Now I have to admit that I find this story quite fascinating not because I was baptized/named after the old saint but by the assertive testimonies of the "eye-witnesses".   Was this an apparition or an epiphany for the Gambia...?  I am definitely not the religious type nor faithful to any established religion but I hope brother Alhagie Mustapha Faye may help if he is still online.

Very interesting...

Ebou
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Written by Omar Bah & Alhagie Jobe

Daily Observer Newspaper
Tuesday, 06 September 2005
There was quite a stir in Banjul on Sunday evening when an image of the late Bai Niasse, the celebrated saint of Medina, a suburb of Kaolack, Senegal, miraculously appeared on the front wall of the religious Faye family of Dobson Street in Banjul.
The news of the appearance of Alhagie Sheikh Ibrahim Bai Niasse, who died 30 years ago, aroused the curiosity of the general public both within and outside Banjul.
People drove in their cars, some rode on bicycles and yet others walked from different places in Banjul and in the Kombos to see for themselves the miraculous wall on Dobson street. Before long, a huge crowd had converged at the entrance of Faye Kunda, with people jostling one another in their attempts to either glimpse or touch the white wall that bore the vignette of the late saint.
In the portrait, Bai Niasse appeared in a white kaftan and his traditional turban trademark against a black background. At first, many people thought the purported image was a drawing, but their scepticism was dispelled, as the silhouette blurred and brightened now and again.
Adama Jobe, a tailor whose shop is opposite Faye Kunda was the first person to see the image, while it was raining in Banjul. He said:  “When I went out standing on the varanda of our tailoring shop whilst it was raining, I faced the compound and incidentally I saw the picture on the wall of the compound. I later called on my boys to come and all of them confessed in one moment that the picture is Alhagie Ebrima Nyass.  We left the grounds and later called on people to witness the picture.

Asked whether he had any conversation with Bai Niasse, Jobe refused to comment but went on to say that this is the second time he has seen the image on the wall of the compound.
Asked whether he felt anything strange after seeing the image, Jobe said that he is okay but is still thinking of the image and how the picture appeared on the wall.
Paramilitary officers were immediately deployed to the place to cordon off the wall from the spellbound crowd. The  whole atmosphere was euphoric, as many Talibe (acolytes of Bai) worked themselves into a spiritual frenzy, leading to a trance known in local parlance as danu lerr. Others in their spiritual ecstasy screamed the names of Niasse Bai and Allah for hours on end.
The Daily Observer visited the scene on Sunday and yesterday morning and found that people were still gathered on the scene, paying homage to and taking photos of the somewhat fading image on the wall.
In fact, the patriarch of that family, Alhagie Sheikh Omar Faye, was a disciple and close friend of Bai Niasse whom the latter used to visit regularly at the very compound in which his image has just appeared.

Imam Muntaha Faye, the imam of Dobson Street mosque in a telephone interview  with the Daily Observer from The United States where he is presently on an Islamic mission, described the appearance of image as no surprise to him since such a miracle had happened before. “This is no surprise to me and I really feel in America today that something peaceful must happen in our compound.This is not the first time such[a thing] is happening there, but[it is] the first time that people[have] discover[ed] it. Sheikh Omar Futy also once appeared in that manner in the same compound but was not seen as this one is exposed,” he said.
He then urged all Muslims in the country and those who saw the image to remain patient and recite Allahu Akbarr while in the compound, as this is a great thing to the people of the country, more especially the Faye family and the entire Niasse sect in the world.
Baboucarr Faye, one of the sons of Faye family, also described the appearance of the image of Sheikh Alhagie Ebrima Niasse as unexpected but no surprise to him. “Alhagie Ebrima Niasse must do something for us in The Gambia. Let us now pray to God, the Almighty and be reciting Allahu Akbarr while on the premises,” he said.
Alhagie Habib Faye, one of the elders of the Faye Family, confirmed that Bai Niasse had frequented their compound while he was alive.  “Bai Nyass was given a special room in our compound by my father. At that time I was young, but I can still remember that. I saw him several times and can still remember that he was a great friend of my father,” he said.






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