A wonderful
letter to the Editor from the pages of The Gambia Echo.
enjoy
The Gambia Echo
Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007
Who's Islam's Enemy -President Yahya Jammeh or The
West?
Dear
Editor:
I
am in distress about how our country is being destroyed by our own selves
through connivance, silence and other forms of collaboration, actively or
passively. For me, Yahya Jammeh is not the issue. It is how the common Gambian
man and woman have contributed and continue to contribute to the building of a
monster and a system that will eventually consume all of us for
virtually nothing. The educated and elites, the religious and elderly, the
respected and honoured, the youth and women and even the children have decided
to either dance with Yahya or keep so silent as to allow him to ride roughshod
over our lives and country with so much destruction. The mere fact that
individuals accept his appointments only for him to dump, jail and castigate
them later is all indicative of our own contribution to the creation of a
monster and his system. No doubt we are all paying a dear price for something
that never should have been in the first place.
Well,
for my part I will fight as much as I can by speaking against as loud as I can;
by not cooperating; by writing to expose…; but surely I will not speak in
support neither will I act or participate in favour of Yahya Jammeh. I
will refuse the post of Vice President today if he were to appoint me. I will
consider it an insult and unpatriotic to work with Yahya Jammeh at such
decision making level.
So
find attached my thoughts on the recent visit by religious leaders to State
House.
Keep
up the good job.
Who is the Enemy of Islam: President Jammeh or the
West?
It
was yet another meeting between the President and religious leaders on the occasion
of Id’ul-Fitr, a traditional ceremony which has lasted for decades. Common
sense would dictate that such a forum would be an occasion for the religious
leaders to play the role of preacher and teacher of the Scriptures based on
what the Quran demands of leadership. The religious leaders are also expected
to reflect the conscience of the nation and thus speak in the name and interest
of all citizens. This means to request, demand, inquire or correct all concerns
of the people where necessary to ensure that the welfare and good of all
citizens are promoted and protected. The occasion by all standards is unique
and a golden opportunity for the religious leaders to speak to the President in
a way that not even his advisors can, because religious leaders are supposed to
speak the word of Allah. The Quran and the traditions of the Holy Prophet are
their weapons. This gives them unlimited immunity and protection to speak to
the President in many respects – as a citizen; as a human being, as a Muslim
and as the President of the Republic. In a nutshell, the meeting between the
President and the religious leaders is one of the most important national
events which can serve as a healing point for the nation and the consolidation
of national cohesion, peace and national unity.
Going by what transpired between the Head of State and the
religious leaders, it is obvious that the point has been missed by both sides,
more so on the part of the President. In the first place, and disappointingly
enough, the religious leaders spoke more as emissaries and stalwarts of the
government and the President, than as Muslims leaders and custodians of the
Islamic Faith. Instead of addressing national concerns as demanded by Islam,
they engaged in secular propaganda on issues that they either do not understand
or decided to totally ignore. For example, the issue of the appreciation of the
dalasi and prices of commodities is beyond the purview of these leaders at this
point. The science or lack of it that is responsibility for the rising dalasi
is yet to be understood by even economists and businessmen as the currency is
appreciating without any basis on the economic reality of the country. How can
the dalasi appreciate when there is no corresponding rise in exports or
reduction in imports-there has not been any significance increase in
production of manufactured goods; there has not been any production of
petroleum or other minerals, neither has there been any increased inflow of
foreign direct investment? Because of the absence of the above factors,
consequently there has not been any reduction of prices, but instead foreign
exchange bureaux and banks have now ceased operations in that trade because it
is unfavorable. Business people procured their goods at a certain price before
the appreciation of the Dalasi and so they cannot just abruptly reduce prices
because our currency is seen to be gaining strength. How about the Government
first reducing taxes, or fuel prices or utility costs among others before
urging the private sector to reduce prices regardless?
What all of these factors indicate is that there is
manipulation of the currency by the Government somewhere. This is basically the
reason why the religious leaders should not have ventured into this area to the
point of giving credit to the Government for the appreciation of the dalasi, a
phenomenon so complex that is yet to be comprehended. The general issues about
morality which they have touched on are a given which have to be raised in any
forum in which such leaders partake. Religious leaders should always admonish
believers to provide good parentage; that decency should couch all ways of
talking, dressing, how we relate to each other and our general way of life.
That is a must!
But the occasion about which we are talking here is such
that such issues of morality and decency, much as they are necessary and
important, should come secondary to major national issues which appear to
threaten the very fabric, peace and security of the nation. Essentially, I am
referring to the political and governance environment because ultimately all
other aspects of national life are contingent on the prevailing political
culture and environment. Any decent society- meaning democratic, accountable
and transparent political system which is inclusive and respects the rule of
law and human rights is not only bound to be economically viable, but also
socially stable as well as morally and politically secure. This is why the crux
of the discourse by the religious leaders should be to address the soul of the
nation which lies in the politics of the country.
There is no doubt that the Gambian political environment
remains precarious-our governance system is poor; but more than that, it is
also dangerous and the biggest thereat to our peace, security and cohesion as a
nation. The person at the helm of the political system and from who most is
required to ensure the decency of our polity is the President. He is the Head
of State and Government which according to our Constitution derives legitimacy
from the will of the people and in whose interest and welfare, all organs of
Government exercise their functions. Thus the single most responsible person
(supposedly) for the governance and political culture of this country is the
President. This to me is where the religious leaders should have taken off
their discourse. But as observed earlier, they deviated.
While the list of incidents that mar our political and
governance landscape are uncountable some of the more trouble remains thus:
1. Currently
The Gambia
has dozens of her sons and daughters detained for long periods without charge
while in most cases their families do not even know where these detainees are
kept, much less to see them.
2. People
continue to be dismissed from their jobs at all times without any basis on law
and no legitimate reasons provided.
3. Journalists
and media organizations continue to be harassed and branded as “illegitimate
sons”, while the killing of Deyda Hydara and Omar Barrow remain unresolved.
4. The same
applies to the shooting of lawyer Ousman Sillah.
5. In 2000
several school children where shot dead by our own security personnel only for
the Government to grant them amnesty.
6. The
administration of the public sector continues to be according to the whims and
caprices of the President even where national interest is jeopardized such as
the case of the sale of Gamtel and Gamcel. Much needed public enterprises are
either being destroyed such as GPTC or are being undermined to such a great length
that they have not become viable anymore.
7. Fear and
frustration has come to characterize majority of the people.
8. On top
of all of this, and as a consequence of the bad governance and indecent
political culture in the country, poverty continues to rise thereby giving way
to immoral social behaviors especially among our youth.
Given their failure to address the above our religious
leaders therefore, dropped into irrelevance and even becoming accomplices in
the national mismanagement by the President and his Government.
Yes, Alhaji Banding Drammeh made an appeal about illegal
detainees, but this was not enough. It must be clear to the Imam that those
detentions are illegal, illegitimate and un-Islamic. It is not for us to beg or
appeal to the President to pardon them because he has no right, authority or
power whatsoever to detain any Gambia.
Only the Police can do that for a limited time, or the courts according to law.
The President must be told in the face that his actions are ungodly, and that
no one owes him any allegiance or respect of any sort to appeal to him to do
the right thing. If he cannot do the right thing then he should be asked out.
There are many more Gambians willing to do the right thing.
As for President Jammeh, he terribly missed the point.
Instead, he immediately assumed the role of the religious leaders by attempting
to preach the most irrelevant and inconsequential issues. For once, someone
needs to remind the President that he is not the representative of Muslims or
Islam more so of the people of the Middle
East. The President is not the
spokesman for Hamas or Hezbollah. The President or The Gambia is not at war
with the West which ironically still gives more help to his government and the
country than any other country and region. The President depends on Western
institutions more than any other in the world and we all know that. So all his
tirades about and against the West and how Islam is being treated is not only
irrelevant but also grossly hypocritical. For example, while the President
rightly noted that Muslims kill each other more than anyone else, he either
fails to notice or ignores the fact that his own Government has presided over
the killing of numerous Muslims as in the case of November 11 alleged coupists,
the late Sadibou Hydara, 14 students in 2000, the late Deyda Hydara and Omar
Barrow, several soldiers such as Almamo Manneh, Corporal Dumbuya, Finance
Minister Ousman Koro Ceesay and many others that Gambians are yet to know. His
government has presided over the torture and detention without trial for long
periods of uncountable Muslims and Christians in this country. What now is the
difference between the President and those other Muslims killing fellow Muslims
in other parts of the world? It is highly sacrilegious for the President to
accord himself Islamic credentials while his every action is anti-Islamic! Our
President is definitely an Enemy of Islam and Muslims!!
If President Jammeh’s allegation that “The West and the
rest of the world are destroying Islam” then, it is obviously because of such
enemies of the Faith as the President of the Republic of The Gambia who
continue to facilitate the weakening of Islam and Muslims through sheer
exploitation and oppression of the Ummah. Has our President forgotten that his
Government is one of the few in the world that has entered into a bilateral
agreement with the United States Government on the issue of the International
Criminal Court (ICC) so that The Gambia will not take or participate in anyway
in the prosecution of any American soldier for human rights abuses before the
Court? Even when our President knows that American forces are at war against
Hamas, Hezbollah and in Iraq and against his own brother President
Ahmedinejad’s country (the Islamic Republic of Iran), he still went ahead to
protect American soldiers who continue to kill Muslims in Muslim lands? Does
this action of the President not make him a first degree accomplice and an
abominable tool of the West to destroy Islam and the Ummah? What an infidel our
President is?!!!
In conclusion, let our President be a man of modesty, truth
and justice according to the teachings of Islamic. He may try to fool some
people sometimes, but certainly not all the people at all times. He is exposed
without realizing it. He has demonstrated that he has no conscience and sense
of patriotism for The Gambia; neither does he love Allah and His Holy Prophet
and the Ummah! He is an Infidel par excellence. An Enemy of Islam!
The meeting between the religious leaders and the President
is a laudable occasion which all countries should emulate The Gambia for. It is
an occasion that should help in improving our democracy, justice, the rule of
law and respect for human rights if rightly conducted. It should serve as a
moment of reflection, rededication, rectification and consolidation of national
unity. Religious leaders are not elected nor on anyone’s payroll and therefore,
bear no allegiance to any one individual or institution, except Allah and His
Holy Prophet of Islam. Their Constituency is the Ummah and on whose behalf and
interest they should speak and act at all times in all circumstances. They
should speak the language of justice and truth. They are on a crusade; a jihad
and for which case they must be prepared to even go to Mile II Prisons-the
dictator’s jail, in speaking truth to power. It is sad to say that our
religious leaders have failed Allah and His Holy Prophet and the Ummah. They
have betrayed Islam and surely the Ummah which is under intense exploitation
and oppression in The Gambia.
We will never forgive the Imam Ratib Cherno Kah, the
President of the Supreme Islam Council Alhaji Banding Drammeh and the Emir of
the Ahmadiyya Jamaat Baba Trawally and the rest of the Imams present at the
occasion for failing to speak about the soul of the nation. We will not forgive
them. Allah and the Holly Prophet (Peace be upon his name) are for us!
A Gambian Muslim,
Office of The President, State House,
Banjul
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