Recently, the Grand Mufti of Liberia Sheikh Abubakar Sumaworo warned the Weah administration not to allow jihadists mainly Shia Muslims to establish mosques or schools in Liberia.
"We are hearing that the jihad regime is about to spread in some parts of Africa, and with the information, we gathered so far is that wherever they reach, they can establish the jihad war, school, including Mosque and these could subsequently lead to terrorism", the Muslim Cleric further cautioned.
According to him, jihadists are a sect of Muslims, who travel from one country to another, causing confusion among other Muslims, and added that they are often linked to terrorist groups hence, the Government of Liberia should not allow them into the country to establish mosque or school.
If the Weah administration has been paying deaf ears to warnings coming from the public, it should take this one with full attention. The warning by the Grand Mufti should be treated with all seriousness it deserves because jihadist activities in West Africa are widespread and devastating with huge human costs.
From Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso to next-door neighbor Ivory Coast, jihadist groups have rained and continue to rain terror on unarmed civilians with unimaginable consequences.
Recently, the authorities here deported two staff of the Turkish Light International School in Monrovia for alleged terroristic activities, which left the population panicking.
Grand Mufti Sumaworo is a serious cleric that commands huge followers in the country. He would not have sounded the caution to the government if he had not sensed something. Government should take cue and be on the alert.
Liberia with porous borders is vulnerable to unsuspected activities. Often, reports of illegal migrants from Burkina Faso crossing into the country allegedly for farming purposes have saturated the media here.
With Muslims repeated request to government to legislate end of the Holy Month of Ramadan as public holiday, it is possible that jihadists could exploit the situation to cry suppression and attract sympathy from outside.
The government should put its security forces on full alert in the wake of the warning and previous action at the Turkish Light International School because where there is smoke, fire could likely follow.
