If such an office is a compliment to the Cadi Court, then I say go right
ahead.  However, if this is an attempt for something else, then I say thanks
but no thanks.  With the recent rise of religious fundamentalism in The
Gambia (floggings/muggings in Brikama by the Mullahs, etc.), we as a society
cannot let anything that divides our peoples to flourish, just like we
allowed the "July 22nd Thugs" to sprout.  So, to the Jaiteh brothers,
goodluck with your office and services, and I hope it is what you say it is,
an Advisory Office to compliment to Cadi's Court.  Please read on.


First Sharia Advisory Office in the Offing, Jaiteh Brothers Unveil Elaborate
Plans

The Independent (Banjul)

April 28, 2003
Posted to the web April 28, 2003

Banjul

What could be a trial start to a new sharia advisory office is in the offing
in The Gambia aimed at giving guidance to members of the public on issues,
revolving around Islamic precepts of daily living and sharia.

It will be the first such enterprise in the country with a drive to give
advise on marriages, divorce, family life, inheritance and demystify the
overarching concept of sharia for the multitude of people whose
understanding of it may be shallow. It initiators, who said it was resulting
from their protracted study and analysis of the situation, believe that such
an office is of overriding necessity against a backdrop of ignorance of
Islamic precepts, that inherently prevents individuals from making informed
decisions on issues that affect them from the Islamic perspective.


The office already established in Serrekunda London will also be engaged in
legal translation from Arabic to English and vice versa and will also be
available for land valuation.

Expounding on the reason for such an enterprise Mohammed Lamin Jaiteh and
Mohammed Jaiteh (Hamma) explained that over the past ten years they have
observed that a number of cases have reached the Cadi's court that should
have been laid to rest by an advisory office, rendering it unnecessary for
them to be heard by the Islamic courts.

"Some complaints that go to the courts the Islamic courts need not go there
if the parties involved are given expert advise over the wisdom or otherwise
of doing so. Such an office would help a great deal to remedy the situation
and relieve the Islamic court of such cases that have overwhelmed it for
many years and over which many are disenchanted" the two brothers indicated.

The Jaiteh brothers expounded on the burden unleashed on the Islamic court
in the Gambia as a result of profound ignorance of sharia, a concept, which
has been overridden by misinterpretations relating to the dreaded amputation
as retribution meted out against moral defaulters.

"Sharia is all-encompassing, it entails the whole behaviour of Muslims in an
Islamic environment and not only about amputation as widely and erroneously
held" they argued, pointing out that their drive is to plumb the depth of
such a concept and lay it bare for the simple understanding of those who may
be initially prone to misrepresent it to their own detriment.

"There was a time when problems relating to sharia have swarmed the courts,
which Muslims did not understand. Scholars that-be speak about sharia as
revolving around amputation and we felt an office for consultation was
necessary if anybody was going to stem the tide of such misrepresentation of
the concept. The enemies of Islam are bent on destroying sharia but family
life, relations, crime and punishment, inheritance, economic management
systems occur in our daily living patterns without the majority of us
knowing that they all consist in sharia. All these things including asset
distribution, company laws, partnerships, contracts and other elements of
the corporate world are about sharia and Muslims must know about them.

The emphasis on law is also inherent in sharia," they explained.

The Jaiteh brothers argued that instead of resorting to television
programmes, to preach and eventually convolute the true nature of the debate
on sharia, an office established exclusively to address these concerns could
not have come at a more appropriate time when the situation beggars a
solution. They said the office would be a citadel for the most seasoned
scholars on Islamic precepts and jurisprudence whose service would be
accessible to the inquiring public.

"There are always people receptive to the idea of research and the quest for
knowledge and we are going to help them without sectarianism coming into
play. We will not cloud it with our own personal judgement but the universal
judgement of Islamic teaching. The office would provide constructive ideas
from constructive Islamic precepts and pave the way for an unadulterated
understanding of the dynamics of Islam" they added.

"It is regrettable that time is wasted on unnecessary arguments about
precepts or concepts which diminish the value of the subject" they said.








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