Proclamation of Islamic Republic in The Gambia: No need to hit the ‘Panic Button’ just yet!

When the Gambian president took to the podium on the final day of his ‘dialogue with the people tour’ in Brufut town to proclaim that The Gambia is an Islamic Republic effective 10th December 2015, the news soon went viral internationally within a short space of time.

Upon hearing the story myself, I curiously typed in the words: Gambia+Islamic+Republic into Google, only to discover that the first 10 pages of the search engine conveyed exactly the same story. Although am always fascinated whenever the name 'Gambia' is mention in the world news (for the right reasons of course!), I must admit that I was almost overwhelmed with the amount of coverage this story received.

Inevitably, the story generated a lot of opinions both on the mainstream and on social media. The country’s leading opposition parties also opinionated on the matter with the People’s Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS) issuing a statement strongly rebuffing any claim of Gambia being an Islamic Republic.  Likewise both the United Democratic Party (UDP) and the National Reconciliation Party (NRP) also questioned the constitutionality of such a proclamation.

rear view of the Gambia National Assembly Building, Banjul. Source: gambiamonitior

I did a little research to find out exactly what an Islamic Republic is! Surprisingly I find out that only four countries namely: Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Mauritania are considered to be Islamic Republics. With only a few countries known to be associated with this form of government, it is not a surprise that there is little availability in terms of literature relating to the term. However I managed to stumble onto a website which defined it as: 'a theocratic form of republic governed only on the basis of Islamic laws'. I also had to rely on the more popular Wikipedia which construed a much broader definition stating that:

“The term Islamic republic has come to mean several different things, some contradictory to others. To some Muslim religious leaders in the Middle East and Africa who advocate it, an Islamic Republic is a state under a particular Islamic form of government. They see it as a compromise between a purely Islamic Caliphate, and secular nationalism and republicanism”.

Flag-Map of The Gambia. Source: Wikimedia

Whatever the definition of Islamic Republic is and whatever people's opinions are, The Gambia is clearly not one yet! Like all countries, we have a legitimate constitution and an elected National Assembly. So for the current form of government to be changed, the constitution has to be amended and ratified by the National Assembly. And heading towards an election year, I think we should be focussing on more important issues rather than whether to be or not to be an Islamic Republic. So my take on this one is; there is surely no need to hit the panic button just yet! Lets wait and see what the law makers representing us in the National Assembly have to say or do about the proclamation.

However it is worth remembering that, The Gambia has always been a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country where people live harmoniously for generations, and shall continue to do so GOD willing. The onus is therefore on the authorities to do their utmost to safeguard the model of coexistence between Muslims, Christians and people of other faiths in the country. We do very much hope that nothing will jeopardise this relationship. And we pray that the present and future generations will continue to live harmoniously in the most religious-tolerant country in the world. For now though, we continue to uphold to the beautiful words enshrined in our dear national anthem: 

FOR THE GAMBIA OUR HOMELAND,...WE STRIVE AND WORK AND PRAY,

THAT ALL MAY LIVE IN UNITY,...FREEDOM AND PEACE EACH DAY,

LET JUSTICE GUIDE OUR ACTIONS,...TOWARDS THE COMMON GOOD,

AND JOIN OUR DIVERSE PEOPLES,...TO PROVE MAN’S BROTHERHOOD

WE PLEDGE OUR FIRM ALLEGIANCE,...OUR PROMISE WE RENEW,

KEEP US GREAT GOD OF NATIONS,...TO THE GAMBIA EVER TRUE.