Mufti to Convene College of Eminent Sheikhs to Address DNA Testing Controversy

Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubaje, the Mufti of Uganda has announced his intention to convene the College of Eminent Sheikhs-Majlis Ulama to address the controversy surrounding DNA testing. He made this statement during the wedding of his daughter, Ms. Hufaida Namutosi Shaban, to Dr. Adam Kibwanga Makmot, a prominent lawyer and Managing Director of Kibwanga Makmot & Co Advocates. The wedding took place at Sheikh Mubaje’s rural home in Shananda village, Bumageni parish, Bunghokho Sub-county, Mbale District on Saturday, July 15th, 2023.

Sheikh Mubaje cautioned Muslim clerics against rushing to condemn DNA testing without thoroughly examining the issues at hand. He emphasized that the matter is not limited to a few individuals and urged them to refrain from making pronouncements on DNA testing if they are not qualified Muftis.

While Sheikh Mubaje acknowledged the importance of the statement that “the child belongs to the owner of the bed” made by the Prophet Muhammad, he highlighted the need to understand the reasons and intentions behind this ruling. “My silence doesn’t mean that I don’t understand these issues. This is a wide issue. There is no way you can declare that DNA is not needed in Islam because the prophet said the child belongs to the owner of the bed,” he said.  

The Mufti’s remarks come in the midst of heightened tensions in families caused by DNA testing and its potentially confusing results. Dr. Hafidh Walusimbi, the head of the Sharia Faculty at the Islamic University in Uganda, explained that there is no explicit text in the Holy Quran or hadith for or against DNA testing. He noted that most of the Islamic perspectives on DNA testing are the result of research conducted by scholars. However, another group of Muslim clerics, led by Dr. Adam Ssenjala, maintains that DNA testing is prohibited in Islam.