|
Uganda Islam
In 1989 Islam was practiced by an estimated 2.6 million
Ugandans, representing roughly 15 percent of the
population.
Islam had arrived in Uganda from the north and through
inland
networks of the East African coastal trade by the
mid-nineteenth
century. Some Baganda Muslims trace their family's
conversion to
the period in which the kabaka Mutesa I converted
to Islam
in the nineteenth century.
Islam is a monotheistic religion based on revelations
received in seventh-century Arabia by the prophet
Muhammad. His
life is recounted as the early history of the religion,
beginning
with his travels from the Arabian town of Mecca about A.D.
610.
Muhammad denounced the polytheistic religions of his
homeland,
preaching a series of divine revelations. He became an
outcast,
and in A.D. 622, he was forced to flee to the town of
Yathrib,
which became known as Medina (the city) through its
association
with Muhammad. The flight (hijra) marked the beginning of
the
Islamic era and of Islam as a powerful force in history.
It also
marked the year A.D. 622 as the beginning of the Islamic
calendar. Muhammad ultimately defeated his detractors in
battle
and consolidated his influence as both temporal and
spiritual
leader of many Arabs before his death in A.D. 632.
After Muhammad's death, his followers compiled his
words that
they believed were direct from God (Allah) and produced
the
Quran, the holy scripture of Islam. Muhammad's teachings
and his
actions as recalled by those who knew him became the
hadith (sayings). From these sources, the faithful
constructed the Prophet's customary practice, or sunna,
which
they emulate. The Quran, hadith, and sunna form a
comprehensive guide to the spiritual, ethical, and social
life of
the faithful in most Muslim countries.
The central requirement of Islam is submission to the
will of
God, and accordingly, a Muslim is a person who has
submitted his
will to God. The most important demonstration of faith is
the
shahada (profession of faith) which states "There
is no
God but God (Allah), and Muhammad is his prophet."
Salat
(daily prayer), zakat (almsgiving), sawm
(fasting),
and hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) are also required of the
faithful.
When Idi Amin, a Ugandan Muslim, became president in
1971,
his presidency seemed to be a victory for Uganda's Muslim
community. Then in 1972, Amin's expulsion of Asians from
Uganda
reduced the Muslim population significantly. As his
administration deteriorated into a brutal and unsuccessful
regime, Uganda's Muslims began to distance themselves from
those
in power. After Amin's overthrow in 1979, Muslims became
the
victims of the backlash that was directed primarily
against the
Kakwa and Nubian ethnic groups who had supported Amin.
Yusuf
Lule, who served a brief term as president from 1979 to
1980, was
also a Muslim (and a Muganda). He was not a skillful
politician,
but he was successful in reducing the public stigma
attached to
Islam.
In 1989 President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni appealed to
Uganda's
Muslim community to contribute to national reconstruction,
and he
warned other Ugandans not to discriminate against Muslims.
But at
the same time, Museveni admonished Ugandans to avoid
"sectarian"
allegiances, and this warning was directed at the Islamic
community as well as other ethnic and religious groups.
Data as of December 1990
|
