Amir Trawally’s 56th Independence message

We are very much pleased and grateful to Allah Almighty for blessing us with the opportunity to witness yet another special occasion of Independence anniversary. On Thursday, 18^th February 2021, our dear and beloved country, the great nation of the Gambia and her people will witness and celebrate her 56^th Independence anniversary. As we celebrate the independence of our dear country, we should always ponder over what made us stand together, lived side by side in peace and harmony, our progress, development and our advancement and achievements. Indeed, it is our prayers for this great Nation and that of our strength in staying united as brothers and sisters from the same father and mother. It is true that we can never have the same opinions in everything that we do, it is true that we cannot all believe in the same things and we cannot see things in the same way, be it our views when it comes to politics, religion, and other aspects, but one thing that is certain is that despite our diversity, we can always remain united for the peace, harmony and development of this country and that is something we have proven since our attainment of independence and well before that.

We should on this day ponder over the blessed, beautiful, excellent and pure lines of our National Anthem, which is a true reflection of what every Gambian is. Today I will reproduce these lines in this message to remind all of us.

For The Gambia, our homeland, We strive and work and pray, That all may live in unity, Freedom and peace each day. Let justice guide our actions Towards the common good, And join our diverse peoples To prove man's brotherhood. We pledge our firm allegiance, Our promise we renew; Keep us, great God of nations, To The Gambia ever true.

Being loyal to one’s country, praying for her, and loving her and standing ready at all time to defend it, is and integral part of our faith as our beloved Master, the Holy Prophet of Islam, Hazrat Muhammad Mustapha^(saw) said:

“Love for one’s Nation is part of faith.” 

So today let us love The Gambia more than ever before, let us strive and work hard in order for us to be great and meaningful citizens. Let us live together in peace, respecting each other, being just and treat each other equally so that all of us may live in unity, freedom and peace each day.Justice should be our principle in everything we do. All our actions should bear witness that we are just and we are fair, because that is what will lead us towards our common good.

Despite our differences in opinions, faith, ethnicity, etc. we should always celebrate our diversity as a people of this great nation because that is what will always help us to prove our brotherhood. The brotherhood that we exercise as Gambians is what is keeping us together and enabling us to live in peace and harmony from the beginning and that brotherhood is what we should safeguard and jealously protect. Let us love each other and wish for each other the good which we wish for ourselves.

Every citizen and resident of this great Nation of ours has a role to play and that role is to always make sure that we maintain the peace and harmony of this country and also work towards her development, progress and prosperity.

As this year is an Election year, we face a huge task of maintaining the peace, love and unity that we are known for as Gambians. Let’s go about our political activities with peace and respect for the rule of law but most importantly respect for each other. We should love and not hate. We should joke and not fight and we should celebrate and not damage. May Allah Almighty be our Great Helper and may He see us through. Ameen

On that note, on behalf of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at The Gambia and on my own humble behalf, I am extending our heartfelt and sincere congratulations and prayers to His Excellency Mr. Adama Barrow, President of the Republic of The Gambia, the First Family, the entire cabinet, government, political and religious leaders, traditional leaders, citizens and non-citizens residing in the country our sincere HAPPY INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY and Allah Almighty make this auspicious day be a source of purity, piety and righteousness.

May Allah Almighty encompass and embrace our beloved country The Gambia with His grace and mercy and raise the country in higher heights, success and progress under the bondage of brotherhood and unity and may He be our helper and be with us all and make us continue to enjoy and cherish the existing peace, security, stability and prosperity forever and ever. May He protect us all from this devastating Covid–19 pandemic and bless us with good health and heal the sick and have mercy and forgive the departed souls. Ameen 

LOVE FOR ALL HATRED FOR NONE…TO THE GAMBIA EVER TRUE

God Bless The Gambia.

Wassalam

Yours Sincerely,

Baba F. Trawally

Amir