Liberia: Muslim Congress Leadership Ask to Resign

Monrovia, Liberia - Leadership crisis has hit the Muslim Congress of Liberia with the youths, elders and Muslim Jamat demanding the resignation of the entire leadership.

The Muslim Youths and Jamat named those asked to resign as Mr.Barbah Marmoud, Mohammed I. Trawally, Alihaji Lansana Swaray and Dr. Ibrahima Kaba.

Accordingly they have been asked to resign because they had failed to meet the expectation of the Muslim Jamat, the youths and the entire congress.

According to the Concerned Youth Spokesman and Concerned Muslim Chairman of Central Monrovia, Sam Mohammed Kaba and Murlaye Bangura, the four leaders are asked to relinquish power and stop the execution of all leadership functions.

The two spokesmen accused Mohammed Trawally and Barbah Mermaid along with others for misappropriating charity funds and absconding with a huge pile of building materials belonging to the Congress and the Muslim Jamat.

The encouraging and fostering immoral conduct and un-Islamic programs on the sacred grounds of the Newport Street mosque; the misappropriation of over US$1M as well as the theft of properties and illegal and unilateral leasing of part of the mosque premises for commercial purposes are among other reasons for which the four officials were asked resign.

They alleged that the entire Muslim community in Monrovia has learnt enough of the many years of counter-productive management style.

Their decision to remove the leadership of Congress came at a mass Muslim jamat meeting held on Sunday at the Newport Street mosque where the youths, elders, men and women were represented. Accordingly Dr. Ibrahima D. Kaba admitted the fact that the leadership had failed to address the need of the Congress by presenting administration saying, "Congress should allow others who want to be part of it and not that it should be for only a single family who wants to possess it for their own gains".

Dr. Kaba said the Congress should also be an entity that should be very Islamic and must accommodate all Muslims.

He indicated that he as an executive member was doing everything to look into the demand of the aggrieved Muslims and youths.

It can be recalled that on numerous occasions there has been protest at the Newport Street mosque by youths and students of the Congress to improve facilities of the mosque and the school but this seems not workable until when on Thursday and Sunday, a mass protest was held by the youths and Muslim Jamat calling on the current leadership to resign and make way for another new leadership to head the Muslim Congress of Liberia.