By D. A. Jawo
A recent Friday Hudba by a young Imam, Abdul Kareem Kuyateh, criticising the Mouride Sect, appears to have raised some controversy, leading to him allegedly being summoned by the police for questioning.
While the action taken by the ministry of religious affairs to raise objections to such apparent provocation against another religious sect is quite in order, involving the police has the potential to aggravate the situation, as it seems to have taken the issue to another level. It raises the question as to whether the ministry’s role is merely advisory both to the government and the religious leaders or it also has some powers to censure statements made in our mosques and churches.
Indeed, being a multi-religious society as well as a secular state, our religious leaders as well as those in authority need to be careful of statements they make, particularly with regards to other religious denominations and sects, as religion, just like ethnicity, is a sensitive topic that can engender social friction.
Of course, we expect the government to rein in on those radical elements in the society, using their pulpits to sow seeds of discord in this country. However, this is certainly not the first time Imams have openly criticised and in some occasions, used quite provocative language against other denominations and sects. We can all recall the invectives that Imam Abdoulie Fatty as well as other radical Imams used to heap on the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at and in a few occasions, the Christians, and yet, neither the ministry of religious affairs nor the government has ever made any noise about it. Are we seeing some double standards here, or is it a new positive phenomenon in our governance system?
Whatever the case however, our religious leaders have quite an important role to play in maintaining peace and decorum within our homogeneous society by carefully choosing the topics that they would dwell on during their sermons, which should always be to integrate our society rather than divide us into irreconcilable factions. Like the Holy Quran says in Surah Al-Baqarah (2:256), “There is no compulsion in religion,” and Surah Al-Mumtahina (60:8) went on to call for justice and kindness towards those who follow other religions.
Therefore, there is no justification in the holy books to provoke others simply because their beliefs differ from ours. That is the beauty of our diverse society and we should all do whatever is necessary to keep it like that.
