Content area
Full Text
Based on lectures given on April 8, 2016, and March 28, 2017.
The Gambia is the smallest country in West Africa, surrounded on three sides of its territory by Senegal. In the West, the River Gambia, which ultimately serves as the map of the country, joins the Atlantic Ocean. The Gambia was once a colony of Great Britain. The British founded the capital, Banjul, in 1816 as a strategic base point for the abolition of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. The country has a total area of 4,363 square miles (11,300 square kilometers) and a population of 1.8 million people. The Gambia obtained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1965 with Dawda Kairaba Jawarra as the nation's first president. His regime lasted for twenty-two years, until Yahya Jammeh overthrew him in a coup on July 22, 1994. By any measure, the 2016 presidential election in The Gambia was historic; President Jammeh lost the popular election, and by January 21, 2017, he stepped down and went into exile. In this essay, I will first lay out my thinking before the unthinkable happened, before Gambians used the voting booth to oust a sitting dictator, and the dictator let it happen.
THE PERSPECTIVE BEFORE THE ELECTION
Religion has always been an important component of Gambian people's lives. Ninety percent of the population practices Islam, 8% Christianity, and 2% indigenous beliefs (those worshiping gods).1 However, even though the majority of Gambians are Muslims, there has always been a history of religious tolerance in The Gambia, and ethnic and inter-cultural harmony have been the strongest unifying forces for The Gambian people.
Near the end of 2015, Gambian President Yahya Jammeh declared on state television, "In line with the country's religious identity and values, I proclaim Gambia as an Islamic state. . . . As Muslims are the majority of the country, The Gambia cannot afford to continue the colonial legacy."2 This statement by President Jammeh gained attention around the world. Many Americans asked me if this meant that The Gambia would become a fundamentalist country like Iran. My aim is to convince you that any politically motivated strategy whose agenda is to transform moderate Gambian Islamic principles and beliefs towards extremism is likely to fail, even if such a policy...