Press release
Following the National Delegation Congress of the Gambia Supreme Islamic Council which was held on 9th and 10th of January 2021, at the Council headquarters in MDI Road Kanifing, there has not been any opposition from any of the Muslim organizations or groups in the entire Gambia against the decisions made by the Council regarding the just concluded congress of the council except the Rawdatul Majaalis who made some allegations against the GSIC through a press release. You vividly would recall that it is this same gang of some repatriated and disgruntled “semesters” from Europe and America respectively, who have been actively engaged in utter rebellion against the former democratically and legally elected GSIC leadership since their very inception and causing chaos throughout the country. It is still the same rebellion they continue with up to this day with the new GSIC leadership.
The allegations from the so-called Rawdatul Majaalis through a press release against the Gambia Supreme Islamic Council (GSIC) are totally misleading, unfounded, and baseless.
It is an obvious and undeniable fact to all Muslims in the Gambia that all Muslim groups and Organizations must register under the GSIC before they could operate as legitimate Islamic bodies or groups in The Gambia. Notwithstanding, Rawdatul Majaalis for the first time ever, since the very inception of the GSIC in the history of the Gambia, Rawdatul Majaalis established their group in 2017 refusing to register under the GSIC unlike all the other Islamic groups in the Gambia, being the only Islamic group that boycotted and refused to register under the Council, claiming they are bigger than the Council, and that the council, in their dream world, is an illegal entity, Rawdatul Majaalis being a group as they claimed, has come to revive and represent all the Majaalis in the Gambia, and to promote unity among the Gambian people, even though none of them have been actively engaged in running or teaching in any of those Majaalis they claimed to be representing, but to our greatest dismay and disappointment, this same Rawdatul Majaalis has been operating actively as a major tool for division in the Gambia by being a one tribe cult consisting of only one ethnicity in their entire executive board. Among their claims is the Rawdatul Majaalis is much bigger and more powerful by all standards than the GSIC, therefore they cannot register under Council, a group which they claimed belongs to all Gambians and it has in fact spread from the Gambia to Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Guinea Conakry, going all the way to Burkina Faso and also has representatives in some other neighboring West African countries.
It is laughable and ridiculous for a group that claimed such magnanimity and greatness to make such futile, illogical, and irresponsible claims against the noble GSIC, simply because of the way and manner in which the GSIC conducted their congress, it would be very much senseless for anyone to claim there was any foul play in the whole process, this was a process which displayed the highest level of fairness and transparency, a congress that was held in accordance with the council’s constitution by engaging 15 representatives from each region, everything amounting to 155 representatives from all over the country, and all those representatives, in turn, represent their people and all the Imams from their various regions and constituencies. The same Rawdatul Majaalis last year in 2019 declared themselves as the new GSIC without engaging all the Imams in the country or at least engaging their various representatives, but they only conducted their so-called nomination by engaging only one individual called Alhagie Yusupha Darboe, whom they claimed nominated Muhammad Sherrif Nano Hydara as their President. And ever since they have been causing chaos by illegally impersonating the GSIC regarding certain Islamic matters particularly during various Islamic feasts. It has already become apparent to all Gambians that Rawdatul Majaalis is up to no good, but only to divide Gambians, it will be recalled that when they wanted to form their so-called Gambia Supreme Islamic Council, they did not visit or consult any of the Madrasahs in the whole of the Gambia, moreover, by juxtaposing the activities of these two groups, Gambians would by now, have observed the highest display of dishonesty and double standards in their dealings and their baseless allegations against the GSIC and it will be apparent to them that it is in fact the Rawdatul Majaalis who conducted their selection/election in a manner that lacked the minimum requirement of transparency and fairness. And why has the Rawdatul Majaalis still desperately fighting to get the GSIC leadership by hook or by crook when they already have their own so-called Supreme Islamic Council as well as their Rawdatul Majaalis which they claimed to be much bigger than the GSIC and that the group has its representatives in many west African countries including Senegal, Mali, and even Burkina Faso among others??
How could Rawdatul Majaalais reject the decision made by 155 representatives from all the regions across the whole country regarding their nomination, but they still believed and even claimed that Gambians must accept the decision made by just one individual called Alhagie Yusupha Darboe when he nominates someone as President?? What is wrong with that you make such illogical judgments?!
Foday Mahmud Touray, the Secretary-General of Rawdatul clearly stated in a leaked WhatsApp audio that Bakawsu Fofana is not a member of Rawdatul Majaalis and cannot be a member of their group. Although they, the Rawdatul Majaalis used to grumble that Bakawsu Fofana has vied for the position of presidency of the GSIC and was denied the position.
How then would Rawdatul Majaalis claim they were really fighting for Bakawsu Fofana, when they could not even trust him well enough to just allow him become an ordinary member of their group, much more to even become a member of their executive?? What sort of alliance is this?? And even when they declared their so-called nominated president as Muhammad Sherrif Nano Hydara and his so-called executives, where then was Bakawsu Fofana when they were selecting their new leadership, someone whose rights they claimed they were fighting for?? Rawdatul Majalis completely excluded Bakawsu from their entire membership for both the Rawdatul Majaalis and their so-called GSIC!
How then would Rawdatul Majaalis want Bakawsu Fofana to become the president of the GSIC but could not trust him well enough to be their own president?? What is wrong with that you make such illogical arguments?!
The Gambia Supreme Islamic Council is an Islamic Organization serving as an umbrella body responsible for all the religious affairs of all the Muslims, Islamic groups and organizations, it’s an organization that is highly recognized by the state and has been functioning actively in running all their activities in collaboration with the Gambia Government, the Gambia Government is well pleased with the way the Council conducted their congress and has in fact sent their delegations to grace the occasion. And all the Islamic groups and organizations in the Gambia in their hundreds following the congress, have been sending their letters of warm welcoming and appreciation to the Council’s leadership for their appointment excepting the so-called Rawdatul Majaalis who still continued with carrying on their rantings and attacks on the new GSIC leadership in just less than a week after the congress was held.
And it’s high time that the Gambia Government takes stern measures to stop Rawdatul Majaalis from propagating their hatred, animosity, and division among the people because it is so obvious beyond all reasonable doubts that they are up to no good in this country, but only out there to cause chaos, anarchy, lawlessness, and utter destruction in the land!
