Kamoga urges Tablighs to penetrate UMSC, Kibuli-held mosques

By Jafar Mugera

Sheikh Muhammad Yunus Kamoga, the Amir Ummah—leader of the Muslim Tabligh group—has urged his followers to find ways of spreading the Salafi Aqeedah (creed) to mosques under the control of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) and the Kibuli-based Office of the Supreme Mufti.

However, he cautioned them against attempting to forcefully take over leadership in those mosques.

“I am not telling you to go with the motive of overthrowing the established leadership. The intention is clear—to teach them true Islam, our Aqeedah,” Kamoga told Muslims at Masjid Taqwa Kanyanya, near Kampala.

He was addressing Muslims last Sunday at the closure of a darsu (religious lecture) organized by Adeeqah Awalan, one of the groups under the Tabligh community.

In recent years, some Tabligh youths have been involved in disputes over mosque leadership, as tensions between rival Muslim groups—arising from differing interpretations of Islamic teachings—have taken centre stage.

“Go there with the sole intention of teaching the Muslims. The focus should be on the Muslims who go there to pray, not on the buildings or land titles. Whether it is registered under Kibuli, Old Kampala [UMSC], or any other Muslim group should not concern us, but rather the individual Muslims who congregate there,” Kamoga said.

He argued that hurling insults or making demeaning remarks toward clerics who do not subscribe to Salafi beliefs only alienates them and their followers.

“If you refuse to engage with them because you consider them unworthy, how will you convince them to abandon Bid‘ah [innovations] and shirk [polytheism]? Not everyone is online to access your teachings,” Kamoga said.

Making a defiant appearance at the darsu, the deputy director of Sharia at UMSC, Sheikh Salim Bbosa, cautioned clerics against using the pulpit to sow discord within the Muslim community.

“Every time you insult a leader, it is not that particular individual you weaken, but the entire Ummah, and you cause further divisions,” he said.

Sheikh Bbosa and Imam Ahmad Sulaiman Kyeyune had reportedly been warned against setting foot at the mosque after the local imam, identified only as Sheikh Muwonge, expressed reservations about their invitation to preach at the darsu.