Social commentator GHK Lall has used the observance of Youman Nabi to deliver a blistering indictment of Guyana’s political, economic and religious establishment, accusing some of the country’s most powerful figures of embracing wealth, influence and personal advancement while abandoning the moral principles their faiths demand.

In his latest Village Voice News column, “The Prophet’s Birthday – reflections, comparisons,” Lall argues that the commemoration of the Prophet Muhammad’s birth should not be reduced to ceremonial greetings and religious pageantry. Instead, he says, it should force Guyanese to confront the growing contradiction between religious professions and public conduct.

His criticism is not aimed simply at politicians. Lall takes aim at what he describes as a broader class of “highfliers, speechmakers, and trash talkers” who invoke religion while failing to live by the principles associated with it.