The Independent Published Friday, October 5, 2001 "Naked women's protest is irreligious" Email [log in to unmask] Religious leaders from all denominations in the country have unreservedly condemned the spectacle of starkly naked women who took to the streets of Brikama to protest against the opposition last week. The religious leaders said it was irreligious for the women to go beyond what is the normal and the usual by exposing the most intimate parts of their bodies. In an interview with The Independent Sheikh Gibril Kujabi said the incident was profoundly reprehensible in the Islamic point of view, and remains unbelievable in a predominantly Muslim populated country like the Gambia. He believes that Muslims should vent their grievances in a more decent way. Such actions he said must never be allowed to take hold in The Gambia. The Imam of Kanifing mosque Baba Leigh described the naked women's protest as against Islam and runs contrary to Gambian laws and standards behaviour. He said being nude in the open is public indecency and misbehaviour. "The people who did this should be arrested and taken to court" the Imam adding that those who paraded themselves naked have incurred God's anger. He called on other religious leaders to denounce it vehemently. He said those who committed it could not call themselves Muslims. He called for respect, humility and tolerance to govern the lives of Gambians hoping for peace, prosperity and development. He also warned against divisive politics, which results in chaos and instability. He said it is regrettable that the protest by the women was linked with Gambian politics. Alhagie Ceesay the Imam of the University of The Gambia also strongly condemned the manner of the protest, saying it goes against Islamic Sharia law. He said the government should not make an idle response to the incident but should come down hard on the offenders. He advised those who took put in the bizarre ritual to repent and redeem themselves in the eyes of God. He said this provides an ugly precedent for young and impressionable people . Demba Jallow of Bakoteh also called on the government to take tough measures against the protesters to avoid such manner of protest in the future. For Abdoulie Ceesay a renowned Islamic scholar at Bakoteh it was "anti-Islamic, anti-society and anti-cultural". For his part Pastor Edwund Martins of the New Fellowship International Church at Bakoteh it is vile and repugnant for a group of naked women to ignore all religious and cultural restraints and expose their intimate parts. Pastor Martins said the act was forgivable because they did it out of ignorance. "If somebody is ignorant, the cure is to teach him" he said. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------