The Gambia has lost one of her glorious sons in the person of Dr. Sulayman Nyang. Dr. Nyang, a former Professor and Chairman of African Studies Department at Howard University in Washington D.C., died on Tuesday.
The 74-year-old man died after he had hospitalized for stroke. The former deputy Ambassador and Head of Chancery at The Gambia’s Embassy in Saudi Arabia who wrote many books was an established authority of Islam. Dr. Nyang was a former Chairman of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organisation. He was one of the first national board members of CAIR that conferred its annual “Lifetime Achievement Award” on him.
“We offer our sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of Dr. Nyang, a kind and gentle soul who was a respected teacher and mentor of so many in the American Muslim community,” CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement ahead of Dr. Nyang’s funeral services in Silver Spring Maryland on Wednesday. “God we belong, and to Him is our return.”
Dr. Nyang was an internationally-respected diplomat, scholar, teacher, and community leader who preached peace throughout his lifetime. He had been resident in the United States since 1965.
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may his soul rest in peace. ameen