Gambia-based Pan-African Movement leader reacts to DEFENDER report, backs Traore ‘partly’ on Shari’ah Studies Abroad

*Says president expects Saudi scholarship for Burkinabe students not to be on Shari’ah alone

By KEMI KASUMU

While Bayo agreed with Traore’s position to an extent, he maintained that there was “nothing wrong” with studying Sharia, arguing instead that such programmes should be structured in ways that respond to the country’s educational, economic and social realities.

President of the Pan-African Movement Forum in The Gambia, Mr. Dawda Bayo, has said Burkina Faso’s military leader, Captain Ibrahim Traore, was “partly right” in his reported position on the study of Sharia law abroad.

Bayo made the remarks in reaction to an article published by The DEFENDER Newspaper on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, titled, “The Burkina Faso’s New Policy on Shari’ah Law Study Abroad and the Funny Reactions by Some Nigerian Media Actors.” The article was authored by Nigerian writer and publisher, Sharifdeen Abas.

In the article, Abas criticised what he described as the negative reactions of some Nigerian media commentators to Burkina Faso’s reported policy on citizens studying Sharia law abroad. He also called for a more balanced approach to journalism and cautioned against what he characterised as anti-Islamic or sectional narratives in media coverage.

Reacting to the debate in a statement issued from Banjul, the Gambian capital, on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, Bayo said Traore’s position should not be interpreted as a rejection of Sharia studies or Islamic scholarship.

According to him, the study of Sharia law has value but should be adapted to the specific social, educational and economic needs of Burkina Faso.

Bayo, who said he also follows developments surrounding Traore’s administration in Ouagadougou, stated that, “Well, to me, I think he is partly right when you look at the insurgency in the Sahel. There is nothing wrong with studying Sharia, but it should be tailor-made to suit the needs of the Burkinabe.”

He argued that the debate should be considered within the broader context of Burkina Faso’s religious and constitutional environment, noting that a significant proportion of the country’s population is Muslim and that the country’s legal framework provides for freedom of religion.

Bayo further expressed concern about the employment prospects of students who pursue specialised religious studies without corresponding opportunities in the labour market.

He suggested that, in his view, a situation in which large numbers of young people graduate from religious institutions without employment opportunities could create vulnerabilities that extremist groups might exploit.

“If Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations are offering scholarships to Burkinabe and most of them are only studying Shari’ah, with every year thousands graduating, those graduates without jobs because what they studied cannot give them jobs, the next thing is they will gather together and seek funding from the Arab world to strengthen the religion, and the jihad concept comes in as more money flows in,” he said.

Bayo linked his concerns to the wider security challenges facing the Sahel and parts of northern Nigeria, including the activities of Boko Haram and other extremist organisations.

However, his assertion linking the funding of religious education directly to the emergence of jihadist insurgency remains his personal assessment and is not established as a general fact. The causes of violent extremism in the Sahel and Nigeria are widely considered complex and multifaceted, involving factors such as governance challenges, poverty, political instability, foreign influence, local conflicts, criminal networks and extremist ideology.

The Pan-African Movement Forum president’s comments have added another perspective to the ongoing debate over the place of Islamic education, Shari’ah studies and foreign scholarships in Burkina Faso’s evolving national policy under Traore’s military administration.

While Bayo agreed with Traore’s position to an extent, he maintained that there was “nothing wrong” with studying Sharia, arguing instead that such programmes should be structured in ways that respond to the country’s educational, economic and social realities.