Islamic radicalisation has taken a centre stage against the backdrop of the Kampala November twin bombings.
Many muslims have been arrested, with many more living in fear.
The Muslim community has on several times disassociated themselves and Islam in general from heinous acts in that double explosions that hit Kampala City, killing seven, and injuring over 30 people.
Although Uganda Police Force blamed the attacks on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) who mainly carry Arabic and Muslim names, scholars said Muslim and Islam are not part of the incident because Islam is a divine creed which is highly rational, mature with rich knowledge and progressive culture.
The remarks were made NBS TV’s Spotlight Show on Monday night under the topic “The concept of Islam and radicalism in Uganda.
On the issue of terrorism especially here in Uganda, Imam Idi Kasozi,a renowned Islamic Dawa expert, said without much elaboration that security is fighting somebody’s war using the word terrorism.
When asked whose wars, he replied that it was the war of those people who are suffering from Islamophobia.
“In our own country big names have used it for cover and I want to quote President Museveni while at Kololo ceremonial ground who said "when I saw when they were applying Islam, I called myself Kassim.I saw him on television saying this," he said.
Kasozi said Ugandans should understand the meaning of fundamentalism, adding that any sensible human being who practices anything must follow its fundamentals.
"Fundamentals become illegitimate when someone becomes intolerant of other people. Islam is submission to the will of Allah. The will of Allah is to be just and do what is right. Allah stops us from doing evil and spreading corruption," he said.
Dr. Muhammad Kiggundu, the spokesperson Kibuli Muslim faction and a lecturer at Makerere University, noted that we had the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), but during that time Christians were not targeted.
"We need to work on our attitude and separate Islam from terrorism. Terrorism is the illegitimate use of violence to spread fear in people, especially civilians. Islam is very clear on terrorism. From the word go, Islam doesn't support terror. We should separate individual actions from religion," he said.
Brig Felix Kulayigye from the Uganda Defence Forces noted that as the government, they have never associated Islam with terrorism, adding that it is just a few people misleading the public.
"It would be good for the well-intentioned Muslim leaders to come out and disassociate themselves from the evils being done in the name of Islam. Sometimes silence might be mistaken for collaboration," he said.
Kulayigye said there is a difference between teaching and indoctrination and the government believes and knows that the majority of the Muslims in Uganda don't support killing other people.
"Islam is a religion of peace. I am a student of Islam, and I have never seen anywhere a justification for violence," said Kulayigye.
