How to dust off our differences

Mar 17, 2016

We come from various backgrounds and we each carry a bundle of cultural, social, political, personal and academic packages

By Sheikh Muhammad Ali Waiswa

Ugandans are experiencing some form of disunity just because we are not a homogenous block of people.

We come from various backgrounds and we each carry a bundle of cultural, social, political, personal and academic packages. Furthermore, God almighty created humans with differences in colour, race and abilities. Diversity makes us unique, but it risks drifting us into a downfall of exclusion when our duty is one of inclusion.

Hence, the challenge we face is to unite our community members who are widely dispersed with their own principals, beliefs and behaviour. Different, we certainly are. But divided we must not be. As Ugandans we are but a single Brotherhood; So making peace and reconciliation between us is fundamental. We must uphold unity under the flag of our country into a strong bond of Nationalism that proclaims the rights of each one of us equally. For dissent have grave consequences; it leaves us weak and prey to predators.

The million dollar question is how do we mend our differences and unite under the blanket of our Nation? The wisdom lays in recognising first what brings us in common, then pin pointing the major causes of conflicts and aspiring to avoid them. We share more in common than we realize; we actually belong to this Nation dead or alive, our major aspiration is long lasting peace and progress for all sustainably.

These are but ways to lead us to honest consciousness of our National roles and obligations, which tames our human hearts and adorns it with patience and forgiveness. It crowns our action with humility and tolerance and these are the precise tools we need to use to remain on the right path.

Firstly, we need to purify our intentions and dedicate all our services to National development. As we purify our hearts from lust, greed and hatred that cannot co-exist with true patriotism; we shall treat others with justice regardless of our differences. Thus, when we feel disagreement hovering in the horizon, we need to remember that we live by our national Goals and obligations and for God's pleasure.

A pivotal element in National solidarity is the brotherhood that unites us in the love of God and involves loyalty among us. We all have rights to remain safe in our peripheries; we don't hurt them, we don't conspire against them in their backs. Our human nature makes us err and there are still going to be times when we do fight. Then, arbitration between fighting elements becomes a duty upon us. For it is a great deed to be able to help one another re-establish common apprehension.

Meanwhile, if we do fall into the perils of fighting, we need to do our best not to over abuse this disagreement with dissipation. One common reason for division is our stubborn insistence on upholding our opinion, political, religious sect, or school of thought. This kind of solidarity might lead to lose forces on the nature of our national obligations.

We can regain insight if we remind ourselves that we only seek the pleasure of God and services to our Nation. One of the amazing examples that never fail to inspire me is the revered scholar, Imam Ash-shafi; He stated that he never entered into a debating argument with another scholar without asking God to make them both say and see the truth. If the truth was on Ash-shafi's side then he asked God to show it to his opponent yet he vowed that if the truth was on his opponent's side, he will follow him. Where are we today in respect to this tremendous modesty? Moreover, we should refrain from harsh criticism or judging the opponent because we simply cannot look inside their hearts.

Good faith will teach us to give credit to our opponent like realising that he or she does possess other good qualities that we should not overlook or undermine. We need to also assume a good intention when we evaluate the other's behaviour. We ought to give them excuses for what they said rather than shower them with accusations. Life is full of choices as well as compromises. We cannot get it all as we would like. Therefore to be able to compromise with the other is one way to avoid friction. We need to distinguish the less important things that we can overlook so that we maintain an amicable atmosphere in our community without forgetting the respect to the rule of law.

According to Nelson Mandela" Peace is not just the absence of conflicts; peace is the creation of an environment where all can flourish regardless of race, colour, creed, religion, gender, class, caste or any other social makers of difference "

Lastly, the responsibility of uniting ourselves is a collective duty upon each and every Ugandan. It cannot be left to politicians, scholars or religious leaders alone but everybody must be listened to. The prophet of Islam had taught us that we are all guardians, each in his or her field, community and family. Prophetic manners need to transcend in our behaviour with each other. Our youth needs to be trained with these vital concepts, for they are the leaders of tomorrow. In order for our country to rise above universal challenges, it needs to have a sturdy wall against invasion of any nature. We might not be able to totally change, but we own the ability to coach our children who are still young and flexible.

The writer is the Imam of Makerere University Business School (MUBS)

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