Foroyaa is proud of the new spirit of the Gambian people. They do not
just accept what they hear on Radio and Television. When the President
declared Gambia an Islamic state many people thought that he had thepower to do so. Before the clarification many people were disturbed.
The Christian community went into a state of shock. Many had taken for
granted the secular culture which allows all religions to co-exist in
an environment of relative equality. The constitutional provisions
guarantee and safeguard freedom of belief and freedom of worship
Now that we have relied on the Constitution to debunk the declaration
of the President, many people are now seeing its importance as the
fundamental law of the land.
This is the awareness that is needed to nurture the sovereign person
who will only respect utterances of authorities based on
constitutional provisions and law.
Knowing that the Constitution cannot be altered to give legal effect
to his declaration, the executive was trying the backdoor in giving
social effect to his declaration by starting with the head tie. This
also had to be reversed.
Now it is constitutionally provided that The Gambia is the official
name of the country. Any other name like the Islamic Republic of the
Gambia is fictitious. Hence those who broadcast using such a name are
tools of deception. There is no Islamic Republic of The Gambia. There
is only “The Gambia” a Sovereign Republic. No wonder many people have
adopted the phrase “so called Islamic Republic“ whenever they hear the
name in order to dismiss the notion. This trend should continue until
the notion is buried.
