I Will Never Withdraw My Claim Jailed Jihadist Tells NIA

The Independent (Banjul)
NEWS
August 16, 2002
Posted to the web August 16, 2002

By Momodou Bah
Banjul

The leader of three jailed Jihadists who declared himself as the Imam Mahdi
prophesised by the Holy Quran has told the National Intelligence Agency,
where they are being held that he would never withdraw his claim.

The jihadists who were initially held by soldiers at the Yundum Barracks
but later handed over to the NIA last month declared a Jihad or holy war in
Mandinari against what they called impurities plaguing The Gambia.
According to reports they torched a compound in Mandinari and threatened to
kill its Alkalo and other villagers who defied their so-called mission.

More than three weeks after their arrest, the group's supposed leader is
maintaining his claim as the prophesised Mahdi sent to restore the purity
of Islam and that no heavy-handedness would deter him and his two followers
from accomplishing his mission beginning with The Gambia.

Intimates to Jallow one of the jihadists who was released on bail quoted
him as confirming their leader's insistence that he was Imam Mahdi.

'He told the NIA that he is the true Mahdi and that he firmly believe in
what he claims to be and vehemently stand by it' the leader of the
jihadists was quoted as telling the NIA.

However, according to a soldier who said he saw the three as they were
being detained at the Yundum Barracks their leader appears to be in a state
of mental disorder and that he needed to be examined very well before
anything was done to him. 'The man's behaviour and actions are abnormal
without question' he asserted.

Meanwhile authoritative family sources close to Jallow are expressing
concern over what they described as the sudden behavioural change on
Jallow. According to them he (Jallow) used to be very shy and reserved but
now he talks a lot about God and religion as well as denouncing all forms
of immoral practices in present day society.

'We have really noticed a great change in him' they said. Moreover others
are questioning his mental state, describing him as a madman who needs
serious treatments.

Their apprehension of his mental condition is not helped when Jallow
continue to maintain that their claims are true and that they want to
restore the purest form of Islam and cleanse the world of non-believers.

Their action had prompted denunciations from two Gambian Imams, who
described them as the devil's advocates. Abdoulie Fatty of the State House
mosque condemned activities and intentions of the jihadists as totally
unacceptable to Islam and inconsistent with the laws of the land.




--
There is a time in the life of every problem when it is big enough to see,
yet small enough to solve (Mike Leavitt)

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