Religious leaders on Gaza crisis

Some of the top   Muslim  and Christian   religious leaders of The Gambia are the latest to raise serious concerns over the current humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, in Palestine.

The war, which started twenty days ago, has since caused disastrous consequences, claiming the  lives of 1000 Palestinians, with over 300 of the dead being innocent young children. Over 5,000  people have now been reported wounded, and many more displaced.

The reaction of the religious leaders came at a time when   there is   growing anger around the world over the disheartening humanitarian crisis in the largely unstable Middle Eastern region. The religious leaders were speaking to the Daily Observer, yesterday, called on both sides to accept an immediate cease fire in order to avert the unacceptable rise in death toll.

Imam Momodou Lamin Touray, president of The Gambia Supreme Islamic, strongly denounced the carte blanche given to Israel by the international community to kill innocent civilians. Killing innocent citizens by bombardments is something unacceptable.  Human lives should be safeguarded against any sort of brutalities,” he noted.
The erudite Imam described the prolongation of the war in Gaza as a result of Palestinian’s inability to effectively defend  its position, reiterating, however, that this should not be seen as an advantage by the Israeli.

While calling on the religious community of the world to come to terms and explore ways and means of ensuring a lasting solution in the Middle East, Imam Touray revealed that his council had asked  for prayers to be held in all mosques, today, for the people of Palestine.

For the Anglican Church of the Gambia, the Right Reverend Bishop Telewa Johnson pointed that wars have never really solved any conflict or differences. Negotiations, he noted, constitute the only alternative for solving problems.

“There are clear instances of gross violation of the human rights of innocent people, causing them pain and grief,” he said. He then called on networks and regional groupings that have good rapport with the waring factions to endeavour to bring both sides around the negotiation table without further delay.

Bishop Johnson seized the opportunity to pray that the peace and tranquillity that the great God of nations endowed us with in The Gambia be the experience of the people of Gaza and civilians in the boarder town of Southern Israel.

For his part, Oustass Banding Drammeh, former president of The Gambia Supreme Islamic Council, vehemently stigmatised the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, stressing that innocent lives should not be destroyed. The veteran Muslim scholar blamed the war on the Arabs, pointing out to their failure to unite against such barbaric actions. He called on the Arab world to put aside their differences and consider the destruction of the innocent lives of Gazans.

In addition, Oustass Drammeh also blamed the Americans for their contribution to the intensification of the Gaza crisis. While echoing the prayers of the afore-mentioned religious leaders, the former GSIC president called for urgent and pragmatic resolutions to the crisis.

For Robert P. Ellison, Catholic Bishop of Banjul, the current war is perhaps the most tragic. To him, the word tragic sounds so empty in the context of what is being witnessed on television screens for the past 20 days. One of the reasons for saying this, he said, is the fact that both sides are loosing.

He stressed that ultimately there will be no winner.  “The Israeli people want and deserve to live in peace. However, I do not believe that when the war is finished they will be able to enjoy peace.  You cannot beat your enemy or opponent unto submission by the weight of military power. Such aggression simply fuels the spirit of resistance of the oppressed,” he noted.

He pointed out that discussing the wrongs and rights of what has been happening in recent years between the two parties is somewhat futile unless they go back to the root cause of the conflict, in the late 1947. He noted that in this period agreements were made concerning the resettlement of the Israelis in Palestine.“But even since, it seems to me that the Israelis began to encroach or annex for themselves lands belonging to the Palestinians. I believe that this had been a serious injustice to the Palestinians”, he vehemently denounced.

While calling for intense prayers for affected people, Bishop Ellison called on both parties to sit down so as to find an acceptable solution to the crisis.