Mr. Jow:
Well said. I could not agree more with your analysis.

Abdoulaye Saine

Yusupha Jow wrote:
>
> I know that religion is a sensitive topic with Gambians, but the fact that
> the Imam is using the state house as a pulpit for his fiery religious sermons
> is a bit disturbing.  In any country there has to be a fundamental separation
> between religion and state.  My interpretation of the situation is that, the
> president, realizing the weakness and reverence that our people have for
> Islam, is using the Imam and Islam as a way to pacify our people and to
> justify his position.  This confuses the masses because, to them, being
> critical of the regime might be akin to criticizing the religion that 90% of
> our people follow.  This makes it very difficult for the present regime to be
> removed by any fair electoral process.
>
> Furthermore, over the years, there have been many scholars of Islam that have
> interpreted some parts of the Quran in  more liberal ways.  The Imam, in my
> opinion, contrary to some of the scholars of the religion,' is a rigid
> fundamentalist.  This evidenced by his statements against Toubabs and birth
> control.  He has also said that boys and girls should be kept apart in school
> buses and classrooms.  In fact, I read somewhere that Islam is pro-birth
> control within the confines of marriage.  Similarly, there is  no
> justification for his statements that we should not marry people from
> different religions or cultures.  There is no basis for some of the
> statements he has made.
>
> In conclusion, my opinion is that the Imam is walking a very thin line at
> this point.  His fundamentalist religious rhetoric makes him very dangerous
> because fundamentalists that are involved in politics are bad for any
> country.  In addition, him being used for political means by the present
> regime is not the Islamic way.  It is imperative that our people are given
> the freedom to express religion freely so that they can distinguish between
> religion and state.
>
> Yus
>
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