{"id":85321,"date":"2025-09-03T16:04:52","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T16:04:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/govt-sic-apologise-over-imams-comments-on-mourides"},"modified":"2025-09-03T17:09:57","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T17:09:57","slug":"govt-sic-apologise-over-imams-comments-on-mourides","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/govt-sic-apologise-over-imams-comments-on-mourides","title":{"rendered":"GOV\u2019T, SIC APOLOGISE OVER IMAM\u2019S COMMENTS ON MOURIDES"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>The Gambia government and the Gambia Supreme Islamic Council have both apologised to the Mouride brotherhood, a large Tariqa most prominent in Senegal, The Gambia and most places around the world with headquarters in the city of Touba in Senegal. The apologies came after comments made by a Gambian imam, Abdul Kaheem Kuyateh, in his Friday sermons last week.<\/b><\/p>\n

In the sermon, Imam Kuyateh said the annual religious festival, Magal, the flagship event in the lives of the Mourides, is a sinful act, worst even than drinking or fornicating at night clubs. \u201cAnyone who goes to Magal would go to hell fire,\u201d the imam said, arguing that Magal is tantamount to worshiping something other than Allah, which is the worst sin in Islam.<\/p>\n

While his comments resonate with a lot of Muslims, they are however deemed to be highly offensive to the Mouride sect.<\/p>\n

The press received unconfirmed reports that members of the community in The Gambia have reported the matter to the police.<\/p>\n

In a bid to avoid possible tension, the Ministry of Lands, Regional Government and Religious Affairs over the weekend issued a statement condemning the \u201cinappropriate and unacceptable\u201d remarks made by the imam.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe extend a heartfelt apology to the Mouride community, both within The Gambia and around the world.<\/p>\n

We acknowledge the significant pain and misunderstanding these statements have caused within the Mouride sect as well as Muslim community in general,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

It added that Imam Kuyateh has admitted his mistake, repented for his actions and has issued a sincere apology.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, it is imperative to note that such remarks are entirely unacceptable and must not be tolerated within our ranks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ministry unequivocally affirms that the Mouride community is an integral pillar of the Muslim Ummah,\u201d the statement concluded.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Gambia Supreme Islamic Council GSIC has added its voice to the matter.<\/p>\n

In a statement GSIC apologised to the Mouride community, saying it acknowledges that the sermon in question contains statements that have caused pain and misunderstanding within the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Council urges all scholars and preachers in The Gambia and beyond to adopt the Qur\u2019anic method of addressing sensitive or controversial issues \u2013 a method rooted in wisdom, patience, and gentleness. As the Our\u2019an commands Prophet Musa (peace be upon him) to speak gently even to Pharaoh, so too must our religious leaders use the language of compassion and respect when delivering their sermons\u201d GSIC said.<\/p>\n

It reaffirms its commitment to preserving peace, harmony, and mutual respect among all Muslim communities in The Gambia and beyond.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Gambia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. The Gambia government and the Gambia Supreme Islamic Council have both apologised to the Mouride brotherhood, a large Tariqa most prominent in Senegal, The Gambia and most places around the world with headquarters in the city of Touba in Senegal. The apologies came after comments made by a Gambian imam, Abdul Kaheem […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":85320,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-85321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nGOV\u2019T, SIC APOLOGISE OVER IMAM\u2019S COMMENTS ON MOURIDES - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Gambia government and the Gambia Supreme Islamic Council have both apologised to the Mouride brotherhood, a large ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/govt-sic-apologise-over-imams-comments-on-mourides\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"GOV\u2019T, SIC APOLOGISE OVER IMAM\u2019S COMMENTS ON MOURIDES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Gambia government and the Gambia Supreme Islamic Council have both apologised to the Mouride brotherhood, a large ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/govt-sic-apologise-over-imams-comments-on-mourides\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-03T16:04:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-03T17:09:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/09\/sm_1756906757.975626.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/govt-sic-apologise-over-imams-comments-on-mourides#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/govt-sic-apologise-over-imams-comments-on-mourides\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"GOV\u2019T, SIC APOLOGISE OVER IMAM\u2019S COMMENTS ON MOURIDES\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-03T16:04:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-03T17:09:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/govt-sic-apologise-over-imams-comments-on-mourides\"},\"wordCount\":448,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/govt-sic-apologise-over-imams-comments-on-mourides#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/09\/sm_1756906757.975626.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/govt-sic-apologise-over-imams-comments-on-mourides#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/govt-sic-apologise-over-imams-comments-on-mourides\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/govt-sic-apologise-over-imams-comments-on-mourides\",\"name\":\"GOV\u2019T, SIC APOLOGISE OVER IMAM\u2019S COMMENTS ON MOURIDES - 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