YUS, I think, most muslims in this list are trying to ignore the weekly simmons of the so called imam Fatty. It is wrong for the first place to build a mosque at the state house. How would We ( muslim ) will feel, if a church was built at the state house.It is about time for Gambians to do something about it. Peace. Muktarr. --- Yusupha Jow <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > I know that religion is a sensitive topic with > Gambians, but the fact that > the Imam is using the state house as a pulpit for > his fiery religious sermons > is a bit disturbing. In any country there has to be > a fundamental separation > between religion and state. My interpretation of > the situation is that, the > president, realizing the weakness and reverence that > our people have for > Islam, is using the Imam and Islam as a way to > pacify our people and to > justify his position. This confuses the masses > because, to them, being > critical of the regime might be akin to criticizing > the religion that 90% of > our people follow. This makes it very difficult for > the present regime to be > removed by any fair electoral process. > > Furthermore, over the years, there have been many > scholars of Islam that have > interpreted some parts of the Quran in more liberal > ways. The Imam, in my > opinion, contrary to some of the scholars of the > religion,' is a rigid > fundamentalist. This evidenced by his statements > against Toubabs and birth > control. He has also said that boys and girls > should be kept apart in school > buses and classrooms. In fact, I read somewhere > that Islam is pro-birth > control within the confines of marriage. Similarly, > there is no > justification for his statements that we should not > marry people from > different religions or cultures. There is no basis > for some of the > statements he has made. > > In conclusion, my opinion is that the Imam is > walking a very thin line at > this point. His fundamentalist religious rhetoric > makes him very dangerous > because fundamentalists that are involved in > politics are bad for any > country. In addition, him being used for political > means by the present > regime is not the Islamic way. It is imperative > that our people are given > the freedom to express religion freely so that they > can distinguish between > religion and state. > > Yus > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of > postings, go to the Gambia-L > Web interface at: > http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------