Open places of worship - Mubajje

Mufti. Sheikh Ramadhan Mubajje.

What you need to know:

  • President Museveni on March 18 imposed restrictions on worship places, schools and social gatherings to prevent the spread of coronavirus, no congregation prayers have since been allowed. This affected celebrations countrywide.

Ugandans yesterday joined Muslims across the world to celebrate Idd-ul-Fitr under lockdown.
Idd-ul-Fitr, also called the festival of breaking the fast, is a religious holiday celebrated by Muslims to mark the end of Ramadan, the month-long dawn to sunset period of fasting.

It is believed that Prophet Muhammed got the first revelation of the Holy Koran during this month.

Mufti Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubajje called for opening of places of worship during his televised address from Old Kampala Mosque.

Sheikh Mubajje said the world needs prayers to heal during this difficult time of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We want the government to consider the following; opening houses of worship. Prayers are among those essential activities as our motto goes, ‘For God and My Country’. I also ask government to consider waiving water and electricity bills for this period,” he said.

President Museveni on March 18 imposed restrictions on worship places, schools and social gatherings to prevent the spread of coronavirus, no congregation prayers have since been allowed. This affected celebrations countrywide.

“Usually we would gather like more than 35 of us from different areas and celebrate as a family. But today, we are like 20 with the neighbours, and my uncle in Bulenga is celebrating with his family of three children. It does not feel normal but let us accept it. It is still Idd although in a different way. My other family is in Mbale. I had to just communicate to them on phone then send some money for them to buy food and other things for the celebration,” says Hafitha Isa, a resident of Kawanda, Wakiso District.

“Communication is more effective when you are face-to-face. It is not like for Christians who have always had their pastors pray on radio. For us, the prayers are better when you are in the mosque and you pay attention to the sermons too. From home, there are many things that take your attention away,” says Isa.

Sheikh Mubajje also asked the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) to ask government to consider the request made by Ugandans who genuinely need part of their savings to survive during the hard economic times.

“I also request government to consider people who have saved with NSSF to be allowed to get 20 per cent of their savings to save their lives. I request Parliament to accept this as a matter of urgency and a necessity. If they can approve funds which are questionable, this one is not questionable because it has got owners. We would have asked for 50 per cent. But we are asking for only 20 per cent,” he said.

Acholi sub-region
Stay home, leaders say. The Acholi Muslim District Khadi, Sheikh Musa Khelil, said there is no meaningful celebration. He urged people to use any available resource sparingly.

“People should not indulge in unnecessary celebrations or visit. We already have a community case of Covid-19 and 14 cases are already at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital. Times are hard. We got very few assistance like the bull that a radio station in Gulu gave us. Yesterday we slaughtered it and gave to 130 people but many people missed. We were also able to give Shs10,000 to a few other people which is not enough,” Sheikh Khalil said after leading a prayer on a local radio station in Gulu yesterday.

He added: “I advise my Muslim community to stay home. Children must stop loitering. Let us use this time to pray for our neighbours who have high coronavirus cases like Kenya, Tanzania and South Sudan. We pray for the Muslims who are in war-torn areas of Libya, Yemen and other places.”