Essays

We live in a world that is concerned with everything except the most important of matters, the indispensable concept of meaning. Life is a movement between meaning and purpose, so without the consideration of the meaning that underline the foundations of a life gifted unto the human being by the divine, he becomes nothing more than a cattle traversing this earth with no purpose....

Men are only remembered and revered when they embark on the path many dare not travel or fare upon. The only ones who ever changed the world are truthfully those who sacrificed their comfort, desires and wellbeing for the greater good and welfare of their people. They are travelers of the path less traveled.

Human beings become immortalised when they give their lives to ideals bigger than themselves, and in so doing carve a niche for themselves in the annals of history, occupying the prime of place in the hearts and minds of the people till the end of time. Dr Badara Saja Taal was a man of the people who sacrificed his life and time for the high ideal of seeking knowledge. He was one man who dedicated his entire life to the pursuit of knowledge in an illustrious academic career. We can safely say that he belongs to the times, to be remembered forever as an icon who strove to give Gambian students and seekers of knowledge his best. He will be sorely missed...

Every society that survived and made it to the threshold of an enduring civilisation did so on the virtue of tolerance. Any society that abandons tolerance will soon disintegrate. With the current agitations the world over ranging from religious intolerance to political bigotry, it's only necessary to remind ourselves once more the imperative necessity of this virtue.

A radical revolution of existing ethos towards positive ends. A revolution rooted in revelations emanating from the heavens above. This sums up the entire movement that characterises the institution of prophecy. Because at the core of the struggle of the prophets is to radically change the ways and dealings of the people they were sent upon. To alter their psyche towards the higher cardinal virtues, which according to their own teachings is embedded at the core of the human spirit. This is no easy struggle. ...

A word of advice to the recent graduates.

The negative effects of smoking on the health of individual smokers are indeed evident. Smoking is said to be not only perilous to first-hand smokers but second-hand smokers as well. This is as a result of the uncivilised attitude of smoking in public. Already, there are more than enough scientific evidences to pursue the line being taken by countries that have been keen on putting a stop to public smoking.....

The political wheel of any nation that is rooted in democratic principles, rotate on the axis of equal participation of the people regardless of colour, gender or creed. There can be no proper welfare without the contribution of the masses and it is from such conviction that our times demand the empowerment and involvement of women in the political and decision-making processes of the nation at all levels.

“And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.”- The Qur'an About 1,400 years ago in the arid desert of the Arabian peninsula, an angel descended on the Mount of Light to the best of God's creatures. His name was Muhammad. And the archangel, Gabriel, came upon him that day with a message that would change the landscape of human existence forever. A message that produced some of humanity's best intellectual, spiritual and material achievements. Unarguably the best thing that ever happened to humanity on all levels, was the descending of Gabriel on that fateful day in the cave of Hira to reveal on the heart of Muhammad, the eternal message of God, Almighty.

Aren't we but theological misfits Obnoxious to the powers that be Filling the Pharisees with rage Denying that our God dwell apart We died to death itself, many moons ago Survived the aftermath of dear life ...........

“Modernity holds out lifestyle options centered on the self, and on the lower, agitated possibilities of the human condition. Every word of every magazine now breathes the message of the ego: explore yourself, free yourself, be yourself. Buy a Porsche to express your identity; dress in a cacharel suit to make a statement about yourself; be seen in the right places....

The rise of the darkest form of irrationalism coupled with blind dogma, and intolerant fundamentalism is now defining the landscape of a region, once known for its great mystical and tolerant theological scholars. West Africa has become in very recent times a bastion for the breed of a burnt-out type of Islam. A dogmatic, literalist and anthropomorphic theology, which found its following within the ranks and file of the extremist Salafi movement. It's a movement that's characterised by mostly young people, who in the beginning are very sober minded but gradually get tainted with the deep and darker beliefs of a movement that abhors anything innovative and creative within the realms of the religion....