Following an alleged attack on Christian worshippers in Tallinding and Bakau by some angry mobs, Government’s Spokesperson Ebrima G. Sankareh has made it clear that the country is not an Islamic state and that everyone is equal. 

Sankareh, who was speaking on West Coast Radio yesterday, stated that the act in the Bakau was not tolerated by the government, saying that these were individuals who were trying to take the law in their own hands either out of ignorance or mindset.

“When it happened in Tallinding, the police ran to the place and told them that under no circumstances should that reoccur again. They told them these people are Gambians and have faith like you.”

The Government Spokesperson reiterated that the country remains a secular constitutional democracy, while reaffirming that The Gambia is not an Islamic state.

“I am one person who is 100% against making this country an Islamic state because if people can be pugnacious under this circumstance to attack people for only sharing different faith, what if Gambia becomes an Islamic state?,” he quizzed.

He noted that part of the problem started before the coming of Barrow’s government. He said the State House was known for organising Islamic recitations and building mosques in every office.

“Every office in The Gambia there is a mosque and no church. We are talking about fairness but I think where the state intervenes and goes on propagating mosques all over the country that is problematic and can be interpreted as the state favouring one religion.”

He went on to explain that it takes moments in history for some of these things to begin to show their ugly heads, recalling that in1992, there was a girl near Banjul Clinic who was mobbed because she wore a mini-skirt.

He noted that the Gambia is predominantly Muslims but it’s known for tolerance and hospitality, while urging the Ministry of Religious Affairs to convene a national conference on inter-faith dialogue.