By Baba Abubakar Drammeh
It is high time Wahhabi henchmen were told in no uncertain terms to stop meddling in the affairs of an Islamic organization as illustrious and prestigious as Rawdatul Majaalis. It is no match for them! But they are not to blame because the mediocre, uninitiated and novice blowing horns they are prevents them from grasping the essence of the educational, material and social values of Rawdah, let alone the spiritual, moral and inspirational responsibility borne by the organization.
Therefore, the filibusters are wasting their time trying to degrade or tarnish the reputable image of Rawdah. For it is the only Islamic organization in The Gambia and in the sub-region that is recognized by the vast majority of Imams and heads of Majaalis as representing the traditional Islamic values conveyed to us by our ancestors and which are based on the teachings of the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). Rawdatul Majaalis preaches how to purge the soul, mind and heart of all the undesirable ethical residues that may hinder man’s strenuous efforts to get closer to his/her creator.
Rawdatul Majaalis is an institution designed to shape the spiritual leaders of tomorrow and prepare them to become guides, peacemakers and nation builders. It is also meant to orientate all and sundry, particularly the youths towards adherence to the proper teachings of Islam, which in fact call for commitment to the middle-of-the-road and moderate approach to “Da’wah” (Preacing). It is indeed reprehensible in the performance of “Da’wah” to resort to violence and vilification of any form. It should be crystal clear that Rawdah condemns extremism, use of abusive language, contemptible rhetoric against fellow human beings as often seen and heard through the behavior of the “Wahaabi” clique.
Contrary to the command of Allah (S.W.T) whereby He says: “Call to the path of your Lord with wisdom and good preaching; if you were callous and hard-hearted, they would have deserted you”.
It goes without saying that there is no smoke without fire. Considering their heinous behavior, the “Wahaabi” clique is not just smoke but they prove to be wild fire trampling on their own conscience for worldly gains. Therefore, in my opinion, the Gambian authorities ought to be vividly vigilant about this disingenuous and misleading clique, which easily changes loyalty as it changes its clothes. The examples are there to speak for themselves, looking at their link to the former regime of Yahya Jammeh and their swift change of loyalty to the present government of His Excellency, President Adama Barrow.
In many instances in the past, Rawdatul Majaalis sent out multiple notes of caution to the competent authorities of The Gambia about the risk posed by this parochial “Wahaabi” oriented group in this country. Those notes of caution have indeed been followed by personal contacts on the part of Rawdah. Unfortunately, they all came and went unheeded. In my opinion, if nothing is done to pre-empt this group’s relentless attempts to destabilize our country there might come a day when the authorities would deeply regret their own indifference towards the group. For it may not far-fetched to assume that these hypocrites may be in connivance with other terrorist gangs like Boko Haram or ISIS to treacherously embark on acts of sedition and sabotage in The Gambia.
Solution
It is my considered opinion that the competent Gambian authorities should call for a general Islamic conference to which all the stakeholders of Islam in the country could be invited with a view to discussing matters of concern to the citizenry. Security and stability shall be a top priority on the agenda. The government, in this regard, may endeavor to provide an enabling environment under which all stakeholders would feel obliged to contribute to the efforts of bringing people together and finding ways and means of unifying divergent views on Islam in the quest for peace and national unity.
To be more precise, before the eruption of the petro-dollar boom in the Arab world, the Maliki school of thought had been the predominant version of Islam and the way of worship in North and West Africa. Until the mid 60s, this school of jurisprudence remained unrivaled in West Africa. But as scholarships started generously pouring in from the Gulf States, particularly from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Africa and elsewhere in the Muslim world, a new brand of Islam, “Wahhabism”, invaded every corner where Islam exists, especially in West Africa. Under the guise of promoting the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), the Wahhabi emissaries dispersed across the Muslim world, using violence and bloodshed in some countries like Iraq, Libya, Syria and to a lesser degree Egypt or myopically using despicable rhetoric against Muslims with a different religious perspective. They describe such Muslims as “Kuffar” (non-believers) or people of Bid’aa (religious innovators).
However, since there is a common ground on which we could all meet and discuss not substantive but subsidiary issues; we all believe in one God, in the same prophets and messengers of Allah (peace be upon them all) with the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) being their leader and seal, in the same Holy Qur’an and the same Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah; then we have more to unite us than to divide us!
In light of the above, the Government of The Gambia,spurred bygenuine political will, would once and for all be able to unite the various Islamic groups with a view to maintaining peace, unity and security in The Gambia.
Baba Abubakar Drammeh
President, Rawdatul Majaalis