All praises
belong to Allah (the most high),
Lord, we praise you, we thank
you, we give our allegiance to
you. we believe you and we trust
you. I bear witness that there
is no God worth of worship but
Allah alone. I also bear witness
that Muhammad (PBUH) is His
servant and messenger. May Allah
bless him, his family, his
companions and all of those
follow their foot step until the
day of judgment.
Brothers and
Sisters in Islam
Assalaam Alaikum
warrahmatulaahi wabarrakaatuhu
It is exciting
that Liberian Mandingoes have
realized their short coming, saw
the light at the end of the
tunnel, and came out with an
idea of " All Liberian
Mandingoes Convention in the
USA" This gathering that aim to
unify Liberian Mandingoes
irrespective of their political
affiliations, creed, sect,
religion, or even their
geographical localities in the
country. I first of all thank
Almighty Allah, I also thank all
of those contributed in
organizing this convention and
making it possible to bring
Liberian Mandingoes together.
If we - The
Liberian Mandingoes - looked
keenly behind us at the tragic
and evil acts of the Liberian
civil war, we will realize that
it has created a lot of fears
and suspicion in our minds and
in the minds of many of our
fellow Liberians.
For us Mandingoes
especially, there are many
trials and challenges ahead.
there are many thing that we
have to do. We have been
existing as powerful and
productive ethnic group before
and after the establishment of
this land of liberty up til the
present, But we remained
neglectful in making ourselves
known to our other fellow
Liberians (Neighbors,
co-workers, peers and even
our fellow Muslims from other
tribes). we remained in
isolation. many other tribes
around us in various part of
Liberia ( Particularly in Nimba,
Bong and Lofa Counties) feel
mysterious about us, They do not
know us and do not know much
about our history, contribution,
religion and culture.
We have to learn
and understand lessons from
the Liberian civil war. Liberia
is not the same Liberia. A lot
of things have changed, are
changing, and will change. Now
we have to assess ourselves and
change some of our own ways of
thinking and behaviors. We must
come out of isolation. We must
put aside our petty differences
and work together. We have to
introduce ourselves, our Islamic
values and principles and we
have to participate fully in the
nation building along with the
other ethnic group for the sake
of reconstruction, peace,
harmony, good will, and good
community.
Human being are
all one family, be it whites and
blacks, Gio, mano, Grebo, Vai,
bassa or lorma ext..ext. People
of all tribes, races and
nationalities are from one and
the same parent, but we must go
beyond our tribe and treat all
people as one people and
family .
My Brotherly
message to my fellow Liberian
Mandingoes whose will gather
here in Philadelphia for this
historical convention is this
noble Hadith.
It is reported
that the prophet Muhammad May
peace and blessing of Allah be
upon Him said: "My lord
(Allah) gave me nine advices and
I give them to you. He advised
me to be sincere whether in
private and in public, to do
justice whether in anger or in
happiness, to be moderate
whether in riches or in poverty,
to join (in relation) with those
who (try) to cut me off, to give
to those who deprive me, to
forgive those who do wrong to
me, that my silence be
thoughtful, my speech be
mindful (of Allah), and my
vision be to take admonition."
Reported by Raaz
Conclusion:
Islam wants to
establish a world order where
all human beings can live with
justice and peace, harmony and
good will. It gives its
followers full guidance to find
peace in their personal and
social lives But it is also
tells them how to extend the
good will on the basis of human
relations towards others .
There are many
challenges that we are facing at
this time. We have tremendous
possibilities to increase the
good in Liberia and we have also
plenty of means to do harm to
others as well as our own
selves, and to destroy Liberia.
It is time we work together with
care and wisdom.
Selfishness,
greed and lust for power and
pleasure are taking over the
whole globe. Societies and
cultures are in disarray. People
are loosing a sense of value,
balance and equilibrium. There
are many problems in Liberia
today as the result of the civil
war ; There are spiritual
problems, Moral problems, Social
problems, Economic problems,
Political problems, and national
as well as international
problems. families are breaking
down, Tribalism is at a rise
just to name a few.
The Interfaith
Mediation Committee should be in
the forefront of the movement
for a moral and spiritual reform
of Liberia. Peace and Justice
for every one.Human rights of
all people, elimination of the
weapon and arm robbery
construction of more learning
and health institutions
throughout the country should be
our priority. We must give the
message of hope to Liberia and
the Liberian people. Let's
remind our tribesmen and the
entire Liberian people that
injustice to some is a threat to
justice in every place. Let's
eradicate intolerance and
injustice from our neighborhood,
towns, cities.
In order for
these dreams to come true, we
appealing sincerely to
organizers of this convention,
the elders , and the opinion
leaders in our communities to
make sure all mandingo
organizations should be under
one chain of command, this
leadership will establish
various committees that will
implement future project
proposals. it will be the
responsibility of the leadership
to supervise the function of
each committee's head.
I also recommend
if the convention can come out
with an idea of "
Mandingo
History Month" this
month will be cerebrated
annually, and this month will
be an ideal time to intensify
the awareness among Liberian
people about our history, our
achievements, and our heroes
whose contributed in the
establishment of Liberia. I
strongly believe that learning
institutions, electronic media
as well as student and social
organizations are capable of
playing greater role towards
that direction. Let's emulate
the good example of the African
Americans in their struggle to
achieve everlasting emancipation
through peaceful dialogs, solid
education and sacrifices to
defend and protect our only land
of liberty.
Finally I ask
Almighty Allah that He may
strengthen the efforts of
stakeholders in our Mandingo
societies at home and diaspora.
we also ask Allah that He should
guide us (all ) to the straight
path and reward us Al-Jan-nah
Aameen.
Wassalaam Alaikum
Sheikh Mohammed
Kanneh
Co-chairman of
the religion Committee
of the Liberian
Mandingo Association of
Pennsylvania (LIMAP)
About the Author:
Sheikh Mohammed Kanneh is a
veteran Da'wa worker with 19
years working experience. Sheikh
Kanneh is also 1987/88 graduate
of the Islamic University of
Medina ( College of Islamic
law). You can contact Sheikh
Kanneh @ 484-4326691 or
sheikh_kanneh@yahoo.com
for all of your Islamic services
