Uganda Muslim Supreme Council to Start Registering Mosques, Training Imams
Addressing the media during an engagement meeting with the Nabugabo Swadaka Organization at their headquarters in Kampala, Hamza Mubiru, the deputy manager in the office of Muslim affairs at UMSC, said this initiative was introduced after the recently concluded Muslim general elections.
“As UMSC, we are entitled to know all the mosques we have in Uganda regardless of their foundation to facilitate proper planning and service delivery,” he said. The registration process is expected to kick-off mid this month.
“We expect to register 15,000 mosques in the first phase. Registration is also key in case of abductions and arrests of any Muslims, we will know where to start our investigations. Right now, we are scattered. We also need to document details of new mosques coming up,” he said.
Muslims have raised concern over the arbitrary arrests and torture of their colleagues by the security personnel. In 2016, several were arrested and charged in courts of law following a spate of killings that rocked the country.
Zubair Kasule, the spokesperson of the Nabugabo Swadaka Organization, said the registration of mosques will help them know the number of Muslims in Uganda.
“The UMSC needs to sensitize Muslim communities on the importance of registering mosques because the majority of Muslims are ignorant about registration,” he said
The UMSC also announced that they are set to start training imams.
The training, which is spearheaded by the Nabugabo Swadaka Organization, is set to commence on December 5 and will last a month. More than 50 Imams are expected to take part in the training.
Kasule added that they have been conducting trainings with the help of UMSC but the program had been halted due to the COVID-19-induced restrictions.
“We need to do refresher courses because everything is taught in Arabic and some of them are not well conversant with everything in the Holy Book (Quran),” Kasule said.
He added: “The challenge we have is that some of the imams did not attend formal education, that’s why we want to bring them on board to know the right procedures of being imams and their responsibilities.”
Source: monitor.co.ug
