Sheikh Hassan Cisse: A Rara Avis Scholar Dies at 63
By Ebrima G. Sankareh, Editor In-Chief
The Gambia Echo Newspaper joins the millions of Muslims and non-Muslims who mourn the sudden death of Senegalese born multi-lingual Islamic scholar, Imam Sheikh Hassan Cisse; a tireless and erudite educator, a charismatic and affable communicator, a humble humanist and phenomenal philanthropist who passed away Wednesday.
Born in Kaolack in 1945 in a family of Islamic scholars and purists, the young Hassan began his spiritual journey from infancy and within a very short period had memorized the Holy Quran. Under the tutelage of his most revered maternal grandfather, the late Sheikh Ebrahim Niasse, Hassan the son of Imam Sidi Ali Cisse and Fatima Zahra Niasse was quickly immersed in Islamic education and mastered the complex and didactic fundamentals of his profession with amazing speed. His scholastic accomplishments include a degree in Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies, an MA degree in English from the University of London before he climaxed to Northwestern University for a doctorate in Islamic Studies only to return home after his father’s demise to fill that void.
Ever since Imam Cisse’s return to his native Kaolack in the West African state of Senegal, he was Imam of the most reputable Medina Baye mosque until his sad and sudden departure from us. Given his multi-faceted accomplishments across the spectrum, it is not easy to write about Imam Cisse- a man who jetted continents, preached in mosques across the cosmos, addressed numerous international conferences, mediated among and between warring factions and nations. We therefore, ask his followers and admirers or friends to come forth with articles or letters about his great accomplishments. To conclude this sad tribute, we pray that the late Imam Sheikh Hassan Cisse sleeps well like the gentle prince he was and will ever be in our fertile memories of him and his impressive earthly accomplishments carved in gold and penned in indelible golden ink. In a phrase- Memory Eternal!!