KAMPALA NOVEMBER 10, 2015 (CISA) – The head of communication and information at the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) headquarters at Old Kampala, Hajj Nsereko Mutumba, has assured Catholics that the Muslim community will join the rest of Ugandans in welcoming the pontiff.
“We have no problem whatsoever with the Pope’s visit, since we currently enjoy cordial relations with the Christian community, including Catholics,” Hajj Mutumba said. He observed that in today’s Uganda, both Christians and Muslims need each other in order to survive.
Pope Francis will arrive in Uganda on November 27 for a two day visit where he is scheduled to meet with among others, a delegation representing members of the Muslim community in the country.
“We all face the same problems; poverty, illiteracy, HIV/Aids, malaria and other health hazards don’t target a particular religion, but attack us all together, a reason we must work together to get rid of them,” he said.
According to Hajj Mutumba, the UMSC has respect for other religious leaders in Uganda and the world as clearly stipulated in their constitution’s Article 5.
He disclosed that during his first year of being posted to Uganda, Apostolic Nuncio Michael Blume visited Mufti Ramadhan Mubajje at Old Kampala Mosque and delivered a special message of peace from Pope Francis to Ugandan Muslims.
“During the meeting, the Mufti told Archbishop Blume that we were all created to know and co-exist with each other.”
During Pope John Paul II’s visit to Uganda in 1993, gave Al-haji Sajjabi, the leader of Muslim Community then, a gift in form of a round-shaped disc or medal which he has kept safely up to this day.
