{UAH} INDOCTRINATION OR RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE?

Katikamu SDA Secondary School

 

One particularly memorable experience was that of Katikamu SDA Secondary School, and I would like to record it at length.

 

Katikamu SDA secondary School is founded by the Seventh Day Adventist Church. It was not originally on our list of schools to be visited, but we went there towards the end of Ramadhan on the request and insistence of a former student of the school, who is now a member of the Makerere University Muslim Students Association (MUMSA). The school is located about 35 kilometers from Kampala, sits on area of about 50 acres of land, and has a total of 2200 students. Out of these students, about 100 are Muslim.

 

We visited the school on 5^th August, 2013, without prior appointment. We were advised by a reliable source that we would not be allowed if we gave them too much time to discuss our request. We called the Deputy headmaster after setting off from Kampala, and told him we wanted to pay a courtesy call on the school. He was surprised when we turned up at the gate one hour later. He had earlier thought we were calling to alert them of our intention to come, and to seek an appointment. He had not even shared the news of our intended visit with his colleagues.

 

We were ushered into the office, and the Deputy Headmaster hurriedly called in his colleagues "to urgently discuss the situation." For the first time in the history of the school, he had a Muslim delegation in his office, and there was no time to seek guidance from higher authority on how to handle the situation. To complicate matters further, the delegation leader had introduced himself as a Professor of Literature and Deputy Principal at Makerere University. This made him "our academic colleague." The situation was very confusing. They were torn between turning us away and receiving us. After frantic consultations in our presence, they gave us the visitor's book, acknowledged us as school guests, and even asked some questions about the University.  In our discussion in the office, we learnt the following:

 

This was the first time the school had received a Muslim delegation.

They did not allow their Muslim students to pray. School policy did not condone it, the prayers were too many, and they would interrupt school routine.

A request by the delegation for school to permit daily Muslim prayers to be observed, and to provide a room for the purpose, was flatly rejected. This was an Adventist school, and they had no intention of making arrangements for other prayers.

The school does not recognize Friday prayers, and the time at which others are praying is class time at the school.

This year, they had for the first time allowed Muslims to offer the sunset prayer (Maghrib) as a special favour during the month of Ramadhan. After Ramadhan, this had to stop.

They did not have disciplinary problems with the Muslims students. Their problems were mainly with the Balokole students.

 

We were later allowed to meet the Muslim students. We offered Maghrib prayers with them, spoke to them, gave them reading materials and food items, and listened to their concerns. This is what we gathered from our interaction with the students:

 

They confirmed that they were not allowed to offer any Muslim prayer. It was only during this Ramadhan, for the first time ever, that they had been allowed to pray Maghrib.

Some of the Askaris at the gate were Muslim, but they were not allowed to pray inside the school. They are told to pray outside the school because "it will look very bad if they prayed inside."

There were some Muslim teachers on staff, but they were a bit frightened by the system. So they were not helping the students very much. Instead, there was a Muslim cook who was very active, and he played the role of Patron to the Muslim students.

Prayer in the Chapel on Saturdays, and during lunch hours everyday, was compulsory for all students and teachers. Missing Saturday service leads to dismissal for both staff and students.

Work was completely forbidden for all on Saturdays, whether Muslim or Christian.

Tests and Exams are conducted even on Idd day, and uma prayers are not recognized at all.

The Muslim students had a leader they all acknowledged, but did not have a formal Association. We advised them to constitute themselves into an Association. This kind of scared them, until we advised them that they did not have to register it with the school.

The one big consolation was that being an Adventist School, they do not serve pork.

Out of the 100 Muslim students in the school, 30 had been converted from Islam to Adventist Christianity. They were specially targeted by visiting evangelist crusades. Actually, one of the female students was in tears because her brother had just converted from Islam.

They appealed to us to come more often, and to plead with the authorities to allow them to pray during other months other than Ramadhan.

One of the students appealed to us to publicise their plight to the Muslim community, and to advise Muslim parents not to bring their children to this school.

On a happier note, and in one of the most spectacular developments in the history of the school, three students had converted to Islam. We actually prayed with one of them.

 

We departed from the school feeling like prison gates were closing behind us, and wondering whether this was Uganda in the 21^st century.

 

 

 

 

5.0 Conclusion

 

Apart from the unique experience in Katikamu SDA Secondary School, we were generally well received the schools we visited; also, there was a lot to be learnt, and the experience taught us that we need to visit the schools more often. We visited only 18 institutions, but there are hundreds more where the students have similar emotional, spiritual and material needs and trials. There is an urgent need to make this a permanent programme even outside the month of Ramadhan.

 

As UMYA, we are committed to continue doing this work. We are aware that there are other organizations doing similar work, and we encourage all Muslims in their various organizations and localities all over the country to do this work, starting with the nearest school. It will certainly make a difference. We appeal to those who are aware of serious cases that require our intervention as UMYA head office, something in the likeness of Katikamu SDA, to please draw it to our attention. If you can form or join visiting teams, please do so; and if you are not able to be part of a team, facilitate one in form of fuel, reading materials, prayer mats, food items and other materials to boost morale and to supplement what is available at the schools. Allah will reward you.

 

If you have any comment, question or clarification, or if you would like to participate in the programme in any way, please communicate with the leadership of UMYA, using the contacts indicated below.

 

Signed:

 

 

Abasi Kiyimba

Team Leader