Mufti Mubaje reveals plans to regulate Hajj
By Ahmed Idriss
The Mufti of Uganda Sheikh Shaban Ramathan Mubaje has said Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) will issue rules regulating the conduct of hajj; the holy pilgrimage to Makkah. The Mufti made the revelation during the quarterly meeting of district Kadhis at the UMSC headquarters in Kampala on Tuesday. According to Sheikh Mubaje, the policy aims at streamlining the conduct of the pilgrimage to rid it of unscrupulous individuals who have turned it into a money minting activity.
“Some individuals have turned Hajj into a farce. How do you get people from Libya and issue them visas for Hajj as Ugandans? This is ibadah, but some people have turned it into a joke. We know that some individuals have been profiting from Hajj as a business, but we will not allow the confusion to continue,” Mubaje said. Uganda has got tens of organizations that take people for Hajj and Umrah every year. Although there is the Uganda Hajj Bureau that coordinates and brings together these organizations, nonetheless, these organizations almost act independent of each other.
Meanwhile, the Mufti also talked about what he called the unbecoming behaviour in the management of animals and meat during Eid el Adhua. He said they have received reports that some individuals sell either the animals or the meat that is meant to be given to people free of charge.
“We received reports of Qurban meat being sold for Shs 2000 in some parts of the country. We are still investigating this. Some people receive money from donors and slaughter calves. This is cheating, which is unacceptable. UMSC will write to donors to streamline the Qurban program,” Mubaje said.
Mubaje also urged the Kadhis and the regional Assistants to the Mufti to fulfill their duties and responsibilities. He noted that some offices within the lower UMSC structures are redundant.
“We have officers who are even introduced at our functions as secretaries for Hajj, but they have never registered a single pilgrim. Western Uganda has a lot of cattle, but I have never seen a single animal for zakah from that area. The people of Pallisa have rice, but I have never seen a single bag from there,” Mubaje said.
