comes to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and his family, especially his wife Samira, has nothing to do with genuine concern for moral turpitude in politics. It has everything to do with the desire to keep the NPP perpetually in the minority in Muslim communities. I quoted the NDC’s 2024 Strategy Document to buttress my point. In this write-up, I isolate three issues that have come up at various times in this fourth republic to illuminate my point. In this article I shall discuss the issue of women’s leadership in Islam and how some NDC-leaning Ulama conspired to deny Hajia Alima Mahama the opportunity to be running mate to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2008.
Prior to becoming the flagbearer of the NPP in 2008, and during the presidential primary contest in 2007, Nana Akufo-Addo was already clear in his mind as to who will be his running mate if he wins the contest to become the flagbearer of the NPP- that person was Hajia Alima Mahama. He argued that Hajia Alima ticked all the boxes in terms of what constituted a balanced ticket-Hajia Alima was female; Akufo-Addo was male. She was from the north; Akufo-Addo was from the south. She was Muslim; Akufo-Addo was Christian. At a gathering of party delegates from the three Mamprugu constituencies in Walewale, I was translating his speech from English to Mampruli to the delegates. He told the delegates, who were predominantly, Mamprusis that, “if you vote for me to become the flagbearer, I shall make your sister, Hajia Alima Mahama my running mate.” I froze. Then I whispered to him that it was inappropriate for him to make such an assurance at that stage. But he insisted that I should say it because he knew what he was talking about and knew what he wanted. So, I said it to the delegates in Mampruli to thunderous applause.
Indeed, Akufo-Addo was victorious in the primary contest and became the flagbearer of the NPP. True to his word, he began consultations to get a consensus for making Hajia Alima Mahama his running mate. Within a short period of time, word began to spread that Alima Mahama was going to be Akufo-Addo’s running mate. Almost like a rehearsed script, some Ulama were up in arms against the decision. They started a whispering campaign in Muslim communities against Akufo-Addo’s decision. They told their flock, that Islam is against the leadership of women and they were not going to accept Hajia Alima Mahama into their mosques to campaign, if she was made running mate. A group from Tamale, calling itself Association of Islamic Teachers wrote to me (being Akufo-Addo’s spokesperson and a Muslim) and delivered a chilling and stern warning- they would mobilize the Muslim population against Akufo-Addo if he dared to make Hajia Alima Mahama his running mate.
They based their argument on an alleged saying of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as narrated by Abu Bakra, who is reported to have said: “When the Prophet heard the news that the people of Persia had made the daughter of Khosrau their ruler, he said: ‘never will any nation be successful if it makes a woman its leader.’ (Bukhari, Book 92, Hadith 50). This protest by sections of the Ulama and other internal dissensions to Akufo-Addo’s decision combined to deny Hajia Alima Mahama the opportunity to become running mate to Akufo-Addo in 2008. It is important to state that modern scholarship has questioned the authenticity of this hadith. But that is not the subject of this write-up.
So, years later and in 2024, when NPP had a male Muslim as candidate and the NDC had a woman as running mate, I was expecting the same indignation and disagreement from the conservative clerics who dreaded the leadership of Alima Mahama. On the contrary, many Muslim-dominated communities voted massively for the NDC ticket and Abu Bakra’s hadith did not find space in the vocabulary of the Ulama. Why was women’s leadership no longer an issue? Or does the hadith apply only to Muslim women? The answer is clear to me. The NDC will do anything to stop the advance of the NPP into Muslim territory. The constant shifts in position in matters of Islam and politics, suggests to me that it is not about Islam at all. It is about ensuring that Muslim communities do not cross over in droves to the NPP. And there is no better way to do that than to constantly invoke norms of Islamic morality against its leadership. Because the principles of Islam do not change.
So, quite frankly, I am no longer willing and able to take any lessons in Islamic codes of decency that are clothed in political garb. When it suits the NDC, they argue that the line between the sacred and the profane in Islam is blurred. When it suits them in a different context, they argue that there should be a strict recognition of politics as profane activity and Islam as sacred duty. Such constant shifts in position should not be entertained. I shall return.
