Hi Arona,
 Again, I would like to reiterate that religion is a very sensitive issue in
all societies.  To criticize the Imam's sermons would be insensitive and
perhaps foolhardy of me.  I would lose a debate about the teachings of Islam
with most of the devout Muslims on this list. But when one compares his
rhetoric with those of other moderate Islamic scholars, his sermons and ideas
are consistent with those from the hard-line or "fundamentalist" camp.

Throughout our history, hard-line religious figures have left a very
unflattering legacy in most of the countries in which they have wielded
political power.  History is rife with these type of occurrences. Because
there are so many different schools of thought in Islam, our people should be
given the option to listen to other scholars of the religion so that they can
practice the religion and lead their lives in the way that they deem most
consistent with their interpretation of the teachings of the Quran. Like you
said, "There are always two sides to everything."  In fact, I will further
expand your theory by saying that there are multiple sides to everything. But
if we allow the voice of the various other religious scholars to be
marginalized by letting the Imam preach from such a powerful pulpit, we will
be going against the theory of "two sides to everything."  Like many other
things, we should allow the ideas and figures that surround the religion to
flourish and grow.

In my last piece, I also touched on how he is being used as a pawn by the
president, and your post is a good illustration of my point.  Because of my
criticism of the regime's use of the Imam for political purposes, the issue
has suddenly shifted to a debate about religion.  Thereby clouding the
difference between politics and religion.  Our situation is not an isolated
incident.  So, it becomes apparent that, along with his guns, bombs and
thugs, the Imam is one of the most effective weapons in Yahya Jammeh's
arsenal.

Finally, on a parting note, I was just curious as to why the Imam still has
not addressed the issues that are most pertinent to the citizens of our
country.  Issues like indiscriminate killings of civilians, the abuse of
basic human rights, wrongful terminations of peoples' jobs, to mention a few.
An English teacher at Saint Augustine's High school once said, "To whom much
is given much is expected."  Similarly, if he is going to be Imam of the
State House for the long haul, he should use his position wisely and put all
political biases and influences aside in an effort to use his "pulpit" in the
most righteous way.  Up to this point, this has not been the case since he
has not addressed the pertinent issues.  Therefore, he is walking a fine line
between loyalty to the present regime and to that of Islam.

Yus

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