Chelsea Muslim Footballer Builds Mosque

Senegal national team and Chelsea Muslim striker Demba Ba has offered money necessary to fund the construction of a mosque in his parents’ hometown in Senegal.

“Being a Muslim is more important than me being a footballer,” he was quoted as saying in an interview with the Independent by sen24heures website reported on Friday, May 9.

“A good Muslim is a good person, so I try to be a good person,” he added.

Ba is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League side Chelsea and the Senegal national team.

Being a devout Muslim, the Chelsea star usually celebrates his goal to performing prostration.

What is Political Islam

by Charles Hirschkind

published in MER205

Over the last few decades, Islam has become a central point of reference for a wide range of political activities, arguments and opposition movements. The term “political Islam” has been adopted by many scholars in order to identify this seemingly unprecedented irruption of Islamic religion into the secular domain of politics and thus to distinguish these practices from the subsumed in Western scholarship under the unmarked category “Islam.” In the brief comments that follow, I suggest why we might need to rethink this basic framework.

The claim that contemporary Muslim activities are putting Islam to use for political purposes seems, at least in some instances, to be warranted. Political parties such as Hizb al-‘Amal in Egypt or the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in Algeria that base their appeal on their Islamic credentials appear to exemplify this instrumental relation to religion. Yet a problem remains, even in such seemingly obvious examples: In what way does the distinction between the political and nonpolitical domains of social life hold today? Many scholars have argues that “:political Islam” involves an illegitimate extension of the Islamic tradition outside of the properly religious domain it has historically occupied. Few, however, have explored this trend in relations to the contemporaneous expansion of state power and concern into vast domains of social life previously outside its purview — including that of religion.

As we know, through this ongoing process central to modern nation building, such institutions as education, worship, social welfare and family have been incorporated to carrying degrees within the regulatory apparatuses of the modernizing state. Whether in entering into the business contracts, selling wares on the street, disciplining children, adding a room to a house, in all births, marriages, deaths — at each juncture the state is present as overseer or guarantor, defining limits, procedures and necessary preconditions.

As a consequence, modern politics and the forms of power it deploys have become a condition for the practice of many personal activities. As for religion, tot he extent that the institutions enabling the cultivation of religious virtue become subsumed within (and transformed by) legal and administrative structures liked to the state, the (traditional) project of preserving those virtues will necessarily be “political” if it is to succeed. Within both public and private school in Egypt, for example, the curriculum is mandated by the state: those wishing to promote or maintain Islamic pedagogical practices necessarily have to engage political power.

This does not mean that all forms of contemporary Islamic activism involve trying to “capture the state.” The vast majority of these movements involve preaching and other da‘wa (missionary) activities, alms giving, providing medical care, mosque building, publishing and generally promoting what is considered in the society to be public virtue through community action. Nonetheless, these activities engage the domain we call the political both in the sense that they are subject to restrictions imposed by the state (such as licensing), and in so much as they must often compete with state or state-supported institutions (pedagogic, confessional, medical) promoting Western models of family, worship, leisure and social responsibility. The success of even a conservative project to preserve a traditional form of personal piety will depend on its ability to engage with the legal, bureaucratic, disciplinary and technological resources of modern power that shape contemporary societies.

This argument diverges from the common one that Islam fuses religion and politics, din wa dawla, in a way incompatible with Western analytical categories. It is worth noting, however, that this frequently heard claim does not deny the fact that Muslim thinkers draw distinctions between dinand dawla, only that the specific domains designated by these terms, and the structure of their interrelations do not mirror the situation in Europe in regard to European states and the Church. Moreover, this leaves aside the fact that the division between religious and political domains even in Western societies has always been far more porous than was previously assumed, as much recent work has made clear. [1] Indeed, as Tocqueville long ago observed, Protestant Christianity plays an extremely important role in US politics in setting the moral boundaries and concerns within which political discussion unfolds, and hence can be considered the premiere political institution in some sense. I do not refer here to the lobbying efforts of church groups and other religious advocacy associations, but rather to the way a pervasive Christianity has been to varying degrees a constitutive element of Western political institutions. What is clear, in any case, is that greater recognition must be given to the way Western concepts (religion, political, secular, temporal) reflect specific historical developments, and cannot be applied as a set of universal categories or natural domains.

Lastly, although discussions of political motivation or class interest should continue to be important parts of accounts of contemporary Islam, they are not necessarily germane to a description of every problem the analyst poses. Statements like the following have too long beende rigueur in accounts of the Islamic sahwa (awakening): “Marginalized male elites experience socioeconomic disparities as cultural loss, and they are drawn to participate in fundamentalist cadres in order to militate against nationalist structures that they deplore as un-Islamic because they are, above all, ineffective.” [2] Such analyses reduce the movements to an expression of the socioeconomic conditions which gave rise to them. The “marginalized male elites” speak nothing new to us, as their arguments and projects, once properly translated into the language of political economy, seem entirely familiar. Lost, in other words, is any sense of the specificity of the claims and reasoning of the actors. This is brushed aside as we reiterate what we already know about the universal operation of socioeconomic disparities.

Grasping such complexity will require a much more subtle approach than one grounded in a simple distinction between (modern) political goals and (traditional) religious ones. Terms such as “political Islam” are inadequate here as they frame our inquiries around a posited distortion or corruption of properly religious practice. In this way, the disruptive intrusions or outright destruction enacted upon society by the modernizing state never even figure in the analysis. In contrast, the various attempts of religious people to respond to that disruption are rendered suspect, with almost no attempt to distinguish those instances where such a critical stance is warranted from those where it is not. It is not surprising, in this light, that militant violence and public intolerance have become the central issues of so many studies of al-sahwa al-islamiyya(Islamic awakening), while the extensive coercion and torture practiced by governments get relegated to a footnote.

Author’s Note: I wish to thank Talal Asad, Saba Mahmood, Hussein Agrama, Steve Niva and Lisa Hajjar for their comments and suggestions on this brief article. Its shortcomings are my responsibility alone.

Endnotes

>[1] See William Connolly, The Ethos of Pluralization (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1995).
[2] Bruce Lawrence, The Defenders of God: The Fundamentalist Revolt Against the Modern Age(Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1995), p. 226.

 

Once again-those bombings in Nigeria are against what Islam stands for & we wish Pastor Mulinde a speedy recovery

Pastor Umar Mulinde on his hospital bed. Standing is his wife.PHOTO:Nicholas Kajoba

Dear compatriots,

UMBS wishes to condemn, in its all entirety, the bombings of Christmas day in Nigeria which innocent lives and properties destroyed. The bombings, and those before which took place before Saturday, completely go against the will of the creator of the heavens and the earth.

In other words, we are particularly sad because these dastardly acts run foul of the design of Allah in creating humans into tribes, nations, races and with different creeds and beliefs. if Almighty had desired to make us all Muslims or Christians, He would have done and would left us with no choices; He would have deprived us all freewill; He would have deprived humanity of the ability to make free choice, the choice to opt for evil or good, the choice to be Christians or Muslims. Allah says: “With Allah is the argument that reaches home: if it had been His will, He could indeed have guided you all.” Quran 6: 148

In Quran 10:99, Allah says – If it had been thy Lord’s will, they would all have believed,- all who are on earth! Wilt thou then compel mankind, against their will, to believe?

That the Boko Haram cannot plead Islam anymore for these wanton destruction of lives and property and these criminality is evident in the way they go about the northern cities bombing banks and carting away monies—apart from killing innocent Christians and Muslims, the group have also assassinated Muslim clerics in the north who have attempted to expose the sophistry and the moral perversion of the groups’ activities. Others have had to flee their homes as a result of death threats the sent to them.

Thus, if it can be pleaded that the group indeed had a genuine reason to rise against the corruption of the political class in the hungry land of maiduguri, it has since lost all claims to innocence and Puritanism which gave it warrant at the onset of its activities. The claim by the group that it wants the Shariah introduced in the whole of the north is also false and historically invalid. Islamic law has never and cannot be introduced under the barrel of the gun; you can’t assume the possibility that by bombing people to death you can’t establish the law on their carcasses or cadavas.

The failure of government in all strata of the society is indeed a factor not only for the emergence of this group but equally for its sustenance. And unfortunately, the incidence of failure appears to be ongoing.

We commiserate with the families of the bereaved and sincerely pray the Almighty rescue Africa from the evil machinations of the enemies “within” and “between”.

We would also like to wish Pastor Umar Mulinde a speedy recovery after being attacked by someone with acid. We hope the Uganda police catch the culprits and punish them according to the law of the land. Nobody deserves to be attacked like that regardless of the reasons behind it.

UMBS Management
PO BOX 8797
KAMPALA

Exclusive Interview: Shah Abdul Hannan

Interviewer: Shakil Abdullah

“Shall I not inform you of something more excellent in degree than fasting, charity and prayer?” On receiving the reply, ‘Certainly’, he said, “It is putting things right between people, for to incite people to dispute is like a razor.” (Hadith reported by Al-Tirmidhi and others)

Shah Abdul Hannan,
President, Bangladesh Institute of Islamic Thought, Dhaka, Bangladesh

WPI:
What should be the nature of communication between men and women from Islamic perspective?

Shah Abdul Hannan (SAH):
Communication between man and woman or boys and girls is an extremely sensitive issue. The west has neglected this issue and I believe or Islamists believe that they are suffering. One of the reasons for western suffering is their carelessness in this matter. Islam takes a very careful approach about it. It thinks about the possible effects. Islam gives attention to the integrity of family. It wants clean sexual life. It doesn’t want any mix-up of paternity or maternity. It doesn’t want single mother or too many divorces etc. So naturally Islam has taken a very careful approach in communication or even mixing with men or women. While communicating between the two genders or between the two sexes, the maximum care should be taken at the vulnerable age. It should be minimum at that age. The vulnerable age before marriage or teens or school life or college life is the period when communication has to be very careful. I would suggest that the communication whether it is direct or through telephone or through present day mobile phones, should be minimum in this vulnerable age. Only normal and natural discussion may take place in public. I cannot define here what is normal or natural because there can be many opinions about it. But generally we understand what is normal or what is natural. And this normal and natural communication may take place, nothing more than that. Moreover this should take place in public, not in privacy or not in secrecy. Islam feels that while communicating, if a man or a woman feels at a point of time that lust is overtaking him or her, bad emotions are overtaking him or her, he or she should give up this communication. So this is a very touchy issue. People have many opinions. There are people who want total blockage of this communication and there are people who want total communication. But if you look at the golden time of prophet (SAAS) you would find that social communication between man and woman was there. In the six volumes of the book “Freedom of women at the time of Prophet (SAAS)” by Dr. Abdul Halim Abu Shukkah, any person will find out many examples of such communications between them. So prophetic time it was not total blockage. It was also not total freedom that you discuss everything in private. There may be different opinions. But I feel communication cannot be avoided. But this should be minimum in the vulnerable age. If they study in co-education then their communication has to be minimum and only the natural ones only the normal ones may be allowed nothing beyond that. If they study in co-education system, for example in west where there is no other option but to study in the co-education school, there also they should feel that it should be normal and natural only. I may require something from a boy I just ask for that or I have to give something I give that. No regular contacts and mix-ups. This is the Islamic objective. But the real situation may demand something less or something more – that is I am not tackling.

WPI:
Co-education has become accepted norms through out the world. Do you consider it acceptable from Islamic perspective?

SAH:
I feel, there is no problem in co-education till the age of ten or twelve, what we call primary level up to grade five. And this is happening in our country for a long time and of course in the west also. There after, in the high school or college level that is I mean up to grade ten or grade twelve, I feel this is the vulnerable period of the life of boys and girls. So it is much better to have separate educations – colleges and schools and this will help us in avoiding the bad consequences of the west. We have just seen in the American election that the vice-president nominate of the Republican Party, Governor Palin had her daughter pregnant and she had to face the situation. Lots of criticism and discussion came and her daughter was in school only. So I think this is the difference between Islam and the modern western system. Islam gives high priority to family, high priority to sexual purity and they think sex is like commodity or women are like commodity or men are like commodity. So this is one of the borders of Islam and Gayer Islam (non- Islam) I would say. And I believe that Islamic position is much better and we have to defend it very strongly and we should not feel weak about it. I have said about school (high school) and college. As regards Universities, we find today in some Muslim countries, they have separate campuses. For example in Saudi Arabia women have separate campuses in their University education and female students are now equal to men even in Saudi Arabia . In Pakistan at least in one University, they have separate campuses. There are two three other women universities also in Pakistan now. It is one side. On the other side as I have said that majority Universities, for example in Bangladesh all universities, are having combined classes except Islamic University of Chittagong and in their Dhaka campus, where they have separate women campus and I do not know any other university who has done it yet. I have seen International Islamic University of Malaysia. This university has been built up by the Islamic scholars, very high level Islamic scholars, like Sheikh Taha Jabir al Alwani, Sheikh Abdul Hamid Abu Sulayman. They thought for a long time and finally decided to have co-education. So this is the situation. Two more Islamic Universities have come up in Malaysia but with co-education. This is the situation we have now. But my view is for separate campuses, it is the preferable option. I consider it preferable option if every university ultimately over 10, 20, 30 or 100 years in a Muslim country has separate campuses for men and women. But I will not say that co-education is Haram (not permissible). I will not say that because part of Islamic scholarship thinks that in the present day realities with due caution and due dress pattern, there can be co-education. But my own preference is for separate campuses. And if there are no separate campuses women have to study in the present system. I must add another thing that life is a test. Whole life is a test and Allah says “Khalakal mawta wal hyata liyabluakum”, in Suratul Mulk (chapter – 67 of Holy Quran), that means He “has created death and life that He may test you” (67:2). Test is everywhere in your village there are tests. Test is not only about gender issue, tests are in all respects of life. Life is a test and even in gender issue there are some tests. Prophet also said that women are tests for men and men are test for women. We cannot avoid all tests. So I would say that if our boys and girls study in co-education institutions as it is the general practice or if things go like this then they should be prepared to face the test with Iman (faith) and knowledge. We should prepare them with care and caution because we cannot wait for when it will change. We have to face this test. And we have to make them conscious and aware of this test.

WPI:
Do you think all types of jobs are suitable for women?

SAH:
First of all, most jobs are open to all; I cannot say Tahrim (illegitimate). I cannot say it is Haram (not permissible) to be a combat soldier, because in Islamic history there are cases when Muslim women fought as combat soldiers. In fact Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was defended in Uhad (2nd war in Muslim history) by only 5 or 7 people among them was one great woman. The women have fought with Khalid bin walid (a great warrior in Muslim history) in battle of Yarmuk (a battle fought in 636 at the valley of Yarmuk , the eastern tributary of Jordan ). In Qadysia (a battle fought in 637 at al- Qadisiayah, not far from al-Hirah which was an ancient city located south of al-Kufah in south central Iraq) women were there in the battlefield and they tugged the grave. But even then now I feel, some heavy jobs should not be taken by women, for example heavy duty truck driving or very tough work in mining industry below the pits. Why I say this? I say this because this may injure their internal organs which are necessary for reproduction. This will most likely injure their internal organs and that is an option which we cannot say afjal (good), it is at least a Makruh (disliked) to go for a job where organs will be affected. If the scientists say that they will not be affected then I have nothing to say. Otherwise it’s a big concern for Ummah. Similarly, I personally feel, by my study of Islam, the current situation and the reality also and I am not blind to the reality, that now if unmarried women go in the navy and live in seas with men as marines or if they become combat soldiers or combat pilots and get arrested, it may cause serious trouble for them because we know in the wars the soldiers around the world are not so morally trained. So I feel it is for the good of women rather not to go for these jobs. Actually this is not an issue of competition really, that I have to compete in everything. We men should compete in everything with women or women should compete in everything with men, it is not like that. It is the issue of suitability, it is the issue of need and it is the issue of harm that may cause to any gender. So keeping in view all these things I would say that there should be military training for all, every citizen including women if possible. But women can be called upon only when the whole nation has to fight against an aggressor. Otherwise they should not join the infantry or the navy or the air force as regular combatants. But I must agree as I said in the beginning that I cannot give a Fatwa (legal opinion of scholars) of Tahrim (illegitimacy) that it is not legal to go for these kinds of jobs, I cannot say that. I also agree that there can be different opinions. But these are my views.

WPI:
How women should do Dawah (preaching Islam) work among themselves and among the men?

SAH:
In the light of Quran and Sunnah, I think Dawah work or preaching Islam or conveying Islam is obligatory for every Muslim men and women. In Surah Al Tawbah which is a Surah (chapter of Quran) that revealed during the last time of the prophet Muhammad (PBUH), there is a Ayah (verse): “wal mu’minuna wal mu’minatu ba’duhum awliau ba’din ya’muruna bil ma’ruf wa yanhaw hum ’anil munkar” that means “The believers, men and women, are Auliya (helper, supporter, friends, protector) of one another, they enjoin what is just, and forbid what is evil” (9:71). All Muslim men and women are supposed to do Amr bil ma’ruf (enjoin what is just) and Nahi ’anil munkar (forbid what is evil). This is Dawah really, this is not only Dawah this is politics also. This is social activism. This term Amr bil m’aruf and Nahi ’anil munkar is the politics. It is the social activism. It is all possible movement for change in the world. So every Muslim men and women should take part in it. But the issue is whether there should be some norms about it. Now there are women who are in public life, let us say in politics, in private sector jobs, in pubic sector jobs, in the university jobs etc. This is one kind. The other kind is those women who are living in houses; they are doing great work of managing the family, managing the children, educating them and may be some other social work. So keeping these two I would say those who are in family they should mostly concentrate on their relations or their neighbors. If they join in any Islamic group, they should work through them. They may do some writing; they may do some speaking also through television channels, as they do now. On the other side, those women who are in offices and in administrations or in the universities, they are exposed to men. They are everyday mixing with men this is a necessary situation almost necessary condition. In situation, there to say that you speak everything but don’t give Dawah is unthinkable. Now that they are in the offices if there is an opportunity to give Dawah they should do it. If there is a university lady professor why should not she give Dawah to her male colleagues or give them some books or give them some articles or point out some TV channel programs which are good? I think those who are involved in public life they should work among their colleagues whether men or women. There the situation is like that and I feel they should do that. Of course the general limitations of men and women relationship should be kept in view. There are some limits which should be followed.

WPI:
What would be the social relationship between Muslim and non-Muslim?

SAH:
To tell about relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims first of all I think in this relationship there are some confusion that I cannot remove in here. But I would say that it is not true that we should not have good relations with them. Islam says everybody is honorable. In Surah Al-Isra’ (Chaper. 17 of Holy Quran) Allah says “Walakad Karramna Bani Adama” that means “And indeed We have honored the Children of Adam” (17:70). That is everybody is dignified. So you must deal with them in a dignified manner. The first point is that they are also dignified. Secondly, Allah very clearly says in Surah Al Mumtahina that “Allah does not forbid you to deal justly and kindly with those who fought not against you on account of religion nor drove you out of your homes” (60:8). That is we should behave very well with those who do not fight with us and do not exile us from our residences or from our countries. In other places in Quran for example when there is an issue of justice is there Islam says do justice. Allah says “Wa iz hakamtum bainan nasi an tahkumu bil adl” which means “And that when you judge between men, you judge with justice” (4:58). So it is wrong to say that Christians or jews are not friend. They have human rights. OIC document gives human rights to all. This is the Ijma (consensus) of Ummah (Muslim community) or Ijma of Ulama (scholar). Human right is for all. Pakistan Islamic constitution that was made by of the agreement the Ulama and the politicians says that fundamental right is for all.
It is true that if some are enemies you cannot make them friends. Who makes an enemy a friend? If a Muslim turns an enemy, do you make him a friend? So I would say this is a misunderstanding that they cannot be our friend. We should know Islam prohibits that you condemn any nation as a group. In Surah Al Hujurat Allah says that “La iajkhar Kawmun min kawmin ’asa ai-iakunu Khaira” which means “Let not a group scoff at another group, it may be that the latter are better than the former” (49:11). So we should not belittle a Qawm (community or group) or condemn a Qawm. So I think we should have a balanced judgment on the Quranic position. Quranic position is that if some non-Muslim and even present day nominal Muslim becomes enemy we cannot make them friends. But even if they are not friend they will get human rights. Even those enemies would get water, electricity and all facilities. And as I have said according to Surah An Nisa (4:58) when we judge between man and man we should judge with equity. So I think this misunderstanding must be removed that our behavior should not be equal with non- Muslim or should not be same with non-Muslim. Allah has not said that.

WPI: Thank you very much for your time.

—
Rehema
Patriot in Kampala,East Africa
When the boot of government is on your neck,it doesn’t matter if it’s left or right. Today is Buganda, tomorrow is some one else. Click on both links to listen to these revolutionary songs, courtesy of UAH Forum:
http://ugandansatheart.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/president-final-mix.mp3

http://ugandansatheart.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/revolution-final-mix.mp3”
—
بِسمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحمٰنِ الرَّحيمِ UMBS is a registered organisation devoted to matters of interest to Muslims in Uganda.Muslims from other countries are welcome to join us too. Follow us on facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Uganda-Muslim-Brothers-Sisters/128372957263072. Follow us on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/#!/UMBSFORUM. To donate to UMBS activities, click on: http://um-bs.com/donate/. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to: uganda-muslim-brothers-and-sisters+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com or abbeysemuwemba@gmail.com.شكرا (جزيلا

Islam,slavery and Northern Uganda

It is true both Christians and Muslims were involved in slavery and slave trade for centuries while Christianity and Islam are opposed to it. It is like Western Christians mad with capitalism when Christianity is opposed to it.

As for Arch Bishop Jenan Luwum, Amin is blamed for killing the religious man before he was tried in a competent court of law. Otherwise there was enough evidence that rebels based in Tanzania had smuggled in guns to stage a coup on January 25th 1971. The plot was master minded by some Acholi and Langi. This is even admitted by the late Kigezi Bishop Festo Kivengere in his book:” l LOVE IDI AMIN (1977)” after he and Arch Bishop Yona Okoth, survived narrowly Amin’s killers.

However, Amin did not kill Luwum because the former was a Muslim and the latter a Christian. Amin killed even Muslims like Shaban Nkutu, Commerce Minister in Obote l government, Sheikh Asadu Lutale, father of Sheikh Abdul Obeid Kamulegeya, to mention but a few. We should stop stereo type labeling a section of our population bad or good according to what Baganda call “OMULYAMMAMBA ABEERA OMU N’AVUMAGANYA EKIKA.”

However l sympathise with some people, Islam has not yet penetrated the North especially Acholi and those that should have done it are at Kibuli and Old Kampala fighting for a few Muslim property. Otherwise in Buganda where Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Greek Orthodox, 7th Day Adventists, Pentocoscals and even Lubaalism (African Traditional Religion) are strong, we are tolerant of any religion so long as it is not a destructive cult like Kibwetere’s or Bushara’s.By the way, l am a Luo Mubiito, your relative, who happens to be a Muslim by accident of my birth, descent and heredity.

There are things we can not agree. For example l know that religious leaders in Uganda are not only political but also partisan. It is true as Amin faced isolation, he became more close to Muslims. But Ugandan exiles and a section of Uganda Army were to stage a coup on January 25th 1977 and the Arch Bishop knew about it. What Amin should have done, was to put the Arch Bishop under trial. Can you deny that the late Emmanuel Cardinal Nsubuga was an NRA? But if Obote had touched him, he would have been condemned. Even castration story l don’t buy it since l am a regular visitor of Middle East and l see Black natives even in countries like Saudi Arabia.

What is true is both Muslims and Christians were involved in slavery and slave trade despite the fact that Islam and Christianity condemn it. I will advise some Muslim agencies to concentrate on mass elimunization (evangelization) of Acholi sub region, were some of my brothers may even think that Muslims are sub humans.

Ahmed Katerega
UAH FORUMIST

FREE ONLINE ARABIC LESSONS BY ONE OF THE BEST TEACHERS

Asalam alaikum.
one of the best Arabic  teachers in Egypt is going to offer free Arabic language lesson online insha Allah
REGISTER your names and state your level of Arabic language between: Beginner-intermediate- Quite fluent.
Send your names, level of Arabic language as shown above and your email address to (Ali Kyeswa-call2islam_info@yahoo.com) for 100% free registration.
Details will be sent to you after registering.
NB. Not knowing Arabic yet you are  Muslims renders you crippled!!!
We can make  it by Allah’s Grace!!
yours
Ali Kyeswa

Reviewing the UMSc constitution is crucial to Muslim Unity in Uganda

MUSLIM UNITY:Reviewing UMSC constitution should also include revisiting the original UMSC constitution where we had Regional Qadhis.

Modern administration is based on devolution of powers. We should have Regional Qadhis and Regional Muslim Councils. Originally we had four Regional Qadhis; Buganda, Eastern, Western and Northern. l am with the view that we should have Buganda, Busoga, Eastern, North Eastern, Southern, Western, Northern and West Nile.

Secondly, we should not jump at forming Muslim districts whenever political districts are formed. l am not yet convertible with the division of districts in Masaka. Christians have nod divided theirs but for us, we do it even where we don’t have capacity.

There should be age limit for Qaghis be regional or distroict, and county, sub county sheikhs and mosque imams. The should be also parish imams.

Since Qadhis Courts are constitutional, Regional and District Qhadhis and their deputies, just like a Chief Qadhi and his deputy, should be appointed by Judicial Service Commission in consultation with Uganda Muslim Supreme Council. The chief Qadhi of Kenya is a High Court judge.

Then the mufti and his deputy should remain spiritual and Secretary General at the centre and Regional and District Secretaries should be in charge of administration.

The should be a strong East Africa Muslim Federation along East Africa Community/Common market, monitory union, political federation lines.

AHMED KATEREGA
NEWVISION

Ugandan students in Libyan: Alive and kicking

We wish to refute the statement published in one of the local newspapers “Eddoboozi” that Ugandan students in Libya have been injured and others have  gone missing.

 The paper ran a headline, in its issue of Friday 1^st April,  that 19 students studying in Benghazi, Misrata and the capital Tripoli have gone missing in the embattled Libya, which raised concern among our parents, relatives and the country at large.

It also alleged to have quoted some Ugandan students who briefed them on the condition on the ground stating that Ugandan community including students are in state of fear and afraid of their colleagues whereabouts. It further stated that we lack necessary things  water and electricity, and that even bread which is Libyan staple food is short of supply.

The paper also listed the names of students who are said to have been injured by bomb blasts in one of the attacks by the NATO Air strikes.

In an attempt to seek help for their evacuation from the troubled Libya, the paper alleged that the students contacted Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa but to no avail.

However, we wish to calm our parents, relatives and the country at large that no Ugandan student whatsoever has been injured or went missing.

 According to the Ugandan students Association the body that brings together all Ugandan students in Libya, the total number of Ugandan students in Libya this academic year is 24 and all of them are studying in Tripoli. Six of them were evacuated by the Ugandan government through its embassy in Tripoli earlier on. The remaining seventeen students are still around, and safe and sound.  But we are perplexed as to where the reporter got the nineteen more students, whom he said have gone missing.

No bomb blast has hit the university where we are studying, and the strikes target only military bases. Therefore to allege that there are causalities among Ugandan students or anyone missing among them is groundless.

 

In Tripoli, where all the students are, is under the Libyan government control and is still secure. All necessary facilities such as water, electricity and food are available for all.   

Contrary to what the paper stated, Ugandan students have never contacted the foreign Minister or any government official in Kampala for help, since the Ugandan Embassy is still around in Tripoli and is always in touch with them. But this does not refute the fact that the country is at war-as you are well aware-and naturally we are afraid of what might be the outcome.

For further information about the condition of Ugandan students in Libya, please contact our university (World Islamic Call Society), The Embassy of Uganda in Tripoli and the Ugandan Students Association.

In conclusion, the Uganda students in Libya through their body wish to convey their sincere appreciation and gratefulness to the government and all Ugandans who have shown concern for their wellbeing.

 

Uganda Students Association in Libya.

Regards

Ezzelddeen Haggaaz
Cairo International Bank UK Representative.
1A Lower Road
Sutton Surrey
SM1 4QJ
T.Mob: 000447960040088
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Email: ehaggaaz@yahoo.co.uk
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‘When Obote II was overthrown by Okello, UMSC leadership was also toppled’,Sheikh Ahmad Mukasa

In our continuing series about Muslim wrangles today, we speak to Sheikh Ahmad Mukasa, a renowned Muslim cleric. Mukasa is the man who clashed with the Late Shiekh Saad Luwemba at Kololo airstrip. Hamza Kyeyune spoke to him about his experience on Muslim wrangles.

Hamza: You have been a household name in Muslim leadership can you tell us about yourself?

Sheikh Ahmad Mukasa: I was born in 1934 to Hajj Adam Kasule at Kirugaruga Kakiri-in Busiro North. My grand father Hajj Silman Kalungi stayed in Kawempe and used to make soap for Nooh Mbongo but I am not sure how he did it. I Went to Kisekke and sons Primary School but because it was pure Christina i changed to Mende Kalema memorial School. In 1950, I stopped secular classes in P.6, and went to Katuumu to concentrate on Islamic studies where I graduated as a sheikh. I was taught by Sheikh Islam Ali Kulumba (RIP), Muhamoud Shuaib Katende (RIP) and Sheriff Ahmad Hadaad (former Imaam Nakasero mosque) among others.

Hamza: Do you have a family?

Sheikh Ahmad Mukasa: Am blessed with fifty children (50), most of them are grown and well educated. You said you studied at IUIU, do you know Dr. Umar Kasule? He is my son, he has a PhD, six of my children have master’s degrees, and others have different qualifications.

Hamza: After Katuumu did you also go to Arab countries for further studies like most of the other renowned sheikhs?

Sheikh Ahmad Mukasa: No, in 1960 when I graduated as a sheikh, I taught in several schools including Mende Kalema, Kiroro Primary, Kayunga SS, Kibuli SS. I taught people like Amb. Prof. Badru Kateregga, and I then served as the Imam Kibuli mosque

for over 8yrs. During the fracas between the National Association of the Advancement of Muslims [NAAM] and – Uganda Muslim Supreme Council [UMSC], I was the County sheikh Kibuli, Teacher Kibuli SS, and Imam Kibuli Mosque.

HAMZA: Were you staying in Kibuli then?

Sheikh Ahmad Mukasa: No, I was staying here in Mende, I used to ride my bicycle from Mende to Kibuli to exercise my duties as Imam.

HAMZA: When did you leave Kibuli for Old Kampala? Who did you work with at UMSC?

Sheikh Ahmad Mukasa: I went to Old Kampala when the UMSC was formed in 1972. I have since worked with all seating Muftis at Old Kampala, apart from Mubajje. I Worked with Abdaraaq Matovu as secretary for Religious affairs. Sheikh Silam Matovu replaced him when he resigned, I also worked with him. When Silman resigned, there was power vacuum, I and Ahmad Mufanjala took care of Supreme council. I was secretary for religious affairs and Mufanjara chairman. When Qassim Mulumba came to take over as Mufti, he found me as the highest ranking official because Mufanjala had exiled himself to Nairobi, during the 79 war, he was involved in politics. I also worked with Mulumba. Mulumba was later replaced by Kamulegeya, I worked with Kamulegeya as well. Kamulegeya was replaced by Kakooza whom I worked with as well, then Luwemba and me again took over, then Mubajje.

Sheikh Ahmed Mukasa, was at UMSC when Sheikh Kassim Mulumba, the former Mufti formed a parallel leadership at Rubaga. He spoke to Hamza Kyeyune and recounts what exactly happened. HAMZA: Why did Sheikh Kassim Mulumba, make a U turn shortly after resigning as Mufti?

SHEIKH MUKASA: His advisers opposed to Sheikh Obeid Kamulegeya advised him to cancel the resignation arguing that if he didn’t return Kamulegeya would assume the position of Mufti. Mulumba was under pressure from all sides to withdraw his resignation.

HAMZA: In the middle of that confusion, what was Mulumba supposed to do?

SHEIKH MUKASA: When he went back to UMSC to tell them he had made up his mind, they told him they had

already acknowledged his resignation and had already installed Kamulegeya to take up his position. In fact, they were organizing his farewell party.

HAMZA: He must have been disappointed. Where did he go then?

SHEIKH MUKASA: Following the advice of his supporters, when he left Old Kampala, he reclaimed his position as Mufti and set up his headquarter at Masjid Noor, on William Street. Kamulegeya informed police that Mulumba was illegally taking over the UMSC mosque at William Street to use it as his base yet he had resigned as Mufti.

He showed police Mulumba’s resignation letter and asked them to immediately evict him from office. As a result Police invaded William Street to evict Mulumba.

HAMZA: Did Mulumba resist eviction?

SHEIKH MUKASA: Of course he did. It was real war between Mulumba supporters and the police force. A group of women diehards of Mulumba disarmed one policeman, tied him with ropes and thoroughly beat him up. At the end of the war, Mulumba was overpowered by the police and forced out of the mosque. He set up camp at Rubaga road where he later constructed a mosque, and continued challenging Kamulegeya at Old Kampala. Disarming a Policeman and beating him up led to arrest of several supporters of Mulumba.

HAMZA: How did this situation calm down?

SHEIKH MUKASA: It went on for sometime. Kamulegeya traversed the country with photocopies of Mulumba’s resignation letters, showing Muslims how Mulumba had become a hypocrite; he had resigned but continues

to masquerade as a Mufti. Mulumba followed Kamulegeya clearing his name that he was serving interests of Muslims who had forced him to continue serving as Mufti. The rivalry went on until when Tito Okello Lutwa took over. Kamulegeya fled from Old Kampala and Mulumba regained his office as Mufti again

When Obote II was overthrown by General Tito Okello Lutwa, the UMSC leadership was not spared. Ahmed Mukasa, the former Mufti who was secretary Religious Affairs recounts the events.

HAMZA: How did Sheikh Kassim Mulumba, manage to regain his office as Mufti?

SHEIKH MUKASA: The personal friendships between Sheikh Mulumba and Paul Muwanga, then Sheikh Obeid

Kamulegeya and President Apollo Milton Obote played a vital role. Mulumba was close friends with Muwanga while Kamulegeya was a close ally of Obote. When Obote was overthrown, Kamulegeya also left the office of the Mufti at Old Kampala citing security concerns. When Luwemba came in to take over UMSC, he found it almost vacant.

HAMZA: We saw Kamulegeya at first working as the deputy for Mulumba, then taking over as the Mufti and Mulumba becoming his main challenger, and now Mulumba taking over again. Did Kamulegeya recognize Mulumba as Mufti?

SHEIKH MUKASA: He did not recognize him, he instead challenged him. The situation remained tense with in the

Muslim leadership until Rabitwa sent Kasamallah Zaid, a Sudanese national to mediate between Mulumba and

Kamulegeya in vain. The Saudi government then decided to mediate between the warring factions. The mediation took place in Mecca.

HAMZA: Were you anxious of what would come out? Did you prefer anybody to work with as a Mufti?

SHEIKH MUKASA: No, I had previously worked with Mufti’s from all sides therefore; I was just waiting for who ever would come in. From Mecca, it was agreed that both Kamulegeya and Mulumba step aside from the UMSC leadership. The arrangement (Mecca agreement) proposed the election of an interim leadership of UMSC comprising of people who had not been involved in previous conflicts.

HAMZA: Who came in as Mufti under this agreement?

SHEIKH MUKASA: Sheikh Rajab Kakooza was elected mufti and Sheikh Said Luwemba as Deputy Mufti. This administration was tasked to organize Muslim election for a new leadership, which they did. Both Luwemba and

Kakooza were contesting for the post of Mufti. At the close of the elections, Luwemba had majority votes but a group

opposed to him argued that he was not qualified to hold the office of the mufti. This group urged Kakooza not to  hand over power to Luwemba.

HAMZA: Was that issue raised before elections were held? How was the situation saved?

SHEIKH MUKASA: Luwemba formed a parallel leadership and petitioned court over the matter. The court ruled in his favor and he took over the UMSC leadership. Kakooza also formed a parallel leader based at Kibuli and continued challenging Luwemba.

HAMZA: Records show you were also Mufti the same time Luwemba reigned, how did that happen?

SHEIKH MUKASA: I worked with Luwemba like I worked with other Muftis. However,

along the way, Luwemba betrayed us. When Iddi Amin was leaving, he gave us property which was later claimed by Indians. Kakooza while serving as Mufti at UMSC was pushed to sign the transfer of that property from the names of UMSC to the Indians but he refused, annoying the government. During the court struggle to become the Mufti, Luwemba was asked whether he would sign to transfer the Muslim property to Indians and when he accepted, the court ruling came in his favor. That annoyed many Muslims. HAMZA: Did you overthrow Luwemba basing on that

ground?

SHEIKH MUKASA: Hahaahaha….. No, I did not overthrow anybody. I continued working with Luwemba but I of course made it clear to Luwemba that he made a grave mistake in surrendering Muslim property. The situation became so tense among the Muslim community and President Yoweri Museveni was advised to convene a meeting to unite Muslims. The meeting was held in Kabale.

HAMZA: Did you attend that meeting?

SHEIKH MUKASA: I did not attend that meeting; I was fed up of endless Muslim wrangles. However, those that came from the meeting told me that I was elected the interim mufti, with Sheikh Zubair Kayongo as my deputy, for two years to calm down the angry Muslims. That is how I became Mufti.

HAMZA: Did that mean there were then three Muftis at the same time? Luwemba at UMSC, his challenger Kakooza at Kibuli and now you?

SHEIKH MUKASA: Kakooza recognized me and gave up his claim to Mufti; however, Luwemba did not because he

had state support. When we came to old Kampala, we found a red graffiti, jeneza, and heavily armed police. We were told that the jeneza was going to be free for whoever dares to enter old Kampala, the tension was high. We camped at Rabitwa offices and later relocated to Kibuli.

HAMZA: Was your relationship with Luwemba that very bad? I have heard that you flexed with him while  ttending

independence celebrations at Kololo, how did that happen?

SHEIKH MUKASA: It was 1993 and I got an invitation to attend the celebrations in the capacity of Mufti. They had invited one religious leader from each faith; it’s only in the Muslim faith where they invited two. The MC was Kintu Musoke. When I saw Luwemba around, I called Kintu and told him to give me the opportunity to lead the prayer and he accepted. On calling the Mufti, Luwemba stood immediately. Because I had not escorted Luwemba on the function, I stood with my deputy, Zubair Kayongo, my Secretary General Hajj Jumba Masagazi, and headed for the microphone. Hardly had I reached the microphone, than Luwemba short up and kicked and forcefully took the microphone from me.

HAMZA: Wasn’t that embarrassing the Muslim community? What did the president say?

SHEIKH MUKASA: He laughed and said he only thought its heaven fought for by clerics, not the microphone.

HAMZA: Only one religious leader had been invited from other faiths, why did they invite two from the Muslim

community?

SHEIHK MUKASA: I do not know about that, perhaps that was their plan.

SOURCE: THE TORCH NEWSPAPER

ISLAMIC CONTRIBUTION TO HUMAN CIVILIZATION

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful

           Assalamo Alykum Wa Rehmatullahe wa Barakaatuh
“Let there arise out of you a group of peopleinviting to all that is good (Islam), Enjoining Al-Ma‘roof (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do) and Forbidding Al-Munkar (polytheism and disbelief and all that Islam has forbidden).And it is they who are the successful” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:1
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ISLAM’S CONTRIBUTION TO HUMAN CIVILIZATION:
       SCIENCE AND CULTURE
We all know every religion has a civilization. Every civilization has its ups and downs. A civilization’s best “up” is what scholars often call its golden age. Indeed, every civilization has its golden age.
But it may have several golden ages; a golden age in certain domains of human life in one period of its history, another golden age in other domains, but in a different period. In the case of Islam, its golden age in science, technology and intellectual culture spanned about five centuries, from the ninth until the fourteenth centuries.
This is also the period of Islam’s dominance in world science and technology. During this period, Muslims made many important scientific discoveries and technological innovations, contributions to scientific culture, and advancements in intellectual culture in general. These Muslim achievements greatly influenced the European Renaissance in the 15th and 16th centuries, and the birth of modern science in the 17th century.
To speak about Islam’s gifts to humanity in just half an hour, even confined to science and technology alone, is to do a great injustice to the subject. However, given the fact that the subject is not that well known to many people today, especially in the West, even a glimpse of Islam’s major scientific contributions is welcome.

Moreover, given our current global situation when the worldwide focus is on Islam and the West, the subject of my talk tonight may remind us of things that can contribute to a better appreciation of the civilizational significance of Islam to the West in the past and to a healthier climate for a dialogue of civilizations in our contemporary world.
Bertrand Russell, the famous British philosopher, has rightly claimed, “it was the Arabs who introduced the empirical method” in the study of nature and cultivated it widely when they were leaders of the civilized world. The Greeks, adds Russell, might have been brilliant philosophers, but they were not interested in empirical investigations. In jest, Russell points to Aristotle, who claimed that men have more teeth than women. But that claim was never verified empirically. With two wives, he could have easily counted their teeth and counterchecked with his own. But he was not empirically minded. The scientific method, as it has been developed primarily at the hands of the West, was indeed invented by Muslims and first practiced by them on a large scale.
Muslim scientists then were not only Arabs, but also people of other racial and ethnic groups such as Persians, Indians and even Chinese. Many famous Muslim scientists who were also known and influential in the Latin West, had come from regions in Central and South Asia neighboring Afghanistan, where the focus of the West and indeed the
whole world is now centered. The tenth-century Ibn Sina, or Avicenna as he was known in the West, hailed from Uzbekistan which for centuries was noted for its world-leading centers of intellectual and scientific activity, such as Bukhara and Samarkand.
Ibn Sina’s contemporary, al-Biruni, regarded by many Western authorities as the greatest Muslim scientist of all time, was also born in today’s Uzbekistan. But he spent most of his life in the Indian subcontinent. He knew Afghanistan well. One of his most significant empirical studies was a geological survey of the Ganges Basin in India. This geological study  was to reward him with a theory of the continental shift, centuries before Western scientists became interested in the idea.

We can go on and on mentioning the names of past  Muslim scientists who were not Arabs. But the West has called them “Arabs” apparently because they had written in Arabic which was, by the way, the international scientific language of the day. Even today, many people in the West identify Islam with the Arabs and the Middle East. True, Islam originated with the Arabs, but gradually it became a global religion and
a global religious community embracing diverse ethnic and cultural groups from as far west as Spain and as far east as Indonesia and China.
Of course the majority of scientists in the western lands of Islam were Arabs, and they were better known in the West. The important point to take note is this. Muslim scientists in both the east and the west had cultivated a novel way of studying the physical and the natural world, namely the scientific method. This method of theirs was modern. It embraced the ideas of quantitative and empirical methods, mathematical methods, and rational and logical modes of enquiry as these are understood today. Thanks to their discovery and cultivation of this method, Muslim scientists were able to make great progress.
Many of their works became well known and influential in the West through their Latin translations. Many ideas advanced in these works were to have a lasting influence on western thought and culture, although in the course of time their Islamic origin became forgotten. When decades ago the Italian Orientalist, Assendro Baussani, tried to hammer home the point that “Islam is an integral part of western intellectual culture,” he was one of the few western voices aware of the historical role of Islam in western civilization.
Very few people in the West today know that Ibn Sina’s best medical work, Canon of Medicine, was taught for centuries in Western universities and was one of the most frequently printed scientific texts in the Renaissance. Likewise, few realize that when the West in the Age of Scholasticism and in the Renaissance wanted to rediscover Plato and Aristotle and the Greek roots of civilization, it could not do so by going back directly to the original Greek sources. It had to depend not only on Muslim translations of the Greek works, but also on Muslim interpreters.
For example, when the famous thirteenth-century theologian, St. Thomas Aquinas wanted to create a new rational theology, he encountered an Arabic Aristotle that had been Islamized. Aquinas saw that Aristotle had found a new home in Islam, so he wanted to seek one in Christianity. Aristotle had come to be accepted as a common heritage of Islam and the West. He is the father of western science, but he is also a founder of Islamic science.
Given the fact that today there are people inclined to believe in an imminent clash of civilizations and the incompatibility between Islam and the West, it is worth reminding ourselves that the two civilizations do share something precious in common, at least in their intellectual heritage. The West takes great pride in modern science as one of the greatest achievements of its intellect. This western achievement is something no one can deny or belittle. But it won’t be wrong for someone to make the following claim: there would not have been modern science without the Renaissance — and without Islamic science and philosophy, there would have been no Renaissance!

The success of the future rests on the success of the present, and the success of the present on the success of the past. Take for example one of the twentieth-century’s greatest scientific and technological feats; the epic journey to the moon and back to earth! That success is of course a triumph of American space science. But scientists of other nations and of earlier times have contributed in one form or another to its development. They have helped to lay the foundation of modern space science.

Again, it is little known that the immediate predecessor of modern space science is medieval Islamic astronomy. From the twelfth century, Muslim astronomers began to criticize the Ptolemaic planetary system. That was a great step forward in the history of astronomy. Islam was noted for its astronomical observatories, which have also developed into modern research canters of planetary science. Indeed, they must be regarded as scientific research institutions in the modern sense, for group research
was emphasized, and theoretical investigations went hand in hand with observations.
The most developed and perhaps the most successful of institutions of this type, scientifically speaking, was the observatory at Maragha in Azerbaijan. Many things can be said about the observatory in support of the contention that Islamic scientific culture had reached a well-developed stage. The observatory had as its director a leading scientist of the day, by the name of Nasir al-Din al-Tusi. It engaged in both teaching and research. Although the main line of research there was planetary science, an interdisciplinary approach was emphasized. The scientists working there were of different religious backgrounds and ethnicity, including Chinese. It was the Cape Kennedy of its day. Research findings were published and among the fruits of the Maragha research was a new planetary theory proposed by al-Tusi.
The last achievement of Islamic planetary astronomy in medieval times was a lunar model developed by Ibn al-Shatir from Damascus, based on al-Tusi’s theory. Some modern scholars have claimed that Copernicus was acquainted with this development in Islamic space science. In the words of one scholar, “all that is astronomically new in Copernicus can be found essentially in the school of al-Tusi and his students.” If that is so, then Copernicus may be regarded as the link between Islamic planetary science and its modern Western successor. If we are looking for scientists of the past who have contributed to the development of human thought on planetary science, without which man’s journey to the moon would have unthinkable, then the names of the Maragha scientists stand to be counted.
In this connection, I would like to stress on the important contribution Islam has made in the institutionalization of science. With state support and patronage by royalty and political rulers, science education and research become institutionalized. Consequently, scientific culture became more entrenched in society. No one can dispute the assertion that institutionalization constitutes a major phase in the development and progress of science. In initiating this particular phase of scientific progress, Islam has made another lasting contribution to world civilization. Research-based astronomical observatories and teaching hospitals were Islam’s best-known creations of scientific institutions, paving the way for a more intensified institutionalization of science at
the hands of the modern West. The organization and practices of Muslim hospitals greatly influenced the development of their Western counterparts. Clinical practice initiated by Muhammad Zakaria al-Raziearly in the tenth century became an integral component of Islamic medical practice for centuries before it was widely adopted in the West.

There is another important institution that owes its origin to Islam. This is the university as we know it today. Islam founded the oldest university in the world, the al-Azhar University in Cairo. The first Western universities were modeled after Muslim universities. Many features of Muslim universities came to be adopted by the West, whether these pertain to the organization of curricula or granting of degrees. Even the tradition of specialized chairs (professorships) owes its origin to Islam.  The famous eleventh/twelfth century al-Ghazzali was the first occupant of the Chair of Shafi’ite Law at the leading Nizamiyyah University in Baghdad, which at that time was the archrival of al-Azhar. The influence of Islam on the West in the domain of educational culture was indeed immense. However, again here as in many other domains, this is hardly known to contemporary westerners.
You may have noticed that in my lecture I did not dwell on scientific discoveries made by Muslims in the various branches of science such as mathematics, biology, geography, chemistry, physics and medicine. Muslim discoveries were indeed many and were of importance to the rise of modern science. Rather, I have chosen to deal with the practice of science itself, particularly with those aspects of it that Islam had introduced. Scientific methods, institutions, and the like are things that are part and parcel of contemporary scientific culture and that we all can see. Similarly, we can appreciate better Islam’s lasting contribution to world culture by talking about its historical role in the foundation of the university. In conclusion, it is my hope that this
glimpse of Islam’s contribution to science and culture will lead to a sincere desire on the part of many people to know more about the past civilizational relationship between Islam and the West. This is with the view of advancing the cause of dialogue of cultures. Thank you and God bless you.
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(Writer, Prof. Osman Bakar holds the Malaysia Chair of Islam in Southeast Asia, Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Edmund Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. This is the text of Prof. Baker’s speech at the CIC’s annual Ottawa dinner, October 15, 2001.)
 _.___  Compiled, edited and adapted by Khalid Latif, e-tabligue>

One in four people in the world are Muslim

There are 1.57billion Muslims around the world, meaning that nearly one in four people practises Islam, according to a report published yesterday.
The size of the Muslim population has long been the subject of guesswork, with estimates ranging anywhere from one billion to 1.8billion.
But the report, by the Pew Research Centre’s Forum on Religion and Public Life, is billed as the most comprehensive of its kind.
Enlarge
The project, which has taken three years, presents a portrait of the Muslim world that might surprise some. For example, Germany has more Muslims than Lebanon, China has more than Syria, and Russia has more than Jordan and Libya combined.
One commentator, Amaney Jamal, an assistant professor of politics at Princeton University in the U.S., said: ‘This idea that Muslims are Arabs and Arabs are Muslims is obliterated by this report.’
Britain has 1,647,000 Muslims – 2.7 per cent of the UK population, and 0.1 per cent of the global Muslim population, the report said.
Islam is the world’s second largest religion behind Christianity, which has an estimated 2.1billion to 2.2billion followers.

More…
Zurich gives go-ahead to poster with ‘racist image of Islam’ ahead of Swiss vote on allowing minarets at mosques
The Pew centre, an American think-tank, calls the report the most thorough on the size and distribution of Muslims.
The task of determining the Muslim populations in 232 countries and territories involved analysing census reports, demographic studies and general population surveys.
The report provides further evidence that while the heart of Islam might beat in the Middle East, its greatest numbers lie in Asia – more than 60 per cent of the world’s Muslims live in Asia. Indonesia has the world’s largest Muslim population – 203million, or 13 per cent of the world’s total.

Global religion: The report showed that nearly one in four people in the world are Muslim
About 20 per cent of Muslims live in the Middle East and North Africa, 15 per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2.4 per cent in Europe and 0.3 per cent in the Americas. Europe is home to about 38million.
The report made no reference to whether the Muslim population is on the increase. A Pew centre project next year will estimate growth rates among Muslim populations and project future trends.
The report also revealed that:
Europe is home to about 38 million Muslims, or about five per cent of its population. Germany appears to have more than 4 million Muslims – almost as many as North and South America combined. In France, where tensions have run high over an influx of Muslim immigrant laborers, the overall numbers were lower but a larger percentage of the population is Muslim.
Two-thirds of all Muslims live in 10 countries. Six are in Asia (Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Iran and Turkey), three are in North Africa (Egypt, Algeria and Morocco) and one is in sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria).
Indonesia, which has a tradition of a more tolerant Islam, has the world’s largest Muslim population (203 million, or 13 per cent of the world’s total). Religious extremists have been involved in several high-profile bombings there in recent years.
In China, the highest concentrations of Muslims were in western provinces. The country experienced its worst outbreak of ethnic violence in decades when rioting broke out this summer between minority Muslim Uighurs and majority Han Chinese.
Of roughly 4.6 million Muslims in the Americas, more than half live in the United States although they only make up 0.8 percent of the population there. About 700,000 people in Canada are Muslim, or about two percent of the total population.

Ahmed Wetaka
P.O BOX 2488
Mbale- Uganda
Mobile +256 772 609736

It’s ‘Allahu Akbar’ as Islam spreads across Maasailand

It’s ‘Allahu Akbar’ as Islam spreads across Maasailand
THE STANDARD
Tuesday, 11th January 2011
By LEONARD KORIR

MASAIMARA, KENYA
When a group of villagers defied the centuries-old Maasai culture and introduced Islam to Transmara District more than two decades ago, elders threatened to curse them.

Friends and relatives shunned individuals who embraced the religion.
Christian leaders launched a silent war with the new faith, which they regarded as alien to the conservative community.

But 20 years later, seeds planted by the few Islamic preachers are fast sprouting as more Maasai’s embrace Islam which fo many years was seen as a reserve for coastal communities.

The religion, which was introduced in the area in 1986 by a local Muslim, Mohammed ole Sekengei has attracted more than 5,000 followers in parts of Transmara in the recent past.

Elders who have converted to Islam stand outside a mosque.[PHOTOS: LEONARD KORIR/STANDARD]

Maasai morans slaughter a goat to mark “Eid Ul Haj” in Trans Mara District recently. [PHOTO: LEONARD KORIR/STANDARD ]

Sekengei who works with the Cultural Council of Iran at the Iranian Embassy in Kenya has also seen the contruction of more than five mosques and madrassa [schools] in the area.

According to one of the oldest converts, Ibrahim ole Parsiria, 82, from Shartuka Mosque, Islam, unlike other religions is more tolerant to the Maasai culture, hence the reason for its fast growth and acceptance in the area.

Ole Parsiria was assimilated in 2008 after accepting the religion and has never looked back.

FACING EAST
He says Islam had similarities with the Maasai culture. “Just like the Muslims pray as they face Mecca (East) and so do the Maasai face that direction,” says ole Parsiria.

“The Maasai always face East whenever they are seeking Enkai’s (God’s) intervention and we found the same is done by Muslims,” says Parsiria.

Other similarities that attracted Maasai people to the Islamic faith are polygamy and the position of women in the society. “Just like the Maasai, Muslim women take a backstage role in any decision-making and participation in prayers,” says Parsiria. [Here is a chance for women to debate this mistaken assertion. Surely in Islam women are complimentary, not subservient. Can we blame this misstatement on Globish written by this journalis[? – JM]

In both parties, women and men always stay apart from each other in public gatherings as a sign of respect.

Another elder, Ali Murtasa ole Nchaiyua who embraced Islamic faith almost ten years ago has influenced all his nine children to follow suit.

He says he finds comfort in the [Muslim] faith unlike other religion and faults claims that it would interfere with the Maasai culture.
Among the converts is the Meguara location chief, Hussein ole Deroni and his family.

Deroni embraced Islam in 1989 and some of his children were born Muslims. Other prominent local people who have joined the faith include former Kisii District Commissioner Abdullahi Leloon.

The year 2000 was a turning point to the then new faith in the area when six elders went on pilgrimage, trekking from Kilgoris to Mombasa.
The walk that lasted for 22 days was aimed at raising funds for the establishment of Shartuka Islamic Centre comprising of a mosque, madrassa, a health centre and a nursery school.

After the walk, Nchayua says they managed to get Sh500,000 from an Imam (teacher) together with several pledges from the Muslim community at the coast. “When we reached the coastal town, we prayed with our brothers and at the end of it they were kind enough and pledged to help,” says Nchayua.

However, the dream of setting up an Islamic Complex Centre in the area became a reality recently when the Muslim faithful from Dubai through the Islamic Bank, which pledged Sh32 million for the project.

THE HOLY BOOK
The Imam of Shartuka Mosque Ramadhan Swaleh says he was impressed with the positive response from local Maasai to Islam. Swaleh already has about 50 children attending the madrassa classes besides teaching grown ups Arabic.

Mastering Arabic, he told The Standard was crucial in studying the Koran. “I was posted here five years ago and I can say that the local people here have received the faith with a lot of zeal,” says Swaleh.
He recalls last year’s Eid Ul Hajj celebrations where more than 30 locals joined the faith. “This was the biggest ever batch of converts to publicly announce their conversion of Islam,” Swaleh says.

However, Swaleh says the drive to convert more locals was facing challenges. The most serious challenge according to Swaleh is the ability among the locals to master the Koran. He says most of the locals were illiterate hence face difficulties in reading and interpreting the holy book.

Kassim ole Nadoo, a youth leader says as local Muslims, they will ensure their rights and problems were well addressed. Nadoo says that some unknown people believed to be against the faith constantly invade the mosques and destroy property as others target land belonging to the Muslims. “With our unity, we are optimistic of endorsing some of us to vie for political office in the area,” says Nadoo.

Dr.Zainab Akol’s Contribution to Islam since she converted

Dr.Zainab Akol

Zainab Akol is a medical doctor by profession and she is currently the Aids Control Program Manager in the Ministry of Health. As the teachings of Islam make it clear, every child is born a Muslim. It is the circumstances under which the child is brought up that determine whether the child will grow up practicing Islam or not. Dr. Zainab, a former staunch catholic was therefore no exception. During an interview with The Torch, Dr. Zainab said she was able to realise this in 1980s when she was at Makerere University pursuing a bachelors in medicine.

“A lot of things happened to me before I embraced Islam and all of them were pointing me to Islam” said the doctor from Ngora in Eastern Uganda. “I saw and went through unbelievable experiences while living with priests and nuns in the church and I was very disappointed” added doctor Zainab. She said she witnessed a case where a nun had an abortion after a priest made her pregnant. “Such things drew me away from and as if God heard my prayers, I embraced Islam through marriage” confided the doctor.

“When I finally made Shahadah (officially embraced Islam) and decided to perform Nikah with Omar, I hurt many people including my parents, family and friends but there was no turning back” she affirmed adding “I am a Muslim until death despite all the challenges and errors”
Dr. Zainab says she had no major problems coping with the Islamic life and practices, and she attributes this to her previous dedication to the creator.

“By the time I made Shahadah, I already had a strong attachment to God through the catholic church” she said. This should not be surprising because according to well informed sources, 85% of the bible is Islam.

Her title of doctor has however overshadowed her other title of Hajat Zainab. She has performed pilgrimage two times – 1988&1991and she describes the two experiences as turning points in her life as a Muslim woman.

Dr. Zainab, a mother of four wonderful children – two girls and two boys has used her medical background to serve Islam and her country Uganda since 1985. She has worked with Old Kampala, Grade B Entebbe, Kibuli, Butabika Hospital, UNDP and UNAIDS. She was also attached to organisations like Munathamat and Bata as a company doctor. She also ran various private clinics in the past.

Throughout her long carrier, Zainab has dedicated a lot of resources towards empowering Muslim communities including in her home districts of Teso Region.

In 1992, she mobilised 17million shillings from Rabitwa to sponsor Muslim students doing medical courses in various institutions. She says that some of these are now established medical personnel serving the public. Doctor Zainab was also involved in another project with Rabitwa. “They supported Al Hiddaya Women’s Association and also paid Sheikhs to teach Islam to Muslim Women” she said

The doctor has also secured several scholarships from Danida and Belgium program for Muslim students especially girls to study medical courses in institutions of higher learning. She is excellent in career path guidance and she has helped many young people to get correct career paths.

Many Muslim girls and boys have also secured admissions in government medical schools as a result of her personal intervention.

“I love Islam and I feel energised when I do something for my religion however small it may be” said the girl from Ngora.

Doctor Zainab is also proud to be associated with the Islamic Medical Association of Uganda (IMAU) which she says is doing a commendable job in improving the livelihoods of Muslim communities in Uganda and globally. She is the vice chairperson if IMAU and she is full of praises for Prof. Magid Kagimu for his able leadership of the organisation.

She revealed that IMAU is the World Centre for Islamic Approach to HIV control.

Zainab has played a key role in uplifting the capacity of the Islamic Health Center in Iganga and Lyantonde Muslim Health Center. “Both centres are doing very well especially the one in Iganga which I personally struggled a lot to secure its funding from USAID through IRCU” said the rather relieved doctor.

Doctor Zainab is currently focusing on Soroti Islamic Health Center which she wants to transform into a modern health facility.

She is partnering with Sheikh Mwase of Good Hope Education Foundation-Kamuli to construct mosques in Teso region, where she has already spearheaded the construction of one mosque. She helped to expand a small community Mosque in Naalya which was too small to accommodate the Ummah in the area. She also provides material and financial support to Muslims coverts and other Muslims in need.

“I thank Allah that I try to have something small to offer to those in need and I will do it as long as Allah enables me” assured the doctor. Other that the Islamic work Zainab says she loves her medical profession work. “My principle is to work from my heart and whatever I do, I do it as if I will not live to do it again” stresses the doctor who says that it is a principle she learnt from the Islamic teachings.

“I am however disappointed with Muslims who are enemies of Islam by their actions. For the non Muslims who are our enemies, they can be forgiven as they are ignorant. We just need to encourage them to learn about Islam” concluded the Doctor. Doctor Zainab has a special place in her office (Ministry of Health Headquarters) for her prayers and no one dares to step there with shoes on.

SOURCE:THE TORCH NEWSPAPER

Islam in Lango subregion

Asalaam alaikum warahumatullah

Brothers and sisters in Islam, I pray you are doing well.

 

Thank you for your effort as you strives to make the word of Allah at the peak and at the same time kicking off the Satan from the pitch.

Daawa caravan that went to Northern Uganda was so success full and Alihamudulillah a lot was achieved. We pray that Allah Accept.

We thank all your contribution towards this noble work may Allah reward you.

We take our sincere thanks to the IUIU-KC for fully facilitating this program from transportation, accommodation, feeding among others.

We appreciate also Torch news paper members of this forum for the 2-bycicles donated to people of the North to help in Daawa activities.

Also our sincere thanks may go to IUIU-KC students who donated a lot of clothes to these people who are in much need. May Allah reword them abundantly.

 

ISLAM IN LANGO SUB REGION NORTHERN UGANDA

Lango Sub region is found in northern Uganda. This is one of the regions with small number of Muslims. There figures can not make up to 6% when we compare to other religions in that area.

 

MOSQUES

Mosques are few in north and those few are in poor condition. Most of them are covered with thatch grass and muddy walls.

 

SCHOOLS

There is no an Islamic school in Lango sub region and no Muslim secondary school in the 8 district that make up the region.

They have only 5 Muslim primary schools of which no single school is headed by a Muslim head teacher. All schools have Christians and only one school with two Muslim on the teaching staff.

Among the 5 schools IRE is no where to be taught.

This is not because Muslim teachers are not in place. They are there but they are not given priority by the commissioner of public services at the district.

The private secretary to the office of the Kadhi Mr. Acup Rashid said that he has a list of 20 Muslim teachers, but when ever they put in their application, access is denied because of them being Muslims.

 

EDUCATION

Muslim education in Lango sub region is still at low levels. Muslims owning bachelors’ degree are less than 30.

Also few sheiks exist making the backsword In both their religion and other academic arenas

 

 

COVERTS

There are many people converting to Islam and are being sent to Lira convert centre. When they reach the place they are sent back or told to wait until the administration work on the first potion of the converts then they can return if the imman still exists with them.

A new covert traveled from KITGUM for circumcision and it failed. He was told to go back next morning and he was told that they will call him later.

 

LANGO YOUTH PROGRAM

Longo Muslim Youth association is one of the groups that have come up to see that Islam is propagated in this region.

They organize different activities to bring Muslim youths together as they propagate Daawa. They lobby for scholarships for the young generation to education to level that can help them to propagate Islam in the region. Islamic University in Uganda has number of them.

But the challenge remains to those who may fail to complete ‘A’ level in order to get IUIU scholarships.

 

On Sunday 16^th January 2011, youth camp was officially closed after effectively taking 5 days of Islamic lectures to young men and women of the region.

PADEL DISTRICT
separates Lango region and Acholi sub region. Ismael Bilal is one of the new convert who attended the youth camp.

I was told that he has been in Islam for Six months. The main mosque in this district has imam who always travels from Lira district a distance of 80km to Padel.

He told me that if he fails to make up with the Juma, Ismael Bilal take the responsibility to lead Juma In the mosque with other 3 to 4 Muslims in the area. He said he is the only Muslim native who prays in that mosque.

On addition to that he is S.3 drop out after failing to pay the school fees so that he can sit S.4 exams.

Recommendation

Northern region Muslim situation is in a miserable situation. Something should be done to help the region. They are lacking schools that can educate the children.

Big land was granted to the Muslim community by Late Idd Amin but no development is taking place. Now encroachers are taking the advantage to awaken the sleeping Muslims.

The need is to,

1. Muslims who can put up schools in this region are welcome
2. Those who can support the convert centre are also welcome in this region.
3. Young children need Islamic education. So if any can award scholarship starting from Primary level, secondary level and also tertiary level will be god work done.

May Allah bless you and all your effort Amiin.

 

Yours in Islamic service

Nsobya Abdulhakim Abdullah

Daawa minister IUIU-KC

0702267228

Deaf man regained hearing during Pilgrimage

Somali could not hear or speak for 20 years after bomb explosion

Published Tuesday, November 16, 2010

 

A Somali man who had lost his ability to hear and speak after a bomb explosion in his conflict-battered African country regained his hearing sense while on pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, a local newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The man, identified only as Shareef, was hit by a bomb during internal clashes in Somalia nearly 20 years ago and decided later to immigrate to Britain after he could no longer hear or speak, Masdar online Arabic language daily said.

Doctors in Britain examined him but found that his condition is incurable, prompting authorities to let him stay as a “deaf-mute” refugee.

The paper said Shareef, in his 40s, has been living in Britain with his wife and four children ever since, adding that he came to Saudi Arabia along with other Somali-British Muslims to perform Haj (pilgrimage), which began on Monday.

“After going around the Grand Mosque in Makkah along with the other pilgrims, he drank Zamzam (sacred) water and went to the bathroom…when he got out of the bathroom, he heard the call for prayers,” the paper said.

“He could hardly believe what he heard…he rushed to his friends and told them what happened…they were shocked when they heard him talking.”

The paper quoted the head of the Somali-British  Haj (pilgrimage) mission, Abdul Samad Mohammed, as saying he was stunned when he heard him speak.

“Shareef had been deaf mute for a long time…during our flight to Saudi Arabia, he was writing what he wanted from the cabin crew,” Mohammed said.

“At first we could not believe it….so we asked him to speak again and he did…we took him to the hospital here for examination and doctors said there is nothing wrong with him.”

 

Some of 12 Muslim Reverts at Nakivubo December 05, 2010

Calling for total Unity Of Muslims.Are you in support?

Dear Respected Muslim brothers and Sisters,

 Assalaam alaikum Warahmatullaah Wabarakatuh
 
I trust that by the Grace of Allah you and your beloved families are enjoying good health and that Allah continues to shower you all with His blessings, Insha-Allah. Ameen
 
Call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and argue with them in a way that is best. Surely, thy Lord knows best who has strayed from His way; and He knows those who are rightly guided. Ch. 16:125
 
As you know it is a responsibility of each and every Muslim, Man or Woman to call people to the way of Allah. However according to my understanding we can not do this noble tusk reasonably and successively, if we are not UNITED as one Ummah under one leader. From this point of view I stand to be corrected in case my proposal is out of character with the wishes of Muslim community in Uganda. However witnesses from history of Islam it is shown that the intrigue against Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubajje today has been to every Muslim leader, through history and during the recent centuries.
 
My simple proposal to you my fellow Academicians, Professionals and other Members of Muslim Ummah in Uganda is that; let us use the Blessings of the Holy Month of Ramadhan and get Unite behind the Mufti of Uganda Sheikh Ramadhan Mubajje. Every body has a lesson to learn, and Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubajje has learnt his lesson.
 
I think this is the only way to deal with the mistakes of the past in UMSC and to clean the current administrative mess. However taking Sheikh Mubajje into the Resignation Conner may not be the total solution of the problems in the UMSC because problems have been there time immemorial. Mufti Mubajje is considered to be one of the most learned Mufti Uganda has ever had. I urge you to remove your weaknesses and realise what Sheikh Mubajje can do if he is supported. Let us not look into Sheikh Mubajje as a Mugisu but as a Muslim. Mufti Mubajje is fit for his work, he can act as an embodiment, garment and ambassador extra-ordinary in representing Islam and Muslims of Uganda Worldwide. It is my understanding that Sheikh Mubajje through the influence of some big fish he may have made some tangible mistakes; however we have to forgive him.
 
Myself I’m not in position to give a program how to do that. Apparently other Muslims may be thinking that Jihading each other and gaining offices would do the needful. It will not. We know now that since 1980 independent Muslim states have not united. Instead they buy deadly war weapons from anti-Islamic Western countries in order to Jihad fiercely against each other. To make thing clearer, I will go through one particular aspect of history of Islam which is not popularly known or talked about.
 
After the demise of the holy prophet, the first Caliph, Abu Bakar, with that faith which moves mountains, set himself simply and sanely to organize the subjugation of the whole world to Allah. Had there been in Islam a score of men, young men, to carry on his work, of Abu Bakar’s quality, it would certainly have succeeded.
 
Although the expansion of Islam went forward rapidly and miraculously through the reigns of the first, second and third caliphs, and in 25 years the Middle East and far beyond the East and west became Islamic, there was at first a little intrigue against Abu Bakar, a little more against the second caliph Umar, and then a great hullabaloo against the third Caliph Othuman, who was killed by the Muslim enemies of Islam. The dying Caliph Othuman told his murderers: ‘if you kill me today, then remember that Muslims will never, till the end of the days, be reunited neither in prayers nor in battles against the enemies of Islam.
 
The fourth Caliph Ali had to spend his time quelling civil wars and trying to re-establish law and order, disputing his caliphate with Muawiya, the Governor of Damascus. Caliph Ali was killed by his supposed followers. Thus ended the Righteous caliphate in bare 30 years as prophesied by the Holy Prophet, this curse of Caliph Othuman is still with us; sects proliferated, excommunicating each other; matters have been worsening century by century, we need prayers.
 
The third Caliph Othuman, the fourth Caliph Ali and Imam Hussein were branded as heretics and apostates by the sub-servient section of the as yet incipient priesthood who got them murdered.
 
Imam Malik Bin Anas and Imam Shafie, all were learned saintly men, who were branded as apostates and heretics.
 
The Imam Abu Hanifa was the founder of the Hanifite School of Jurisprudence, which is one of the four great Sunni schools, of Islam in the Muslim world. He was branded as an apostate and an infidel, and was arrested, imprisoned, tortured, poisoned, and he died as he prostrated in prison.
 
One scholar told me that in other books it is also mentioned that Imam Abu Haifa’s tomb later was dug up, his body exhumed and burnt. That also his grave was made a public, lavatory in Baghdad. The benighted priesthood declared that all Hanifites were also out of the pale of Islam-infidels.
 
The great Imam Bukhari whose Saheeh Bukhari is regarded as next only to the holy Quran, was also branded as an apostate, and three thousand benighted Ulamas and Sheikhs had given evidence of apostacy against him. He was exiled from Bukhara to Khartang, where he found no peace.
 
Another great learned man was the imam Ahmad Bin Hanbali, who was imprisoned and shackled with four heavy chains and was made to walk from Tarsus to Bagdad, where during the Ramadhan he was lashed in the burning sun, even in the last ten days of Ramadhan. Even the famous and renowned Imam Al-Ghazzali in Bagdad did not escape. To mention but a few, henceforth let us give unanimous full support to our current Mufti Sheikh Ramadhan Mubajje for the good of Muslims and Islam in Uganda Ramadhan Karim, Wassalaam.
 
The eight learned Sufis like Zannoon, Sahl Testari, Ahmad Bin Yahya, Abu Saeed Kharaz, Ibn-i-Hannan, Abu Abbas Bin Ata, Abul Mohsin Al-Noori and Imam Nisai, all were accused and rounded up and branded as either apostates or what not, and imprisoned, chained, tortured, and recommended to the King that they should be executed, otherwise they would bring dis-believe in the land.
 
As the executioners with sword in hand came up, Al-Noori quickly advanced forward and said: I beg the King to command that I should be beheaded first, so that my friends may have a few more minutes to live in this world, which is irreplaceable by a thousand years in the next.
 
The King stopped the execution and ordered the Court Qadhi to review their cases and report to him. The Qadhi’s report was favourable: These venerable sages are more true believers of the unity of Allah than anyone I know. The King freed the accused with many apologies, hour and presents.         
 
Even the famous and renowned Imam A-Ghazzali in Baghdad did not escape. The ulamas branded him as an atheist, free thinker and an apostate, whose books were ‘unorthodox, un-Islamic’, they said. His books were ordered to be burnt and Muslims were forbidden to read them. His followers, if any, were ordered to be beheaded… A few centuries later, his books became what we may call the ‘best sellers’ in both the Muslim world and Christendom.
 
It is said that Al-Ghazzali’s family had found a piece of paper attached to his garment in which he died; it read: ‘This is not me! This is a cage in which I lived as a bird. Now that the Lord has set me free, I have flown away.
 
The Imam Ibin-i-Hazam was a great scholar whose writings and arguments traced back to the Holy Qur’an and Hadith, which showed the fallacies of the lesser scholars and ulemas, who banded together and got the Imam banished to die in the jungle of Labla {Spain}.
 
The Imam Ibn-i-Taimiyyah was a highly distinguished scholar. Who was imprisoned for a long time in Egypt and was tortured and died in prison. Some hours before his death, the Minister from Damascus, who originally pounced on him, came to him for his forgiveness. The dying Imam said: ‘I forgive you and all those who opposed me because they did not know I was right.. I also forgive the King Nasir by whose command I was imprisoned because his advisers did not know the truth.
 
Shams Tabrez, Sheikh Abul Hassn Shazil and Sheikh Aziz Bin Abdu Salaam were all notable Sufi saints and authors, yet they were declared heretics.
 
Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab was a Najdi Arab and a reformer of Islam of his time and place. He was also the founder of Wahabi Movement. He was declared a heretic by the Mufti and Imam of the Holy Ka’aba Mosque in Mecca. Most of the Arabs of Saudi Arabia, including the Royal Family, are Wahabis now.

Regards

Ezzelddeen Haggaaz
Cairo International Bank UK Representative.
1A Lower Road
Sutton Surrey
SM1 4QJ
Tel: 000442086619925/000442086429995
Mob: 000447984471671
Email: haggaaz@cib.co.ug
: ehaggaaz@yahoo.co.uk
Website: http//www.cairiointernationalbank.co.ug

Our Sheikhs a Big Embarrasment

Yesterday several muslims, prominent government and Buganda Kingdom officials converged at Kibuli to pray for the soul of the Late Engineer Yunus Mpagi. All was well until Sheikh Silman Ndirangwa was asked to invite Badru Nakibinge to make his speech as chief guest. Instead of doing the simple job of inviting Nakibinge, Ndirangwa took off time to attack Hajji Haamisi Kiwanuka, for allegedly speaking ill of Nakibinge. Matters nearly went personal when he singled out Hajji Hamisi Kiwanuka and ordered him to stand up in the crowd. I have no problem with people like Ndirangwa expressing their sentiments but where they do it and when they do it, is my major concern.

The Late Engineer Mpagi by viture of his job was not an ordinary Muslim. He was known far and wide because of his engagements at the various levels of service. It is just common sense that during his dua all kinds of people including Muslims and non muslims would want to attend prayers for his soul. Only for an arrogant shiekh, who is drunk of Fitna to spoil the day. I believe if Ndirangwa has issues with Kiwanuka, who i have come to learn is his personal friend, he should organise a similar function at his home and then say what he feels like.
I have heard people drag Muslim wrangles to people’s weddings, i think its time we who have access to Sheikhs like Ndirangwa try to talk to them to stop embarrasing our community. Now just imagine what image the none muslims carried from Mpagi’s dua. These sheikh who behave like we are in the pre-islamicperiod should be confined to the places where they fit.

Allah Knows Best.

Ahmed Wetaka
P.O BOX 2488
Mbale- Uganda
Mobile +256 772 609736

Naming Our Kids

Some people name their children after their own parents.This is to demonstrate love and filial respect for their departed ancestors.Or to perpetuate their memories,perhaps.We have quite a few people in Uganda,for example,who bear their grandfather’ s name.The Americans went one step ahead.They invented the frugality with names,creating serial names.Recycling names much before recycling became an ecological issue.You have a Henry Ford I,II,III and IV at last count.

The George Bushes are stuck at position # 2,with a Sr and Jr denoting the positions,unless someone decides to carry forward the family tradition sometimes in future.

It’s rumoured that the Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry, the real moneybags behind the Tata brand name (They own upwards of 60% of all Tata wealth; They’ve built all opulent palaces in Saudi Arabia, Muscat, Iraq and elsewhere) always name at least one offspring to honour an ancestor. So a Shappoorji will name his son Pallonji, and viceversa.(Perhaps our Ms Zareen Awari will care to confirm this).

But I wonder why people with exemplary contribution to History were single, lone bearers of their names? How come we don’t have an Archemedes, or Plato, or Chengiz Khan or Sir Isaac Newton, or even Einstein mark II?

And while we are on this, how come no daughter was ever named after her Mum?And of interest to our non-Muslim readers-Jesus (Nabi Issa in Islam,and mbph) had no earthly father. And because of him, all Muslims will be raised under their Mother’s names on the Final Day of Judgment, known as Qayamat.)If ever any of you come across a Zainab Jr or Marium Jr, please inform this writer. He’s interested academically, of course.

It was always the boys who wanted to shine in reflected glory of their illustrious fathers.
Never the daughters.Maybe a psychologist will find the reasons one day.

JABENDO RAHIM

—
“War is nothing but a  continuation of political intercourse, with a mixture of other means. Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.”

Why should we send our Children to a Muslim School?

At Government, Private or church schools in Uganda today, Muslim children do not receive a proper grounding in knowledge of Islam. Moreover, both in the classroom and in the playground they are often exposed to ideas, influences and behavior which can both pressurize and tempt them away from the straight path of Islam and its moral code.  Thankfully, as Muslim communities expand, Islamic schools are being set up to cater for the educational and spiritual needs of our young people.  Where possible we should do all we can to strengthen and support these establishments.

Muslim schools are good for our community and our children because:

• The basics of Islam are taught and practiced in the school
• Almost all the teachers are Muslim and thus maintain an Islamic atmosphere in the classroom.
• Students are expected to wear Islamic attire and maintain a proper Islamic manner which is hopefully  reflected in the rest of their lives.
• There is less peer pressure to indulge in any un-Islamic behavior.
• Topics covered in classes are presented from an Islamic perspective, thus enabling the students to relate to the world from an Islamic point of view.
• There are no problems of drugs, sexual promiscuity nor sexual education taught in a moral and religious vacuum.
• Muslim schools usually have small classes and a good student/teacher relationship and ratio.

Islam calls on Muslims to pursue the path of knowledge and show kindness to our children.  Having your child educated at a Muslim school fulfills both of these requirements simultaneously.

All creatures are God’s children, and those dearest to God are the ones who treat His children kindly.
(Baihaqi)

Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “No one has given his children anything better than adab” (which in this context refers to knowledge).
(Tirmidhi, Baihaqi).

Verily, a man teaching his child manners is better than giving one bushel of grain in alms.
(Muslim)

If anyone pursues a path in search of knowledge God will thereby make easy for him a path to paradise.
(Muslim).

He who goes out in search of knowledge is in God’s path till he returns.
(Tirmidhi, Darimi).

The search of knowledge is an obligation laid on every Muslim.
(Ibn Majah, Baihaqi).

It is therefore advisable that parents should try their best to educate their children in an Islamic environment in a Muslim school.  This will help their children to avoid the negative influences which are so prevalent in the state and church school sector.  Of course, this will usually entail paying fees in contrast to non-Muslim schools which are usually free at the point of use.  But let us bear in mind the following ahadeeth:

If you spend (to help others), O son of Adam! I [God] shall spend on you.
(Bukhari, Muslim).

Sadqa given to a poor man is just Sadqa, but when given to a relative it serves a double purpose, being both Sadqa and a connecting link.
(Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Nasai, Ibn Majah, Darimi)

He who spends in the cause of Allah will have his reward seven hundred times.
(Tirmidhi)

The rewards of sending children to Muslim schools outweigh any expense and sacrifices which parents may incur.

May Allah Guide us to the Straight Path <Ameen>

AbdulRahim Mbabazi

NYERERE AGAINST ISLAM IN ZANZIBAR AND TANGANYIKA

NYERERE AGAINST ISLAM IN ZANZIBAR AND TANGANYIKA

By: Khatib M. Rajab al-Zinjibari.

PREAMBLE

“Without any question, the manner and the implications of the union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar is the most misunderstood aspect of Tanzania’s political development. It may not matter very much when foreigners get confused, but unfortunately there are many times when Tanzanians themselves appear to misunderstand it.”

Former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere.
Dar es Salaam Government Printer, July 1970. p. 3.

INTRODUCTION
When the former Tanzanian President Julius Kambarage Nyerere made the above address to his National Assembly that “the union between Zanzibar and Tanganyika is the most misunderstood aspects of Tanzanian’s political development” proved that he is the only Tanzanian who knows “the manner and the implications of the union” after British colonialism in East Africa.

During the British colonialism, Zanzibar was the only intellectual center for Islamization of East African countries under the Zanzibar Sultanate. The Gofu and the Barza Mosques allowed students from the East African countries for the Islamic education. The Zanzibar Muslim Academy also offered the greatest hope for the vibrancy of Islam in East Africa. Nyerere, a devout Catholic saw that the Islamic Zanzibar state, a threat to Christianity. He masterminded a clandestine movement for the so called Zanzibar Revolution under the leadership of John Okello, a radical Christian from Uganda. It was not only a prelude to the creation of Tanzania, but a continuation of crusade against Islam and extension of Christian colonialism.

THE INFLUENCE OF ZANZIBAR EMPIRE

The Zanzibar Empire under the Sultanate stretched from Cape (Rãs) Asir in the Banadir coast of Somalia to the Ruvuma river at the Cape Delgado, and inland beyond the great lakes. In addition, its ruler held sway over all the south-eastern corner of Arabia. His influence stretched beyond even these extensive borders. At the time of the heyday of the Empire, Zanzibar became celebrated in the well-known saying that: “When you play flute at Zanzibar, all Africans as far as the Lakes (Tanganyika, Malawi and Victoria) dance.” This Zanj Empire has passed, but much of its influence remains. Swahili, identified as an Afro-Islamic language is one of the first seven most principal languages of the world. It has spread far and wide from Zanzibar to Congo, the fomer Zaire. In Southern Arabia, Western India and Madagascar, there are people who speak Swahili. Many of the Creoles in Mauritius and Rêunion are of Zanzibar origin. Their language, though French in its vocabulary, is Swahili in its grammar. One may even hear in the Creole of Mauritius folk-lore similar to the Swahili of Zanzibar. It was recently in 1960′s that Tanganyika, Kenya and Uganda adopted Swahili as their national and political, but not the official language unlike Zanzibar. Its nationality was possible due to the non-ethnic identity of Swahili, according to some allegation. Therefore, Swahili is the language of Muslims in East Africa, similar to Arabic in the Muslim world. The Zanzibar Swahili, derived from the Sumarian dialect is the only language which has borrowed a higher proportions of its vocabulary from Arabic than English has from Latin.

But soon after the demise of the Anglo-Dutch Colonialism in East Africa, Zanzibar was kept in isolation from the Muslim world since 1964 due to the fact that it was the only country in East Africa where the Islamic Law was the fundamental law of the country. Zanzibar was not only the most active opposition to aggressive encroachment of the Christian powers from Kenya to Tanganyika, but the intellectual center of Swahili culture and Islamic education in this African region. Former Principal of the Zanzibar Muslim Academy, Sheikh Sayyid bin Omar bin Abdullah bin Abu Bakr bin Salim (1917-1988), graduated from the Oxford University of London stated that the Zanzibar islands were instrumental in the penetration of the Shafi’i school to Tanganyika (Tanzania), Kenya and Uganda around the period of Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazzali (1058-1111), a Professor of Nidhamiyãh Shafi’i Muslim Academy in Baghdad and disciple of Abdullah Muhammad Idriss al-Shafi’i (767-820), founder of Shafi’i School of Jurisprudence.

This can be substantiated by the globetrotter from Morocco Abu Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Zawati al-Tunzi (1304-1378), famous as Ibn Batuta who visited the East African Muslim islands, including Mombasa and Pemba, the two sister islands of Zanzibar. He explained the presence of Muslim community with Islamic Schools, scholars of Shafi’i Fiqh (Jurisprudence) and descendants of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in the East African islands. Sheikh Abdullah Saleh al-Farsy (1912-1982), an international historian and great ulama of Zanzibar has described some intellectual Shafi’i ulama of Zanzibar during the Sultanate, though it was under the British Colonialism. The Sultans used to send Shafi’i scholars to Tanganyika for its Islamization.

ISLAMIZATION OF TANGANYIKA

During colonialism, Islamization of Tanganyika started from Zanzibar where Sheikh Muhyddin bin Sheikh bin Abdullah al-Qahtany (1789-1869), the Chief Qadhi and Prime Minister of Zanzibar under Sultan Said bin Sultan (1806-1856) had numerous local students. Sheikh Muhyddin bin Sheikh Abdullah al-Qahtany authored many Arabic books, including Takãlibun al-Haruf, his famous one on nahw (grammar) which he taught this text at the Masjid al-Haramyn in Mecca, but his most popular book in the West is the redaction of the well known Kitãb as Sulwa fi Akhbar Kilwa (The History Book Concerning the Pleasure of Kilwa), first translated into English by S. Arthur Strong in 1875 under the title Arabic Kilwa Chronicle. But its Arabic version of Sheikh Muhyddin al-Qahtany was donated to the British Museum (Or. 2666) by John Kirk, a British colonialist in Zanzibar (1873-1887) during the reign of Barghash bin Said bin Sultan (1870-1888), whose first printing press in East Africa under the directorship of Sheikh Ali bin Khamis bin Salim bin Barwan (1852-1885) was used for the publication of al-Najah (The Success), Pan-Islamic newspaper which had a wide subscription outside Zanzibar to Algeria, Egypt, Oman and Libya.

Sheikh Muhyddin bin Sheikh bin Abdullah al-Qahtany had numerous students in Zanzibar similar to Sayyid Ahmad Abu Bakr al-Sumait (1861-11925) and Sheikh Abdullah Abu Bakr Bakathir (1860-1925), the two intellectual Shafi’i scholars in East Africa. One of their famous itinerant students was Sheikh Hassan bin Ameir bin Hassan al-Shirazy (1887-1986), a graduate of al-Azhar University. In Zanzibar, he studied under Sheikh Abdullah Amour al-Azry and Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Mahmoud al-Washil Mngazija (1872-1936) as well as Sheikh Muhammad bin Ali Muhammaad al-Mandhri (1825-1895) and Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdulla bin Wazir, the first person who translated the Qur’an into Swahili language.

Sheikh Hassan bin Ameir bin Hassan al-Shirazy taught at Makunduchi, his birth place before Muyuni and Kiembe Samaki Primary Schools. He became a town clerk and later resigned for accepting a post of a Qadhi at Chake Chake in Pemba where he taught many students. Of his famous student was Sheikh Said bin Omar bin Abdullah bin Abu Bakr bin Salim (1917-1988), known as Sheikh Msaada. He graduated from the Oxford University and was the last Principal of the Zanzibar Muslim Acedemy. His other student was Sheikh Fattawi bin Issa bin Hassan bin Musa al-Shirazy (1900-1987), born at Makunduchi (South of Zanzibar) and was appointed the Qadhi at Mkokotoni (North of Zanzibar) at the age of sixteen under Sultan Khalifa bin Haroub bin Thuwein (1911-1960), and taught at Makunduchi for many years until he was appointed the Chief Qadhi. Sheikh Ameir bin Tajo bin Ameir al-Shirazy, also born at Makunduchi was one of the most political activist students of Sheikh Hassan bin Ameir and Sheikh Fattawi bin Issa. He was one of the founders of the Shirazi Association and the Zanzibar and Pemba People’s Party (ZPPP) and became the Chief Qadhi of Zanziabr after Sheikh Fattawi bin Issa.

Sheih Hassan Ameir Hassan authored many books in both Swahili and Arabic, including Al-Iqd al-Iqyãn alã-Mawlid al-Jailãni which is used by the Qadriyyah Muslim Brotherhood throughout East Africa. He also taught and wrote several Islamic books at Zaire and Malawi as his teacher, Sheikh Abdullah bin Mjana bin Kheir, born at Mkokotoni in Zanzibar who also taught Zaire and Malawi. The first Muslim from Zanzibar to Malawi was Salim bin Abdullah, who lived at Nkotakota from 1840. He was given a title of Jumbe (chief) and encouraged the Yao and Chewa chiefs to send their sons and nephews to Zanzibar to study Islam. Although the Jumbeship was abolished by the British colonialists in 1895, Nkotakota is the most strong hold of Islam in Malawi until today, predominantly by Yao and Chewa.

Sheikh Hassan bin Ameir bin Hassan al-Shirazy was the instrumental figure for Islamization and political movement in Tanganyika under the auspices of the Zanzibar-based Qadriyyah Muslim Brotherhood. According to Professor August H. Nimtz, he was “the most popular teacher in terms of students in Tanzania.” He left Zanzibar in 1940 for Dar es Salaam, where he built his patronized Islamic School, Madrãsatul al-Shiraziyyah (The Shirazy School) at the Comorian Mosque. He founded the Daw’at al-Islamiyyãh (Invitation to Islam) and a member of the Jamiyyãt al-Islamiyyãh fi Tanganyika (Tanganyika Muslims Association) founded in 1934 by Kleist Sykes and advisor of the East African Muslim Welfare Society (EAMWS), founded in 1945.

CRUSADE AFTER INDEPENDENCE

It was not until recently when the study of Islam in East Africa has attracted much attention of contemporary scholars. But most of them neglect the Crusades against Islam in East Africa, and Zanzibar in particular. It is neglected because such a religious conflict seems to belong to the Middle East, despite the Crusade against Islam is ecumenical imperative in any Muslim country, including Zanzibar. In case of the Catholic Crusade in Zanzibar, Nyerere worked hand in glove with Oscar Kambona, his close confidante and schoolmate at the Edinburgh University, where in 1910, the Second World Conference of Churches (WCC) discussed the threat to Islam in East Africa. It was unanimously agreed that an African Christian is better (for leadership) than an African Muslim. Every sort of assistance was therefore given to Nyerere in order to combat Islam in East Africa after the demise of the British Colonialism.

When Tanganyika gained its independence in 1961, Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya, Milton Obote of Uganda and Julius Nyerere of Tanganyika had a Summit Meeting at Nairobi on June 5, 1963. In this conspiracy of the Christian leaders, Zanzibar was neither represented nor mentioned in this Summit. These leaders unanimously pledged their selfish regional Declaration under the spirit of Pan-Africanism:

We (Nyerere, Obote and Kenyatta), the leaders of the people and Governments of East Africa (i.e. Tanganyika, Uganda and Kenya)…pledge ourselves to the political federation of East Africa and we are prompted by the spirit of Pan-Africanism, and not by mere selfish regional interests. (p. 1).

When Zanzibar gained independence on December 10, 1963 from the British government, it became a member of the Commonwealth nations. It joined the United Nations on December 16, 1963 and was represented by Hilal bin Muhammed bin Hilal. But when the new Zanzibar Government declared to form the model of the Islamic State, it was orchestrated by Afro-Christian Crusaders as reincarnation of Arabisation and revivalism of Islamization. They invaded Zanzibar in the midnight of January 11, 1964 under the self-appointed “Field Mashal” John Okello, a militant Christian from Uganda. The objective of the Zanzibar revolution was a Crusade against Islam as Okello stated in his book entitled Revolution in Zanzibar that God appointed him to make revolution for the sake of Christianity. He then quoted the following Biblical passage for his justifications:

Go now, you rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered, and rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as if were fire. You have reaped down your fields in cries of them which have reaped are entered into ears of the Lord of Sabbath. You have lived in pleasure on the earth and been wanton. You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter. You have not, you kill and desire to have and cant obtain fight and war, yet you have not asked, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you consume it upon your lusts (James 5:1-6).

Okello also said that his “Freedom Fighters” came from Tanganyika, Kenya, Uganda, Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Nyasaland (Malawi) and Mozambique. They killed 13,635 Muslims and 21,462 were detained. He failed to tell us that his Zaznibar Revolution under the auspices of Nyerere, reminiscent of the Spanish Inquisition which led to the last stronghold of the Muslim State in Spain. On January 11, 1964 Okello commanded the Crusaders that all Arabs (Muslims) between the age of 18 and 55 must be killed. In the next day, the Muslim holocaust began when Okello said in the Radio Zanzibar the following:

I am Fidel Marshal! Okello! You imperialists, there is no longer an imperialist government on this Island. This is now the government of the Freedom Fighters. Wake up you black men. Let everyone of you take a gun and ammunition and start to fight against any remnants of imperialism in this islands. (p. 143).

In the same morning, Okello issued an ultimatum to Jamshid bin Abdullah bin Khalifah bin Haroub (1963-1964), the Zanzibar Sultan: “You are allowed twenty minutes to kill your children and wives and then kill yourself.” (p. 145) but he escaped through Mombasa, Kenya. The mainland Africans’ support to overthrow the Zanzibar Government was due to the fact that the Crusaders had a large number of modern arms from Kenya and or Tanganyika from where 600 Crusaders invaded Zanzibar Keith Kyle, a British correspondent for East Africa in his articles in the Spectator of entitled “Gideon’s (Okello) Voices” (February 7, 1964) and “How it Happened” (February 14, 1964) said that “certain (Christian) members of the Tanganyika Government were involved in Revolution” (Crusade) of Zanzibar.
It is known that the holocaust was so horrendous that 100 Muslims were baked to death in tanuri (the copra-kiln) at Bambi. Following the Muslims holocaust, Abeid Karume (1905-1972), born in Nyasaland (now Malawi) became the President of the People’s Republic of Zanzibar. Karume secretly collaborated with the former Tanganyikan President Nyerere, an Islamophobic for the merger of Zanzibar and Tanganyika. Similar situation took place in Mindanao, an Islamic State founded by Sultan Sayyid bin Abu Bakr al-Hadhramy over 400 years before the ascendancy of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines and Tanganyika.

FROM MINDANAO TO ZANZIBAR

One day after the Crusade in Zanzibar, the Kenyan African National Union (KANU) Youth Wingers held an emergency meeting in Nairobi. In this meeting, “a unanimous resolution was passed hailing the overthrew of the Zanzibar regime.” This was followed by the two-days Kenyan Cabinet Ministers, summoned to the Prime Minister’s Office. It was attended by the Tanganyikan Minister for External Affairs, Oscar Kambona, a member of the World Council of Churches, and the Ugandan Minister of State, Magezi, while the Kenyan Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, Joseph Marumbi was in touch with Zanzibar by telephone. He collaborated with Edington Kisasi, a Catholic from Moshi in Tanganyika who was the Zanzibar Superintendent of Police installed by the British and he became the first Police Commissioner after the Crusade in Zanzibar. Also attended the Cabinet meeting to discuss the aftermath of Crusade were the British High Commission in Kenya, the British Forces in Kenya, and the Inspector-General of Police, R.C. Cating.

Within the first hundred days after the Catholic Crusade in Zanzibar, Nyerere collaborated with eminent Christian leaders in East Africa and imperialistic powers for the union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar. This Christian conspiracy was so important that the US government under President Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969) accorded Zanzibar a top priority in the US foreign policy, next to Vietnam and Cuba. William Attwood, the then US ambassador in Kenya said that “the Western powers prepared a contingency plan in case the Union would fail…and (after the union), the laws of Tanganyika would become supreme to round up (Muslim) radicals in Zanzibar.” Also the US Secretary of State, Dean Rusk appealed that “it is essential for Nyerere to be given the maximum support from the West.” Therefore, when Nyerere went to Zanzibar on April 22, 1964 to pressure Karume for the union with Tanganyika, he had already dispatched his soldiers to Zanzibar on January 13, 1964 with ammunition allegedly for security reasons, after consultation with Okello. Martin Bailey quoted Nyerere when he addressed the mass rally at Dar es Salaam on November 15, 1964:

We sent our police to Zanzibar. After overcoming various problems we united. We ourselves voluntarily agreed on union. Karume and I met. Only the two of us met. When I mentioned the question of the union Karume did not even give it a second thought. He instantly asked me to call a meeting of the press to announce our intention. I advised him to wait a bit as it was too early for the press to be informed. (p. 31).

This is a clear testimony that the union of Zanzibar and Tanganyika was the creation of Karume, a racist dictator nominal Muslim from Nyasaland (Malawi) and Nyerere, an autocratic devout Christian from Tanganyika. And consequently, Zanzibar has lost her strong Islamicity and sovereignty to Tanganyika since April 26, 1964 when the dictator Karume, signed the Articles of the Union, drafted by British expatriates, Attorney General Roland Brown and Chief Parliamentary Draftsman, P.R.N. Fifoot, to form Tanzania under the clique of the Christian Church Movement (CCM) of Tanganyika. The Constitution drafted by the British colonialists was unilaterally used by the Tanganyikan Government as the Interim Constitution of Tanzania, did not contain freedom of religion as independent clause to the detriment of the Islamic State of Zanzibar. Professor David Westerlund has pointed out that:

In such a religiously divided country, the issue of religion was a sensitive one, and in 1965 the situation was no different from 1961 in this respect. In fact, it could be argued further that it was even more sensitive after the revolution in Zanzibar in 1964, when the Arab sultan was overthrown and the Islamic State of Zanzibar ceased to exist. This change constituted a serious blow to those Muslims….(p. 90).

A similar situation of ethnic cleansing and the holocaust that went with it, was attempted to turn Bosnian Muslims into the Christians, and bring Bosnia-Herzegovina into the “Greater Serbia” under the Greek Orthodox Serbs or “Greater Croatia” under the Roman Catholic Croats since 1941. The same experiment was successfully conducted by the Catholics to the Mindanao Muslims. They were forcibly merged with the Philippines in 1946 by the American government “to civilize and Christianize the Muslims” as said by William McKinley, the assassinated US President (1891-1901) who had invaded the Philippines and the Mindanao islands. After the merger, the Muslims were considered outcasts in their own land and establishment of the Catholic Churches was encouraged but the Muslim world seemed to have lost its sense of history and treat the problems of Mindanao as if it were purely internal affairs of the Philippines and as if the Muslims were always ruled by a Catholic establishment.
The geopolitical limbo between Zanzibar and Tanganyika is a continuation of Christian colonialism under the clique of Catholic leadership. As in the Philippines, where thousand of Catholics were sent in exodus to overpopulate the Muslims in Mindanao, the Catholics in Tanganyika are sent to overpower the Muslims in Zanzibar. They worked to remove any immigration restrictions from Tanganyika to Zanzibar as done by Catholics from the Philippines to Mindanao islands. Similar to the Muslim legacy in the Mindanao, Christianization of Zanzibar islands in the next millennium, will be the greatest achievement of Nyerere and the history of the Catholic Church Movement (CCM) in Tanzania at large, and Africa in general.

NYERERE ON ISLAM IN ZANZIBAR

It appears that Nyerere is one of the best known political figure, but the least understood of African leaders. Millions of Africans who struggled for liberation from the Western imperialism, believed that Nyerere is the supreme theoretician and practitioner of the African Liberation. Others concidered him as the man who committed himself and the resources of his country to rid the African continent from the hegemony of European colonialism and apartheid, sponsored by the Ducth Reformed Church, the major evils of Western imperialism in the African history. According to some political philosophers, Nyerere is the most outstanding political guru, thinker, writer and spokesmen in Africa and the chief architect of socialism in Tanzania, branded as “Romantic Tanzaphilia” by Professor Ali A. Mazrui.

In the Euro-Christian parlance, Nyerere was a serious bulwark against what was believed as Communism in Zanzibar. This was concorted and by the American Government. because the book, US Foreign Policy and Revolution: the Creation of Tanzania by Amrit Wilson revealed some official US documents, including from the CIA that regarded Nyerere as the only “responsible” African leader to suppress (Islam in) Zanzibar which was erroneously equated with communism during the Cold war. Before the creation of Tanzania in 1964, Nyerere was frequently heard and so quoted that he wished he could tow out Zanzibar into the Indian Ocean, if he can. Tanzania received more Western aid per capita than any other African country. But to many Islamists in Zanzibar, Nyerere is a devout Catholic and Crusader against Islam in Zanzibar though it was only recently that the book “The Course of Islam in Africa” by Mervyln Hiskett indicated that the Union was imposed by Nyerere for Crusade against Islam in Zanzibar:

Union was imposed on the Muslims of Zanzibar by Nyerere, a militant Christian and his henchmen Okello against the will of the Zanzibari people, and that has been followed by a deliberate campaign to extinguish the Islamic character of Zanzibar under a secular constitution. ” (p. 170).

This started after Nyerere had expelled the active Tanganyikan Muslims from their executive leadership of TANU, he exerted his efforts for intervention of the Muslims in Zanzibar. He first manipulated Abeid Amani Karume (1905-1972), born in Nyasaland (Malawi) who was the President of the African Association (AS) but his party was not formed for the independance of Zanzibar. Because they stated in their AFRIKA KWAETU (Afrika is Our Home), the official mouthpiece of the African Assocaition:

We wish to assure all the so called Zanzibaris that anything short of an African state will never be accepted when self-government is achieved in this Protectorate. We are also opposed to multi-racial government in these islands. It is against all this Association stands for. We want Zanzibar to become an African state like the Gold Coast. (Afrika Kwetu, May 5, 1955).

Nyerere manipulated Abeid Karume to merge the African Association (AA), a surrogate of Tanganyikan Association (TAA) under Nyerere, with the Shirazi Association (SA), whose President was Thabit bin Kombo bin Jecha al-Shirazy (1904-1988), a Muslim born at Kizimkazi in Zanzibar. Nyerere formed Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) on February 5, 1957 but under Karume. Consequently in 1960, Sheikh Muhammad bin Shamte bin Hamad al-Shirazy, a school Principal born at Chambani, Pemba and Sheikh Ameir Tajo Ameir al-Shirazy, formed the Zanzibar and Pemba Peoples’ Party (ZPPP) whose Secretary General was Abdullah Amour Suleiman al-Shirazy, born at Pemba. He was the editor of Mwangaza (The Light), the mouthpiece of the ZPPP, believed as the sole party for the indigenous Muslims in the Zanzibar and Pemba.
Orientalists emphasize the differences between the Africans and Arabs but ignore the impact of Islam, which is so strong in Zanzibar politics that led the coalition of the ZPPP and Zanzibar Nationalist Party (ZNP) in 1961, after the ASP had failed to win the support of the ZPPP to form a coalition force for the so called African independence. Following their discussion with Sheikh Ameir Tajo Ameir and the ZNP delegates flew to Pemba for discussion with Sheikh Muhammad Shamte Hamadi. Other delegates were Sheikh Miraji Shaalab, Abdul Rahman Muhammad Babu, Sheikh Maalim Hilal and Sheikh Ali Muhsin.

Nyerere ruled for twenty eight years (1961-1989) as the President and the Chairman of the ruling party in Tanzania. During his chauvinistic and autocratic leadership, the Rev. Frank Schildknecht, a White Father who monitored all the Muslim activities throughout the African continent for the Roman Catholic Church sent a report in July 1963 to the Pope at the Vatican City that the East African Muslim Welfare Society (EAMWS) is becoming stronger and constitute a threat to the future of Christianity for spreading Islam. The EAMWS built several mosques, dispensaries and twenty three schools throughout the East African countries. It also The proposed to build the first Muslim University in Zanzibar, similar to the Beirut University to produce local Muslim professionals. On February 25, 1965, Nyerere banned the Muslim Education Union which was founded to train Muslims who were not allowed into the government primary schools. He also banned the EAMWS in 1968 with following short statement:

The Minister of Home Affair has by command of the President (Julius Nyerere) declared the Tanzania Branch of the East African Muslims Welfare Society (EAMWS) and Tanzania Council of the East African Muslim Welfare Society to be unlawful societies under the provisions of section 6(1) of the Societies Ordinance. (The Standard, December 20, 1968).

The advisor of the EAMWS Sheikh Hassan bin Ameir al-Shirazy was arrested and deported to Zanzibar. The Jamiyãt al-Islãmiyyah fi Tanganyika, which focused on the pressing educational needs of Muslims in Tanganyika was also banned in 1970 in the gist of secularism of education, before the government expressed its hostility in 1973 that only adults could perform Hajj (pilgrimage) to Saudi Arabia and only once in their life time. Some Christians are hostile to Hajj because it is used for the enhancement of the global Muslim Brotherhood and enrichment of the Islamic education among the pilgrims.
Nyerere’s vicious Crusade against Zanzibar to join the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), was unprecedented. His government suggested in 1988 to change the name of Dar es Salaam (The House of Islam), the capital of Tanzania where the Popal Office is represented for the African continent. But hostility to Islam was manifested on May 7, 1988 during the Conference of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (The Party of Revolution) at Dodoma. Under his Chairmanship in the Conference, the Chama Cha Mapinduzi suggested the abrogation of Islamic Law in Tanzania, though 65% of its population is Muslim. This political crusade under the auspices of the rulimg party, triggered a mammoth demonstration in Zanzibar on May 9, 1988 by Muslim youth after the Juma’a (Friday) prayers during the month of Ramadhãn.

While the Muslims protested and demanded restoration of the Islamic State in Zanzibar, a massive police contingent, armed with clubs, tear gas and guns attacked the protesters. In the shooting, Ali Mansour Ali, active member of the Dãwat al-Islamiyyãh, was martyred. One of the protesters died the following day in the General Hospital among other hundred who were hospitalized but scores, including female Islamists were accused of “inciting” instability against secularism. It was imposed by Nyerere in 1979 when he addressed some Muslims at the Beit al-Ajaib (The House of Wonders) in Zanzibar.

Adding the fuel to the fire, the police arrested four ulama, including Sheikh Nassor bin Ali, imam of the Kikwajuni Mosque. They were accused of being the instigators of the demonstration because shortly after of theirKhutba (sermon) in the Muslim youths mass demonstration protesting the blantant suggestion for the abbrogation of Islamic Law in Tanzania. After the mass demonstration, Seif Shariff Hamad, the then charismatic Chief Minister of Zanzibar (1984-1988), famous for being outspoken and his sentiments were linked with Islam, was sacked with his six colleagues; namely Soud Yusuf Mgeni, Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development as well as member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ruling party of CCM. Others were Hamad Rashid Muhammad, union Deputy Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Affairs, Suleiman Seif Hamad, Deputy Speaker of Zanzibar House of Representative, Khatib Hassan Khatib, Member of Parliament, Shaaban Khamis Mloo, Member of House of Representative, Ali Haji Pandu, Member of House of Representative and Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism also former Chief Justice and Masoud Omar Said, Minister of Education. Ali Saleh, a freelance journalist who informed the BBC about the Muslim protest in Zanzibar against abrogation of Islamic Law in Tanzania, was thrown into jail and more Christian soldiers were sent to contain the Muslim “fundamentalists” in Zanzibar. This was accordance with recommendation of the American CIA for the creation of Tanzania. It was recommended by William Attwood, the then US ambassador in Kenya that “the Western powers prepared a contingency plan in case the Union would fail…and (after the union), the laws of Tanganyika would become supreme to round up (Muslim) radicals in Zanzibar.”

The situation was aggravated by the Crusadic visit to Zanzibar in March 1989 of Nyerere, whose well publicized speeches called for tougher repressive measures against what he described as “dissidents” in Zanzibar, where Islamists interpreted his visit and speeches as a CCM conspiracy against Islam. As interpreted, his visit led to massive arrests of leading public figures, including Seif Shariff Hamad, who was jailed for allegedly being in possession of secret government documents. He was then purportedly rumored by the CCM on charge of being foreign agent and adui (enemy) of the Union though many young Islamists in Zanzibar extolled him as shujaa (hero) and charismatic leader. He was released in 1991 due to pressure from the Amnesty International.

Prior to his prominence in Zanzibar, Seif Shariff was so active in Islamic movement that he had served as the president of Muslim Students Association of the University of Dar es Salaam (MSAUD), and he worked with Professor Muhammad Hussein Malik, an Islamist from Pakistan who came to Dar es Salaam in 1964. Both Islamists had played a formative role in the ideological development of Muslim Youths in Tanganyika and formed Workshop ya Waandishi wa Kiislamu (Muslim Writers Workshop) in 1975. It was unprecedented that Professor Muhammad was forced to leave Tanzania.

When Seif Shariff returned to Zanzibar, he challenged the status quo and became the most favored leader of the opposition party, the Civic Union Front (CUF) in Zanzibar for the 1995 general election in Tanzania, the last East African country to reluctantly accept the inevitable of multi-partism for power sharing. The state control media favors the CCM which received TShs. 250m (£330,000.00) for her campaign, while the CUF was given only TShs. 1.5m (£1,562.00). Members of the electoral commission are predominantly Christians and some are apologetic to Christianity or puppets of Nyerere who is pathologically opposed to any Islamic leadership for the betterment of the Christian Church Movement in Tanzania.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH MOVEMENT

Jan P. van Bergen’s book quoted Nyerere by saying that the interest of his (Roman) Church came first, and would never go against his Church so as to liberate it from the matope (mud), which it has accumulated by being identified with world situation in Europe. This is clear testimony indicated that Nyerere ruled his country for the betterment of clandestine Catholic Church Movement (CCM), in Tanzania and Muslims in this country were the first in the world who contributed money to the Catholic secessionist state of Biafra in Nigeria to fight against their fellow Muslims in Nigeria, the most populous Muslim nation in Africa. The Catholic Church Movement in Biafra demanded to secede to rid themselves in what they called “a calamitous slavery in an ocean of Muslims.” In contrary, a number of Muslim troops from Zanzibar were disproportionately killed during the Nyerere’s invasion of Uganda in 1979 which toppled a Muslim ruler, Iddi Amin and re-installed Nyerere’s old friend, Milton Obote, a Christian who supported Nyerere for the creation of Tanzania in collaboration with the Central Inteligence Agency (CIA) whose director was George Bush, later the former US President.

Their huge Christian Churches as well as many seminaries and proliferation of foreign priests and sisters in Tanzanian Churches, is a firm evidence that Christian organizations in Tanzania are affiliated with and used by foreign countries, because they can not through their local donation alone to carry out such activities and finance the lavish-style of their Church leaders. All the Churches and monasteries in Tanzania are the property of the Western nations, from where they recieve their orders and budgets for evangelism. For instance, the Tanzanian Catholic Church is the property of Italians, Portuguese, Spaniards, Belgians and French, the Lutheran Church is the property of Germans and Dutch, the architect of the apartheid in South Africa. The Anglican Church is the property of the British, the Moravian Church is the property of the Nordic countries, the Church of Pentecostal Assemblies of God, Seventh Day Adventists and African Inland Mission, among others are the properties of the United States. Further evidence of their affiliation is that all the Churches in developing countries, including Tanzania are referred to as “provinces” meaning that they are a sort of institutional chapters, and that their highest leadership is from the Western countries instead of host countries.

The proliferation of Western Churches in Tanzania, led to the formation of many organizations such as the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC), the Catholic Secretariat representing the largest Christian denomination; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT), representing the non-Catholic denomination; the Christian Council of Tanzania (CCT), comprising of Protestant Missionary Societies, the Office of the Anglican Archbishops, the Office of the Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church and the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahais, among others. The Tanzanian Churches are affiliated either with World Council of Churches or Lutheran World Federation. In contrast, the Muslims in Tanzania are marginalized and they are not allowed to be affiliated with any global Muslim organization, whether the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) or the Islamic Organization of Africa (IOA), in the gist that Tanzania is a secular state, despite the fact that secularism is a Christian ethos of governance (Matthew 22:21) and mimicked from the Western nations like the Unites States. Ironically, that Tanzania is a member of the Commonwealth, whose chief should always be the head of the Anglican Church of England, the former colonial ruler before the ascendancy of Nyerere in Zanzibar and Tanganyika.

Education Under Christian Leadership

To many uninformed people, Nyerere is a public defender of secularism in the ruling Party and the government. But his secret meetings with Church leadership is quite the opposite. In his confidential conversation on August 2, 1970, with Rev. Robert Rweyemaum, the then Secretary General of Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC), the largest Christian denomination of Catholic Church, Nyerere is quoted in a book Development and Religion in Tanzania by J. P. van Bergen as saying that he has established in TANU a department of political education and that he deliberately appointed a Christian minister to head it not because he was a strong politician but because of his Catholic Faith. This book published by the Catholic Church stated that this reason the Rev. Mushendwa with his strong solid Christian faith, was put in charge of TANU’s Development of Political Education. Nyerere continued what was left by the British educational discparity against the Muslims. He was aware of Muslim’s grievance in the area of education. He wrote in his book Freedom and Unity that the disparity of educational levels could be used as a political issue:

The enmity which could be stirred by the evil minded between Muslims and Christians as we all know, the colonial government did not concern itself very much with education and therefore the majority of those who managed to acquire did so in the mission schools, and are therefore mostly Christians. Here again, then we have a division by its very existence constitutes a political threat to unity. (p. 179).

The Muslims in Tanganyika who pioneered and led the grassroot struggle against the Anglo-Ducth colonial rule to end oppression have not reaped the fruits of their labor since the 1961 independence. Many questions are now being asked by the contemporary Muslims about this bag puzzle. Educational disparity between Muslims and Christians goes on abated. In Tanganyika, Muslims claimed that they have been marginalised in their own country before and after independence. Their past experience with Nyerere convinced them that it is unfair to expect Christian, however sincere or honest he might appear to the public, to safeguard the interest of Muslims. He vowed not to improve the level of Muslim education in Tanganyika and Zanzibar.
Recent study conducted by G.A. Malekela, a Christian Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Dar es Salaam, stated that in the government Secondary schools in Tanganyika in 1983, Christians were 78% and all non-Christians were only 22%. Christians are clearly over represented despite the fact that Muslims are 65% in the population of Tanganyika. The latest research done by the Dar es Salaam University Muslims Trusteeship (DUMT) and published in 1992 by Al-Haqq International showed that the number of Muslim students has been falling in the country’s university Dar es Salaam and colleges. At the University of Dar es Salaam alone, the research reported that the total enrollment for the 1986-1990 was 4,191. Out of this number, Muslim students were only 586, or 13%, whereas Christians were 3,609 or 87%. It is was not therefore a sheer coincidence throughout his uninterrupted 24 years as the President of Tanzania (1961-1985), Nyerere, being a Catholic had always appointed a Christian to head the Ministry in Education. Muslims stated that because of this ever-increasing under-representatio n of Muslims in relation to Christians in Secondary and Higher Education, all key posts in the Tanzanian administration and public institutions came to be dominated by Christians, while Muslims largely relegated to menial positions such as drivers and messengers. The Muslims in Tanganyika are demanding their a fair share of the national cake because after independence, Tanganyikan Muslim student intake, is below 10%; the Muslim Cabinet ministers are negligible while Muslim principal secretaries and heads of parastatal organization are non-existent.

But like Tanganyika, the Muslims in Zanzibar have been discriminated against education in foreign countries after the forceful union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar to form Tanzania. Mohammed Mwinyi Mzale, the then Minister for Education in Zanzibar stated that of the 12 members of the Joint Selection Committee (JOSECO) which selects students for higher education in university and institutions at home and abroad, none is from Zanzibar. He lamented that when students on Zanzibar’s scholarship turn up at Tanzania missions abroad, they are kept a stiff arm’s length away on the pretext that they are not on a United Republic’s scholarship, even though in fact Zanzibar pays its share in the Union’s higher education budget. He contended that the executive bodies of higher education are Union only in word but in deeds and in their structure, there are mainland creatures and are there to do its biding. The Union parliament formulate policies for the interest of Tanganyika and believed that somehow the Tanganyika and Union governments are Siamese twins.

AFTERMATH OF NYERERE ON ISLAM

During the leadership of Nyerere (1961-Present) , the Christians had much freedom of their religion as guaranteed in the secular constitution, as hypocritically practiced in all other secular states. Their freedom includes secularization and evangelization of the Muslims, who were not allowed to organize themselves independent of the central authority. The Muslim affairs were articulated through a weak and corrupt organization called Baraza Kuu la Waislamu Tanzania, the Supreme Council of Tanzania Muslims (BAKWATA), which works under the protection and guidance of the government. The absence of an independent Muslim body to represent Muslims created a spiritual vacuum in Tanganyika. For three decades (1961-1990), Muslims could not exert any meaningful influence in their society according to their religion. In a bid to end this status quo, Muslims managed to form Umoja wa Wahubiri wa Mlingano wa Dini (Union of Preachers for Propagation of Religion) better known as UWAMDI, whose Secretary General is Sheikh Swaleh Uthman Ngoy. The publication of UWAMDI known as Mizani (The Balance), is very much concerned with the quality of Muslim leadership in Tanganyika because right from the start in 1990, it expressed concern about the way BAKWATA, a body created by the Nyerere’s government in December 1968 to lead exclusively Muslims in Tanganyika.

The Mizani issue of April 6, 1990 published the Juma’a Khutba (Friday Sermon) of Sheikh Kassim bin Juma bin Khamis, Imam of the Mtoro Mosque in Dar es Salaam, when he called upon Muslims “Kuwaondoa viongozi wa Kitaifa wa BAKWATA” (to remove the national leaders of BAKWATA) and he also stated that: “Waislamu wachoshwa na uongozi wa BAKWATA” (the Muslims are tired of BAKWATA’s leadership). However, the charismatic leader behind the UWAMDI movement is Sheikh Mussa Hussein, born at Ujiji in 1918 who studied Islam under Sheikh Kibaraka Ibrahim, a famous Muslim leader in Ujiji known for his relentless opposition to colonialism in 1950s. Sheikh Kibaraka Ibrahim traveled extensively as an itinerant Muslim preacher in Burundi, Ruanda and Zaire.

Sheikh Mussa Hassan also studied under reputed Ujiji Muslim scholar, Sheikh Songoro Marjani Lweno (d. 1989), who was well known for his controversial views on the Bible. His book, Mtume Muhammad (SAW) Katika Bibilia (The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the Bible) was published in Lahore, Pakistan. Most of the famous preachers who belong to UWAMDI, and travelled under the name of Wahubiri wa Kiislam (Preachers of Islam) from Ujiji were students of Sheikh Kibaraka Ibrahim and Songoro Marjani. Among them is Swaleh Uthman Ngoy, whose main task is to answer questions from Christians, especially from Christian evangelists. As it is attested in his answers to an Afro-evangelist, Sylvester Gamanya on the divinity of Jesus Christ (pbuh), published in the Mizani of April 6, 1990. Other students from Ujiji are Othman Matata, the late Ngariba Mussa Fundi and Muhammed Ali Kawemba, the last two published a pamphlet in English, Islam in the Bible (1987) but Muhammad Ali and Othman Matata published two English pamphlets; The Message of Jesus and Muhammad (pbut) in the Bible (1989) and The Sons of Abraham (1990), the three mentioned pamphlets were published by the al-Khayriyyah Press in Zanzibar.

Othman Matata, Ngariba Fundi Mussa and Muhammed Ali Kawemba were deported from Mombasa by the Kenyan authorities in November 1987 which claimed that it is illegal to address public meetings in Kenya, yet the Reverend Reinhard Bonnke, leader of “Christ for All Nations” who has a base in Nigeria and is the son of a Pentecostal preacher from West Germany, was allowed in 1988 by the same Kenyan authorities under the auspices of two hundred and eleven different Churches in Kenya. Soon after the Nairobi’s Uhuru Park reverberated the gusto sounds of the “Great Gospel Crusade” of the Rev. Bonnke with his Kenyan interpreter, Rev. Masinde, the Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi, himself a born again Christian, commended the Rev. Bonnke’s Crusade by presiding over one of the gatherings. He also wished the Rev. Bonnke to return periodically in Kenya but the same Muslim scholars from Tanzania were not only deported from Mombasa for preaching Islam but they were also forced to leave their own country. Muslim professionals and intellectuals, against much opposition from the BAKWATA, managed to form in November 1992 an independent Muslims organization called the Supreme Council of Islamic Organizations and Institutions of Tanzania, excluding the Zanzibar islands because Islamists there are viewed as secessionists from the union created by Nyerere. Under his regime, the Christian missionaries were free to carry out their activities and evangelize the downtrodden Muslims. In 1982, a group called themselves as “Crusaders” toured all the regions in Tanganyika for preaching Christianity in public but Abu Bakr Mwilima, Othman Matata, Ngariba Fundi Mussa and Muhammed Ali Kawemba were barred in 1987. The state controlled media chiefly dominated by Christians accused them for “sowing seed of hatred and instability” in Tanzania. Also, Mwinyi, a Muslim from Zanzibar was openly attacked in the Christian camps.

A person who managed to mobilize Christians opposed to President Ali Hassan Mwinyi’s leadership to counter the “Muslim threat” is none but the firebrand and outspoken the Rev. Christopher Mtikila, a Christian Fundamentalist guru of the Lutheran Church, which was instrumental for live-broadcast of Christmas in 1982 at a national level for the first time in Zanzibar history. Being the active head of Full Salvation Church, the Rev. Mtikila is also a leader of anti-Islamic battalion when he openly declared that his Crusade to defend Christianity against Islam. He became prominent in 1988 at the CCM conference at Kizota in Tanganyika when he wrote to Nyerere, the then Chairman of CCM on behalf of the Christians opposing Mwinyi’s presidency for propping up Islam at the expense of Christianity. His cyclostyled letters were circulated to all the participants of the Conference opened by Joseph Warioba, the then Prime Minister. The letter demanded to immediately investigate and rectify what he termed as a “Dangerous Government Stand” under President Mwinyi. On the contrary, the Rev. Mtikila asserted that when TANU was under Nyerere, he was fighting for independence, unity and equality between the citizens by eradicating religious discrimination.

This is the travesty of truth because Nyerere in his confidential conversation on August 2, 1970, with the Rev. Robert Rweyemaum, the then Secretary General of Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC), the largest Christian denomination of Catholic Church, Nyerere is quoted in a book published by the Roman Church titled Development and Religion in Tanzania by Jan P. van Bergen as saying that Nyerere has established in TANU, a department of political education and deliberately appointed a Christian minister to head it not because he was a strong politician but because of his Christian faith. For this justification, Jan P. van Bergen said that the Rev. Mushendwa was put in charge of TANU’s Development of Political Education because of his strong solid Christian faith. For the past three decades, Nyerere never appointed a single Muslim as the Minister for Education, yet Muslims did not complain about the Christianization of the Education Ministry which become a Christian enclave due to Nyerere’s leadership. The accusation of the Rev. Mtikila, among other Christian fundamentalists that the “Muslims’ aim is to Islamize the whole of Tanzania” because Mwinyi had appointed four directors in the ministry of education is a manifestation of Christian fundamentalism. If Islamic fundamentalism is fanaticism, the same goes for Christian fundamentalism as he rhetorically stated that Muslims are endangering peace and unity in Tanzania despite the fact that peace and unity have always been the stock-in-pile of the Muslims in his country since the days of the struggle for Tanganyika independence and post-Tanzania.

It is known that with the exception of the lates Sheikh Sulayman bin Takadir, Sheikh Hassan bin Ameir al-Shirazy and Sheikh Zubeir Mtevu, the Muslims in Tanganyika overwhelmingly rejected their own All-Muslim National Union of Tanganyika (AMTU) to defend national unity under TANU whose president was Nyerere. These Islamists tried to impress their fellow Muslims that Christians, even they were their fellow Tanganyikans, had a deep-seated hatred and enmity towards Muslims and that they would never treat Muslims with fairness and justice once they control political power. They insisted that after independence, educational imbalance would never be redressed and the positions of Muslims in education and other social areas would not improve significantly. Because of their stand, Sheikh Sulayman bin Takadir was expelled from his then Chairmanship of Elders’ Council of TANU, while Sheikh Zubeir bin Mtevu formed the African National Union (ANC), in opposition to TANU under a Christian leadership of Nyerere.

Ironically, the Churches in Tanganyika rejected TANU, twice in 1958 at Sumbawanga and in 1965 at Mbulu. They were scheming hand in glove with the British colonial government which groomed Nyerere to be the first president in Tanganyika after British. After independence under Nyerere, Tanzanian Christians are reaping what they did not plant but are enjoying the benefits of every sector cemented by Christian Church Movement (CCM) supported by the Western nations.

Kenya-Islam at stake (August 4th constitution)

Assalam alaikum,

Thanks be to Allah who has enabled us find time to read and write for the sake of Islam.Well, for the past few days, I have making observations on whats going on as on political view in our neighbor Kenya.

To take a further look, Kenya on Wednesday August 4 is going to hold a referendum to make constitutional changes. There is a draft constitution where people are to vote either to adopt it or reject it and stay with the existing one.

My interest or our interest as Muslims in that draft constitution is one- it creates and gives powers to the Kadhi courts. So many Christian organizations and church leaders have come out in big numbers to oppose it with 2 reasons:

1. Giving Powers to Muslims to handle their domestic affairs i.e. personal status, marriage, divorce & inheritance
2. “That it allows abortion” in case a mother risks her life because of pregnancy (We need and Islamic perspective on this. Please comment forum members)

What i have observed is, these Christian organizations do not want anything good for Muslims.The Draft makes it clear which type of cases these courts will handle and which level of Islamic education a particular person to be the chief kadhi should have.

In fact, when i was listening to one of the government attorneys on one of the Kenyan radios elaborating on the jurisdiction of the kadhi courts, they do not have powers to handle criminal or civil cases only limited to domestic cases and only to the parties that pronounce to be Muslims.

This has generated anger among the mostly radical Christians who say that granting Muslims such rights is granting the devil into National matters.

To make matters worse, a bomb exploded on one of the rallies and it is said it was a hateful Christian motivated person who did that. Few days later, another pastor was caught with explosives before he detonated them on another rally.

What makes me wonder is, none of them can be tried in that court, it is only an Islamic affair

Chapter 10 (Judiciary), part 170 of the Draft Constitution elaborates more of the Kadhi courts in clause 5.

Dear brothers and sisters, lets pray for our brothers and sisters in Kenya and push for such changes in our own constitution. I welcome your replies and advice and i have attached a copy of that Draft so that you can read through INSHALLAH

Down is the Excerpt of CHAPTER 10 (JUDICIARY)

CHAPTER 10

JUDICIARY

Kadhis’ Courts

170. (1) There shall be a Chief Kadhi and such number, being not fewer than three, of other Kadhis as may be prescribed under an Act of Parliament.

(2) A person shall not be qualified to be appointed to hold or act in the office of Kadhi unless the person—

(a) professes the Muslim religion; and

(b) possesses such knowledge of the Muslim law applicable to any sects of Muslims as qualifies the person, in the opinion of the

Judicial Service Commission, to hold a Kadhi’s court.

(3) Parliament shall establish Kadhis’ courts, each of which shall have the jurisdiction and powers conferred on it by legislation, subject to clause

(4) The Chief Kadhi and the other Kadhis, or the Chief Kadhi and such of the other Kadhis (not being fewer than three in number) as may be

prescribed under an Act of Parliament, shall each be empowered to hold a Kadhi’s court having jurisdiction within Kenya.

(5) The jurisdiction of a Kadhis’ court shall be limited to the determination of questions of Muslim law relating to personal status, marriage,

divorce or inheritance in proceedings in which all the parties profess the Muslim religion and submit to the jurisdiction of the Kadhi’s courts.

shaban kalema

Kenya Draft Constitution