I know that religion is a sensitive topic with Gambians, but the fact that
the Imam is using the state house as a pulpit for his fiery religious sermons
is a bit disturbing.  In any country there has to be a fundamental separation
between religion and state.  My interpretation of the situation is that, the
president, realizing the weakness and reverence that our people have for
Islam, is using the Imam and Islam as a way to pacify our people and to
justify his position.  This confuses the masses because, to them, being
critical of the regime might be akin to criticizing the religion that 90% of
our people follow.  This makes it very difficult for the present regime to be
removed by any fair electoral process.

Furthermore, over the years, there have been many scholars of Islam that have
interpreted some parts of the Quran in  more liberal ways.  The Imam, in my
opinion, contrary to some of the scholars of the religion,' is a rigid
fundamentalist.  This evidenced by his statements against Toubabs and birth
control.  He has also said that boys and girls should be kept apart in school
buses and classrooms.  In fact, I read somewhere that Islam is pro-birth
control within the confines of marriage.  Similarly, there is  no
justification for his statements that we should not marry people from
different religions or cultures.  There is no basis for some of the
statements he has made.

In conclusion, my opinion is that the Imam is walking a very thin line at
this point.  His fundamentalist religious rhetoric makes him very dangerous
because fundamentalists that are involved in politics are bad for any
country.  In addition, him being used for political means by the present
regime is not the Islamic way.  It is imperative that our people are given
the freedom to express religion freely so that they can distinguish between
religion and state.

Yus

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