Kamoga warns Imams against incorporating mosques as companies

By Jafar Mugera

The leader of Jamuiyyah Tabligh Da’awah As-Salafiyyah in Uganda, Amir Ummah Sheikh Muhammad Yunus Kamoga, has raised concern over the growing and troubling trend of registering mosques as private companies.

“Mosques are meant to be communally owned institutions, when we allow a few individuals to incorporate a mosque as a company limited by guarantee, we are effectively handing them full authority over it. Legally, they become the registered directors and owners,” Kamoga cautioned.

He made the remarks while addressing a one-day training retreat for Imams from Lubaga and Bombo Divisions, held under the leadership framework of the Tabligh group. The retreat took place at the Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU) Females’ campus at Kabojja, near Kampala, under the theme: Trust and transparency—Key factors in unlocking Islamic leadership potential.

As a first step, Kamoga said, his leadership intends to engage with Imams of the mosques that have already been registered as private companies, in order to highlight the dangers of placing the Islamic places of worship under the control of a few individuals.

“We are going to visit these mosques and speak directly with their leaders. The next step will be to de-register them and restore their status under community leadership,” he said.

He also emphasized the need to streamline the group’s leadership structure—from the Imam at the village-level mosque to the Amir Ummah at the top.

“At the mosque level, the Imam is the highest decision-maker. Respect for the Imam is a must for all Muslims, whether they are part of the Tabligh movement or not, as long as they pray in that mosque,” he said.

To curb the uncoordinated solicitation of funds within mosques, Kamoga revealed that his leadership has developed a finance policy that all mosques under the Tabligh group will be required to follow.

“The finance policy will be rolled out soon, and all mosques are expected to comply with its provisions. Having secured approval from the Majlis al-Shurah [consultative council], it is now ready for implementation,” he told the Imams.

He explained that the purpose of the finance policy is to bring order and transparency to the management of Muslim contributions.

“It is my duty to ensure that this policy is strictly enforced. I am not prepared to stand before Allah and be held accountable for funds that were collected from the faithful but misused,” he said.