PRESIDENT OF THE GAMBIA DECLARES THE COUNTRY AN ISLAMIC REPUBLIC

PRESIDENT YAHYA JAMMEH

The President of Gambia, Yahya Jammeh has formally declared the tiny country, named after a river an Islamic country to join the ranks of other Islamic Republics such as Iran and Afghanistan.

Gambia has 1.8 million people out of which 95 percent are Muslim and Jammeh said “in line with the country’s religious identity and values, I proclaim Gambia as an Islamic state” stating that “as Muslims are the majority in the country, the Gambia cannot afford to continue the colonial legacy.” He, however, gave assurance that other citizens of other faiths would still be able to practice their faith.

Jammeh, is known for surprise declarations in the course of his 21-year presidency, he had pulled Gambia out of the Commonwealth in 2013, calling it neo-colonial and in 2007, he claimed to have found a herbal cure for AIDS.

The country’s once strong commercial ties with Britain and other European countries whose citizens regularly visit for vacation on Gambia’s white-sand beaches have declined recently with the European Union at a time stopping aid money to the country in 2014 over its poor human rights record. 

Gambia, mainly into agriculture and tourism, is ranked 165 out of 187 countries on the U.N. development index and starved of development funds because of the deplorable human rights record and economic mismanagement, the president is eyeing the Arab world to substitute as a source of development aid.

One only hopes that this development would not have a negative effect on the tourism business in the country nor lead to the springing up of Islamic extremism within its territory.