On Muslim populations, Senegal, and a very large statue

Quick thought after perusing the Ayoob article on political Islam, particularly noting mention of majority Muslim populations opposing "unsavory and repressive regimes": I know it falls under the umbrella of West Africa rather than North Africa, but please bear with me in a glimpse at Senegal.

This past summer, my return trip from Accra, Ghana, to the U.S. in mid-July was quite the fiasco, truly kicking off with an emergency stop in Dakar, Senegal, to see to (and ultimately leave behind) a sick passenger. Not to get sidetracked with the details at the moment - though it was quite the eventful journey on the whole - I chose to look upon the detour as an interesting side trip rather than a delay (here's hoping the ill and elderly Ghanaian woman faired well once off the plane).

It was a wonderfully unexpected opportunity to catch a glimpse of another piece of the great African continent, this time serving up a fantastic view of the coast and the city's peninsula as we circled Dakar, burning off fuel before light enough to land safely. Glued to the window, glued to the window, glued to the window.... landed, sit on runway for over an hour as woman is escorted off the plane and Senegalese security comes through the aircraft, snack on some dried mango, wait some more, and taxi on the runway. ...Which is when my window seat afforded this intriguing sight:

Naturally, Curious George and nerd that I am, I did some research once safely back in Pennsylvania and revived by a solid chunk of time spent sleeping. The result: what we had seen was the highly debated African Renaissance Monument, commissioned by Senegalese President Wade, much to the frustration (understandably) of not a few people, particularly with Muslim values in mind. Note: roughly 95% of the Senegalese population identifies itself as Muslim. Well, really, I'll direct you to the details rather than babbling on and further depriving myself of sleep: "Senegal's colossal statue stirs big controversy." Call me crazy, but erecting an expensive, risqué, and rather sexist monument with plans to personally collect on the profits is not the best way to celebrate a rejuvenation of African power, nor is it the best way to gain or maintain the support of a majority Muslim population.

Note also: according to the U.S. Dept. of State, "Senegal enjoys an excellent relationship with the United States." Now, I don't know the details of Senegalese government, particularly in relation to how Senegalese feel about their government (and/or the US), but I'm certainly intrigued, thanks to Ayoob's reminder.