Hi All,

I have received a number of private mails related to this topic, but came to the conclusion that it would probably be best to deliberate publicly, a little bit more on the issue at hand in order to straigthen out a number of misconceptions inherent in those mails. Also, this will accord me the chance to clear the air about my raising the question in the first place.

Given the exchange that preceded my asking the question about the occurence of condemnation of slavery in the Holy Quran, it was probably a case of bad timing. One ought to have suspected that it could be perceived as offensive. My sincere apologies to all who felt that way.

I reasoned that injecting such a question into the tail end of an important but degenerating exchange would not only bring that to an end, but would also provide a radical twist to the overall issue of racism and Islam as we Africans understand it.

Those who responded to my question publicly or privately, with the exception of Kabir, all went on the defensive, placing the spotlight on other religions, making the case for slavery as a universal historical institution, or making comparative racial analogies.

But defending Islam in this way has the unfortunate consequence of making it suspect in the first place. Muslims ought to have the courage for unfettered, severe introspection, unpolluted by scriptures of other faiths. Islam has been perfected for us (remember?) and must therefore be able to stand on its feet. Besides, IT is the religion that most of us practice in Gambia. So, naturally it IS Islam we should explore, research, and question, and we should not worry about ANY attempt to question Islamic teachings because ALLAH placed it upon us to seek the TRUTH. 

That is the reason why questions raised about our religion should not translate into automatic assaults at our faith. Fearing that questions raised by agnostics and even oursleves as believers may dent our faith in our religion is normal, but it is a fear we ought to overcome if we are to evolve into better muslims. We must open up our minds if we should expect ALLAH's radiance to guide us; we must ask questions - even uncomfortable questions to mere mortals like oursleves - if we should receive wisdom about our deen? And given that we are the worst off on earth, is it not we Africans who ought to have the most questions to ask of our creator?

In moments of despair and darkness, we should take inspiration from prophet Musa, who through negotiation or argument or prayer (call it what suits you) landed us with the five dailies instead of fifty, as Allah had initially proposed. 
We will make improvements in our imperfections by being fearless at the world and the heavens, through asking questions, doing research and praying for guidance. Not by being afraid and putting up irrational defenses.

Sincerely,
Sidibeh

Comrade Kabir, many many thanks for the links.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html

To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤