Dear Momodou,

I have been following this discussion with interest.  I wondered if you 
could say a little more about the following:

Even though the Gambian
> state, under President Jammeh has become stronger (through coercion), it
> is religious strife that may bring down regimes like his, if it
> continued its de-secularisation tendencies of the past.

Specifically, I wonder why, and how, Jammeh would want to reverse secular 
trends, especially if he wants to cozy up to western leaders.  Why would 
he perceive it in his interest to encourage Islamic militancy at home?

I know it is all complicated, but I'd be interested in any thoughts you 
had on this.

Best regards,
Jane

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Jane Zainab Warner-Tholley
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington  98195


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On Fri, 19 Aug 2005, Momodou S Sidibeh wrote:

> Ginny,
>
> Ginny,
>
> I promised earlier that I would comment on some of your thoughts. But
> first a motorbike taxi is precisely just a taxi. It carries you to a
> specific destination for pay. Some of the issues you raised are
> practical questions which might just sort themselves out with time. I
> mean some drivers will instantly turn their taxis into female transports
> because they make better company and as one man said in the story " they
> (women) are more generous".
>
> Generally, I think many African Islamic communities are watchful of what
> goes on in Nigeria's sharia states. The violence and continuous tensions
> implementation of sharia law in some of these are themselves awesome
> deterrents to muslims wishing to follow suit. Even though the Gambian
> state, under President Jammeh has become stronger (through coercion), it
> is religious strife that may bring down regimes like his, if it
> continued its de-secularisation tendencies of the past. He cannot
> continue playing Bush's buddy in the Texan's war against international
> terror while he encourages militant Islam in Gambia. As I indicated
> earlier, his radical embrace of Arab friends has ended somewhat.
> But there is a marked difference between the 9/11 backlash on muslims in
> America (story posted by Ylva Hernlund) and the Africans' experience of
> religious intolerance. In both cases, I think the identities of people
> come under assault, but in Africa this assault has always been of a more
> thorough and brutal kind. Both Islam and Christianity came from outside,
> Islam through jihadist violence while the latter in the wake of imperial
> domination. Both of them literally forced Africans to shed their
> identities completely. Animist traditions, Africa's own indigenous
> religions, are so marginalised that most Africans associate them with
> paganism.
>
> In Uganda, there is an important surviving legend: One of the Baganda's
> (a distinct ethnic group) reigning Kabaka (Baganda king) at the dawn of
> imperial conquest summoned both muslim imams and catholic priests
> competing to convert his people to their respective religions. The king
> summoned all his people to the village square and begged them to listen
> to the two missionaries looking for followers. He also requested the two
> religious leaders to take turns to explain to his people the nature of
> their faiths.
> When they were done explaining and answering questions, the King said to
> his people: "...these religions are asking us to abandon our own and pay
> allegiance to them. Whatever we do, both demand a lot of sacrifice from
> our own way of life".
>
> Cheers,
> Momodou S Sidibeh
>
>
> -----Ursprungligt meddelande-----
> Från: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] För Ginny Quick
> Skickat: den 16 augusti 2005 01:27
> Till: [log in to unmask]
> Ämne: Re: SV: SV: SV: SV: Kanilai Cocktail - II
>
> Hello, Momodou, I put the link to the article you posted on my blog.  I
> have
> a lot of questions about the implementation of this new law.  Firstly,
> are
> we talking about traditional taxis?  If so, are the taxi drivers taking
> a
> group of people, or jost one or two?
>
>     What is a motorcycle taxi?  What are they used for?  If the
> authorities
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