Shafic Osman: Lawyer Who Sued Wesley Girls Offers Clarity on Calls for Mosque, Details Emerge
- The man who filed a lawsuit against Wesley Girls' High School over alleged religious discrimination against Muslim students has offered clarity on some issues
- He has denied claims that they are demanding that Wesley Girls' High School and other schools build mosques for Muslim students
- Netizens who reacted to the post have also shared their views on the matter
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Shafic Osman, the young Ghanaian man who sued Wesley Girls’ Senior High School and the Government, has reacted to claims made by some people regarding his lawsuit.
This comes after he took to Facebook on November 25 to rebut certain comments a netizen made regarding the suit he filed in court.
Setting the record straight, Shafic, a Ghanaian lawyer and PhD candidate at the London School of Economics, denied claims that a reason for filing the suit was for mosques to be built in schools for Muslim students.
Source: UGC
He also bemoaned the notion held by some people who tend to see students as mere visitors who do not have constitutional rights.
“ Nobody is asking to build a mosque in our case. Commentary like this poisons public sentiments. But even if we were, the analysis cannot be to simplistically reduce spaces with a public character to a three-bedroom house in which you grant sleeping space in the boys’ quarters to a visitor.
The idea of the student as a passing visitor whose interests are not protected constitutionally is problematic. We have an imagination deficit in this country. We can’t imagine the community we are building past the inertia we’ve locked ourselves in,” he wrote.
AG files response against Wesley discrimination case
This comes after the Attorney-General, Justice Dominic Ayine, formally responded to the lawsuit challenging alleged discriminatory religious practices at Wesley Girls’ Senior High School.
The Office argued that Wesley Girls’ SHS was established and is operated under the Methodist Church of Ghana and is entitled to maintain rules consistent with its Methodist heritage and doctrines.
The lawsuit, filed back in December 2024, challenges the school’s alleged restrictions on Muslim students, including claims that they are barred from wearing the hijab.
Osman also cites opposition to fasting during Ramadan and to observing other Islamic practices.
He stressed that the restrictions violate constitutional protections for religious freedom.
At the time of writing, the post by Shafic Osman had generated a lot of reactions.
Source: Getty Images
At the time of writing this report, the post by Shafic Osmaan had generated a lot of reactions.
Reactions to Shafic Osman's discrimination lawsuit
YEN.com.gh sampled some comments on the matter:
Mohammed Ikililu stated:
“Even if I were to ask to change the colour of the room, remember some of the ‘rooms’ (classrooms, dormitories, etc.) in ‘your house’ are built from my contribution (taxes) as well.”
Akbar Yussif Rohullah Khomeini reacted:
“Nobody is asking for a mosque or a church to be built. We are simply saying that when it is time for prayers, fasting, or reading the Bible or the Quran, schools should not prevent students from doing so.”
Former Gey Hey recounts experience at school
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that Fathia Ayodele Kareem, a young Ghanaian medical doctor who attended Wesley Girls’ Senior High School from 2006 to 2009, recounted her story as a Muslim student.
According to Fathia, the extent of alleged religious intolerance left much to be desired.
Proofreading by Samuel Gitonga, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
