REPORT ON VISITS TO SCHOOLS DURING THE MONTH OF RAMADHAN

Dear members,

I thank you for the messages of congratulations. Please pray for me to do the work properly. You should also include your University in your prayers, it has very many challenges.

In the meantime, I continue to do the work that excites me most – Dawah. And to this effect, I would like to share with you a report (attached) that I have compiled on work undertaken by UMYA, MUMSA and MSAU during Ramadhan.

I particularly draw your attention to the section on Katikamu SDA Secondary school.

Please read it and give us feedback, and also identify where you can participate to carry the work forward.

Abasi Kiyimba, PhD
Professor
Department of Literature
Makerere University &
Staff Senate Representative,
School of Languages, Literature and Communication

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UGANDA MUSLIM YOUTH ASSEMBLY

P. O BOX 8511

KAMPALA

 

12^th August, 2013

 

REPORT ON VISITS TO SCHOOLS DURING THE MONTH OF RAMADHAN

 

1.0 Introduction

 

During the Holy month of Ramadhan, the Uganda Muslim Youth Assembly (UMYA), together with the Muslim Students Association of Uganda (MSAU) and the Makerere University Muslim Students Association (MUMSA), undertook to visit selected schools, to boost the morale of  the Muslim students in those schools, and to extend to them the assistance they had been able to mobilise to support them during the fasting. The programme mainly targeted private schools founded by Muslims, and non-Muslim schools that have substantial numbers of Muslim students. In some of the schools, we were able to speak to the students to offer advice and encouragement, while in others, time did not allow. We learnt a lot about the conditions and needs of the students in these schools, and have compiled a detailed record about each one of them.

 

2.0 Working Team

 

The working team for this programme comprised of the following people:

 

1.      Abasi Kiyimba, National Chairman of UMYA) – Team Leader

2.      Qassim Mwasa – Chairman, Makerere University Muslim Students Association (MUMSA)

3.      Yahya Mutumba – General Secretary, Muslim Students Association of Uganda (MSAU)

4.      Salim Jemba – Makerere University Muslim Students Association (MUMSA)

5.      Hassan Waswa – Dawah Board, MSAU, Kyambogo University

6.      Rahma Namugenyi – Islamic University in Uganda

7.      Naseef Kizito – Makerere University Muslim Students Association (MUMSA)

8.      Abdul Basit Mulinde – Makerere University Muslim Students Association (MUMSA)

9.      Musa Kibazo – Makerere University Muslim Students Association (MUMSA)

10.  Haruna Batange – Headteacher, Mukono Town Muslim Primary School

11.  Imran Kintu – Islamic University in Uganda

 

The team leader, Prof. Abasi Kiyimba, visited all the schools ear-marked for the programme, along with at least two members of the team on each visit.

 

3.0 The schools Visited

 

The schools we visited included the following:

 

	Name of School	Location	Founding Faith	Muslim students	Total Student numbers
Remand Home
1.	Naggulu Remand home	Kampala District	–	70	Not obtained
Islamic theological schools
2.	Ibn Masud Islamic Centre, Meru	Bukomansimbi District	Islamic	187	200
3.	Khadija Secondary School	Kampala District	Islamic	75	80
4.	Janat Islamic Primary School	Kampala District	Islamic	55	60
Muslim Founded Schools running a general curriculum
5.	Trio Primary School	Katosi, Mukono District	Islamic	50	200
6.	Rayan High School, Najjembe	Mukono District	Islamic	100	180
7.	Ganda Primary School	Wakiso District	Islamic	200	350
8.	Ganda Secondary School	Wakiso District	Islamic	180	350
9.	Naggalama Secondary School	Mukono District	Islamic	17	30 (New school, started this year, has permanent structures and a lot of prospects).
Non-Muslim Schools with significant Muslim numbers
10.	Kabungo Church of Uganda Secondary school	Kalungu District	(Christian, Protestant)	100	400
11.	Central Vision Primary  School	Kampala District	(Christian, Protestant)	50	200
12.	Motherland Secondary School	Kampala District	(Christian, Protestant)	120	300
13.	Midland Secondary School	Kampala District	Christian, Catholic	60	700
14.	Kojja Secondary School	Katosi, Mukono District	(Christian, Catholic)	400	750
15.	Katosi Modern Primary	Katosi, Mukono District	(Christian, Protestant)	94	300
16.	Bankhill College	Kampala	(Christian, Protestant)	85	700
17.	Standard High School	Zana, Kampala District	(Christian, Protestant)	50	1200
18.	Katikamu SDA	Luwero District	(Christian, Seven Day Adventist)	100	2200

 

4.0 Unique Experiences and lessons

 

The experiences in the schools differed according to the school categories, broken down as below:

 

a)      Naggulu Remand Home

 

Naggulu Remand Home is a re-education centre for young offenders. There are about 70 Muslim inmates, and we have a team from MUMSA that goes there every week to teach them their faith. This is how we came to included it within our scope for this programme.

 

It was a very educative experience. Young people who are below the age of eighteen who offend are given custodial sentences and subjected to re-education at this centre. They are also taught skills that will enable them to earn a living when they get out. While they are at the Home, members of different faiths compete for their souls, using different methods such as gifts and direct evangelism. Almost all the major faiths are active at this centre, with the Muslim community being represented by MUMSA. Every week, pastors and Reverands take food ietms and reading materials to the Home and attempt to win in-mates “for Christ.”

 

b)     Islamic Theological schools founded by Individual Muslims or groups

 

We were impressed by the personal effort being made by individuals who had started schools that combine Islamic theological and secular education. Schools in this category included on this programme were: Hadija, Janat, and Ibn Masud Islamic centre. The future of the Muslim community is secured by the survival of Islamic teachings, and schools in this category are very important players in this struggle.  They need to be helped.

 

c)      The Muslim founded schools offering general curriculum

 

The number of private Muslim-founded schools offering the general Ministry of Education curriculum is on the increase. These schools are not theological in their nature, but they are owned by Muslims; and they include a significant component of Islamic instruction in their teaching. They are doing a good job in offering education to the community in general, and they help Muslims to compete with confidence in the country’s education system. Those visited on this programme included Ganda Secondary school, Ganda Public Primary school, Trio Primary School, Katosi, and Rayan High School Najjembe. They deserve encouragement.

 

d)     Muslim Students in non-Muslim Schools

 

There are very many Muslim children going through non-Muslim schools. Some go there because they are the ones near their homes, others go there looking for “better academic standards,” while others do not think about the implications of their decisions. Whatever the reasons, it has very serious implications for the future of the community and for the children themselves. In this category, the schools we visited included the following: Modern Primary School Katosi, Central Vision, Motherland Secondary School, Bankhill College, Standard High School Zana, and Katikamu SDA secondary School. The experiences varied from one school to another. In some schools, we went through a very laborious process to get to the students, while others were fairly friendly and received us very well. Indeed, the Headmaster of Motherland Secondary School, Kawempe, who was not present when we visited, telephoned to thank us for including his school on the list of those visited and encouraged us to come more often!

 

Katikamu SDA Secondary School

 

One particularly memorable experience was that of Katikamu SDA Secondary School, and I would like to record it at length.

 

Katikamu SDA secondary School is founded by the Seventh Day Adventist Church. It was not originally on our list of schools to be visited, but we went there towards the end of Ramadhan on the request and insistence of a former student of the school, who is now a member of the Makerere University Muslim Students Association (MUMSA). The school is located about 35 kilometers from Kampala, sits on area of about 50 acres of land, and has a total of 2200 students. Out of these students, about 100 are Muslim.

 

We visited the school on 5^th August, 2013, without prior appointment. We were advised by a reliable source that we would not be allowed if we gave them too much time to discuss our request. We called the Deputy headmaster after setting off from Kampala, and told him we wanted to pay a courtesy call on the school. He was surprised when we turned up at the gate one hour later. He had earlier thought we were calling to alert them of our intention to come, and to seek an appointment. He had not even shared the news of our intended visit with his colleagues.

 

We were ushered into the office, and the Deputy Headmaster hurriedly called in his colleagues “to urgently discuss the situation.” For the first time in the history of the school, he had a Muslim delegation in his office, and there was no time to seek guidance from higher authority on how to handle the situation. To complicate matters further, the delegation leader had introduced himself as a Professor of Literature and Deputy Principal at Makerere University. This made him “our academic colleague.” The situation was very confusing. They were torn between turning us away and receiving us. After frantic consultations in our presence, they gave us the visitor’s book, acknowledged us as school guests, and even asked some questions about the University.  In our discussion in the office, we learnt the following:

 

a)      This was the first time the school had received a Muslim delegation.

b)      They did not allow their Muslim students to pray. School policy did not condone it, the prayers were too many, and they would interrupt school routine.

c)      A request by the delegation for school to permit daily Muslim prayers to be observed, and to provide a room for the purpose, was flatly rejected. This was an Adventist school, and they had no intention of making arrangements for other prayers.

d)      The school does not recognize Friday prayers, and the time at which others are praying is class time at the school.

e)      This year, they had for the first time allowed Muslims to offer the sunset prayer (Maghrib) as a special favour during the month of Ramadhan. After Ramadhan, this had to stop.

f)       They did not have disciplinary problems with the Muslims students. Their problems were mainly with the Balokole students.

 

We were later allowed to meet the Muslim students. We offered Maghrib prayers with them, spoke to them, gave them reading materials and food items, and listened to their concerns. This is what we gathered from our interaction with the students:

 

a)      They confirmed that they were not allowed to offer any Muslim prayer. It was only during this Ramadhan, for the first time ever, that they had been allowed to pray Maghrib.

b)      Some of the Askaris at the gate were Muslim, but they were not allowed to pray inside the school. They are told to pray outside the school because “it will look very bad if they prayed inside.”

c)      There were some Muslim teachers on staff, but they were a bit frightened by the system. So they were not helping the students very much. Instead, there was a Muslim cook who was very active, and he played the role of Patron to the Muslim students.

d)      Prayer in the Chapel on Saturdays, and during lunch hours everyday, was compulsory for all students and teachers. Missing Saturday service leads to dismissal for both staff and students.

e)      Work was completely forbidden for all on Saturdays, whether Muslim or Christian.

f)       Tests and Exams are conducted even on Idd day, and uma prayers are not recognized at all.

g)      The Muslim students had a leader they all acknowledged, but did not have a formal Association. We advised them to constitute themselves into an Association. This kind of scared them, until we advised them that they did not have to register it with the school.  

h)      The one big consolation was that being an Adventist School, they do not serve pork.

i)        Out of the 100 Muslim students in the school, 30 had been converted from Islam to Adventist Christianity. They were specially targeted by visiting evangelist crusades. Actually, one of the female students was in tears because her brother had just converted from Islam.

j)        They appealed to us to come more often, and to plead with the authorities to allow them to pray during other months other than Ramadhan.

k)      One of the students appealed to us to publicise their plight to the Muslim community, and to advise Muslim parents not to bring their children to this school.

l)        On a happier note, and in one of the most spectacular developments in the history of the school, three students had converted to Islam. We actually prayed with one of them.

 

We departed from the school feeling like prison gates were closing behind us, and wondering whether this was Uganda in the 21^st century.

 

5.0 Conclusion

 

Apart from the unique experience in Katikamu SDA Secondary School, we were generally well received the schools we visited; also, there was a lot to be learnt, and the experience taught us that we need to visit the schools more often. We visited only 18 institutions, but there are hundreds more where the students have similar emotional, spiritual and material needs and trials. There is an urgent need to make this a permanent programme even outside the month of Ramadhan.

 

As UMYA, we are committed to continue doing this work. We are aware that there are other organizations doing similar work, and we encourage all Muslims in their various organizations and localities all over the country to do this work, starting with the nearest school. It will certainly make a difference. We appeal to those who are aware of serious cases that require our intervention as UMYA head office, something in the likeness of Katikamu SDA, to please draw it to our attention. If you can form or join visiting teams, please do so; and if you are not able to be part of a team, facilitate one in form of fuel, reading materials, prayer mats, food items and other materials to boost morale and to supplement what is available at the schools. Allah will reward you.

 

If you have any comment, question or clarification, or if you would like to participate in the programme in any way, please communicate with the leadership of UMYA, using the contacts indicated below.

 

Signed:

 

Abasi Kiyimba

Team Leader

 

Contacts:Abasi Kiyimba-  0704-769526, 0772-344316, akiyimba@yahoo.com, abasikiyimba@arts.mak.ac.ug

Immam Kasozi -0772-427895,  kasozii@yahoo.co.uk.