SIC v.p. reacts to Bishop Cleary

Alhaji Ousman Jah, first vice president,Supreme Islamic Council, has urged
leaders of religious denominations not to blow the shariah issue out of
proportion. He made this statement in reaction to our yesterday's page 1
story, "Bishop Cleary on Shariah" and Bijou Peters' letter, "Sober thoughts
on Shariah". Oustass Jah said, "The concerns raised by Bishop Cleary and
Bijou Peters are misinformed and demonstrate they do not understand the
whole concept of shariah."

"The assertion that Muslim personal laws guiding inheritance, marriage and
divorce, are governed by the shariah and that the introduction of shariah
will bring chaos in The Gambia lacks merit. This is because shariah is a way
of life for every Muslim which enjoins peaceful co-existence and harmony. "I
am perturbed by this distorted view of shariah which can raised a lot of
contentions. The Supreme Islamic Council is fully aware that Muslims and
Christians have long been living together in peace and harmony.

We wish to reaffirm that the council has never coerce anybody to accept the
Islamic faith nor has it advocated the imposition of shariah against the
will of the people, even though as an Islamic body, it wishes that Muslims
would be governed by their own shariah law." Oustass Jah, a multi-media
preacher concluded, "I wish to implore Bishop Cleary, Bijou Peters and
others to refrain from contentious utterances on shariah."




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