Uganda commemorates World Mosque Day

By Hamza Kyeyune

KAMPALA, Uganda (AA) - Uganda joined the rest of the world on Monday in commemorating World Mosque Day.

The observance aims to awaken our conscience to the sanctity of mosques.

On Aug. 21, 1969, Denis Michael Rohan, a 28-year-old mentally ill Christian fundamentalist from Australia, set fire to Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest site, in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem. An idea by Iran to gazette the day received approval from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Speaking about the importance of the mosque in the world, Prof. Adam Sebyala, an author of Islamic literature, told Anadolu that the Islamic world should always show solidarity in protecting the sanctity of mosques.

“When Golda Meir, a former Israeli prime minister, was asked what was the hardest day of her life, she answered: ‘The day the Al-Aqsa Mosque was burnt. She said that day, she thought that Israel had come to the last day of its existence. But when she saw the Muslim responses, she said ‘I understood that Israel is safe in the region of the Arab world,’” he said.

“So when we do nothing to protect our mosques, they become vulnerable. Therefore, the mosque is a place of Muslim worship which should be protected. Prophet Muhammad made the mosque in (the Saudi city of) Medina the place for Muslim affairs in totality, like (for) commanding the armies, the command for the Muslim military. It was also the seat of parliament where Muslim issues were to be discussed, and it was also a social center to cater for social responsibilities,” he told Anadolu.

“Thus, the mosque served all those purposes. It is also a center for spiritual reform. The Prophet in a hadith said that one of the people who will enjoy (Allah’s) shade on the Day of Judgment will be a man whose heart is kept within the mosque. Therefore, the mosque should come back as the center stage of reforming ourselves, so that we become people who are shaped by the good sermons and teachings and morals of our great Prophet and his successors, as well as the Quran,” he added.