(JollofNews) – President Adama Barrow of the Gambia used his meeting with the Archbishop Benjamin Ndiaye of Dakar to call for continued religious tolerance between Christians and Muslims in the two countries.
Mr Barrow said Christians and Muslims have coexisted peacefully for centuries and Archbishop Ndiaye’s visit would help to further strengthen the historic ties between the Gambia and Senegal .
He urged all religious leaders to continue to pray for peace, because without peace there can’t be confidence for people to invest in the economy.
“Having Christians in my cabinet manifest our belief that we are all Gambians and we should nurture and celebrate the long history of peaceful coexistence between Muslims and Christians,” he said.
For his part, Archbishop Ndiaye said he was in Banjul to celebrate the Christian feast of the Assumption – also known locally as ‘Sang Marie’ – at the invitation of Gambia’s Christian community.
He said during the celebration he was encouraged by the solidarity of Muslim religious leaders from Banjul.
He prayed for success and peace for the Barrow administration and for humanity at large.
Archbishop Ndiaye told journalists that The Gambia had been a secular state until the former president declared it to be an Islamic state, which he said almost jeopardized the religious tolerance that Gambians shared. He said the new government is here to serve Gambians of all faith and not those of a particular religion.
Vicar Emil Sambou of the local Catholic diocese earlier expressed similar sentiments. He said that the people of the Gambia and Senegal were in solidarity in their belief in one God through different ways.
Gambian Fisheries Minister James F.P Gomez praised the maturity that President Barrow demonstrated as a leader in promoting religious tolerance among citizens.
Mr Gomez said Christians in the country felt they were part of the government, with the presence of three Christian members in the Barrow cabinet. He thanked the Archbishop for preaching his message of peace.
Unfortunate photographs; shot “A ” looks like a prisoner outside cell block” H”
shot “B” looks like a gathering around a coffin. { The Chinese must have a sense of humour} The coffin Cabinet or maybe the Cabinet coffin ?
Aaaaaaaaagh mmmmmmmph! Oh la la! I’m feeling it. What a claustrophobia!
lolol….Looks like an old Argos uniform>>good news; all Argos employees are to get £1.5 million in back pay.Hurray !!! less tax boo !!!.
So why are the christians not being sponsored to go on pilgrimage, to, say Rome or for Anglican, to England, or to attend appropriate religious gatherings, in the same way that muslims are being sponsored to go to Mecca -ie religious tolerance in action, even if the term tolerance sounds a bit patronising. The bottom line should be acceptance, and not denial of God’s own creation, and acceptance, unlike tolerance does not imply to say to, mostly members of religious minorities”well I know you people, most probably, are on the wrong, or lesser path than us, but still, in the interest of peace and stability, we will have you worship [your lesser Gods] in our midst. This is akin to attitude as expressed during the Apartheid years when coloureds, and indians were allowed to practice their professions along side, but really second, to whites as long as they stayed out of politics.
If our muslim brethrens can be sponsored to go on the Hajj, christians too deserve to be sponsored to attend their pilgrimages, or other religious gathering, and don’t need to be patronised. After all, action speaks louder than voice. So rather than religious tolerance, its much better to pay homage to God by a simple acceptance on equal term, of all the good lord’s creation.
You got to be sure of the sources of those funds before you allege unfairness. I know Saudi Arabia has a long tradition of offering free Hajj packages to Muslims from the developing world, especially Africa, and that may be the source of the funds. Unfortunately, many politicians claim these as their own sponsor packages, to boost their political standings, thus giving the impression of state sponsorship. We saw a lot of that during the past regime and its predecessor.
If, on the other hand, the state is funding Hajj for some Muslims, then that will not only be unfair, if not replicated with Christians and other religious groups, but may be unconstitutional too, as the state is not supposed to favour any religion or religious groups.
It is our duty, if we have the facts to support state sponsorship of Hajj, to expose the practice and at least, seek answers from our government, but we must be careful not to spread unfounded allegations that may create suspicion and division.
Very good point from Kara. I think the answer may be that Middle Eastern countries accept all within their faith, whilst predominantly Anglican and Catholic countries, do not issue visa’s to “third world” countries easily for fear of absconders or overstayers . Since the passing of the Jammeh regime, asylum applications are of course almost impossible as the new government is now considered human rights friendly and religious freedom is confirmed by President Barrows appeal for religious tolerance. Of course it is very helpful for President Barrow and his government to make such statements, which will encourage financial support from western countries. Unfortunately recent allegations of torture, sedition and detention without charge, and freedom of assembly, may make any new application for asylum, a case for argument.