Fourah Bay

Fourah Bay College (first half of the 19th century)

Fourah Bay is a neighbourhood in Freetown, Sierra Leone. It is located in the East end of Freetown.[1]

The Creole Muslim people, locally known as the Oku people, make up the majority of the population of Fourah Bay.[2]

Fourah Bay is an overwhelming Muslim majority neighbourhood and it is known for its deep conservative Muslim population. Fourah Bay Is widely known for its rich Islamic culture and teachings based in Sunni Islam. Fourah Bay is home to a prominent minority of Salafi Muslims, a deeply conservative branch of Sunni Islam. The Jamiatul Atiq Masjid is the main Mosque that serves the Fourah Bay Muslim community, and is one of the most prominent mosques in Sierra Leone.

Fourah Bay has a history of producing some of the most highly knowledgeable Sierra Leonean Muslim scholars including the very popular and renowned Salafi Sunni Islamic scholar Sheikh Alhaji Sulaiman Alpha Carew. Many of the current highly knowledgeable Muslim scholars from Fourah Bay were students of Sheikh Sulaiman Alpha Carew, including the prominent Sierra Leonean Muslim scholars Sheikh Mohamed Sanusi Tejan, Sheikh Muhammad Alpha Macauley, Sheikh Alpha Musa Nabie, Sheikh Muhammad Sanusi Savage, Sheikh Alpha Teslim Williams, and Sheikh Nasim Sahid. Fourah Bay Muslim scholars are widely known for maintaining neutrality in Sierra Leonean politics.

There is a small Christian minority community in Fourah Bay. Fourah Bay is home to a couple of churches as well. The Pentecostal Church of Fourah Bay, is one of the main churches that serves the Christian community of Fourah Bay. Like the rest of Sierra Leone, Muslims and Christians get along very well in Fourah Bay.

Politically since Independence in 1961 to present, Fourah Bay has traditionally been a stronghold of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), the current ruling party in Sierra Leone. The SLPP is popular in Fourah Bay, and maintains majority support among its residents. The most famous and most highly respected politician from Fourah Bay is Mohammed Sanusi Mustapha (widely known as M.S. Mustapha) who was one of the founding fathers that lead Sierra Leone to Independence, and he was also a prominent member of the Sierra Leone People's Party, and a very close ally and personally a very close friend of Sierra Leone"s first prime minister and the country's Independent leader Sir Milton Margai, who was extremely popular and loved by the residents of Fourah Bay during his time in office as prime minister. Current Sierra Leone"s president Julius Maada Bio is very popular in Fourah Bay. Other famous Sierra Leonean politicians from Fourah Bay include Abdul Tejan Cole, Haja Afsatu Kabba and Madina Rahman.

Some notable Oku families in Fourah Bay include the Alharazim, the Ibrahim Family, Macauley family, Alghali family, the Deen family, the Mahdi family, Lewally family, the Cole family, the Rahman family, the Bakarr family, the Savage family, the Sahid family, and the carew family.

References

  1. ↑ Sonko-Godwin, Patience (2004-01-01). Trade in the Senegambia Region: From the 12th to the Early 20th Century. Sunrise Publishers. p. 68. ISBN 9789983990041.
  2. ↑ Othman, Ramatoulie Onikepo (1999). A Cherished Heritage: Tracing the Roots of Oku Marabou--early 19th to Mid 20th Century. Edward Francis Small Printing Press. p. 31.


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