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kobo
United Kingdom
7765 Posts |
 Posted - 03 Sep 2011 : 13:00:59
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1. DAILY OBSERVER NEWS Gambia ‘no go area’ for religious extremists
2. RELATED Muslims should act on the teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah Amir Trawally
3. FOROYAA Editorial : RELIGIOUS AND CULTURAL ELDERS VISIT THE PRESIDENT AFTER EID PRAYERS
"During the colonial period, the people did not have any authority to determine their manner of Government. The Governor, the King and Queen were not elected by them. Hence they could not remove them from office for not serving them well.
The Colonial administration established advisory bodies like the executive and legislative councils with a view to involving influential members of the community in their affairs in order to know the concerns of the common people. They did not stop at establishing formal institutions. They created linkages with the local chiefs by organizing annual conventions for chiefs. The annual meeting with the Banjul elders after the EID prayers was also an occasion to get the opinion of civil society regarding the concerns of the common people.
This year the spokesperson of the Banjul elders focused on the youth and the need to guide them to take the initiative to make good use of opportunities before it is too late. They also called for peaceful co-existence and mutual tolerance between political parties as the country heads towards Presidential elections.
The other religious and cultural elders spoke about the generosity of the president in providing meat, sugar, rice, oil and bread at prices that were below what was charged by the local business community. One of them said that the generosity of the President has earned him two phrases: “Help us and Thank you”
Most of the cultural and religious leaders expressed their support for the President and prayed for him to continue to be at the helm even though they claim to be representing religious, ethnic and cultural groups with diverse political following.
The Ministers also confirmed the generosity of the President and how he personally assisted some of them.
The President gave a sermon of why religious leaders should put their faith above worldly gains. He decried the immense accumulation of wealth in Countries where muslins are in the majority without any spirit of sharing being manifested. He finally condemned Islamic extremism. He called on the homes to bring up the children well, exposed how little boys were being tried at odd hours in the UK and imprisoned. He questioned what would have happened if this was done in the Gambia.
Our view on all these issues is simple.
First and foremost, religious and cultural leaders should differentiate between National platforms and partisan platforms. When they occupy National Platforms, they should declare non partisan allegiances.
Secondly, the President is elected to create the basis for better quality of life for the people. The President will never be able to replace the business community and provide services at affordable prices. What the country needs is for the President to show the Chamber of commerce where good quality goods could be imported and then create a forum for the Government, the consumer Association and the Chamber of commerce to sit and negotiate reasonable prices. If the President is to take over all business sectors, the entrepreneurs would be driven into the ranks of the unemployed.
Thirdly, the purpose of electing a President is not for him to preside over National beggars, on the contrary, it is to enhance productivity so that each would be able to earn and live on one’s sweat. We stand for a Nation of productive citizens and not a nation of beggars scrambling for biscuits on the way side.
Fourthly, the Gambia has a history of religious tolerance. The first President of the Gambia won an election while a Christian and then later converted to become a Muslim without any political ramification. In fact, Foroyaa has witnessed assistance being given to Muslims by the Anglican Diocese and Methodist Church. As far as we are concerned the Gambian state should remain a secular state which protects the right of everyone in the Gambia to freely profess and practice one’s belief without any discrimination as long as it does not involve bloodletting and other harmful traditional practices. In our view there is nothing like Islamic extremism. Behind every manifestation of extremism there is a civil, social, political, economic, cultural or ecological grievance that may take a religious mask. It is therefore necessary to put the religion aside and find out the source if extremism is to be nipped in the bud.
Finally, African leaders should stop pointing out the wrongdoing in the West with a view to legitimizing their own. Wrong is wrong, no matter whether it is perpetrated in the North or the South. African leaders would reposition the continent if they look at what is happening in the West and say; we could definitely do better.
This is the way forward for the continent." FOROYAA
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Edited by - kobo on 03 Sep 2011 13:15:54 |
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