Talk about cultural/religious imperialism!!!  Gambian society is not as monolithic as we  want to believe in our cultural outlook.  The Islamic and Christian religious leaders fail to realize that they do not have the moral authority to pass judgement on a group that was expressing their outrage over an act that was commited within their CULTURAL RELIGIOUS SPACE! 

A dog was sacrificed and wrapped in a white shroud next to a fire station.  Do they know the religious implications of this act within the Jola traditional religious worldview?  If not then how can they judge the collective action of these women?

To say that it is against Islam or Christianity would be like a Buddhist condeming a Gambian Muslim for wearing an amulet with Koranic verses as protection against an evil act done against her.  The Buddhist has no moral wuthority to be judgemental. 

Such religious/cultural intolerance does not bode well for our country.

Latjor

>Religious leaders from all denominations in the country have unreservedly

>condemned the spectacle of starkly naked women who took to the >streets of Brikama to protest against the opposition last week. The religious

....>Alhagie Ceesay the Imam of the University of The Gambia also

>strongly condemned the manner of the protest, saying it goes against Islamic >Sharia law. He said the government should not make an idle response to the >incident but should come down hard on the offenders. He advised those who >took put in the bizarre ritual to repent and redeem themselves in the eyes of >God. He said this provides an ugly precedent for young and impressionable >people. Demba Jallow of Bakoteh also called on the government to take >tough measures against the protesters to avoid such manner of protest in >the future. > >For Abdoulie Ceesay a renowned Islamic scholar at Bakoteh it was >"anti-Islamic, anti-society and anti-cultural". > >For his part Pastor Edwund Martins of the New Fellowship >International Church at Bakoteh it is vile and repugnant for a group of naked >women to ignore all religious and cultural restraints and expose their >intimate parts. Pastor Martins said the act was forgivable because they did >it out of ignorance. "If somebody is ignorant, the cure is to teach him" he >said.