Muslims need to make painful compromises for sake of peace

By Jaffer Senganda

On many occasions, His Eminence the Mufti of Uganda Sheikh Shaban Mubajje has been attacked by Muslims opposing his leadership. 

They have vowed to destabilise his movements to officiate at any of the Islamic functions in Uganda. Relatedly, Sheikh Sulaiman Kakeeto of the Tabliq community has been forced out of office by another parallel leadership on charges of irregularly disposing of Muslim property under his custodianship. He has vowed to forcefully repossess Nakasero mosque.

In another development, the Kibuli leadership leaning Muslims have vowed not to take part in the forthcoming General Assembly elections organised by Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) alleging that the current UMSC constitution has to be amended first and that the electoral commission should be inclusive. 

However, the Old Kampala leadership have said the elections will be conducted on April 27 and nothing can stop them.

Such scenarios do not reflect the true brotherhood manifested in the Islamic faith. It disheartens to see members of the same faith fighting one another leaving the guidelines of the Holy Scriptures on how to solve such misunderstandings.

I am not against plurality of Muslim organisations but my concern is about the fights, tension and mistrust that come with such divisions. 

It is no wonder now that no discussion of any aspect about Muslims in Uganda passes without inviting comments or question about which group you support. We don’t seem to give much thought to what this lack of unity actually means for the Muslim community and our dear country. I believe that not only will these issues tear us apart, but they will also be exploited by different people to compromise our national security. 

We should champion intra-faith dialogue. We must understand, mediate and respect one another in this process as laid down in the Islamic culture; a heritage to which we attach a great importance and above all, make painful compromises for the good of Islam and Ugandans in general. 

This will enable us build bridges, discuss the truth about ourselves and see how mutual concerns can be solved.

Bickering and fighting in public form an impression among the community that Muslims are violent. It might be true that those people who oppose the leadership of different groups might have genuine concerns; but the question is; have they chosen the best alternative to have their concerns solved? The challenge we have as Muslims is building strong institutions that can be used to solve our misunderstandings. 

The Islamic social system seeks to form a virtuous society and thereby gain Gods approval. It recognises right not force, as the foundation of social life. Hostility is unacceptable but our core values should be love, dialogue, assistance and mutual respect. 

This will secure our central tenant of Brotherhood and sisterhood to attain perfection; remember this is the true meaning of Islam.

We must support all calls and invitations of all stake holders who are trying to make peace in the Muslim community and shun all those who are busy showing seeds of hatred. Consolidation of human relationships, based on love, tolerance and peace in our communities is a must in this era of civilisation.

If our parents and elders fail to understand themselves, then it will be hard for us their children to mend fences and understand one another thus a vicious circle of mistrust and hatred.

The writer is the president, Muslim Centre for Justice and Law