The Catholic Church and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Ghana are among the Christian and Muslim communities in the country who have organised prayer support for Ghana’s Black Stars in their third World Cup campaign.
Source/Credit: Peace FM Online
By Kofi Yeboah | June 14, 2014
Edited by Ahmadiyya Times
As the biggest football event in the world – the World Cup goes on in Brazil, global attention will be focused on unfolding events in the South American country over the 30 days.
On Monday the United States plays Ghana in the World Cup opener. Ghana knocked the Americans out of the last two World Cups with 2-1 victories, beating the Americans in group play in the 2006 tournament and in extra time during the round of 16 four years ago.*
By now, many Christians, Muslims, believers of African religion and adherents of other faiths, especially in countries participating in the World Cup, may have plunged into fervent prayers, asking God to grant their favorite teams success.
The Catholic Church and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Ghana are among the Christian and Muslim communities in the country who have organised prayer support for Ghana’s Black Stars in their third World Cup campaign.
Link between football and religion?
There is no reference to football in the Bible or Quran, but adherents of the two faiths believe religion has a major role to play in football.
According to the Parish Priest of the St Peter’s Catholic Church at Osu, Accra, Reverend Fr. Dominic Amegashitsi, and the General Secretary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Ghana, Mr Ahmad Anderson, football has a religious connection.
In their view, so long as people pray in and outside the stadium for their teams to win, religion has a major role to play in football.
Indeed, it is a normal practice to see players offering prayers at the beginning of matches and whenever the going gets tough in the course of the game, especially during penalty shootouts.
Mr Anderson says after undergoing physical training, the players need to pray for success in the game.
“Islam doesn’t abhor football,” he submits, adding that football offers a lot of good disciplines that are cherished in Islam.
Mr Anderson says the Ahmadiyya Mission even has a football team and that the mission organises games for the members, so for them football is a major activity.
“It’s one game that brings complete unity to the nation; everyone rallies around the national flag, and that is what religion seeks to do,” he says.
* - AP
Read original post here: Ghana: Football And Religion - Any Connection?
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Is there any ahmadis on the ghana national team playing in the world cup?
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