By Momodou Darboe
The Amir of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at in The Gambia has admonished those ‘bent’ on using religion as a springboard for intolerance to disengage so as to forestall its negative ramifications to the society.
Venerable Baba F. Trawally said the strengthening of The Gambia’s peace and cohesion should be everybody’s preoccupation as the country inches towards an all-important and high-stake general election at year’s end.
He also made an impassioned appeal to the country’s youth not to allow themselves be used by people as fodder to advance their ‘selfish’ interests.
The head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at in The Gambia made these exhortations on Saturday at Nusrat Senior Secondary School as he delivered a lecture in the 4th Annual Peace Conference organized by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Student Association of the school.
The theme of the conference was Inter-faith, Peace, Tolerance and Compassion.
“As this year is an election year, we should all pray for the consolidation of peace throughout the whole process. And, we should not be part of any conflict but we should be peaceful and exercise respect for each other,” the respected Amir told his audience, comprising students from other schools and faiths.
He advised Gambian students, youth of the country and beyond to be tolerant, respectful and accommodating.
“You must be careful of people who want to use you for their selfish interest in the name of religion by trying to instill hate and intolerance in you. Hate and disrespect for the followers of other faiths was never preached by any prophet of God. Rather, they all preached peace with the intention of returning humanity back to their Creator in order to establish the unity of God,” he advised.
He added: “For those who fan the flames of religious conflict in our country, we urge them to always preach peace and desist from saying such things that will anger their followers which will make them react in such way which will be regrettable at the end. As human beings, it is normal for us to have different opinions and it is also normal for us to see things differently and people should not jump to conclusion about others. Rather with these differences, we should embrace each other.”
The Amir urged Gambians to take inspiration from the national anthem to join each other despite their diverse backgrounds, political affiliations and religious differences among other differences of opinion.
“We should respect each other. In that way, we can live together in peace and harmony and take this great nation of ours forward,” he stated.
He pointed out that the normal functioning of life would be disrupted in the absence of peace.
Amir Trawally underscored that since human beings are tied to their faiths, they would be willing to sacrifice anything for it.
He continued: “Human beings are tied to their faith and people are willing to sacrifice whatever they have or can give in way of their faith and hold their faith dearly. For that reason, if certain religion does not preach peace to its followers then there is bound to be negative repercussions. If a certain religion or faith starts attacking another religion or faith physically or verbally with other forms of abuse, there is bound to be negative repercussions. If a certain religion or faith does not respect religious leaders of other faith and insult the leaders of other faith, there is bound to be negative impact unless the oppressed exercises patience. That is why it is very important that there exists a very cordial relations, the brotherhood and love with various religious denominations and faiths in order for the peace to always prevail.
“We have seen in some parts of the world what destructions religious conflicts can bring to people and to our beloved country-The Gambia. We have lived together as Muslims and Christians and other faiths and Christians of various denominations without any conflict or violence. Rather, we lived and continue to live together as brothers and sisters.”
Amir Trawally also harped on the need for compassion, especially to neighbours.
Meanwhile, principal of Nusrat Senior Secondary School Mamadi Ceesay in his opening address during the peace gathering, spoke of hard times the world currently wallows in but opined that the panacea to the current crises lies in peace.
Head of Physics Department of Nusrat Senior Secondary School, Samuel D. Koidia in his expose, noted that the basis of religion is to encourage social cohesion, foster peace, love and harmony among the humanity.
According to him, tolerance is concomitant with consideration for humanity and that harmony without uniformity will help ‘us to cohabit’.
Renditions of poems and songs, bordering on peace, tolerance, compassion and unity also formed part of the conference to be hosted again next year with another mind-expanding theme.
