MORE FOOT IN MOUTH; Ousman Samateh responds to Omar Saidykhan’s Analysis of Religion in The Gambia Echo

Re:http://www.thegambiaecho.com/Homepage/tabid/36/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/868/Default.aspx

Definitely, while stating my respect for his writing and analytical skills hitherto, I think it was infantile of Mr. Saidkhan to judge a whole nation through a single conversation he had with a “childhood friend”. This is what he wrote: “A sample of a conversation with a childhood friend will illustrate that the religious practices of a majority of Gambians is just like parrots do.”

Now why on earth would this man liken a whole people to “parrots” based on a single conversation. No, this is arrogance at its worst! And as if that is not enough he goes to make such an outrageous remark without qualification: “Present day religious leaders are a bunch of beggars and have very little credibility with their flock.” Boy, you really need some moral lecture from some Gambian teenager. While I do not question your right to analyze any section of our society, to make an unqualified statement like the foregoing, to a group that is revered by our people is unbecoming of a Gambian trained person.

Hear him :“There is a total adoption of Eastern cultures and traditions as a more superior culture for all to prove how Islamic we ought to be.” Mr. Said khan should realize that those who decide to embrace religion and the practices of the prophets are no imitators of eastern culture but devotees of a religion that knows no distinction between east or west, color or other trivia that tend to divide men. If you are threatened by the appearance of some devoted religious people that is your problem because that person’s intention was not to be seen to be religious in the first place. This is just the fulfillment of scripture that says that the appearance of the believers will indeed be a source of fright and discomfort for the unbelievers.

Take heed Mr. Saidy Khan the word of God must come to pass “even if the disbelievers [like you] like it not”!

OUSMAN SAMATEH

NOTE from Louis Friend:

At the risk of being accused again of showing my “intellectual prowess”, I can’t help quoting American Philosopher Will Durant who said “Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance”. If that quote is anything to go by, Mr. Saidykhan sure is getting educated albeit the hard way. First was his ill-advised and and unprocessed attack on Louis to defend Senegambia News.(By the way Mr. Saidykhan, I’m still awaiting the response your promised me). A move he later regretted after being “educated” in the article http://louisfriendreviews.blogspot.com/2007/08/adverse-conditions-louis-responds-to-mr.html . Saidykhan then had another “foot in mouth” disease when he prematurely attacked The Gambia Journal before reading a feature in its entirety. He later apologized in http://www.thegambiajournal.com/artman/publish/article_1397.shtml . This is “thoughtless” generalization to insult all religious Gambians and Gambian religious leaders based on a few of his experiences is therefore not a surprise to followers of this blog. I will recommend that readers not take it to heart. Listen to Will Durant and see it is just another step in the “education” of a brother. The more the “Omar Saidykhans” write, the more opportunities for the “Ousman Samatehs” to help them progressively discover their ignorance. In the end, everyone wins!!!