Mosque Opening Sends Caveat Against Extremism in Liberia

Garwula, Grand Cape Mount – A grand mosque in western Liberia opened its doors for worship services on Saturday with its implementing partner cautioning Muslim faithful against radicalism.

Sheikh Zaidan Musa Sheriff said extremism no longer has a place in the modern Muslim world and so it’s time for Muslims to refrain from acts that are defamatory to the image of Islam.

The formal opening of the Mohamed Salim Bakit mosque in the town of Makpomah, Garwula District, Grand Cape Mount County, had lingered for years after it was constructed. The delay was due to personal problems encountered by Sheikh Sheriff in Saudi Arabia.

But no soon had he surmounted his problems, than he returned home and the facility was opened last Saturday amidst fanfare.

Looking visibly elated over the imposing appearance of the mosque, an ebullient Sheikh Sheriff expressed gratitude to community leaders, elders and activists for their patience and urged them to remain committed to the service of the Almighty Allah.

He also expressed gratitude to the Bakit family, a wealthy philanthropist in Saudi Arabia who has sponsored many projects in Liberia, for providing US$45,000 for the construction of the mosque in Makpomah, a holy town that has since been devoted to indoctrinating the minds of the youth and elders in Islam.

Sheikh Sheriff pointed out that much of the extremist activities being carried out by certain people in the name of Islam are based on nothing but economic reasons.

“Today, for the first time, everyone gets a little bit of a glimpse into the future of what this mosque is going to offer the people of Makpomah and other areas,” he said.

He assured his fellow Muslims that if they continue to live together in peace and harmony, dedicating themselves to Islamic practices, the Arab people will surely continue to assist them in many ways.

“You should not engage in violent activities. You should show respect and oneness of purpose for one another,” he told them as he formally opened the mosque.

The ebullient Sheikh ended his opening speech with the exhortation, “I urge you not to get yourselves involved in extremism. It doesn’t pay good dividend to anybody. It only defames our good image as Muslims”

Many local Imams, brief remarks, frowned on people, especially those outside Liberia, who engage in terrorism and fanaticism under the guise of defending Islam. They said Liberian Muslims are not accustomed to such practices and as such local Islamic leaders will not use their positions to preach extremism.

People came from the surrounding towns of Banala, Jagbaka, Mabuela and Bendu to participate in the opening ceremony.

“My heart is so warm when I see this giant mosque in our town,” Ibrahim Sheriff, a resident from Jagbaka, stated.

Isatu Kiazolu, a 30-year old woman from Banala, said she and her companions were honored to participate in the program. “Islam is the best and most disciplined religion in the world and we are determined to remain as Muslim until our death.”

A caretaker told our reporter that worshipers look forward to seeing the Bakit family provide further means for the construction of nondenominational facilities at the mosque like a pipe-born water supply, toilets, cartoons of the holy Quran and related Islamic literature and an instructional center for those wishing to lean Islam.

This kind of mosque is especially needed in Makpomah because, a resident said, hundreds of Muslims either work or live in the neighborhood, “and in our religion, we must pray five times a day.”