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Gambia News : Gambian leader calls for de-registration of bogus churches and mosques

He remarked, “Some people want to use religion to destroy the peace and tranquillity we enjoy in this country, but I will never allow that to happen here.”

Jammeh added that “the most dangerous people in society are those criminals that disguise as missionaries, adding that such people use religion to ferment violence in society.” He urged the religious leaders to screen any organization that seeks to establish a church or mosque in the country.

He said, “If you screen and discover that a church or mosque is not genuine, de-register it. If you also found out that unscrupulous people want to set up a church, don’t issue a license to them.”

Jammeh warned that if the religious bodies failed to do their work, he will intervene and do their work for them. He was quick to add however that it is not his government’s intention to interfere in their work.

President Jammeh gave the example of how seven years ago, some foreign Christian missionaries that had a church near a mosque in a suburb of Serrekunda (about 10km from Banjul) waited until the Muslims in that area were on the verge of praying the Eid ul Adha (Tobaski) prayers and they started to beat their drums in their church. He said the intentions of those people were to incite violence between the Muslim and Christian communities in The Gambia. He warned that he will never allow such people to notch up their objectives.