The Gambia Supreme Islamic Council on Thursday 29th October 2020, issued a formal statement calling on Muslims around the globe, especially Gambians, to boycott all French products being sold in The Gambian soil in solidarity with prophet Muhammad.

In Mid October, a French teacher by the name Samuel Paty, was killed for showing caricatures of the holy prophet Muhammad to his students in his freedom of expression class. The president of France Emmanuel Macron, in response to the issue, justified the action by projecting  the cartoons on government buildings in France. Macron described Islam as  “a religion in crisis all over the world”

The statement issued by SIC, an institution steering religious affairs of Muslims in the country, accused president Macron of goading violence against Islam and prophet Muhammad. The Council equally urged  scholars to preach about the great characters of prophet Muhammad and encourage Muslims to jealously uphold the teachings of Islam. 

“Macron’s statements against Islam are irresponsible and cause to spread the culture of hatred and violence in the world when efforts are underway to enhance tolerance and dialogue between cultures and religions. These repeated insults of Islam and its Prophet only fuel hatred among the people of the world.

“ Therefore, The Gambia Supreme Islamic Council, on behalf of the Muslim ummah in The Gambia, strongly condemns Emmanuel Macron’s attacks on our leader and role model, Prophet Muhammad. Thus, the GSIC calls on Emmanuel Macron to abandon his policy of insulting Islam and inciting against it and as well stop offending the Beloved Prophet Muhammad and hurting the feelings of 2 billion Muslims around the world in the name of so-called democracy and freedom of speech.

“Given the above, the GSIC urges all Muslims in The Gambia to abandon all France-manufactured products. The GSIC also solicits all imams and scholars in The Gambia to preach to the people about the good conduct of Prophet Muhammad and encourage Muslims to practice it in their daily life as Allah the Almighty commands us in the Holy Qur’an: “Verily in the Messenger of Allah, you have a good example for him who hopes for Allah and the last day, and has remembered Allah much.”

By: Fatoumatta Samateh