Mustapha Hamid, an aspiring First National Vice Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has dismissed claims that there is an agenda to Islamise Ghana by Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
According to Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia wants to serve, not promote an Islamic agenda.
Speaking at the Danquah Institute’s 2026 Liberty Lecture on Tuesday, August 25, Mr Hamid said, “When we see Bawumia, we should see a patriotic Ghanaian seeking an opportunity to serve, not an Islamic project.
If you allow yourself to cross the boundaries of people’s faith, you will find the humanity in people and the common humanity that binds all of us. There will undoubtedly be people willing to spend money and manufacture fear by claiming that a Bawumia presidency would turn Ghana into an Islamic state.
“…That suggestion is not merely false; it is an insult to our constitution, our history, and the good sense of Ghanaians.”
Mustapha Hamid also detailed that the voting patterns of Muslims in the 2024 general election demonstrate the country’s strong commitment to religious tolerance.
He detailed that if there were an agenda to turn Ghana into an Islamic state, the 2024 presidential candidacy of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia would have provided an opportunity for Muslims to rally behind him on religious grounds.
Mustapha Hamid highlighted that the failure of Muslims to vote tremendously for Dr Bawumia, despite being the first Muslim presidential candidate of a major political party, was evidence that religion did not determine their political choices.
He further added, “So, Mr Chairman, I want to ask, is there an agenda to Islamise Ghana? For me, it does not seem that from the political choices of Muslims in Ghana that there’s an agenda to Islamise Ghana”.
“If such an agenda existed, Mr Chairman, the candidacy of Mahamudu Bawumia would have been the catalyst, and his candidature would have been the opportunity for Muslims to rally around such an agenda, but they didn’t,” he said.
He further cited voting patterns in several Muslim-dominated constituencies as evidence that religious identity did not translate into political support.
“Choosing a presidential candidate who happened to be a Muslim in 2024 did not in any way turn the majority of Muslims in Ghana from voting for the NDC. In fact, the polling station near the Kumasi Central Mosque at Asawase did not vote for the NPP, even after Dr Bawumia refurbished the mosque and commissioned it in 2023”, he stated.
Mustapha Hamid further added that constituencies including Ayawaso East, Ayawaso North, Asawase, Ejura, Tamale North, Tamale Central, Tamale South and Sagnarigu voted significantly for President John Dramani Mahama, a Christian, over Dr Bawumia.
“Muslim-dominated constituencies like Ayawaso East, Ayawaso North, Asawase, Ejura, Tamale North, Tamale Central, Tamale South, Sagnarigu, all voted massively for the Christian John Dramani Mahama against the Muslim Mahamudu Bawumia,” he said.
“So that means that, consciously, in the Ghanaian psyche, our religious differences do not spill over into our political consideration,” Mr Hamid said.
Mustapha Hamid further acknowledged Ghana’s longstanding tradition of religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence among Christians, Muslims and other faith groups.
The aspiring First National Vice Chairman of the NPP’s comments come amid public concerns over a possible Islamisation of Ghana, over discussions about the proposed introduction of Arabic as an optional language at the basic school level.
He argued that these developments had been used to fuel claims of an agenda to Islamise the country, maintaining that Ghana’s political history did not support such assertions.
Watch the video below:
“Bawumia wants to serve, not promote an Islamic agenda” — Mustapha Hamid
— CITI FM 97.3 (@Citi973) August 25, 2026
Speaking at the Danquah Institute’s 2026 Liberty Lecture in Accra, NPP First National Vice Chairman aspirant Mustapha Abdul Hamid urged Ghanaians to judge Dr Mahamudu Bawumia by his competence, not his… pic.twitter.com/rOuSRcb8d2
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