Congratulations, Abdoulie Fatty! I have read with interest, which I always do when I read or hear your statements about the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, your statement on The Standard issue of 10 May 2017. Your statements are always of interest to me because they are an important threat to national security and the peace of this country. Therefore, you should not always be left alone when you make these type of statements. In 2014, I admonished you through this same medium (The Standard) that you have to be careful but you have not taken heed. May be I should give you a stronger warning this time.
Mr. Fatty, the Holy Qur’an has commanded believers that they should always speak the right word/truth even if it is against themselves or their kith and kin. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw), whose life is a perfect reflection of the Holy Qur’an, has also admonished believers that they should say the right word or keep quiet. As a Muslim that you claim and always try to portray, I expected that you would always obey and respect the Qur’anic commands and the Prophet’s (saw) instructions so that peace will always prevail. Unfortunately, you have not exhibited that. May be you have not come across the commandments on truthfulness both in the Qur’an and the Sunnah. If you do not, please try to read the Qur’an and the Ahadith and study the Sunnah carefully once again. But if you have read them and deliberately ignored them, then I sincerely urge you to engage in Istighfaar (seeking forgiveness from Allah).
According to The Standard, you said, “There is only two recognized religions in the Gambia, Islam and Christianity, and that if there is any other religion, it might have proclaimed itself.” I know for certain that the state does not recognize any religion as far as the Gambia is concerned. In fact, wherever a state attempts to recognize a religion and ban others, such a state would definitely overstep the boundaries and violate the fundamental human rights of the people living in that state. The state in that case also puts itself in the position of God. Abdoulie Fatty, which authority recognizes Islam and Christianity as the only “religions in the Gambia”? Let me tell you and you must get this fact straight that what is recognized in the Gambia is this, “Everyone shall have the right to freedom to practice any religion and to manifest such practice”, Section 25 (1) (c) of the Constitution of the Republic of the Gambia. What is the source of the so-called recognition that you mentioned? Do you have another constitution apart from the 1997 Constitution? I would not be surprised if you had one because you are a potential Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi of the Gambia. If you indeed are a custodian of Islam, then Islam would definitely be in a pitiable state because you have blatantly violated the Qur’anic injunction about saying the right thing. Let me tell you emphatically that Ahmadiyyat is Islam and this point will be elaborated later in this little piece of advice to you.
The other statement you made was “The Tallinding cemetery incident last week is not the first of its kind, and I believe it is high time the Supreme Islamic Council wrote a letter to the government to tell them they don’t recognize the Ahmadis as Muslims.” Why does the Supreme Islamic Council have to write a letter to the government to tell them that Ahmadis are not Muslims, when you have already said that Ahmadiyyat is not a recognized religion in the Gambia? If Ahmadis are not recognized, obviously the government should have already known, so why not save yourself the trouble of writing a letter?
You said that the Supreme Islamic Council should write a letter to the government to tell them that the Supreme Islamic Council (SIC) “don’t recognize the Ahmadis as Muslims”. Are you telling me that the right to define someone’s religion lies with another person? So SIC has the right to determine who is or is not a Muslim? Who has given you and the SIC that authority? Let me just give you a small lesson here. It is a basic lesson on Islam but you seem not to know it. It is only Allah Almighty and His Prophet Muhammad (saw) who have the authority to define Islam and to declare someone a Muslim. For this Islamic Studies 101 lesson, go with this message: the words and sayings of Muhammad Rasoolullaah (saw) have been compiled and saved in several books of Hadith, among which Sahih Bukhari is the most authentic. In this book it is stated that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) said that anyone who calls himself a Muslim, is a Muslim. Ahmadi Muslims, as you know very well, call themselves Muslims. In light of the judgment of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw), Ahmadis are therefore verified Muslims. I sincerely hope that your ego is not larger than the verdict of the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad Rasoolullaah (saw). End of Islamic Studies 101 for today. If you need more lessons on basic Islamic Studies, I will be readily available to help you out. Let me now talk to you about the other issues.
Another point you have to understand about takfir (declaring others as disbelievers) is that it is a serious matter in Islam. Anybody or any organisation engaged in such activity definitely thinks that he is above the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (saw). Or by any chance, do such people and individuals think they are the Lord of the Day of Judgment? Maybe they do. Because it is only Allah and His Messenger Muhammad (saw) who have the authority to define a Muslim. If anyone or any organization assumes the authority/power of Allah and His Messenger Muhammad (saw), then they have to consult a good psychiatrist because that person or organization seems to be bubbling with the unfulfilled desire of being recognized as God. This is a psychological issue and they definitely need help and I wish them a speedy recovery.
The other thing you have to know is that the SIC is an organization just like any other organization in this country. It has no right or mandate to say who is or is not a Muslim. I, Tahir Ahmad Touray, recognize it as an association the way I recognize some other non-governmental organisations. Period. It is not an organ of the government. It is not and you must get that. I think you are impersonating the State. Do not use the name of the State in your affairs. I know for certain that you were used by the government past regime. Were you paid for your services by the taxpayers money? You played a very significant role in the Jammeh regime.
You also said, “I am saying this because the Christians never encounter such problems with the Muslims in Tallinding with regard to burial rites because they have their own cemetery.” You further said, “to settle the matter the Ahmadis should look for their own cemetery as dictated by the Prophet with regards to people with different faith.” It appears you do not understand the basic lesson I taught you. Ahmadis are Muslims and that is why they have to be buried in the Muslim cemeteries. Christians, as you know, are a different religion. If you do not want to be buried in the same cemeteries with Ahmadis, why not look for your own instead of asking Ahmadis to look for their own? We as Ahmadis already have our own, and do you where they are?—Every Muslim cemetery in the Gambia is ours because we are Muslims.
You have tried to condemn violence and terror as reported by The Standard. You said that Islam’s name has been stained by a few extremists who have used the name of Islam to commit heinous crimes. Kunu kantalaa buka a yaa je! You are one of them. Tell me what makes you different from them. If you are not an extremist then there is no extremist in this world. Remember that in 1997 you justified the act of killing of innocent Ahmadis. In 2014, you said that Ahmadis should be banned in the Gambia. In 2015, the SIC, an association you belong to, said that an Ahmadi must be exhumed from a cemetery in Tallinding. And on 10 May 2017 The Standard reported as saying that Ahmadis should not be buried in the common Muslim cemeteries. What more do you need to be classified as an extremist?
Abdoulie Fatty, I know you have been trying since 1997 to gain popularity by labelling Ahmadis as non-Muslims. That is where your popularity lies. A cheap popularity! Why not look for a better vocation? Inciting fitna should not be a vocation of someone who considers himself a custodian of Islam. You have succeeded in orchestrating fitna by getting closer to the government during the last regime. You are trying to find a way to attach yourself to the present government so that you can continue your divisive vocation. I pray that Allah protect the Gambia from any fitna you are brewing. Aameen.
Mr. Fatty, I am advising you from the bottom of my heart. Do not let yourself be used by some powers in the name of Islam. That is a very serious crime. How much is your stipend this time? You remember the meetings that were held in different countries by the powers sometime in 1997? Well, your attack on the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at in June or July 1997 followed those secret meetings. It was in the last few decades, Abdoulie Fatty, that your ideology (Wahabbism) started growing very fast through the building of schools and mosques throughout the world from charities gathered from Saudi Arabia through the support of the Kingdom. Scholarships are also provided to thousands of students to study in Saudi Arabia where they are of course indoctrinated with Wahabbism so that when they go back to their countries they propound Saudi supremacy in Islamic affairs. Many Muslims have benefitted and are still benefitting from such scholarships and I believe many Gambians have benefitted and are still benefitting from such scholarships.
Mr. Fatty, you are treading a dangerous path: the path of ‘control through destabilization’. Through that game, vulnerable countries are selected by some powers. These vulnerable countries usually are countries that are politically fragile and have some economic challenges. The Gambia is very fragile because it has just emerged from a whirlpool of tyranny and of course has some economic challenges. Those who want it destabilized will pay whatever it takes to buy over a willing Mullah like yourself and the power whose political ideology you are selling have more than enough money to spend and spare in order to achieve their political ambitions. This is an age old agenda by the Power to achieve political hegemony over all Muslim countries, beginning obviously with those who are more desperate for money and can more conveniently be destabilized. The Gambia apparently is on the top of that list. Control through destabilization. Be careful Abdoulie Fatty! You know that whatever you are saying is for the fulfillment of the political ambitions of some Power.
I have more to say but I will stop here for now. Be very very careful. My ink is not yet dry and there is more to be known about you by the Gambian people.
Long live the progress, peace and prosperity of the Gambia.
Long live the Gambia.
Written by:
A Humble servant and lover of the Gambia
Tahir Ahmad Touray
