(Top story this week in the Daily Observer (www.observer.gm) – Gambia’s official newspaper, with the largest circulation in the country. This was the main headline on Monday and on Tuesday this had a story plus two pages of pictures in the centerfold. This was also covered on TV news. All the text is verbatim from the newspaper; none of my opinions are included here. Jammeh is the President of the Gambia:)
“JAMMEH CURES PATIENTS AT RVTH”
“The curative power of the Holy Qur’an and traditional medicine were yesterday put to effect at the Accident and Emergency Unit and the Private Ward of the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital (RVTH) by President Yahya Jammeh.
Jammeh combined both the spiritual power of curing and traditional medicine to alleviate the suffering at the emergency unit, as well as restore the health of patients in critical conditions. The process was so effective that patients responded to the healing techniques within a short span of time. His medicinal application was simply the Holy Qur’an combined with a few traditional herbs.
The curative power of the Gambian leader left many mesmerized and stunned, including his entourage, doctors, nurses, patients and other staff of RVTH. It was his second consecutive day at the hospital, after attending to the patients on Saturday.
[The President told journalists:]
“…I believe in two things. If somebody is sick and you cannot cure the person with the Holy Qur’an, the person is certainly going to die. And it would not take 24 hours. There is no disease in this world that you cannot cure using the Qur’an and some natural herbs that are existing either in the forest and/or at our homes.”
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2 comments:
What an amazing newspaper story. This resonated for me because right now I am reading the engrossing novel "Segu," by Maryse Conde, which details how Islam and modern life impacted with traditional West Africa in the 1800s. I'm only a little surprised to see that 100 years later, things have not changed all that much. HOWEVER, it's interesting to note that there is much anecdotal evidence, plenty of religious scripture, and even a few hotly debated scientific studies which lead credence to the view that prayer can cure sickness. Anyone who believes in God would have to think that He could cure disease should He find reason to. As a Baha'i, I believe that "the power of the Holy Sprit healeth both physical and spiritual ailments" (from the writings of Abdu'l-Baha). Still...one would have to be sincere for that to happen. Is the President?
Wow! President Jammeh is talking about the combination of natural herbal medicines and the Holy Qur'an. I believe that it is true that God has given us cures for our ailments, both physical and spiritual. We just have to "discover" them! Most of western medicine is made with either natural ingredients, derivitives of them, and/or synthetic versions of them. Mystery is an inherent component of medicine. Two people can take the same medicine and have completely different reactions to it. Doctors and scientists don't even always know why alot of medicines work. In fact many medicines wind up being used for things they weren't originally designed for just because we happen to find out more about medicines and what they are capable of doing as they come into the marketplace. In any case, this will be an interesting and hopeful story to keep tabs on. Stranger things have turned out to be true. And what an amazing blessing. I'm not sure what President Jammeh is speaking about in terms of his limitations and restrictions (alluded to in the actual article in the newspaper link). In any case, if these treatments do provide improvements and cures for even some people, well then, Hooray!
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