Greetings,
This article is from the Weekend Observer of today on Quantum Net's page
(www.qanet.gm)


IMAM FATTY SPEAKS TO OBSERVER


 The Imam of State House Mosque, Alhaji Abdoulie Fatty, has said he is not
an Islamic fundamentalist "but only preaching the true words of the
prophet
and the Holy Qur'an which only offends Muslims with shaky beliefs.".


 Imam Fatty was speaking in an exclusive interview with the Daily Observer
yesterday.The outspoken imam said "Islam as a religion has
fundamentalists,
but the phenomena is over-emphasised by the enemies of the religion,
particularly in the Western media."

On female circumcision and skin- bleaching
Imam Fatty said female circumcision is not prohibited by Islam. "The
prophet never ignored bad practices; he had seen women practising female
circumcision
but never urged them to stop. He said skin bleaching is totally forbidden
and
said women who engage in it "only insult their bodies and they can assure
themselves a niche in hell in the hereafter."

On 'Fankanta'
On the new family planning concept of 'Fankanta' Imam Fatty said,
'Fankanta' is family limitation not family planning. "Fankanta" is trying
to spread
illicit sex in the country particularly among young Muslims by
distributing
to them sinful products."

On politics, Jammeh
On accusations by his critics that he dabbles with politics in his
sermons,
Imam Fatty said, "Islam cannot be divorced from politics. Islam is
politics, although it is quite different from Western politics. Islamic
politics is
based on the truth while Western politics is based on falsehood."

He described President Jammeh as "a very good Muslim. Even when we are
travelling in aeroplane, he will remind us that it is time for prayers. He
sticks to his words, cares for his country, has high ambition for his
people and has built a mosque at State House.".Imam Fatty said he supports
the APRC party "because it is not a tribal-based party and not because of
material
gain, but because of Jammeh's strong faith in Islam."

Islamic state, Brikama mosque crisis
On whether The Gambia should become an Islamic state, he said, "people
already consider us an Islamic state and in fact we are a member of
Organisation of Islamic Conference, where only truly Islamic states
belong."

He said, "The Gambia is already an Islamic state, only its laws are not
based on Sharia. However, even if our status as an Islamic state is
formalised, non-Muslims shall not be harassed."

Asked about his opinion on the Brikama mosque crisis, he said, "the crisis
has more to do with politics than with Islam." He said he believes the
problem can be solved by the elders of Brikama.

The full text of Imam Fatty's interview will be published in next
weekend's
Interview column..




Momodou Camara
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