Kalander Baksh seems to have found a willing outlet in the Kaieteur News to publish what at best can be described as senseless drivel. In his letter titled “Bin Jabbar is trying to water down the seriousness of this sex abuse case” in the February 2nd 2012 edition of the Kaieteur News, his insinuations could not have been further from the truth. My letter captioned, “A Principled Position will be Respected” was rather meticulous in referring to the Islamic position and I quote: “The Islamic position as it pertains to rape, paedophilia and homosexuality remains unambiguous. There are no grey areas surrounding these issues and those involved/guilty of such acts are dealt with based on the Sharia- in an Islamic State.” Therefore the position of one accused of such acts, whether he is a scholar, or an Imam is negligible in Islam. He will be treated as anyone else who has been accused of such acts.

Further, in reference to the Sharma case, Baksh  used a red herring to create a diversion by saying that Sharma was not accused of homosexuality. Homosexuality was a non-issue in the Sharma case. The issues were rape and paedophilia. Four of the girls making the allegations against Sharma were under the age of 10. This is in addition to those making allegations prior to those being made. The matter involving the Muslim scholar also captures rape and paedophilia with boys. However given the nature surrounding the case, homosexuality may very well be inconsequential in the courts.

In my letter, the organisation in question leading the protest, “Red Thread”  was highlighted for their double standards i.e. they lead protests in front of the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security while failing to do the same in the Sharma case.

Stating that the case surrounding the Imam has not been accorded the same publicity as the Sharma case is an utter fabrication if one had perused both the electronic and print media from the day the story erupted. In fact, the entire Muslim community has come under the microscope as a result of this issue. Additionally, his name was published in the media contrary to what Baksh wrote.
The other issues raised by Baksh have been rendered obsolete since court proceedings have commenced and the individual in question has been remanded to prison. His photograph has also been published.

Baksh seems to know a lot about the Sharia and its implementation; he should therefore be cognisant of the law of evidence and once the evidence cannot stand up to scrutiny, the accuser is then dealt  eighty (80) lashes. In closing, fortunately or unfortunately the Sharia is not applicable in Guyana. What say you Kalander Baksh?

Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh