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Emman
Germany
8 Posts |
 Posted - 27 Dec 2006 : 20:47:27
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Guy from www.allgambian.net
Cut the Hypocrisy:
Prostitution is Part of Our Society!
By Bubacarr Sankanu (Abubacarr B. Sankanu)
Berlin, Germany
Former GRTS Producer
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12/22/2006
"Recent crack down on prostitutes in Gambia where authorities dragged them to law courts to face severe repercussions has not gone down well under the eyes of some onlookers. Former TV producer in Gambia Bubacarr Sankanu who now lives in Berlin Germany is one of those ready to throw his hat in the ring to challenge recent treatment of prostitutes by authorities in Gambia. Mr Sankanu in a letter to allgambian.net editor argues that the scale of prostitution extends to wider sectors of societies and religions than most people think. In this very thrilling exposition, Sankanu explodes into the wider territories of the prostitution world and concludes that society as a whole stands guilty for the world's oldest trade."
Dear Editor,
Kindly allow me space in your respected medium to raise a pointer on the current public outcry, over the scourge of street prostitution in our country The Gambia.
Oldest medium of exchange
Sex is mankind's oldest medium of exchange and Africa is said to be the birthplace of mankind. Therefore addressing the subject of the sex trade pragmatically should not be misinterpreted as 'importation of decadent Western ideals!' Prostitution was, is and will, always be part of our human society and no amount of moral dictatorship can eliminate it!
The practice of sex in exchange for food and security as in the rural areas, camps, trouble zones or in the 'civilised cities' where parents 'sell' their daughters to wealthy suitors, is as old as Africa itself - long before the European slave traders arrived! It is always easy to blame Western television and materialism for 'corrupting our holy African cultures!'
The painful truth is that our compatriots have long been exchanging sex for jobs, for contracts and all kinds of goods and services depending on the sector involved. We are seeing students sleeping with teachers for good results, junior staff sleeping with their bosses for promotion, doctors sleeping with their patients, lawyers sleeping with their clients and even prisoners sleeping with their wardens. All these are qualified applications of sex as medium of exchange in our midst!
As the Sarahule (Soninke) saying goes "if you have a sickness which is refusing to be cured, do not worry much as it will share the same grave with you." We should stop hiding behind the masks of morality and start addressing this issue of prostitution with common sense as it will exist till the end of mankind on this earth.
Before our African political and religious class start ordering the harassments of prostitutes and sexuality rights activists at gun-points, they should allocate part of their defence and extravagant celebration budgets to economic empowerment programmes for young adults and abandoned mothers.
Prostitution is primarily about SURVIVAL and not promiscuity! I interviewed a lot of prostitutes and they do not have fun in allowing all kinds of 'dirty sperms into their womanhoods' - sorry for my language. If men were not paying for their services, the prostitutes will never sell their bodies. Period!
Sex Tourism
I remember very well when the former Finance Minister of Gambia Bakary Bunja (BB) Darboe warned that 'we should not put all our economic eggs in the basket of tourism', many people at the time did not take heed. Most of the pen-pushers in our government around the 'quadrangle gangs' were obsessed with the transformation of our Gambia 'into a service-based economy' and cared the least.
It is an open secret that tourism stimulates the sex trade. All the countries that bank on tourism - Malaysia, Ghana, France, Holland, Brazil, Thailand, Cameroon, Kenya, South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, etc - are all facing the sexual exploitation of their people day in and day out by tourists!
The difference is that some of these affected countries like Holland and Malaysia tried to address it by either legalising it or creating semi-legal mechanisms that enable sex workers maintain comfortable standard of living and pay taxes like the normal bankers, civil servants or traders.
We in the Gambia should wake up for this state of denial. We cannot eat out cake and have it. We say we want tourism we should therefore not be surprised when our Tourism Development Area has become 'sex trade development area!'
Recently, the German TV station RTL made a documentary about middle-aged European women who fly to the Gambia on short holidays to have sex with ?young, healthy black men.? One of the effected young men told the reporter that his Islamic religion and family background are opposed to male prostitution but insists he had no other income-generating alternative. I sympathised with the young man for he could only speak openly with the assurance that the report will not be shown in the Gambia and that his family would not know of his double standard lifestyle.
It is important to note that while most of the female prostitutes in our streets and clubs are from sister ECOWAS states, the male prostitutes sleeping with European sex tourists of their grandmothers' age are Gambian men!
We must also not narrow our understanding of sex trade to the poor street workers. Every class of our society has prostitution defined in its own terms. The practices of 'sugar-daddysm' and 'sugar-mammysm' are other forms of prostitution where the well-established party shower the younger (or weaker) party with material wealth in exchange for sexual comfort.?
The 'first class' prostitutes on the other hand stay in their self-contained houses or hotel rooms where their clients visit them. Others specialise in comforting diplomats, expatriates and the so-called 'very important persons -VIPs' of our society who, during the day preach morality and when the sun sets, patronise sex workers!
If I were to choose between American Playboy guru Hugh Hefner and our so-called moral apostles, I will go for Hefner because he is not hypocritical!
Economic migrants and the sex trade
I am currently working on a TV documentary on migrant Africans in Europe and USA and have discovered that large part of the money people are sending back home for school fees, family-upkeep, housing projects and other business ventures are not just generated from hard labour but from drugs and prostitution as well. I met many ambitious young men and women from ?publicly respected Gambian families? who confessed that they had no other choice while the families back home are pressing them to keep wiring money and to keep up with these family pressures, they have to sell their bodies!
Some of the men and women living between Seattle and New York City (USA) and from London to Rome (Europe) work as strip tease, call-girls and exclusive prostitutes. Even married men and women are joining the show because white men and women are now willing to pay high fees for ?sexual experience with an exotic African!? This does not mean that all economic migrants are into this practice. The majority earn hard, slowly and legally.
So the ECOWAS citizens are prostituting in the Gambia in the same way some Gambian daughters and sons are selling their bodies in Europe and America!
The Islamic Experience
Though our Islamic Faith laid strict penalties for adultery and fornication, the sexual exploitation of women is condoned by the elites. The harem culture in which hundreds of women are packed in golden cages for the sexual satisfaction of the Scheichs and religious leaders is still rampant
In 1996, I wrote a report about young Gambian girls who were lured by a local religious leader into sex-slavery in Kuwait, Dubai, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and other Arab-Muslim states.
In Present day Islamic Republic of Iran, there is an Islamic tradition of short-term marriages which effectively encourages the sex-trade. This tradition is called "sighe" and through it men and men can go to any official cleric or mullah who then approves their short-term martial contracts ranging from 15 minutes to 30 days or till death - depending on the hidden or expressed agenda of the parties! This practice is now widespread across Iran and other Shiite-Muslim communities where men and women exchange in short matrimonial unions for sexual adventure.
In Egypt, Morocco and other North African states, young men engage in sexual acts with tourists who sponsor them or help then enter Europe! The other alternative for them is terrorism as they are condemned in vicious cocoons of poverty! All these shady practise of our Islamic word are not reported on in the public media because the conservative elites who control the media outlets continue to propagate golden social facades that are rotten from within.
The trial of Amina Lawal by a Nigerian Sharia court for extra-marital affair failed because the man who impregnated her was freed while she (Amina) was publicly humiliated. The hypocrisy and mockery of justice in our world makes me vomit. Can a woman impregnate herself anyway?
The Islamic burden-of-proof rules say three to four witnesses must corroborate an act of illegal sex. Tell me how many people have sexual intercourse in public? Even if an alleged prostitute talks to a potential client in the street it does not mean they are having sexual intercourse and they are innocent as there is no crime in people talking peacefully!
Sex Education...Yes!
Before our moralists start blaming the teenagers for unwanted pregnancies and sexual frustrations, they should ask if they (teenagers) had access to balanced education on the pros and cons of sex!
You will agree with me that there is DEFICIT in amount of SEX and REPRODUCTIVE SEX EDUCATION in our society. Parents pass the responsibility on to the schools and the school expect the families to help the teenagers. In this state of uncertainty, people tend to swallow whatever junk the preachers cook.
The fear that young people will indulge in sex when they know about the positive and negative sides of active sexuality does not hold. In today's internet and mobile age, it takes only a mouse click or text message for a teenager to access the global database of pornographic materials.
The challenge is for us to tell the young people about sex and sexuality in our anthropological settings. We need more 'coming-of-age' ceremonies, beyond female circumcision, so they can understand sensuality, reproductive health and family life values.
Giving birth to a child is easier but becoming a successful mother is very difficult. Likewise, it is easier to impregnate a woman than father a child responsibly!
In Uganda, there are traditional female counsellors called ssengas , who advise women in sexuality and healthy sex. Their services are not only engaged by teenagers but also by married women and other female executives who want to rediscover sexual satisfaction in the wider African context.
We all know that HIV/AIDS and other sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) are not transmitted through portable water or polluted air. I would like to add that it is also un-African to wait till when half of Africa\'s population is sent to the graves by HIV/AIDS/STIs due to lack of leadership that will allow public discourse on sexuality!
Until and unless we Africans are prepared to face the truth and promote responsible education sexuality and reproductive health in the open, we will be only caricaturing ourselves like the naked emperors.
At this juncture, we must realise that nakedness or nudity is a symbol of innocence and not decadence! It was only when Adam and Eve sinned that they discovered the sensation of shame and started covering their private parts out of guilt. So if we see the Sans of Kalahari desert, the Indios of Amazon, the Pygmies in Central Africa, and other native people walking mostly naked, it has nothing to do with decadence but with innocence and connection to nature.
Commercial exploitation
Nudity becomes decadent when it is taken out of its anthropological context as in the cases of the music, film, pornography and advertisement sectors where 'sex sells.' Such practice reduces sex, nature and women into mere commercial products for consumption and should be addressed.
The strippers in Euro-American red districts are selling sex just like the Arab belly dancers in Arabo-Islamic closets.
The Crime factor
We must not forget that the global sex industry is said to worth around 5 billion US dollars. This has attracted organised criminals who copy the tactics of drug cartels and human-traffickers.
Germany recently joined and Holland in recognising prostitution as a legitimate profession. Prostitutes pay tax and enjoy state essential services like police support and medical care. The German state also pays for professional training of young men and women who want to become qualified sex workers in licensed brothels, escort services and massage parlours. These moves are meant to cut-out the criminals who are exploiting vulnerable women.
The recent conviction of a male brothel operator in our Gambia may send warning signals to other sex-slave masters and ring leaders operating these prostitution rings at the expense of economically-desperate women.
But, I am appealing to my Gambian Government and the law enforcement agencies not play themselves into the hands of rival gangs fighting for control of the local sex industry. These sex-gang leaders usually adopt mafia methods like including police and government officers into their pay-list in exchange for clamp-downs on their opponents.
Legalising sex trade or integrating victims
I for one do not care about the legalisation of prostitution or same sex as it was, and will always remain with us in this world. Both Nelson Mandela of South Africa (Christian) and Hassan al-Turabi of Sudan (Muslim) agree that the "moral police" CANNOT go into peoples' homes to investigate the so-called anti-social behaviours (ASBs); they risk legal nightmares over trespassing!" If I were a lawyer or human right activist or a lawmaker, I will fight for the rights of sex workers.
Our Gambia is secular state and a secular constitution. It is therefore our secular constitution and not the religious dogma that can help us devise pragmatic solutions. The sex workers who were unfortunate to be arrested for prostitution should be coached by the Women's Bureau and Social Welfare Department. They should be integrated into the various micro-credit schemes so they can develop alternate income generating activities.
One cannot solve the problems of prostitution in a single generation but it is better to start than to beat about the bush. It took Thailand almost 30 years to bring opium (drugs) production in the Golden Triangle to controllable point. Prostitution which is millions of years old will take much longer time.
Sex workers are human beings. And like you and me, they have the freedom to do whatever, they feel like doing with their sexual organs as long as they do not trample on the freedom of their neighbours because one's freedom stops where his/her neighbours freedom starts!
Moral Hypocrisy? Taboos kill!
In conclusion, the problems with my home continent of Africa are TABOOS, RELIGIOUS DOGMA and MORAL HYPOCRISY! I ask the following questions:
1. How many "men of God" taste the forbidden fruits secretly?
2. How many politicians and big men are entertaining harem-like collections of "sugar babies" and mistresses?
3. Why did Jesus Christ save Maria Magdalena from lynching as she was accused of doing what her accusers were doing in private - prostitution and sexual liberty?
4. Why is it that every 30 minutes a woman is raped and a man sexually exploited between Cairo and Cape?
5. Why is divorce becoming rampant and outrageous?
6. Which sections of the Holy Qur\'an and the Bible said that the sexual pleasure of our womenfolk should be sliced through female circumcision?
7. Why are war refugees and war victims sexually exploited in DR Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Northern Uganda, South Africa, Niger Delta, etc?
The cultural hypocrites should keep their mouths shut - we are tired of dogma! Taboos kill!
If you have response to these questions or comments, feel free to contact the author by Email: Bubacarr@gmx.net
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anna
Netherlands
730 Posts |
Posted - 27 Dec 2006 : 21:54:02
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| Well.....i was a bit shocked to read that in my country we are facing sexual exploitation by tourists on a daily basis (not true, fortunately - but then most of my countrymen and women can have themselves a job with a reasonable income, so there is no need to sell our bodies simply to have ourselves a meal - so there's no comparison really to Gambian sex workers) but for the rest i found this a very refreshing, open and honest article. Abubacarr Sankanu doesn't seem to be afraid to speak his mind, very brave! |
When an old African dies, it is as if a whole library has burnt down.
Amadou Hampate Ba (Mali) |
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gambiabev
United Kingdom
3091 Posts |
Posted - 27 Dec 2006 : 22:51:58
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| I think this is an excellent piece. It is thought provoking. In an ideal world there would be NO prostitution,but we don't livein an ideal world. |
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Cornelius
Sweden
1051 Posts |
Posted - 30 Dec 2006 : 21:56:36
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Mostly Corrected and updated:
Marvin Gaye's "Life is for learning" is full of good songs ( which show which way to go: he was a special man and even on Bantaba we are here to give and take, to learn to live.......
My computer is still down – has been even further destroyed. I hope that those responsible get hanged in hell.
A response to any subject on this forum can be tangential, it does not have to lock horns directly – it can even be a point of departure. This is BANTABA, it’s not an examination hall, and I hope that I’m not the only crazy one here. I am chatting, keeping company, like at a dinner table sometimes and the script is not a manuscript; we are free to talk, even interrupt someone’s flow of thought or emotions and continue.
After writing this, I would like to get to the latest Saddam Hussein issues as there must be much foaming in and around some mouths just now, arguing about retributive justice vs. injustice, arguing about the many phases or war and history of war, arguing about the soft underbelly of brutality, despotism, nationalism, and Saddam's last wish is that his people should “ fight the Persians” ( a repeat of the Iraq-Iran , the Sunni Shia war) only thing is we don’t know whether it was Saddam who was hanged – if indeed he was hanged at all and not flown over to Virginia, or whether it was one of his doubles, and like the unbelieving Thomas of yore, it’s reasonable for the unbelievers to demand to see the body and to bury him.
But I would trust the Shia to not mistake somebody else for Saddam
( whether it be his siamese twin brother or even the devil himself for him, and I'm sure that as far as they are concerned, they've hanged the right man. But can we be absolutely sure?
As for me, as I have stated time without number and not only in quoting Danny Glover, that
http://www.google.se/search?hl=sv&q=Danny+Glover+on+the+Death+penalty&btnG=S%C3%B6k&meta=
I am against the death penalty, whether it is for Ahmadinejad or Saddam – not that I believe that when it comes to measuring atrocities it is only a question of scale, for in Islam, killing just one man is like having killed all mankind – so, no double standards here: should Ahmadinejad want to further any diabolic intentions of wiping out the rest of what Hitler intended, should he not meet the same fate - not at the terminal stage but at a much earlier stage meet the same fate as Adolf Eichmann?
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=Adolph+Eichmann&fr=yfp-t-501&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8
http://www.dogpile.com/info.dogpl/search/web/Adolph%252BEichmann/1/-/1/-/-/-/1/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/417/top/-/-/-/1
Foday Sankoh met his fate before he could give a full accounting. And so has Saddam. Let us hope that Charles Taylor does not get too nervous that he will be meeting them soon, I mean those two who have gone just a little ahead.
As I have said previously, I do not believe in the death penalty and I certainly do not advocate it for Charles Taylor, the former president of our neighbour Liberia, either.
CHEERS TO THE GAMBIAN LEADERSHIP and to Gambian morality for taking the necessary steps to curb prostitution and shame on those who would like to encourage it, and see it established as status quo or tolerate it as a viable or halal form of developmental economic activity. In trying to put a stop to it by legislating against it and having an active police enforcement of the state laws, I see President Jammeh as a purifier of the faith of Islam.
I think that most of us agree that we would not like to see our daughters, sisters, mothers, brothers, aunts, female relatives being recruited to serve the sexual needs for cash of as "sex workers" in the world’s oldest profession - for whatever reason and still call ourselves Muslims, Christians or what have you.
As an authoritative interpreter of Bob Dylan (don’t ask who authorised me, because I authorise myself and write my own poetry) let me quote the conclusion of his Frankie Lee and tell you that HOUSE= WHORE HOUSE (as in “The House of the RISING SUN – that house in New Orleans, and it says
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_House_of_the_Rising_Sun
The conclusion of the saga of Johnny Leigh and Judas priest:
“So when you see your neighbour carrying something,
Help him with his load,
And don't go mistaking Paradise
for that house across the road.”
http://www.bobdylan.com/songs/frankielee.html
SO what, if I misquote him to advantage? Call the cops?
The legalisation of prostitution in the Gambia – in the name of “it is a secular state”, does not lead to the modernisation of Islam or to progress, social or economic justice in that country.
http://www.israpundit.com/2006/?p=3616#comments
I am no moral prig – like Hastings Kamuzu Banda, but allowing it ( prostitution) to flourish unchecked would be a wrong step in the wrong direction: it should be regarded as a step backwards and I would also regard its advocates as recalcitrant, immoral and with real freedom of speech in this forum, you’d soon understand what I mean as a nice guy.
http://www.google.se/search?hl=sv&q=Hastings+Kamuzu+Banda+on+prostitution&meta=
PROSTITUTION IN THE GAMBIA:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=Prostitution+in+the+Gambia&meta=
As for the procurers of children to satisfy the lusts of European paedophiles and the procurers and recruiters of innocent & poor young women and men for European brothels, to satisfy the needs of their customers, the Gambian authorities should send such false friends packing and make it so difficult for them that they leave with their tails between their legs. They are not real friends, no matter how much they pretend to be, and indeed they have nothing but contempt for us, and should we challenge them, they will surely flee, for such are their true colours. I know them. I have lived in Europe for a long time, and I can smell them from a mile off, with their patronising attitudes – and of course they think that they are much better than any African – no matter how ugly and morally deformed they are.
Do you know to what extent the Peace keepers corrupted the schoolgirls in Sierra Leone, with their offers of a few dollars a night ?
http://www.google.se/search?hl=sv&q=Peacekeepers+in+Sierra+Leone+increase++prostitution+in+Sierra+Leone&btnG=S%C3%B6k&meta=
Talking about the Gambia, Cyprian Ekwensi’s JAGUA NANA should be more relevant than “Moll Flanders”
http://www.google.se/search?hl=sv&q=JAGUA+NANA+&btnG=S%C3%B6k&meta=
http://www.google.se/search?hl=sv&q=+Cyprian+Ekwensi%3A+JAGUA+NANA+&btnG=S%C3%B6k&meta=
Moll Flanders:
http://www.google.se/search?hl=sv&q=Moll+Flanders&meta=
In addition to Abubakr’s subheadings I would also like to forward some speculations in answer to the questions he asks under “MORAL HYPOCRISY? Taboos Kill”
A woman’s voice lodged a question in my telephone answering system, asking whether or not I “indulged” in the red light district in Bombay – not that it’s her business. Face to face I would have got her running with her tail between her legs, but Abubakar also asks of even holy men at the end of his long plea for “ sanity” in the sex trade. He asks,
“How many “men of God” taste the forbidden fruit, secretly?”
How many?
I don’t know about that.
men of God?
Secretly?
Who knows how many?
It also depends on which man of God he’s talking about and which definitions of “men of God” are in operation. Brother Jero? Shree Rajneesh?
Elmer Gantry?
Anthony Perkins as the priest who visits the brothel regularly to discharge his burdens in the movie CHINA BLUE?
http://www.google.se/search?hl=sv&q=Elmer+Gantry&btnG=Google-s%C3%B6kning&meta=
http://www.google.se/search?hl=sv&q=+Anthony+Perkins+in+CHINA+BLUE&meta=
But let me take this opportunity to clear up the personal: I met more than one beautiful Jewish Princess in New York in 1976 and 1979, with ASHASHAS that would have made Monica Lewinsky blush, but did NOT “indulge”
About BOMBAY, let me repeat: in our horse and carriage BOMBAY by night tour,( which was limited to the red Light district, the first night) - after three months of absolute celibacy, meditation, and chanting of the Guru Gita, the Shiva Mahimna Stotras etc and much ajapa- japa and Guru Seva, the red-light district was not like anything I had seen before - it was like I would direct a movie scene from ”The Arabian Nights” – I even saw women moaning and swaying in chains - the atmposhere was cahrged with semen and thousands of Hindu men on the prowl looking for what Allen Ginsberg might have meant by "that ancient heavenly connection"
http://www.google.se/search?hl=sv&q=The+Arabian+Nights&btnG=S%C3%B6k&meta=
And what's this about holy men? Read this poem:
http://www.fort.org/ginsberg_footnote_to_howl.html
To lay the matter to rest, I repeat:
“IT ALL CAUSED MY CURLY HAIR TO UNCURL
AND STAND UP STRAIGHT AND TALL
LIKE BOB DYLAN’S BLADE OF GRASS AND
THAT WAS ALL!!!!!!!”
http://bobdylan.com/songs/dogs.html
No more salacious movements took place, if you please. I went back to my hotel amazed, two days later I gave all that I had to beggars
( that I later learnt were professionals with children whose malnourished ribs were countable),on my last day in Bombay, the banks were closed and I only had about $30, left ran into some Arabs (in Bombay for medical consultations) and they gave me the equivalent of some $400 worth of rupees when I asked then to change $20 ( which action I thought was DIVINE intervention) – they wanted to give me more, but I said it was more than enough and blessed them, got a first class ticket to Delhi, and had more good luck, a knowledgeable Parsee for companyall the way to Delhi!
http://www.google.se/search?hl=sv&q=Parsee&meta=
As you know there’s a saying that ”God moves in His mysterious ways His wonders to perform.”
When I say it depends on your definition of “Holy Man”, let me refer to that Chapter 38 of Genesis that Santanfara wants me to explain to him ( and I know what is troubling his puritanical soul) Genesis 38
(Please read the whole chapter yourself)
http://www.google.se/search?hl=sv&q=Genesis+38+.&btnG=S%C3%B6k&meta=
Check the above.
Abiding by my Stone Chumash edition, Genesis 38:15 read:
“When Judah saw her, he thought her a harlot since she had her face covered……”
Tamar asks, “What will you give me?”
My Chumash notes for verses 16-18: "Tamar did not want money and would have refused it if it had been offered. She wanted something that she could use later to prove that her consort was Judah, so that her pregnancy would be acknowledged as the result of a levirate union. So great was the passion burning within him ( as a result of the Providential intervention( Abarbanel) that Judah gave her three valuable items as a pledge , for a single goat ( ibn Ezra) and items that could so conclusively identify him.”
Ethics & morals vary from culture to culture, and even within cultures.
In case you are “wondering” what a “levirate marriage/ union” is, see Deuteronomy 25 ff
If interested in Justice, please look at this a little more closely:
http://www.google.se/search?hl=sv&q=.Deuteronomy+25+&btnG=S%C3%B6k&meta=
Perhaps you know where the words ONAN and ONANISM come from?
http://www.google.se/search?hl=sv&q=Onanism&meta=
My Chumash notes read:
“Briefly, when a man dies without offspring, Torah law obliges his brother to marry the widow, and the son of the union is considered the spiritual son of the deceased.”
If my understanding is correct, then this is also the case in traditional Igbo culture, in Nigeria.
But back to my Chumash notes for Genesis 38: 6-10:
“Onan knew that the children born of this union would be a reincarnation of Er’s soul but he was too selfish to let this happen.”
“The Torah states that Er and Onan died because of their wickedness, and the nature of their sin is given in verse 9. Tamar was a beautiful woman and Er and Onan did not want her beauty to be marred by pregnancy, so they wasted their seed. Fro this grave sin – which God considered to be even more serious because they were the grandsons of Jacob and the sons of Judah – they suffered death.
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Edited by - Cornelius on 31 Dec 2006 17:29:05 |
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Santanfara
3460 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2006 : 22:57:31
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mr sankanu mixed-up quiet a lot of issues and went on to call for the legalisation of prostitution.i only have one question for him ,that is let him ask his sister if he have any to request a licence to become the first gambian officially accepted as a prostitute. the socall enlighten analysis of such a complicated matter by an unnon journalist is disgraceful. he should rather put his attention of making the journalistic profession ethical once again rather dwelling on matter far above his weigth. journalism have become like every other profession ,unprofessional and bias. he need to look into that first. on the issue of religious leaders ,well he should do his homework. i did not hear any religious leader caalling for the arrest of any prostitute.
no religious leader islamic ones are above the rule of allah.if they are corrupt ,they are just like any ordinary muslim. there misdeed is not a reason to call for prostitution to be legalise. the so-call harems and so on have nothing to do with islam. there is nowhere in the qru-an or hadith were such behaviours are condone . infact such act are purnishable by death. mr sankanu's mixing of secularity and religion is baseless and stupid. we as humans have diverse cultures and behaviours so our differences should be accepted and tolerated. but wanting a uniform character for all is immpossable and patronising.some have even thrown in there towel of supplying mis-informing web-sites to take a swipe at islam. but what is islam is clear to the sincere followers . islam stood against all immoral conducts and ills which will bring deseace and death to people. what is the biggest transmitter of a created decease like aids ,free sex.
the authorities need better ways to eliminate prostitution not heavy handed methods. mr sankanu you need to stop pleasing the secularist fundamentalist with critising some thing you don't research properly.may allah guide you .the devious conclusion you made is vey annoying and unislamic.may be you are not one ,because if you are then you have openly challenge allah on his injunction which is tantamount to disbeleive.
muslims should be careful on this sinsitive topic ,your pen is your voice on this forum ,trying to please people can lead you to grave sin. |
Surah- Ar-Rum 30-22
"And among His signs is the creation of heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge." Qu'ran
www.suntoumana.blogspot.com |
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MADIBA
United Kingdom
1275 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2007 : 12:46:30
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I first came acrcoss this article in the thegambiaecho.com website. I saw it as a hotbull**** from a mis-guided African. Africa is the birthplace of Mankind wen it suits his(babucarr's) masters, that's wen is for such degrading matters as prostitution. Prostitution, may be the world's oldest profession but does that make it decent? Hell no! More so from an African perspective. Does a prostititute openly talk about their profession?
As you said babucarr should have done a proper research before coming out wit such concotion of nonsense.
Doctors sleeping with their patients, or teachers sleeping with their student is unethical but no way near prostitution. A doctor fancing a patient may build a relation from there and if that leads to sex my dear babucarr that's no way near prostitution. Don't tell me that the patient does it to get free treatment from the doctor.
Regarding what Islamic experience , Babucarr expose his lack of adequate knowledge by confusing Sheikhs and Religious Leaders. Sheikhs most of the time are titles that the rich arabs call themselves, they could be involve in illegal sex but the Religious Leaders no way! Not every arab man with Kaftan and turban is an islamic leader.
What you said about Moroccan and Egytian youths because of poverty give sex in exchange for a trip to europe or turn to terrorism is grossly misleading and unfair. Youths from these countries are one of the most harding on the African continent. Look at their economies the very best on the continent and better than some european countries. Go back Babucarr and do a proper research.
Babucarr you need to apologise to many hard working gambians who you insulted and dented their integrity and stain their image. There could be some involve in the practice, but i bet it is fraction of the gambian community.
Finally my advice to babucarr is:
1. Go seek Knowledge
2. No matter how long a log stays in the river, it nver will be a crocodile
3. If you have nothing good to say about Islam and Africans its holier to shut up
4. If you are looking to be another Salman Rushdie welcome
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Emman
Germany
8 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2007 : 13:02:23
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Hallo SANTANFARA,
Happy New Year 2007. I am sorry you got Mr. Sankanu's commentary all wrong. I found it very intesting and thougt provoking that is why I posted it here.
So it makes o SENSE for you and "other pious list members" to start attacking him personaly.
I believe Mr. Sankanu is trying to STIMULATE GENERAL DEBATE over a very sensitive topic. His style of writing ad imageries (examples) have shown than HE KNOWS WAHT HE IS WRITING ABOUT.
For yout information, Mr. Sankanu DID NOT call fpr the lgalisatio nof Prostitution. Read his peace and you will see "I for one do not care about the legalisation of prostitution or same sex as it was, and will always remain with us in this world. Both Nelson Mandela of South Africa (Christian) and Hassan al-Turabi of Sudan (Muslim) agree that the "moral police" CANNOT go into peoples' homes to investigate the so-called anti-social behaviours (ASBs); they risk legal nightmares over trespassing!" If I were a lawyer or human right activist or a lawmaker, I will fight for the rights of sex workers".
OK he saying that he will fight for the "rights of sex workers" does not mean legalising posritution. Even murders have the right ot be represented by lawyers.
If the prostitute are borught be before or judge, they deserve the right to lawyers adn defence.
The young man is talking about "human rights" and respect for fellow human beigns no matter how controversial their lifestyles are.
I did NOT see him attacking any religious leader personally. How comes he knew about local reliogius leaders who send Gambian girls for prostitution in Muslim-Arab countries?
I do not see Mr. Sankanu "unon journalist" writing but a PROFESSIONAL and an EXPERIENCED one who is just trying to stimulate debate.
If you have anything personal to clarify with him, his email is given: but in this BANTABA people should be ready for MATURE DEBATE and not personal attacks and not setimentalism.
This is my opinion
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anna
Netherlands
730 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2007 : 13:54:48
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And i agree with you wholeheartedly, Emman!
Mr Sankanu is trying, in my view in a very professional way, to expose the hypocrisy around prostitution. Please, don't forget that in this 'business' a lot of money is made by vicious men who make victims of women who 'work' for them in many cases involuntarily. Mr Santanfara, i remember how happy i was with your remark in one of your earlier postings that a lot of prostitutes were women 'whose menfolk let them down'.
As stated in the article, there are many kinds of prostitution; there are also women who see this as a regular job, making fast money. These women can take care of themselves, and face it: they will never be lack of male clients.
But there are a lot of African, Asian en (Eastern)European women who were promised jobs (secretarial, or being a waitress, good money so that they could take care of their families at home) by criminals who, once in the Western world, locked them up and put such fear in them that they feel they have no choice but to obey and work for these pimps as prostitutes because they fear for their lives.
Well, there are many heartbreaking stories ....what about drugaddicts who are so desperate for their daily portion of heroine or whatever, that they walk the streets in the night in the hope of being picked up by a man?
If we know that prostitution exists (as it has existed for as long as mankind has existed), isn't it better then to monitor it and to try to protect the women involved against their will? Try to give them a better future (Mr Sankanu is seeing a role for the government here, for instance through the much praised micro-credit system)?
I was also happy with Mr Sankanu's statements about female circumcision and the how and why of rape victims in times of war. This article is really food for thought! I am still just as enthusiastic about it as when i read it for the first time.
Anyway, welcome in 2007 all of you! As Bev said, unfortunately we do not live in an ideal world..........
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When an old African dies, it is as if a whole library has burnt down.
Amadou Hampate Ba (Mali) |
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Emman
Germany
8 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2007 : 15:30:43
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MADIDA and all those wonderful "DEMI-GOD" members,
It is sad that our society is still full of people who do not what to face the painful facts.
Mr. Sankanu called Africa the birthplace of mankind. He did not argue for African to be leaders in prostitution.
He only said that "Prostitution is part of our society" and we should talk about it and find solutions to it.
IS THERE ANYTHING WRONG WITH THIS PROPOSAL?
I do not also see any mixture between SCHEIKS(rich ARBS) and Religous leadrs. The article in question clearly differentiated the two. The Rich Arabs maintain harems and sex-slaves (sent to them by religious leaders in Africa, Asia and other poor Musilm nations).
The religious leaders equally bless them by either approving it as the article gave the example of Iran.
You know Islam is against dictatorship, but our religious leaders in the Gambian are not condeming Jammeh's abuse of athority which is un-Islamic? They are supporting Jammmeh who makes up appearances as religous man or party-master as he feels!
Mr. Sankanu suggested a lot of plans for the authorities concerned to address the problem.
Please Madida and all those "PERFECT-PEOPLE", intimating that Sankanu knows nothing about Islam or wants to be another Salman Rushie, is a sad thing.
Your bias denials have shown that some Muslims are not WILLING TO ADDRESS THE WEAKNESSES OF THEIR SOCIETIES but only want to talk about others (e.g. The West is decadent; African and the Islamic World are perfect)?????????????????????????
Please be RESPONSIBLE and FAIR. Every human being is a sinner and even you MADIBA is not inoccent.
I would like to applogies to Mr. Sankanu as I posted his article here and indirectly subjected him to insults by "some NARROW-MINDED Muslims" who have no respect for DEBATES and DIALOGUE! |
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MADIBA
United Kingdom
1275 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2007 : 15:48:51
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| If defending my african heritage or islamic believe means intolerance then so be it. I am not sorry for all that i said in reaction to Sankanu's story/article. I have never said that am DEMI-GOD or a PERFECT. The NARROW-MINDED are those who forward hate articles to this forum to bring suspicion amongst those who beleive and practise their faiths (muslim, christian, jew or buddhist). I am an African who believe in my cultural values and highly esteem my religion which i shall NEVER exchange for all the gold in the world.PEACE |
madiss |
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toubab1020
12306 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2007 : 16:18:20
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I have read all this complicated stuff that the previous posters have submitted,one thing bothers me and that is what I consider the fundemental question:
DO WOMEN ENJOY BEING PROSTITUTES?
I am certain that the answer is No of course not.
Until a woman can tell me differently,then I consider that that person is being used simply for the pleasure of others who have money.
The saying that, money is the root of all evil, may well be true!
I dont expect to see any replies at all to this posting,or will someone prove me wrong? |
"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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Cornelius
Sweden
1051 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2007 : 16:20:22
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Mr. Sanhanu it was who introduced the religion dimension, which is inevitable if we are ever going to talk about Gambian ethics or Gambian moral ideals.
Prostitution should be totally forbidden in the Gambia. Permission to whore denied. NOT GRANTED. Clear and simple - farming is much more profitable in this world and the next. Otherwise such a vice being institutionalised in such a little country as the Gambia and being allowed to flouish - as in Germany - in no time some places reputation become synonymous with prostitution and I remember the official reaction to the entry of Bangkok as a word of infamy in the English dictionary - it eventually had to be removed.
In India there is a different social and culture dynamic - there are more Muslims in India than in Pakistan, yet Muslims are still a minority ( although they ruled vast parts of India for over 800 years)
The Gambia is not only a member of OIC the country is also more than 85% Muslim.
It's a different scene here:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=sv&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=The+RED+LIGHT+DISTRICT+IN+BOMBAY&spell=1
"And in their hearts there is a disease":
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=sv&q=Quran%3A+And+in+their+hearts+there+is+a+disease
ISLAM AGAINST PROSTITUTION:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=sv&q=Islam+against+prostitution&btnG=S%C3%B6k
Islam's position on Pro-stitution
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=sv&q=Islam%27s+position+on+prostitution&btnG=S%C3%B6k
Islam's attitude to Prostitution
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=sv&q=Islam%27s+attitude+to++prostitution&btnG=S%C3%B6k
Islam's attitude towards prostitution:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=sv&q=Islam%27s+attitude+towards++prostitution&btnG=S%C3%B6k
"All people seek the secret of their own continuity. The light of where we come from shines into the uncertainty of who we are. For where we come from is always at the heart of who we are, and until we understand the greater journey of our family and people we cannot recognise the direction of our own life." ( Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg said that in " The Eternal journey.")
We have studied all of Cheikh Anta Diop and his school of thought, and certainly are familiar with Trimmingham and professor Adu Boahen etc, and West African cultural history and basic anthroplogy of our beloved region - it is only after being fully equipped to sing our song that we open our mouths and not before.
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=sv&q=Trimmingham+%22HIstory+of+Islam+in+West+Africa
" Mr. Sankanu is trying to STIMULATE GENERAL DEBATE over a very sensitive topic"
Some of us are used to discussing. So, kindly bring your Mr. Abubakr Sankanu to the forum and lets discuss this problem. Debate?
What is the pro and who is on the con side - who wants us to revisit the scene of the crime?
The prostitution issue has been discussed in other dynamic forums - for example in Ghana and Nigeria forums and even in closed sessions among friends, where the output of opinion has been, to say the least, diverse and not under the supervison of any self-appointed overseer who believe that they and they alone have the insight and critical acumen or the "intellectual" equipment or most comprehensive grasp of sociological and social factors and personal acquaintance with the White Slave traffic.
C'mon Abubakr, step out of the darkness and move into the light - with us
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=sv&q=Trimmingham+%22HIstory+of+Islam+in+West+Africa |
Edited by - Cornelius on 01 Jan 2007 19:03:50 |
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Emman
Germany
8 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2007 : 16:20:24
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No wonder,
Millions of Innocent and progressive Muslims around the world are being subjected to unfair collectvie punishment due to the blindness of a handful of retrogessive TALIBAN and AL-QAZEDA-thinking fanatics who feel they have the moral monopoly to defend barbaric actions that have nothing to do with Islam or authentic African/indigenous civlizations.
"When a fool is dying he thinks he is sleeping"
PEACE & TOLERANCE TO ALL
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Santanfara
3460 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2007 : 20:28:21
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| EMMAN. all the nonsence you are on about is pointless. what we as muslims are speaking about is that prostitution should not be encourage. the authorities need to do all they can to eliminate it .period. if are you advocating for it to be legalise then go and request a license. i dont know whether you are a man or woman and infact i don't care. mr sankanu with his secularism bullsit are the type that have been responsible for selling our lands and people to european base on the standard of interpreting things there way. we see what happen just last month in england .the five ladies that died are human beings ,the use of drugs ,alcahol and pressure on high life push many into the rotten business of prostitution. if the people are willing for it to be outlawed what is mr sankanu got to do with that. there are many pedophiles calling for the legalisation of sex with children are you emman going to support that as well ? may be you also need to check your facts about even the taliban. capitalist monsters are rapping every body accross the globe for fiticoius reasons and you are using such silly points to arque.we do not want our sisters to engage in any form of prostitution, put religion aside normal human decency should even dictate against that.nobody is putting any force on you emman or anna to accept islam in any way.what each of you choose to beleive is your business ,so why do you jump at people just because they beleive in god and want to live by that norm. once again our culture cannot be bargain with any european culture. there are similarities on many aspects but we need to differ on some . let mr sankanu check his facts .which religious leader would supply rich men with prostitute .what a stupid analogy.however much one hates religion but making pointless accusation is unnecessary. |
Surah- Ar-Rum 30-22
"And among His signs is the creation of heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge." Qu'ran
www.suntoumana.blogspot.com |
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Santanfara
3460 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2007 : 20:45:03
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quote:
Originally posted by Emman
Hallo SANTANFARA,
Happy New Year 2007. I am sorry you got Mr. Sankanu's commentary all wrong. I found it very intesting and thougt provoking that is why I posted it here.
So it makes o SENSE for you and "other pious list members" to start attacking him personaly.
I believe Mr. Sankanu is trying to STIMULATE GENERAL DEBATE over a very sensitive topic. His style of writing ad imageries (examples) have shown than HE KNOWS WAHT HE IS WRITING ABOUT.
For yout information, Mr. Sankanu DID NOT call fpr the lgalisatio nof Prostitution. Read his peace and you will see "I for one do not care about the legalisation of prostitution or same sex as it was, and will always remain with us in this world. Both Nelson Mandela of South Africa (Christian) and Hassan al-Turabi of Sudan (Muslim) agree that the "moral police" CANNOT go into peoples' homes to investigate the so-called anti-social behaviours (ASBs); they risk legal nightmares over trespassing!" If I were a lawyer or human right activist or a lawmaker, I will fight for the rights of sex workers".
OK he saying that he will fight for the "rights of sex workers" does not mean legalising posritution. Even murders have the right ot be represented by lawyers.
If the prostitute are borught be before or judge, they deserve the right to lawyers adn defence.
The young man is talking about "human rights" and respect for fellow human beigns no matter how controversial their lifestyles are.
I did NOT see him attacking any religious leader personally. How comes he knew about local reliogius leaders who send Gambian girls for prostitution in Muslim-Arab countries?
I do not see Mr. Sankanu "unon journalist" writing but a PROFESSIONAL and an EXPERIENCED one who is just trying to stimulate debate.
If you have anything personal to clarify with him, his email is given: but in this BANTABA people should be ready for MATURE DEBATE and not personal attacks and not setimentalism.
This is my opinion
emman. if you are talking about human right ,well your chancellor just never condem the barbaric killing of saddam hussain yesterday. you may as usual have high regard for your german heritage as many germans do but we too with our premitive life style is a source of comfort to us no matter what level of western education we have.if we see one of our son's engaging in manner which is not a debate for us but for them ,then we do not join him/her in that. our continent has been redicule for long by people who hate any thing and every thing african or black ,yet those same people want to tell us how to live our life. some things are better done our way. if germany legalise prostitution ,that is up to the germans to discuss.if nertherland too legalise it it is up to them as well.our state should not try in any way to gain any income from earning from prostitution.whether male /female prostituition. the same europeans are saying aids is spreading as a result of unprotected sex ,most of that is prostitution. the hepocracy is on mr sankanu's part not any body.the ladies are human beings so let them find alternative means to survive if it is food or basic things they want. we do not involve your religion so please respect our faith emman and anna. |
Surah- Ar-Rum 30-22
"And among His signs is the creation of heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge." Qu'ran
www.suntoumana.blogspot.com |
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Emman
Germany
8 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2007 : 21:22:46
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SANTANFARA & CO,
SAD MENATLITY,
I did not mean to attack anybody's religion. The reactions here has hown than many are NOT matured enought to hear the truth
The Europeans are continously blamed for the world's problems. But it has been a long time since most of these former colinies gained their independece.
America was a colony with hand civil war like many African countries but it stopped camplaing and emerged as a superpower.
The Idnians are not sitting idle and blaming former coloinal masters and the Chinrse are proundly overkating America.
All the nations were colonized and exploited by the Europeans including my country Germany...but they are working HARDER. Not like some big-mouthed guys who just blame and blame without working.
Sadly, Africans (not all) continue to blame and complain. It is time for yout to take your destiny into your own hands and face the pros and cons culture like the brutal female cirmumcision (FGM).
The bitter pill is that TOURISTS from EUROPE will continue to sexually exploit Gambian sons and dauthers and you cannot do anything it. Why is your government and religion not stopping it?
The TRUTH is without our dirty tourims money your ecnomies will collapse. Tell your government to ban tourim if you are brave. After all Islam is against sex tourims and hotel business.
When will you prove that you are trully independent?
With all our DECADENT, HUMAN RIGHTS and SECULAR VALUES, thousands of African are dying to come and enjoy our Western ways of living. Some are granted asylum and other married with the "pagan" European Ladies for residential permits.
What did your culture say about it?
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