If Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia had any inclination of navigating the mistrust that a cross-section of the Muslim community had for him, now he has given them all the ammunitions to crucify him with his recent revelation that he was a staunch Christian.
While speaking at the 175th anniversary of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ghana (EPCG) last Sunday, said he was a staunch Christian and was an active member of the Methodists Boys Brigade.
Whatsup News has seen a certificate from the Methodists Church circulating on social media, where the Vice President was reportedly named “Mahamud Timothy Bawumia”.
“Growing up, I was an active member of the Methodists Boys Brigade until my mum changed to Islam…Till date, out of my seventeen siblings, nine are Christians and eight are Muslims…,” the Vice President said, much to the chagrin of some Muslim groups who have often suspected his reported lack of commitment to Islam.
The Vice President is reportedly being propped by President Akufo Addo as his replacement and flagbearer of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) despite stiff opposition from within the party.
His supporters however believe that the Bawumia ticket will effectively rally more Muslim voters to the NPP because of the Vice President’s Islamic background.
However, his admission has revived earlier-held mistrust for him in the Muslim community following his string of frolicking with the Christian community in the past few years.
“Timothy Bawumiah” has been seen kneeling in front of Christian priests for prayers; he frequents Church events like the recent EPCG one and his wife, Samira Bawumia is faced with serious criticisms about her Anti-Islamic mode of dressing and composure.
On October 7, 2018, Vice President Bawumia received a surprise 55th birthday celebration in the Church in Cape Coast.
On April 4, 2021, Dr. Bawumia spent his Easter Sunday at the Anglican Church in Accra, where the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Accra, Rt. Rev. Dr. Daniel S. Torto prophesied that “no man can dim” the light of the Vice President.
By 2021, Bawumia’s frolic had gotten the Islamic community extremely jittery, especially when, in 2021, “Timothy” knelt in front of a priest for prayers at the St. Cyprian’s Anglican Church, Bantama-Kumasi.
He received a massive backlash from the Islamic community for the act.
Among Muslims who strongly condemned him was Mallam Abdullahi, a renowned scholar of Islam who dismissed justifications that Bawumia’s flirting in Christian churches was a means of demonstrating religious harmony.
Mallam Abdullahi said that thinking was grossly naïve. The scholar quoted a verse from the Qur’an saying a Muslim attempting to demonstrate religious tolerance does not necessarily need to participate in the religious rituals of the other religions.
“The Prophet (peace be upon Him) is instructed in the Holy Qur’an to proclaim to the non-believers: “For you is your religion and for me is my religion” (Qur’an 109:6).”
This verse, according to the scholar, shows that the best way to promote religious tolerance is not necessarily through participation but through respecting of boundaries.
Again, the Vice President was taken to the cleaners last year when some Muslim youth groups accused him of ineptitude in the face of Christian-centric school heads persecuting Muslim students during the Ramadan fasting period, particularly at Wesley Girls Senior High School where the headmistress is accused of shutting down the ability of Muslim students to undertake fasting and prayers-a mandatory ritual in Islam.
The group pointed out that while remaining quiet in the face of Muslim discrimination, Bawumia had hobbled to worship at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Bolgatanga to celebrate the denomination’s First Mass.