Socratic Method

A new column by Patriotic Vanguard publisher Gibril Koroma

1. Who is Samura Matthew Wilson Kamara? An All People’s Congress politician, former presidential candidate in Sierra Leone.

2. Have you ever been to the Gaddafi Mosque at Rokupa, near Wellington in Freetown? No, but I know the location quite well.

3.Who sponsored the construction of that mosque? The late Muhammar Gaddafi of Libya.

4. Which famous Sierra Leonean politicians were buried beneath that mosque? Dr. Mohamed Sorie Forna, Ibrahim Taqi, Brigadier David Lansana and others. They were accused of treason and hanged by the old APC of Siaka Stevens July 1975. The area used to be a cemetery.

5. Did Samura Kamara have the right to climb on to the minba or pulpit of that mosque to address worshippers? I don’t know. I am not an Islamic scholar.

6.Has any Sierra Leonean politician ever visited that mosque and climbed on to the minba to address the people? No. Many have visited but never got near the mimba.

7. Should Samura apologize for standing on the minba? I don’t know.

8. Should the imams of Gaddafi mosque apologize or even resign for allowing Samura to stand on their minba? I really really don’t know. Please ask them.

9. Should the Islamic Council of Sierra Leone come out with a statement on this issue? I think they should because it is generating a lot of comments in and out of the country.

10. Is the minba a sacred spot in any mosque? Certainly. It’s where the imam and other holy people stand to address worshippers.

11.Is Gaddafi Mosque at Rokupa recognized as an Islamic place of worship? Oh yes. Highly recognized.

12. Who is is the Chief Imam at Gaddafi Mosque? I don’t know.

13. Should the board of directors of Gaddafi Mosque make a public statement on the issue? I think so but I have heard they have suspended the imam. I don’t know whether that is true.

14. Is Samura Kamara a Muslim? No, he is a Christian

15..Has President Bio ever climbed on to the Gaddafi Mosque minba to address the people? No. Never.

16.Thank you very much.

17.Thank you too.