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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Modernity, religion and development in Ghana: the example of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community
Author:Hanson, John H.ISNI
Year:2009
Periodical:Ghana Studies (ISSN 1536-5514)
Volume:12-13
Pages:55-75
Language:English
Geographic term:Ghana
Subjects:Islamic movements
development
Abstract:This paper illustrates the connection between religion, modernity and development in Ghana. From its inception in coastal Ghana during the early 1920s, the Ahmadi Muslim community has existed as part of the transnational community of Ahmadis that was formed in Pakistan by Ghulam Ahmad. The Ahmadiyya community drew on the ideas of Sufi, Muslim reformers and Muslim modernists. In Ghana, Ahmadi Muslims have combined local financial contributions with external funds to support various development projects. They have run several English-language schools, hospitals, social services and agricultural projects. These projects not only confirm the Ahmadiyya embrace of scientific knowledge, new technologies and an active social agenda, but also reveal a theological stance that leads them to share what they see as God's bounty with others through their good works. The modernity of the Ghanaian Ahmadi Muslim community stems from their history of religious tolerance, in which local ideas and traditions became coupled with a distinctive outlook. Bibliogr., notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract]
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