IMAM CEESAY REBUTS SCHOLARS WHO ATTACK IMAM JALLOW FOR SETTING UP A PARTY TO CHALLENGE BARROW

A well-known Gambian imam based in the United States has endorsed Imam Musa Jallow, leader of the Reform and Development Party, while calling on Islamic scholars in the country to desist from criticising him.
Imam Jallow said since he announced his intention to run for president, a section of the Muslim community has repudiated him claiming going into politics to oppose a sitting government or leader is antithetical to the teachings of the religion.
But Imam Momodou Lamin Ceesay, who hails from Toniataba, Jarra West and a longtime US resident, encouraged Imam Jallow to go ahead with his political party, saying that he does not concur with his detractors and has the right to pursue his political dream.
Talking to The Standard yesterday, Imam Ceesay expounded: “The Gambia is not an Islamic Sharia state, what we have is the Constitution which calls for an election every five years to elect the president. This provides an opportunity for every Gambian to express his or her interest and contest for the position.
“In fact, I am the first imam who released an audio calling on my fellow Islamic religious leaders to participate in politics. It is not mentioned in the Holy Qur’an and the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad that a religious leader should not participate in the running of the affairs of the state.
“So, Sheikh Musa Jallow forming his own political party is not contrary to Islamic teachings as it is his constitutional right since The Gambia is a multi-party system. I am calling on my fellow imams in the country to stop misleading people. Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara was removed by Yahya Jammeh through a coup d’etat, and Jammeh was removed by Adama Barrow through the ballot. The same ballot could also remove Barrow from power.
“I call on Imam Musa Jallow to continue with his party and participate fully both in the presidential, National Assembly and local government elections and not listen to those critics because there is nothing bad in what he is doing, since it is not affecting the teachings of the Islamic religion,” he urged.

Source: The Standard