Islamic organization Rawdatul Majlis has alleged that Gambian has lost confidence in some former executive members of the Gambia’s Supreme Islamic Council (SIC) whose aims are purely to hold on to power at all cost.
Established in 2017, Rawdatul Majlis has since been endeavoring to bring Muslims together under one umbrella with a view to following the foot-steps of the forefathers under whose guidance and instruction Islam spreads in the country.
At its recent annual Quranic recitation held at the Semega Janneh Hall, the organization unanimously selected Sheriff Sanusi Nano Hydara as the President of the Supreme Islamic Council (SIC) against the wish of the executive members of the council led by Muhammed Lamin Touray, a Gunjur born and Saudi trained Cleric.
In a push and pull, last week Gambia’s Supreme Islamic Council condemned the selection of Sheriff Sanusi Nano Hydara as the leader of the main Islamic body, disclosing that the selection of leader of the council must be in conformity with the laws of SIC and any act that contravenes the laws of the organization is regarded null and void.
GIC has also questioned the credibility of the Rawdatul Majlis saying that Islamic is not a registered member of the Supreme Islamic Council, stressing that only registered Islamic Organisations have a say in the selection or election of any leader of the organization.
“Gambian people have lost confidence in some members of the former executive members of the SIC who witnessed and presided over the arrest, detention and torture of close to a dozen of Imams in this country.
We have lost confidence in people who claimed to be cleric but yet will dance to the tune of politicians for their personal gains at the expense of Islam and its teaching”, Sheikh Abubacarr Jabbi, Public Relations Officer of Rawdatul Majlis stated at a press conference held at Tabokoto on Sunday.
According to him, the mandate of the former executive members of the Supreme Islamic Council has expired since last year but they failed to organize an election and not calling for a meeting to explains to members the delay, revealing that the excuse given by the former executive members of the SIC is that there is no fund to conduct an election but continues to hold offices illegally.
“We wrote series of letters to SIC to remind them of holding a congress but they never answered to these letters. We also understand that they said the Council lacks funds to conduct election but interestingly they didn’t lack funds to go for a nationwide tour”, PRO Jabbi punch.
Sheikh Abubacarr Jabbi revealed that the decision to select Sheriff Muhammed Sanusi Nano Hydara was reached during the last annual Quranic recitation of the organization and upon consultation with leaders of the Majlis Houses in the country and some of those Muslim elders who participated in the establishment of the Supreme Islamic Council in 1992 also accepted and bless the leadership of new SIC leader.
“We call you (journalists) so that you can informed the public that as far as we are concern Sheriff Sanusi Nano Hydara is the leader of the Supreme Islamic Council (SIC) contrary to the statements coming from some of the former members of the SIC.”, Sheikh Abubacarr Jabbi, Public Relations Officer (PRO) Rawdatul Majlis disclosed.
PRO Jabbi pointed that former executive members of the SIC has lost focus and sense of direction as far as the concerns of the Muslims living in the country are concern, stressing that these were the people who witness the arrest and detention of many Imams including Ismaila Manjang, Imam Sawaneh of Kanifing South Mosque, Imam Alhaiba Hydara, Imam Bakawsu Fofana and Imam Baba Leigh of Kanifing Estate Mosque