Peace and goodwill are essential to the existence of human society. War and ill will are the recipe for the destruction of human society. This is why the exercise of rights and freedoms has boundaries. Each person should understand that anytime one encroaches the boundaries surrounding the exercise of rights and freedoms one undermines the rights and freedoms of another. The exercise of rights and freedoms therefore has guards and fences that prevent one from encroaching and undermining the exercise of rights by others.
Section 25 of the Constitution guarantees the rights and freedoms to have a belief and to practice one’s belief. One has a right to promote what one believes and practices. That is the boundary that one should secure and leave others to promote their own beliefs and practices. Wherever and whenever one takes the posture of a deity to condemn another and pass judgment then the road to conflict is paved, regardless of one’s good or bad intention.
Gambians should learn from the Malian experience where some religious leaders built up a mass political movement only to be overshadowed by armed extremist groups that condemned them for being unislamic and took over Timbooktoo and started destroying their shrines and religious books. Hence those who belong to the same faith started destroying each other’s properties and killing each other in the name of proving who is more committed to the truest version of the Islamic faith. Since then, the region they invaded is in a state of permanent insecurity.
Since no person is God and has no power to take some people to heaven and cast some in hell. It is better for each to do one’s best to promote one’s belief and practice in a peaceful atmosphere while extending goodwill to all other human beings regardless of their beliefs or practices as long as such practices are in line with what promotes peace and goodwill towards all.
