Mr. Barrow wrote:

"This sort of attitude is similar to the behaviour of many of the first crop
Cantab educated Africans who came back to their roots looking down on
harmless local practices. If it wasn't a matter of faith, and therefore
dealing with here and hereafter, then many of these zealots could be
ignored.  But as Islam and Islamic practices are currently the subject of
intense debate; we have to stand firm and defend our ground based on the
teachings of the Koran and the Sunnah as we know and understand it.
Our subregion has contributed a substantial body of literature to Islamic
understanding, and unless we revist some of those texts, we will as usual,
continue to be indoctrinated by extremist and non culturally compliant ideas
from regions afar."

Thank you Mr. Barrow for throwing some light on the above topic. Nowadays,
in Gambia, hardly a day goes by without hearing someone condemn something as
un-Islamic or something like that. About six months or so ago, a certain
Imam was quoted in the papers as saying that he will not officiate or attend
any naming ceremony where there was going to be drumming or music. I wonder
what would happen to our griots and Jalis if they cannot entertain their
compatriots during such ceremonies. Whereas I don't subscribe to the idea of
lavish ceremonies, some of our traditions under attack now are too firmly
rooted in our cultures that it would really be difficult to do away with.
Thanks Jabou and others who have also shared some of their own experiences
and knowledge about this very important topic.

Have a good day, Gassa.

_________________________________________________________________
MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos:
http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx

<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>

To view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]

<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>