Amadou,

Narrow-mindedness is also manifested when people refuse to acknowledge some
useful statement from someone, just because you do not agree with other views
they have.( and please dont't tell me about the schools etc built by
Ahmadiyya. We know and appreciate them, and this is not the issue here)This
is very evident in your statements.If the Ahmadiyya feel that what most of
the muslim World says about them is false, then all they have to do is
present the supporting counter arguments from the Qur'an and hadith, these
being the points of reference for all muslims, and just the same way that the
rest of the muslims do in our criticism of them.They don't have to kill
anyone or get violate as you intimate .Stating that this issue is a recipee
for discord is an alarmist attitude. What will the Ahmadiyya do, kill someone
because of these warnings to the muslims? Now that will definitely convince
their followers and all the rest of us that they are a positive force l am
sure.As someone who bases my thinking on this issue on facts from the Qur'an
which is the guide book that all muslims follow, l will state again, that l
do appreciate the warning to the muslims that Ahmadiyya are innovators. That
is something that can only be appreciated by those who are striving to
practice islam according to the Qur'an and the sunnah.Striving to increase
our knowledge of islam, as well as following those practices and
recommendations by the messenger of Allah (SWT) who brought the message to
us, is not a contest for political correctness, nor is it to be abandoned
just because some people may not agree with or like what they hear. If there
are any other references for this religion, then even the Prophet of Allah
(SAS) was not aware of it.My support of this issue, as well as Fatty's
warnings do not translate to persecution of any religion.Everyone is free to
follow what they will, and to defend it with facts to maintain their
credibility.

Jabou,

 I think what we have here is a clear case of narrow-mindedness and I am
sincerely alarmed at your way of thinking. You seem to be focusing on one
side of an equation, refusing to bring into play other vital factors that
would create a balance!

 I think you ought to revisit your statement that:

 "...In our quest for excellence in all aspects of our lives, be it purity in
religion, better,
 more competent and non-corrupt government and leaders, a better future for
 our country, if all of us listen well, get all the facts, make the
 comparisons and the right choices based on facts and knowledge, then all
 those institutions and practices that are based on false premises will self
 destruct..."

 and see how your other positions reconcile with that. You seem to be
advising me to listen and understand, but I beg you to do the same and to not
dogmatically burry you head in the sand and refuse to see that your type of
attitude is a recipe for discord! We must take a look at the whole picture
and not just a portion of it if we are to avoid constant religious bickering.

 Just the other day an Ahmadiyya spokesman was quoted in 'The Daily Observer'
as having said that from now on, no attacks on their movement will go
unanswered, this after the last string of attacks from the Imam with whom you
claim to share the same sentiments about their faith.

 We all know that  the Ahmadiyya sect is a deviation from traditional Islam.
I still remember how, whenever the Ahmadiyya had their prayers relayed over
Radio Gambia on Muslim Celebrations, my father would constantly go on about
their deviation from traditional Islam but always hastened to say how helpful
he had found their dental clinic on two occasions when intense pain had
practically taken over his life,  and the amount of respect and consideration
they showed toward him. I think that is the view most people have of the
Ahmadiyya. They do no harm to any one.

 As for your comparision of them to the colonialist:

 "Why my quip about colonialism? Should the contributions others make in our
 country and our lives be sufficient reason for us not to oppose  or criticise
 them in any way, even if this opposition or criticism will result in a
 greater good for us as a people in the long run? Those who colonized us also
 initiated  and left schools  and other institutions  for example,  that we
 still utilize.Should we have maintained that system   or stand in defense of
 them because of the fact that they were making these contribution?"

 How can such critisism result in a "greater good for us as a people in the
long run"? and how for the "greater good?" . The  "greater good" seem not to
have a problem with the Ahmadiyya, it is the "lesser minority" of religious
dinosaurs and some new-out-of.the-blue novices, who seem to have a problem.

 The rest speaks for itself.  A little bit of objectivity can only do us
good. You cannot choose to equate the suffering and deprivation that Africans
endured under colonialism to the peaceful and socially productive presence of
the Ahmadiyya, just so you can justify your attacks on them.

 That is an insult tantamount to the one that our Ambassador in London is
quoted as having made, that slavery was a blessing to Africans!


 A. Kabir Njie.
  >>

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