PHOTO: Sen. Edwin Melvin Snowe of Bomi County
A NEWS ANALYSIS By Frank Sainworla, Jr, fasinworla@yahoo.com
Amidst mounting calls from Muslims for a day/two to be set aside in commemoration of the annual end of Ramadan or their Abraham Day in their spiritual calendar, Bomi County Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe has disclosed that he will shortly introduce Bills on the floor for both national Muslim and Christian holidays.
“This week, I will be introducing three landmark legislations on the floor of the Liberian Senate. I hereby call on my colleagues in the legislature as well as the general public to give these legislations their fullest support for passage,” says Sen. Snowe in his May 23, 2021 post on his Facebook page.
Such a move by Sen. Snowe, who is a Christian by faith, will be groundbreaking in so far as helping to send a high profile signal that in the organic law of the land—the constitution, Liberia is a secular state with no state religion. One member of the Christian faith even suggested that one more Bill is added making the Day of Pentecost a national holiday, something that is done even in a predominantly Muslim country like Senegal, where this writer lived and worked for close to four years several years ago..
The Liberian Lawmaker’s move will go a long way in discouraging fundamentalism and extremism on every side of the religious divide, something that must not be allowed to blossom in this county.
Here are the three Bills the Bomi County Senator listed for submission to Legislature for debate and passage:
- “An Act Making Easter Monday a Public Holiday”
- “An Act Making Eid al-Adha (Abraham’s Day) a public Holiday”
- “An Act Making Eid al-Fitr (End of the Holy Month of Ramadan, the Festival of Breaking Fast) a Public Holiday”
It is no doubt that Sen. Snowe’s latest move will generate heated debate in many circles in Liberia, especially so coming against the backdrop of a determination by some elements in the Christian community to want to herald the proposition coming out of the Gbarnga constitutional conference some time ago about declaring Liberia a Christian state.
Some even hold the view that there must not be holiday for the Islamic community, because Liberia was founded on Christian principles, with its Declaration of Independence being sign in the old Providence Baptist Church on Broad Street in Monrovia.
In order to preserve and foster religious harmony, the Bomi County Senator’s Bills, will only help to galvanize the spirit of religious tolerance, as Article 14 of the Liberian constitution aspires to consolidate.
Why this assertion?
This is why to turn Liberia into a Christian state must not be allowed to see the light of day, whenever in a national referendum or other means in this global fight to ensure tolerance, nondiscrimination and religious freedom and rights, irrespective of race, creed or ethnicity/nationality.
It’s because Christianizing this country would effectively mean declaring a state religion and scrapping one of the best provisions in the current 1986 Liberian constitution, Article 14 which says:
“All persons shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion…No religious denomination or Sect shall have any exclusive privilege or preference over any other, but all shall be treated alike, and no religious test shall be required for any civil or military office or for the exercise of any civil rights, consistent with the principles of separation of religion and state, the Republic shall establish no state religion.”
Who in this world of growing instability, ethnic and religious tensions and rift, would want to turn the table? Who would not want to retain a constitutional provision that guarantees national peace, stability and religious harmony and peaceful co-existence?
Who in his/her right mind would want to scrap the letter and spirit of a constitution, which in its Preamble boldly elevates and acknowledges the divine role of Almighty God? “Acknowledging our devout gratitude to God for our existence as a Free, Sovereign and Independent State, and relying on His Devine Guidance for our survival as a Nation.” (See 1986 Liberian constitution)
Untold consequences
Let the word go forth that as a devout Christian (a faith which nothing can dissuade me from), this writer condemns Muslim fundamentalism and/or extremism as strongly as I condemn Christian fundamentalism and/or extremism.
Liberia is indeed not ready for this sort of religious grandstanding that has all the potential to stir up religious conflict with untold consequences. This is why Lawmakers it is hope that Lawmakers would cherish the religious tolerance clause we (Liberians) have in Article 14 of the constitution by embracing at least one of the two Bill being submitted by Sen. Snowe for a national Muslim holiday.
Chapter 3 Article 11 under Fundamental rights of the current Liberian constitution upholds equal rights for people of all religious persuasions and it serves as a bulwark to guarantee a secular state. This also guarantees national stability. Section “B” to it says:
“All persons, irrespective of ethnic background, race, sex, creed, place of origin or political opinion, are entitled to the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual, subject to such qualifications as provided for in this Constitution.”
The passionate backing being given to this insensitive provocative proportion by some Christian clerics to make Liberia a Christian state is disgusting.
At the same time, the condemnations declared some time ago by two top Liberian Catholic clerics, Archbishop Lewis Jerome Zeigler and Rev Fr. Alphonsus Momo are indeed wise and a step in the right direction. They warned that such a proposition was “a recipe for chaos”. It’s absolutely necessary that more and more Christian clerics join the fray and speak out against this dagger. And those feverishly behind such a move must shape up.
Instead of giving lip service to Christianity by wanting the Christian label tagged on Liberia, they must as the great book, the Bible says “Let their light shine before men so that they can see your good works.” These Christian fundamentalists must now begin to demonstrate Christianity, Christian values and principles by practicing what they preach—i.e. fetching the moral high ground and making deliberate efforts to kick out moral decadence from their Churches and the larger society.
Proposition not make it on ballot
To the members of Liberia’s Legislature whose laps the proposition to Christianize the country will land on sooner or later ahead of the planned national referendum, many believe such an insensitive proposal should not even make it on the ballot.
Among other things, Article 5 of the constitution shrewdly says that the Republic shall, “aim at strengthening the national integration and unity of the people of Liberia, regardless of ethnic, regional or other differences, into one body politic; and the Legislature shall enact laws promoting national unification and encouragement of all citizens to participate in government.”
Indeed, the challenge is ours as Liberians to hold together by fostering tolerance and peaceful co-existence or entrenching dominance of one sort or another.
Therefore, Sen. Snowe’s latest proposal can only be considered as a step in the right direction and a move well on track.