Dr: Jeng,

Allow me to disagree with your assertion below. A recent poll (few days ago) shows clearly that a majority of Norwegians support the separation of church and state. All religious houses here, including all mosques, receive state sponsorship. The biggest mosque in Oslo, completed recently, has been making Friday calls for prayers with loud speakers in down town Oslo! Which Islamic country would allow Christians the same level of tolerance? It has also been consistently, throughout the debate here, made clear that FGM has no religious basis or justification.

Regards,

Kabir.


"Dr Alhaji S. Jeng" <[log in to unmask]>

> Hablie,
> 
> Your discourse on the issue of FGM given at Munnesota 3 days ago was most impressive. I
> must admit that the psycho-physico effects of the practice were always my main concern.
> And I am sure it's the same for a great number of people. To treat the subject from a
> human rights point of view is indeed extremely important in the fight towards abolishing
> this degrading practice.
> 
> I was happy that you pointed out that the issue is not a religious issue, as it seems to
> be seen as by the Norwegians. You see, Noway is a christian country. Christianity is the
> official religion, and the Ministry of Church and Education  is a ministry that has a
> central position in the Norwegian government. Discrimination based on religion is
> therefore not uncommon.The potent presence of Islam in their midst has always been seen
> as a threat to them They , therefore, would go to any lengths to discredit Islam. Making
> FGM a religious issue is one way of showing their anti-Islamic values.
> 
> Thanks again for the well-focussed angle in which the issue has been treated by you. We
> have learnt a lot from it.
> 
> Alhaji
> 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask]
if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------