Assalaamu alaikum Jabou and Dr. Saine,
Alhamdulillah and I am in Gambia right now. I personally talked to a whole
bunch of silent Lers and even visited foroyaa's bureau yesterday. People are
really fed up with this personal attack business and numerous returnees from
further studies abroad have indicatetd this as their reason for pulling out
of the L.
However, Sheickh at Foroyaa made a good point by indicating that the L
mirrors the larger society (the good and the bad) and we should therefore
put up with the ugly side and keep tempering it with good mutual admonition.
In that regard, Jabou, Imaam Shafi'i said although Suratul Asr is a short
sura but very comprehensive and I think the last ayah sums up our G-L
situation. Allah said at the end of the aforementioned sura 'Wata wa saw bil
haqq, wata wa saw bi sabr ( Enjoin each other in truth and patience). The
scholars said this is because the one who enjoins truth must contend with
the fact that it will not be easily adopted; and can even invite 'personal
attacks'.
Let no one allow degenerating to the level of the unnecessary attacker. Let
us forgive even those who insult us and we will eventually be friends with
them as Allah adviced in suratul ghaafir. May ALLAH MAKE IT EASY AND BLESS
ALL OUR NOBLE EFFORTS. Allahumm salli wasllim ala Nabiyyina Muhammad.
Wasalaam.
Modou Mbye
>From: Abdoulaye Saine <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Independent View
>Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2000 18:57:41 -0500
>
>Dear Jabou:
>I accepted the criticism/point(s) made by The Independent. "It was fair
>and well taken." Thus, I joined all on the Bantaba, like you and
>others in gracefully accepting the criticism. I did not assume however,
>that by you and others supporting the views expressed by The Independent
>"that the majority of folks on this forum engage in such immaturity."
>Far from it.
>
>Rather, my concern was the article's lack of balance, for failing to
>mention the many good things that have come out of this forum, not to
>mention the maturity in which most of us conduct our debate(s). Thanks!
>
>Abdoulaye
>
>Jabou Joh wrote:
> >
> > Abdoulaye,
> >
> > The Independent has a point, and supporting their view does not for one
> > minute assume that the majority of folks on this forum engage in such
> > immaturity, even in the face of having these personal attacks directed
>at
> > us.You are quite right in pointing this out, and some of us who
>commended the
> > Indepedent should definitely have also made this clarification, instead
>of
> > just asuming that it was understood without saying. Thank you for making
>this
> > statement.
> >
> > Jabou Joh
> >
> > In a message dated 2/1/00 3:44:18 PM Central Standard Time,
>[log in to unmask]
> > writes:
> >
> > << To The Editor, The Independent:
> >
> > Well Said! The criticisms leveled against Gambia-L by The Independent
> > are appropriate and well taken. It is always good to have both
> > internal/external criticism. It should also be said, however, that many
> > members of Gambia-L have raised the same issue over and over again.
>And
> > that, it is a very small minority on Gambia-L that engage in such
>abuse.
> > For The Independent or the author to give the impression that Gambia-L
> > is a forum for emotional outbursts and insults, without looking at the
> > healthy debates and in particular,the GAMBIA-L POSITION PAPER to
> > President Jammeh and others, is to blow the "insults" out of
>proportion.
> >
> > While The Independent can make room for an article on "insults" in
> > GAMBIA-L, it has not to my knowledge, made room to cover the Gambia-L
> > Position Paper or to interview President Jammeh and other political
> > leaders on their reactions to the recommendations. I believe Gambians
> > would be better served by a serious discussion of national issues(
>which
> > I am sure you do) on The Independent, than the "insults" a minority of
> > us are engaged in. Gambia-L, in spite of the "insults," remains a
>forum
> > of free speech and an exercise in democracy. More important, it is a
> > microcosm of The Gambia in both its positive and contradictory
> > attributes. Surely, the maturity of a minority who engage in "insults"
> > is disturbing to all those who know better. Yet, to focus on the
> > "insults" as if this was the dominant feature on GAMBIA-L, is to
> > misrepresent what the L is all about.
> >
> > In conclusion, GAMBIA-L, in my humble opinion, is an effective and
> > valuable forum whose members include intelligent, thoughtful and mature
> > individuals, not the loud and foul-mouthed individuals your article
> > purports. Thank You.
> >
> > (I hope you publish this as a follow-up to your article).
> >
> > Abdoulaye Saine
> > Oxford, Ohio, USA.
> >
> >
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the
>Gambia-L
> > Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
> >
> >
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