President Yahya Jammeh has declared The Gambia "an Islamic state", but
stressed that the rights of the Christian minority in the small west
African country would be respected and that women would not be held to a
dress code.
The announcement came as the president addressed supporters in the
coastal town of Brufut on Thursday, and the comments were later
broadcast on state television and repeated on his website.
"Gambia's destiny is in the hands of the Almighty Allah.
As from today, Gambia is an Islamic state. We will be an Islamic state
that will respect the rights of the citizens," he was quoted as saying
on the presidential website.
In television footage of the address on GRTV, seen by AFP on Saturday,
the president did not go into detail about what the change would mean
for the country, but he reassured Christians and followers of other
faiths they would be able to worship freely.
"Christians will be given their due respect. The way of celebrating
Christmas will continue," he said, adding that no one had the right to
interfere with others' "way of life".
He also warned against trying to impose a dress code on women.
He said:
"I have not appointed anyone as an Islamic policeman. The way women dress is not your business," he said.
An impoverished former British colony nestled within Senegal, and famed
for its white-sand beaches, The Gambia has a population of nearly two
million, 90 per cent of whom are Muslim.
The remaining eight per cent are Christian and two per cent are defined as having indigenous beliefs.
Jammeh, 50, a military officer and former wrestler from a rural
background, has ruled the country with an iron fist since he seized
power in a coup in 1994. The main opposition party on Saturday poured
scorn on the president's unexpected proclamation of an Islamic
republic, saying it had no legal basis.
Earlier this year, Human Rights Watch branded Jammeh's regime one of
the most repressive in the world, blaming paramilitaries and secret
police for torture, disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
In 2013, Jammeh withdrew his country from the Commonwealth, saying it represented "an extension of colonialism".
AFP