Salafi revival built on an Islam already preserved by earlier generations, says Muluubya

By Our Reporter

Uganda’s modern Salafi movement made significant contributions to the revival of Islamic learning and practice, but its achievements should be understood within a much longer history of Muslims who preserved Islam in the country before the movement emerged, UMSC Secretary General Haj Abasa Muluubya has argued.

In a reflection titled “Abasalaafu and Their Revival of Islam in Uganda: The Other Side of the Scale,” Muluubya acknowledges the contribution of Abasalaafu to the growth of Tawheed, congregational prayer, Qur’an and Arabic education, modest Islamic dress, Tahfeedh and the study of Qur’an and Sunnah.

He argues, however, that recognising those achievements should not lead to overlooking the generations of Muslims who maintained the faith in Uganda before the emergence of the modern reform movement.

According to Muluubya, earlier generations of Muslims preserved the country’s Islamic identity through difficult periods despite having limited access to formal Islamic education and modern institutions.

“They built the old mosques. They taught children Alif, Baa, Taa. They circumcised their sons as Muslims. They performed Nikah. They washed and buried Muslims. They observed Ramadhan,” he writes.

He says these Muslims also defended mosques and Muslim land, supported Islamic institutions through small contributions and passed the faith on to their children.

Muluubya notes that Islamic revival in Uganda has a history extending well beyond the modern Salafi movement. Islam became established in Buganda in the nineteenth century, reaching the royal court of Kabaka Ssuuna II and gaining considerable influence during the reign of Kabaka Muteesa I.

He points to the experience of Muteesa’s reign as an example of the complex relationship between religious reform, political authority and social circumstances. While Muteesa showed considerable interest in Islam, disagreements over practices including circumcision contributed to tensions between the Muslim community and the royal court.

For Muluubya, the historical experience demonstrates the importance of hikmah, or wisdom, in Islamic propagation. He argues that religious positions must be communicated in ways that consider their social and political context.

He also examines some practices associated with older Muslim communities, including Mawlid and other religious gatherings, weddings, naming ceremonies and communal supplications.

While acknowledging that some practices may require correction according to Qur’an and Sunnah, Muluubya argues that such gatherings also served an important social function by bringing Muslims together and exposing non-Muslim neighbours to Islamic teachings and community life.

He makes a similar observation about traditional funeral practices. Older Muslim communities, he says, often treated the death of a Muslim as a communal responsibility, with neighbours participating in washing and carrying the deceased, performing Janazah and accompanying the body to the grave.

Muluubya argues that reforming questionable practices should not result in the loss of legitimate communal solidarity.

He also credits Salafi scholars with improvements in Islamic education, particularly the expansion of Arabic literacy, Qur’an memorisation, Hadith studies, Aqeedah, Fiqh and regular religious lessons.

Returning Ugandan students educated in countries including Saudi Arabia, Libya, Sudan, Pakistan and Egypt became influential teachers and preachers and helped shape the country’s later Islamic reform movement, he notes.

However, Muluubya cautions against portraying earlier generations as simply ignorant or devoid of Islamic knowledge. He argues that many of them preserved Muslim identity and institutions despite limited formal education.

He also warns against allowing disagreements over religious practices to develop into contempt or hostility between Muslims.

“The Salafi contribution to restoring dignity, concentration and Qur’anic recitation to Taraweeh must be appreciated,” he writes, while arguing that the communal character of Ramadan should also be preserved, particularly for children and young Muslims.

For Muluubya, the future of Islamic revival in Uganda should not be framed as a choice between reform and tradition.

He proposes combining the strengths of contemporary Islamic scholarship—including sound Aqeedah, Qur’anic education, Tahfeedh, knowledge of Hadith and emphasis on evidence—with the community solidarity, respect for elders and social networks preserved by earlier generations.

Rather than presenting the revival of Islam as the achievement of one movement, Muluubya argues that the country’s Muslim community inherited an existing Islamic tradition, received important contributions from later reform movements and now has a responsibility to build on both.