Avert escalation of violence

May 31, 2009

OVER the past few weeks, there have been reports of increasing cases of violence among the members of the Muslim community. Such cases have been reported in West Nile, Kamuli, Mbarara and Masaka.

OVER the past few weeks, there have been reports of increasing cases of violence among the members of the Muslim community. Such cases have been reported in West Nile, Kamuli, Mbarara and Masaka.

The incidents involve the supporters of the Mufti, Sheikh Shaban Ramathan Mubajje, the head of the Old Kampala-based Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) and his rival, Sheikh Zubair Kayongo, the leader of the break-away Muslim faction based at Kibuli mosque.

The violence is a sign of the escalation of disputes among Muslim leaders. The dispute started last year after some Muslim leaders demanded for the removal of Mufti Mubajje, alleging that he fraudulently sold UMSC property.

Consequently, Mubajje and two senior members of UMSC were charged in court, but acquitted of any wrongdoing.
Mubajje’s opponents rejected the court ruling and instead installed a rival ‘supreme mufti’. Since then, the struggle between the two rival factions has been over the control of the city and upcountry mosques. It is this struggle that has eventually, and not surprisingly, led to the violence.

This is an unfortunate development to say the least. It signifies a repeat of what used to happen in the 1960s when the Muslim community was split between the Uganda Muslim Community and the National Association for the Advancement of Muslims. It is also a resurgence of the Muslim factional fighting of the 1980s.

It is evident that the Government has steered clear of the Muslim leadership wrangles, viewing the matter as purely religious. Understandably, the Government wants to avoid being accused of meddling in religious matters.

However, the Government must know that the wrangles among the Muslims could pose a security problem. In the 1990s, the factional fighting among Muslims was exploited by some wrong elements to launch the Allied Democratic Front rebellion.

It is, therefore, important that Muslim leaders and the Government urgently seek ways of resolving the dispute amicably and restore harmony in the Muslim community.

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