Back and Next - Back and Next‘I am not a Freemason anymore’ - President Wade
Sunday, February 8, 2009
The Senegalese president, Abdoulie Wade, has come under scathing attack from a prominent member of the Senegalese parliament, Imam Mbaye Niang, following disclosures that he is a Freemason.
Leader of the Reformist Movement for Social Development (Mouvement pour la Réforme et le Dévelopement Social, MRDS), Imam Niang called on the Senegalese president to step down. He went on to say that several Islamic associations were presently working on ways and means of coming up with an adequate mechanism to facilitate this. The MRDS leader, who is also a religious leader, challenged President Wade on the claim that he no longer has links with the Grand Orient Lodge. “To resign does not mean that you have cut off any relationship with Freemasonry," Niang emphasised.
He added that in the religious circles (Islamic and Christian laws) a member of freemasonry is a veritable apostate. In other words, the Senegalese president cannot be elevated to the level of a Muslim. Imam Niang’s reaction was prompted by a rejoinder sent to the international edition of the French magazine, L’Express, written by the Senegalese president, who denied being a member of the Masonic body.
Far from denying that he had been a member of an extension of the Grand Orient of France (umbrella body of Masonic organizations in French speaking countries) the Senegalese president pointed out that he cannot be branded as a dormant member. "I have been sacked because of my voluntary resignation. I am not a Freemason anymore," he stated.
He then added: “It was just out of curiosity that I decided to adhere to the Lodge, as I hoped to have intellectual exchanges." According to Claude Wauthier, a French intellectual and Africanist, the Grand Orient established its first lodge at Saint-Louis in Senegal in 1781.
He further indicated that Freemasonry is known for being multifarious. Unlike the others’ rites, he noted, the Grand Orient does not mention the "Great Architect of the Universe", that is to say God, in its constitution and its members do not swear on the Bible.
Leader of the Reformist Movement for Social Development (Mouvement pour la Réforme et le Dévelopement Social, MRDS), Imam Niang called on the Senegalese president to step down. He went on to say that several Islamic associations were presently working on ways and means of coming up with an adequate mechanism to facilitate this. The MRDS leader, who is also a religious leader, challenged President Wade on the claim that he no longer has links with the Grand Orient Lodge. “To resign does not mean that you have cut off any relationship with Freemasonry," Niang emphasised.
He added that in the religious circles (Islamic and Christian laws) a member of freemasonry is a veritable apostate. In other words, the Senegalese president cannot be elevated to the level of a Muslim. Imam Niang’s reaction was prompted by a rejoinder sent to the international edition of the French magazine, L’Express, written by the Senegalese president, who denied being a member of the Masonic body.
Far from denying that he had been a member of an extension of the Grand Orient of France (umbrella body of Masonic organizations in French speaking countries) the Senegalese president pointed out that he cannot be branded as a dormant member. "I have been sacked because of my voluntary resignation. I am not a Freemason anymore," he stated.
He then added: “It was just out of curiosity that I decided to adhere to the Lodge, as I hoped to have intellectual exchanges." According to Claude Wauthier, a French intellectual and Africanist, the Grand Orient established its first lodge at Saint-Louis in Senegal in 1781.
He further indicated that Freemasonry is known for being multifarious. Unlike the others’ rites, he noted, the Grand Orient does not mention the "Great Architect of the Universe", that is to say God, in its constitution and its members do not swear on the Bible.
Author: by Abdoulie John
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