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(27 Jun 2017) LEADIN:
Muslims in Ghana have been celebrating Eid.
They are a religious minority in the country but Christians also join in the festivities.
STORYLINE:
A young man washes ahead of prayers in Independence Square in Accra.
Thousands will gather in this public space to celebrate the Eid festival.
So with so many people together, it's a good opportunity for health initiatives to target worshippers with a quick medical check.
But the main event is of course the religious practice.
The square is filled with row after row of people who pray in unison.
Among them is Mohammed Amin Ibn Saana who has spent 10 days inside a mosque for I'tikaf - an Islamic tradition of spending time inside the place of worship to pray and contemplate religious matters.
Now this period of spiritual reflection is over, he's celebrating Eid - and not just with his fellow Muslims.
"Ghana is a secular country, it's not like other Islamic country. So in Ramadan, even though you see a little bit (of a) difference, but activities move on because with our Christian brothers and sisters we interact with each other," he says.
"They also engage us and encourage us in our fasting. Some even fast with us, even there are not Muslims, but once we are fasting they also fast."
The streets of the Nima neighbourhood are buzzing with a carnival atmosphere.
This is Eid al-Fitr African style. The holiday is also known as Sallah in Ghana.
There's dancing, music, food and tribal leaders decked in their finest clothing travel through the crowds.
Muslim man Inusah says Muslims and Christians come together for the festivities.
"It shows that in the community itself we live in harmony," he says.
Nima is the biggest Muslim area in the capital.
And residents claim it is the best place to be during Eid.
"If you don't pass through Nima on Sallah day you have not celebrated Sallah. Nima is Sallah and Sallah is Nima," says Inusah.
Muslims make up 17.6 percent of Ghana's population. More than 70 percent of Ghanaians are Christian.
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