Thank you, thank you, thank you for this beautiful view. I have newly
joined this group and I am constantly amazed and saddened by barriers,
borders, that people have built to keep us from one another. This land,
whether it be America, Japan, Africa, etc. DOES NOT belong to us, rather, we
are all guests on this earth. Like my children DO NOT belong to me, rather
I am fortunate enough to be able to raise them. Do we forget Allah and all
of his gifts when we see this type of dispute occurring? Why do we waste
time, energy, money, effort on positions what constantly cause so much
chaos...more than what it is worth. Could these two Imams jointly share the
responsibility of educating Muslims? Tears come to my eyes when I read
things like, have refused to budge, rejected due to origin, etc. Allah gave
us each other for a higher reason. Let's take good care of each other.
May Allah bless you all,
Halima Sohna
-----Original Message-----
From: pa ali ceesay [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Sunday, December 23, 2001 1:34 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: MUSLIMS AND BANJUL NATIONALISM
Independent View
Brothers in faith Enemies for a purpose
Is it for the prestige or for the holy honour of leading Muslims in
supplication to Allah? Banjul has earned the unenviable distinction of being
the battleground for two Imams bent on having an influential mark on the
imamate. Because both Imam Tafsir Gaye and Imam Cherno Kah have refused to
budge even an inch over who should lead at the Banjul Mosque we have had to
watch with utter disbelief and disdain the squabble that has been going on
for a long time.
Now it is time to assess how big the gulf is between what has now polarized
into two irreconcilable factions of the Banjul Central Mosque. Are the two
men not taking advantage of the senility of the frostily old Imam Jobe?
First of all God is above all dispute and so should be his religion, which
is one of peace, compromise and the triumph of selflessness. Thus any of
these two claimants should be judged according to how they are seen in
Islam. Imam Cherno Kah is the first deputy Imam to Imam Jobe who came from
Medina Serign Mass in Niumi while Tafsir Gaye a native of Banjul is the
second deputy. Those in the Imam Gaye camp are contending that Imam Kah
could not be a legitimate heir to the Imamate because he is not a native of
Banjul.
To them he is simply a newcomer. But that is really not important when
Muslims consider what is required to become an Imam. According to the
Islamic doctrine, an Imam should first of all be a Muslim, well versed in
the Quran and the prophet's teachings. He should also be of good moral
standing and demonstrate some leadership qualities and the right kind of
wisdom to lead his followers. Questions about where he is from is not
considered relevant. So it is not a question of taking sides but by and
large Imam Kah as the first deputy Imam should be the heir-apparent. He has
been acting in that capacity after Imam Jobe was retired by senility. Why
should controversy surface here? Even if we are to go by the "foreigner"
argument as far as Banjul is concerned everybody came.
Nobody can claim an entire ancestral lineage rooted in Banjul. Ipso Facto
all Imams of Banjul were apart from Abdoulie Jobe "foreigners". If Cherno
Kah is no exception, what is the problem? Baba Lee the Kanifing Estate Imam
is from Serrekunda. Sajar Fatty the Imam of Tallinding is from the CRD.
Serrekunda Central's Barham Jobe is from the North Bank. Division. The list
goes no but their origin as far as Islam is concerned is not important. What
is important is their steadfastness to the faith, their knowledge of it and
their wisdom and capacity to lead fellow Muslims. All other considerations
are bogus appendages of the faith. Another thing that is revolting to our
sense of Islamic universality is discriminating against "foreigners".
The xenophobic obsession of Gambians to "foreigners" is absurd, unhealthy
and grossly unIslamic. A Muslim should be at home anywhere in the Islamic
world, be they in Banjul, Beirut or Brunei. As the Banjul mosque question
rips Muslim neighbours apart the Supreme Islamic Council, the Council of
Elders and the Mosque Committee should speak out. An offhanded posture of
disinterest would give cause for sensitive questions, regarding their
commitment to truth and the cause of projecting Islam as the incandescent
spirit for true compromise and blessing to our lives. We need not convince
ourselves that it is too shameful in the Islamic sense for brothers in the
faith to get stalked in an impasse that was always going to show the
strength of bad faith between followers of a good and honourable religion
like Islam.
The long running in-fighting could only give live ammunition to enemies of
the faith to launch discrediting polemics that would not only put Muslims to
disrepute but also render the faith in vogue. What we all understand to be
Islam does not in any way sit in consonance with the kind of self-centred
rivalry the Muslim community in Banjul has had to witness with a studied
degree of disinterest and disdain. In this vein the last thing Muslims of
The Gambia should do is to cast a weary eye or a deaf ear to the hullabaloo,
which is showing our faith in very poor taste. We all should be fighting for
the faith rather than against it. Obviously the problem in Banjul is
demonstrating how ruinously we are holding the faith.
comment: banjul has a long history of shameless discriminating of people
classified as "non-citizens"similar to any village in the gambia.the
struggle for muslim leadership in banjul has a long tradition among
different layers of the wollof caste groups and between the
wollofs,assimilated wollofs and other language groups.in most cases these
factional struggles for leadership have nothing to do with the religious
welfare of its members but only the power and material previlages of the
upper classes of these feudal and backword looking cligues.
_____
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