By Seedy Darboe
One of the Gambian top Imams has condemned a ban on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the country and talked hard on campaign groups which he said are spreading falsehood about FGM everywhere.
Imam Abdoulie Fatty made the condemnation as he descended on campaigners against FGM in his last Friday sermon (khutbat) at a Mosque in around Bartex prior the congregational Jumaat prayer.
Imam Fatty in his sermon emphasised that FGM has been in practice since the time of Prophet Ibrahim (ASW) and “it was witnessed by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) during his time, too.”
“My dear Muslim people, I am advising us on the fear of God – all of us, let’s follow the teachings of Islam. My dear Muslim people we used to hear it and hearsay and they have a wake campaign and that is the reason why we do this type of sermon anytime they came back but they will meet us like the sun in the sky,” he said.
He went on that “there is nothing in Islam that is too small human being can look down upon, if there is a thing in Islam – like don’t remove your nail and (it) is ‘haram’ (forbidden) if you do it. Don’t look down on it.”
“We don’t give it to anybody to come and teach us about our den. we don’t give chance to anybody to come and teach us about our culture, white is with their dirty culture and men’s are marrying to each other and they legalize it, woman and woman are marrying each other and they legalize it, some have even pinned their private part, their breast, and they are sleeping with dogs and they don’t fight for all that. Instead they are fighting for our FGM while we are encouraging them to come because we have a dirty culture and wicked practice. But in as much as our brain that Allah has created with us to contain the knowledge is with us, we will never leave it until we die In Shaa Allah, may God help us, (amen),” he prayed.
Imam Fatty went on calling fellow Muslims saying “you heard them saying they are campaigning that they have pitying on our daughters, sisters, and wives and the saddest thing is that you have seen some Muslims in those gatherings. (As Muslims in such gathering) let them point it out where it is in the Islamic,” he challenged them to point out where it is in the Holy Qur’an.
The former State House Imam again called out “dear Muslims, the good Muslim before has been in this for more than one thousand years ago but this has happened during the time of prophet Ibrahim (ASW) when he was advised to cut three things in his wife, the cutting of two ears and to circumcise his wife and then he advised Sara to circumcise his wife called Hajara. Can prophet Ibrahim do something that is a bad culture while God advisee us to do that?”