Gambia

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POPULATION 1,455,842
ISLAM 90 percent
CHRISTIAN 9 percent
AFRICAN INDIGENOUS BELIEFS 1 percent

The Republic of the Gambia, located in western Africa, is shaped like a finger and is surrounded by Senegal on the north, east, and south and by the Atlantic Ocean on the west. A tropical country, it took its name from the Gambia River, which flows through it westward into the Atlantic.

The Gambia was a British colony until it gained independence in February 1965. Colonial rule had a significant impact on religious life, helping both Islam and Christianity develop throughout the region. Religion continues to be an important element in Gambian society and politics.

In the Gambia are several important ethnic groups, including the Mandingo (42 percent of the population), Fulani (18 percent), Wolof (16 percent), Jola (10 percent), Serahuli (9 percent), and non-Africans (1 percent). Although English is the official language, 16 indigenous languages are also spoken in the country.

The Gambia has a remarkable legacy of religious tolerance. Religious freedom is guaranteed by the constitution. Christians and Muslims live peacefully together, interacting freely in daily life, be it in the market square, schools, political parties, or business ventures. This hospitable environment has created conditions in which Islam and Christianity have been able to thrive. Christians and Muslims have maintained their religious particularities while engaging in an ongoing dialogue about life and faith. Religious tolerance is also extended to adherents of African traditional religion.

DATE OF ORIGIN c. 1600 C.E.
NUMBER OF FOLLOWERS 1.3 million

Islam in the Gambia dates back to the medieval empires of Ghana and Mali. It arrived in the Senegambian region (Senegal and the Gambia) in the ninth century, presumably (according to a general consensus among scholars) by virtue of itinerant traders, marabouts(Islamic scholars), and Islamic jihad (struggle, or holy war). The earliest accounts of Islam in the Gambia are from the travel journals of the fifteenth-century Portuguese explorer Alvise Cadamosto.

In the nineteenth century, as holy wars continued, Islam became fully established in the Senegambian region, and Islamic states were founded. By the mid-nineteenth century these powerful Islamic forces had to wrestle with non-Islamic groups in the region, as well as with the rising tide of European traders along the African coast. By the close of the nineteenth century, Gambian Muslims were, for all intents and purposes, under the hegemony of the British Empire, and Muslim leaders had to live side by side with this imperial power.

Islam at the beginning of the twentieth century was not a state religion but rather a religion of faithful believers who associated with different Sufi orders, such as the Tijaniyah, Qadiriyah, or Muridiyah. British colonial policies, however, created the perfect ambience for Islam to flourish. For example, by providing road networks and creating an access to the Gambia River, the British allowed Muslim leaders and merchants to connect with one another and to become part of the broader ummah (Islamic community). This gave Gambian Muslims the confidence to practice their religion without fear of reprisals or antagonism. Islam eventually became the religion of the elite as well as the common people, and Koranic schools provided the basic instruction of the faith. When the Gambia gained independence in 1965, Muslims constituted about 80 percent of the total population.

In the Gambia a prominent spokesperson for Islam has been President Yahya Jammeh, who came to power in July 1994. He has been a strong supporter of religious tolerance.

Two noted contemporary scholars of religion from the Gambia are Lamin Sanneh (Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut) and Sulayman Nyang (Howard University, Washington, D.C.). Both Sanneh and Nyang have been prolific writers in the study of Islam, politics, and culture in the Gambia.

In the Gambia the most important place of worship for Muslims is the mosque. The voice of the muezzin summons people to prayer at specific times during the day. Contemporaryarchitectural designs for mosques generally follow patterns from the Middle East. Within some of the big mosques are Koranic schools where young people are given religious instruction and memorize verses from the Koran. The mosque provides a place for people to socialize, meditate, and perform the obligatory daily prayers.

There is no element of the sacred distinctive to Islam in the Gambia. The mosque is the house of prayer and thus a sacred place.

In the Gambia, Muslims celebrate the Id al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) and the Id al-Fitr (the end of the fasting month of Ramadan). For the Id al-Fitr businesses and government offices are closed, and invitations are extended to friends, neighbors, and family to join in celebrations. The Gambia is probably the only Muslim nation in the world that observesas public holidays Christian feasts, such as Good Friday and the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Mary. Christians and Muslims celebrate these festivals with pomp and pageantry. It is customary for Christians and Muslims to visit one another during these religious celebrations.

In the Gambia many Muslims still dress in a traditional Islamic fashion. For instance, women often wear a scarf or another form of Islamic head covering as a visible way of affirming their identity. With the influence of modernity and globalization, however, it is now common for some Gambian Muslims to wear Western clothing.

There are no dietary laws specific only to Gambian Muslims. Islamic dietary restrictions, however, are strictly observed in the Gambia. Animals must be properly slaughtered, and Muslims are forbidden from eating pork or drinking alcohol.

In the Gambia, as in other countries, Muslims come together for the Jumat (the Friday noon prayer). The mosque is the center for worship and fellowship for Gambian Muslims, and prayer is central and paramount to their lives. The basic rituals before and after the salat (prayer) are strictly observed.

Gambian Muslims see the marriage ceremony—a celebration involving music, dance, and food—as the best way to bring families together. Islam in the Gambia has been influenced by the African ethos of communal commitment and connections. Muslim marriages reflect this aspect of African culture.

The traditional stages in life (birth, marriage, death) in Islam are still observed by Muslims in the Gambia, though Gambian Muslims view these stages within the particular traditional teachings of their ethnic group. Muslims place tremendous emphasis on marriage. A dowry is required for a marriage to be legitimate. When a person is about to die, it is customary for a family member to turn the dying person's face toward Mecca and recite the first shahadah (Islamic declaration of faith), "There is no god but Allah."

The Gambia Muslim Congress, a group concerned with Islamic dawah (missionary work), propagates Islamic values and teachings in the Gambia. Their primary goal is to bring new members to Islam. Other organizations engaged in dawah include the Gambia Muslim Association, the Gambia Islamic Union, and the Supreme Islamic Council. In order to compete with Christian missionaries from the West, many international (including Middle Eastern) Muslim organizations have boosted their activities in The Gambia.

By the 1920s young Muslims obtained a basic education in Islamic schools. This educated class of Muslims established the Young Muslim Society in 1929. In the 1950s this organization was renamed the Gambia Muslim Congress. The organization's objectives were to promote and safeguard the interests of Muslims and ensure that Muslims occupied key positions in the government and civil service.

Nowadays such Muslim organizations as the Gambia Muslim Association, the Gambia Islamic Union, and the Supreme Islamic Council are involved in issues concerning social justice, human rights, equality, and total well-being for Muslims.

Gambian Muslims are encouraged to marry and have children. Celibacy and renunciation of sexuality are forbidden. Marriage is a solemn union sanctioned and blessed by God. As in traditional African culture, Muslim men in The Gambia can have more than one wife. Children are enrolled in Koranic schools at an early age.

The availability of Islamic literature and increased globalization have helped raise political awareness within Gambian Muslim communities. Young people within national Muslim groups, such as the Gambia Muslim Association, the Gambia Islamic Union, and the Supreme Islamic Council, are politically conscious and raise questions about the political and economic policies of the nation's government.

Controversial among Gambian Muslims is the status of women in religion and society. Although traditional social views have led to discrimination against women in education and employment (for example, just one-third of high school students are girls), the atmosphere of tolerance in The Gambia has encouraged open dialogue on the issue.

In the Gambia a wide range of Islamic literature, in both English and Arabic, has become available, which has led to a growing intellectual depthin how people understand the religion. This literature has especially influenced young people in the Gambia.

In 1458 Diogo Gomez, a Portuguese explorer, arrived in the Gambia. According to written accounts, Gomez was the first Christian in the country. He met and discussed religious issues with a Mandingo chief, Nomimansa, who eventually converted to Christianity and begged Gomez to baptize him. Because he was not a priest, Gomez could not fulfill this request, so he sent the Abbot of Soto de Cassa to instruct Nomimansa on the basic tenets of the Christian faith.

Portuguese communities emerged in the Gambia shortly after Gomez's arrival. Settlers married into local families and established their own communities. They built houses and churches in the Portuguese architectural style. Priests from the island of Cape Verde, who maintained a regular staff of 12 friars, periodically served the new churches.

Although Christianity was received positively by the indigenous people, it did not enjoy major success until the early nineteenth century, when Protestant missionary activity started in the Gambia. Catholic and Protestant missionaries subsequently established schools in the area.

In contemporary Gambia the Christian community is largely Catholic. Other significant Christian denominations include Methodists and Anglicans. Catholic schools are prominent in the country. The government does not put restrictions on religious instruction, which is made available in both public and private schools.

African traditional religion is the faith of a tiny percentage of the population. Many Muslims and Christians, however, follow traditional rituals and practices during important events in their lives, especially birth, marriage, and death.

Anderson, J.N.D. Islamic Law in Africa. London: Colonial Research Publications, 1954.

Gailey, Harry. A History of the Gambia. London: Praeger, 1964.

Nyang, Sulayman S. "A Contribution to the Study of Islam in the Gambia." Pakistan Historical Journal (April 1977): 125–38.

——. "Gambia." In The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islam World. Edited by John L. Esposito. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.

——. "Gambia: A State in Search of Viability." Africana Marburgensia 8, no. 1 (1975): 3–25.

Sanneh, Lamin. Piety and Power: Muslims and Christians in West Africa. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1996.

Ungar, Sanford J. Africa: The People and Politics of an Emerging Continent. 3rd rev. ed. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1989.

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