Fasting does not call for looking pale â€" Halima

Sep 14, 2009

HALIMA Namakula has been a singer for 10 years. She is a mother, musician and is also involved in charity. She is one of the founders of Women at Work, an NGO that rehabilitates former sex workers.

HALIMA Namakula has been a singer for 10 years. She is a mother, musician and is also involved in charity. She is one of the founders of Women at Work, an NGO that rehabilitates former sex workers. She talked to R. AANYU

What is Ramadhan to you?
It is a time to do good deeds and forgive those who have wronged me. It is also a time to repent and ask God to forgive my wrong doings.

What have you given up because of Ramadhan?
Since I am not married, I have nothing to do with men. It is haram (forbidden) to look at a man you are not married to in a sexual way.

Your best surah in the Quran
It is Al-fatha, the first verse in the Quran. I read or recite it all the time, in good or bad times.

Is Ramadhan a smooth sail?
I have stomach ulcers and high blood pressure so I need medication, which I take at daku. When I wake up, I pray about it and fast. It is the first time I have fasted non-stop from day one and inshallah (God willing) I will complete.

With such a tight schedule, how do you manage to pray?
Sometimes I miss prayers, so I have resorted to doubling my prayers.

When are you becoming a Hajati (Muslim woman who has gone to Mecca)?
I am praying about it. I first want to get married before going to Mecca because there are some things a Hajati cannot do, like looking for a man. I am a singer and to become a Hajati, I have to give up some things in my career. A Hajati dresses differently, is not supposed to be in certain places.

The Quran is against singing … aren’t you disobeying Allah?
When a baby is born or when someone dies, there is singing. So I’m not doing anything wrong because I do not swear and I do not dress indecently. I am just trying to change the way I dress in line with how Muslim women are supposed to dress.

Where and how are you spending Eid-el-Fitr?
I have been booked for a concert in Kyengera. Normally, I am invited to many places so I endeavour to drop by, eat something and I am off to another place. I do not sit at home the whole day. I visit relatives and friends if I am not performing.

How do you manage to look good while fasting?
Ramadhan is not a time for looking pale because you are fasting. It is important to look good because you are honouring Islam.

Do you have a religious background?
Yes. My dad is Hajji Ali Musitwa. I come from a big Muslim family in Kibibi Butambala in Mpigi district, near the big mosque. I did not pick Islam as much as my brothers and sisters because I left for the US when I was only 18. There are not as many Muslims in the US. However, I stayed true to Islam because I did not change my name or get married to a non-Muslim. I also read the Quran.

Your words to women?
They should believe in Ramadhan. If you have been doing wrong, repent. If you are married and things have been tough, it is the month you can talk it over with your partner.

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