Bowing his head and facing the direction of Mecca, Karsten Touray prayed inside the Bundung Mosque recently as he tried to find out more about Islam.

According to him, he is the first non-Muslim ‘toubab’ to participate in a congregational prayer inside the Bundung mosque. Karsten is a German national who runs a restaurant in Senegambia.

“It was my own wish to attend a Muslim prayer and I asked my manager, Basiru Touray to bring me inside and show me everything necessary, from performing ablution to praying behind an imam. I think, I am the first toubab ever in that mosque praying,” he said.

Karsten added: “Everyone was happy about my presence and Basiru was praised for bringing me with him.”

The owner of Karsten’s Smiling Coast Restaurant praised the coexistence among different faiths in The Gambia.

“The first time I started visiting The Gambia, I was very surprised about the openness and tolerance among Gambian Muslims. In some Islamic countries it is not possible to enter a mosque as a non-Muslim.”

Speaking about his love for the Smiling Coast, Karsten said: “I do a lot of promotion in Germany to attract more Germans to come to The Gambia and help.”