Monrovia — Chief Imam of Liberia Ali Krayee has disclosed that despite his advocacy for an Islamic holiday in Liberia, many Muslims in the country have instead chosen rice donations over the establishment of such a holiday.
In a Facebook post on Saturday, March 6, Imam Krayee responded to critics who condemned him for accepting bags of rice from the office of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai instead of continuing his push for the
establishment of an Islamic holiday--a proposal he says has been ignored by several Muslim leaders in Liberia.
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During Ramadan in 2020, while delivering his Eid Sermon, Imam Krayee told the then George Weah-led Government that if Muslims in Liberia could not be granted a holiday at the end of Ramadan, there was no point in providing bags of rice to the Muslim Community.
The Chief Imam said at the end of the 2020 Ramadan at the Benson Street Mosque: "We are calling on the religious leaders, we are calling on the political leaders that this country is treading on a very dangerous path. We are not threatening anything but our people, the masses of the Muslims people are growing impatient. After this Coronavirus, next year, we will not receive any offer from government until we have our holiday. We will tell our people, and we want to be very clear, keep your bags of rice if you cannot give us our holiday."
However, despite his strong advocacy for an Islamic holiday during the previous administration, many have accused him of not doing much to push the agenda under the current Boakai Administration, especially after he was seen accepting bags of rice from the government.
Responding to critics, Imam Krayee said the first time the Muslim community received rice from the government was under the administration of former President Weah.
He explained that during his 2020 Eid sermon he made it clear that if the government could not grant Muslims a holiday at the end of Ramadan, then rice donations would be meaningless--a statement he described as bold and decisive.
According to Imam Krayee, the statement he made during the 2020 Ramadan message was later rejected by fellow Muslims, something he said he now wishes he had never said.
"First, immediately after the sermon, some Imams and other Muslim leaders reached out to me saying that my statement was harsh and that we should accept the rice while we continue to push for our rights," he said.
Imam added: "But that was not all. Most of the Muslims ignored our position and continued to receive rice. There were big donations in large mosques in Monrovia as if to say you are on your own. You should know how anyone in our position would have felt. To say we were embarrassed is an understatement."
The Chief Imam further explained that the stance against accepting rice donations eventually changed due to pressure within the Muslim community.
He noted that rice holds significant cultural importance in Liberia and that many Muslims prioritized receiving the donations rather than supporting his call for an Islamic holiday.
"Any leader who plays with their rice is a loser. We knew this before because of our history. But this time, we had to learn the hard way. At least we have learned.That's how we unceremoniously reversed our decision," Iman Krayee said.
He continued, "And so later that same year, we received 200 bags of rice on behalf of the Imam Council from Representative Thomas Fallah of the CDC. The following year was 2021. We received 500 bags of rice from Senator Saah Joseph, also of the CDC, for mosques in Montserrado. And of course we have always received donations from the office of late Representative Munah Pelham and later Representative Frank Saah Foko of the CDC."
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The Chief Imam emphasized that Muslims in Liberia did not reverse their stance based on which political party was in power, noting that for three years after the 2020 statement, the community continued to receive rice donations from officials of former President Weah's administration.
Imam Krayee also stressed that he plans to address the issue of an Islamic holiday in his upcoming Eid message to the nation.
"The holiday question is in Eid message. Keen and sincere observers would have realized that we slowed down in our advocacy for holidays since 2022, more than a year before CDC left power. There are many reasons for this. For now, I must say, for the majority of Muslims in Liberia, Eid holiday is not a priority," he said.
