In an interview with The Standard yesterday, the Saudi-trained cleric postulated: “The issue of sighting of the moon for Muslim feasts should not be a source of disunity in this country. The rule in Islam is that if one person reported the sighting of the moon and it is corroborated by two witnesses, Muslims should stop fasting and observe the feast. But most people will disagree with the announced date as long as it comes from the Supreme Islamic Council.
“In the Holy Qur’an, which is not adulterated with any falsehood, Allah tells us to follow His commands, the commands of Prophet Muhammad and then the dictates of people governing our issues. By extrapolation thus, if President Jammeh declares that we should pray on a certain day, such an order should be followed. These are not my words because it is the Qur’an that urges us to follow our leaders. The last prophet of Allah, Muhammad (SAW) said in a hadith that we should follow any orders given to us by our leader as far as they do not constitute associating partners with Allah. Leaders should be followed otherwise the existence of their positions become pointless. Even in marriage if you have a wife who disobeys, you will end up divorcing her. Likewise an insubordinate son living in the territorial confines of your home deserves to be banished.”
The strident Imam added: “The Gambia is a country that has been blessed with a leader who is a true Muslim in the person of President Jammeh. Wherever he sees something good in this world he wants to bring it to The Gambian and we should thank Allah for the fact that he has brought Zakir Naik here. Zakir Naik’s erudition and grasp of the Holy Qur’an is indeed exemplary. I would not say he is the best but he is definitely one of the best.”
]]>
