ACCRA, Ghana—The first bricks for the Nation of Islam’s mosque/school and training center were laid May 18 by Mother Khadijah Farrakhan, Nation of Islam Chief of Staff Leonard F. Muhammad, a delegation of Nation of Islam officials and chiefs and imams from nearby Muslim communities.

The facility will be located in a community called Galilea on the edge of Weija Lake on the outskirts of Accra, an area of development where the population of Muslims is increasing.

"The timing of this ground-breaking ceremony could not have been better," said Dr. Mohammed Chambas, the deputy minister of education, citing the opening of the 5th African-African American Summit, which began a day earlier. "Our ability to take advantage of expanded trade and business relations will depend on the education and training we give to our people, particularly our youth. That’s why this project is important.

"The only way we Africans can cope with this dynamic world is by embracing education and realizing that the educational process is a continuing one," he continued in his keynote remarks. "The challenge of 20th century was how to achieve political independence from colonialism. As we enter the 21st century, the challenge we now face is how to achieve economic growth, reduce or limit poverty and expand opportunities for all.

"This new struggle requires a new type of African, an African who is educated, skilled and professionally oriented, but at the same time who is fully conscious of his obligation and commitment to work for the upliftment of the dignity of African people," Dr. Chambas said.

The ceremony also was attended by Deputy Minister of Environmental Science and Technology Dr. Farouk Ibrahim; world-renowned Nigerian drummer Babatunde Olatunji, and chiefs and imams from the Muslim community. Among Blacks from America present were Prince Asiel Ben Israel, international ambassador of the Original Hebrew Israelite Nation; Rev. Willie Wilson of Union Temple Baptist church in Washington, D.C.; Mr. and Mrs. Chuck Bowen, assistant to Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, which has a sister-city relationship with Accra; National Newspaper Publishers Assn. President Dorothy Leavelle; and Dr. Leonard Jeffries of New York. Min. Akbar Muhammad, international representative of the Nation of Islam and head of the Nation’s Ghana Mission, and Chief Baba Issa co-moderated the event.

In her remarks, Mother Khadijah Farrakhan, head of the Nation of Islam delegation to the Summit, thanked President Jerry John Rawlings "for making all of us who have returned to Africa to feel so much at home."

Expressing greetings from her husband, the Honorable Louis Farrakhan, Mother Khadijah said the mosque/school and training facility "is a small step in our obligation to provide quality education and training to our youth. This is also in harmony with the steps taken by Dr. Leon Sullivan at the 5th African-African American Summit. We hope that this project of the Nation of Islam will be duplicated by many African Americans who have concern about the future of this continent."

Bro. Leonard Muhammad thanked Min. Akbar for watering the seeds planted by Min. Farrakhan in Africa, but he called special attention to Master Fard Muhammad, who founded the Nation of Islam in America, and his student, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, who made the message known throughout the world.

Citing names like Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Karriem Abdul Jabbar and Black nationalist leaders, Bro. Leonard declared that, "none of these names would be known to you if not for the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, who put on the front page of the Muhammad Speaks newspaper the symbol of unity between Africa and Black America.

"The Honorable Elijah Muhammad is but a tree and the fruits of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad are all these great names and people you love today. So we must give him respect," he said.

One of the many highlights of the morning was sterling remarks given by AweFatir Muhammad, a Ghanaian who is a member of the Nation of Islam and a college student.

He noted that the day was special because just as it takes nine months for a child to come to birth, so to has the Ghana Mission provided service for nine years … so the "Ghana Mission is being born today," he said.

Bro. Fatir also noted that the area where the mosque is located is called Galilea, and just as Jesus went to Galilea and commissioned his disciples, so to will the Nation of Islam commission many disciples from the mosque and school to do a great work in Ghana.