By Tabora Bojang
Muslim Cleric and leader of the ‘soon to be registered’ Reform and Development Party, Imam Musa Jallow, has said since he announced his intention to run for president, people from some sections of the Muslim community in The Gambia are making confusing claims that going into politics to oppose a sitting government or leader, is against the teachings of Islam.
Responding to those assertions, Jallow, who holds a master’s degree in political science, said people who think like that or paint such narratives have no knowledge about the teachings of Islam and constitutional democratic governance.
“This country is not a Sharia State or an Islamic political system. What we have in this country is a Constitution which calls for an election every five years to elect a president, the office of the president becomes vacant every five years, automatically opening an opportunity for every Gambian to express interest and contest for the job. How can that be against Islam?”, Imam Jallow asked, in a Standard interview.
He added that people who are ignorant of the system should not comment about it. “I am practicing my religion and doing my politics, and I am still on the path of the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet,” he said.
Imam Jallow said both the Constitution and Sharia provided that citizens should obey their leaders and that if they err they can be addressed in a respectable manner.
“So forming my own party to vie for presidency is not contrary to Islamic teachings. It is my constitutional right since this country is a multi-party democracy and there is no better way of addressing a leader that erred than contesting against him in an election. So what is the noise all about? I think these critics just lack basic knowledge to understand these things,” Imam Jallow argued.
