By Amadou Jadama
Rawdatul Majaalis, the breakaway group of the Gambia Supreme Islamic Council, has said it totally rejects the recent SIC election, describing it as illegal and lacking the minimum requirement of transparency and fairness.
The Gambia Supreme Islamic Council, which is the umbrella body of all Muslims in the country, over the weekend elected a new leadership headed by Essa Darboe. Rawdatul Majaalis did not participate in the election and unsuccessfully called others to boycott it.
Rawdatul Majaalis president, Baba Abubakary Drammeh yesterday issued a statement rejecting the election.
Drammeh said it defied logic that in a country with a Muslim population of over one-and-a-half, only 155 delegates were eligible to vote.
“We see it as a farcical display of disregard for the spiritual sensibilities of the Muslim community of The Gambia. Again, the sheer composition of the executive bureau speaks volumes of the council’s unwillingness to collaborate with the representatives of the majority of Gambian Muslims,” Drammeh said.
“Majmouatu Rawdatul Majaalis, being the official mouthpiece of Imams and Majlish Sects in The Gambia, hereby reiterates its total rejection of the flawed process by which the Council’s new president and new executive bureau were elected,” he concluded.
