By building a masjid, you will not only earn the reward of providing a community with a house of Allah (swt), but your Sadaqah Jariyah will continue giving benefit for generations to come in sha’ Allah.
Build A Masjid – Leave A Legacy
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The Brief History of Masjid Rahman- katuumu
Masjid Rahman –Katuumu, is the official registered name of the mosque by the recognized Muslim body – the Uganda Muslim supreme council. The mosque is located in Butumtumula Sub County at the village called Katuumu in luwero district- five miles from kasana town
This historical mosque was built by Sheikh SWAIBU SEMAKULA, the first muft of Uganda way back in 1950s. He set up a grass thatched structure from where Muslims prayed and studied their dean of Islam.
Efforts to upgrade and expand the mosque were done, till recently when the mosque council and concerned stake holders resolved to demolish the dilapidated mosque which had started leaking, its floor and walls cracked and it size was too small to accommodate the current Muslim population of the area.
The community hosts three Muslim schools which include, the Quran memorization centre (TAHFIDH) with over five hundred students (500) ,nursery and primary Islamic school with the population of one thousand pupils (1000) and secondary school with over seven hundred (700) students. Other members of the locality total up to twenty thousand (20000) Muslims, the neighboring areas which may benefit directly from the mosque project inshaaALLAH can produce over fifty thousands (50000) Muslims
Alhamdulillah, the construction of the mosque commenced in August .2021 and the foundation structure is yet to be accomplished
The project is estimated to cost over $150000 and its funding has been purely from individual contributions of the Muslim community
Masjid Rahman –katuumu is being built in the memory of Sheikh Swaibu Semakula (the first mufti of Uganda)
WHO IS SHIEKH SWAIBU SEMAKULA?
He was the first Ugandan to embrace Christianity,the first mubulizi (Lay minister) from the church of Uganda to embrace islam, the first muwalimu (muslim teacher), the first Ugandan to be ordained sheikh, the first Ugandan to establish “Shiekhism” and the founder of Muft of Uganda
HIS DETAILED PROFILE
Sheikh Swaibu Semakula was a son of Bakiikamuganda and his mother was called Lukuyisa. His father was a well-known sorcerer in the palace of muganzirwazza (mother to king Mutesa 1). Using his position in the palace, Semakulas’s father made him a palace page. When colonialist introduced Christianity in Buganda,he was one of those selected by Buganda kingdom to go and study Christianity and he was eventually baptized in Buwaya church-Busiro. This made him one of the first Ugandans to become Christian. He later became a mubulizi (lay minister) of church of Uganda.
When colonialists formed the Uganda company, Semakula was given the responsibility of promoting it to the general public. He was later assigned work of providing spiritual guidance to Ugandans who were on the construction of the Uganda Railway. He travelled with the railway workers all the way to kusumu. He became a very good friend of the Uganda railways construction supervisor: an Indian called Shakibu who was e devoted Muslim
During his stay in Kusumu, there was small pox outbreak and many railway workers died. Semakula was also infected but he survived because his friend and supervisor Shakibu took good care of him. After Recovering, Semakula picked interest in the Holy Quran and asked his friends: Shakibu,yusuf, juma suimbi and others to tell him more about it.
They started teaching islam to him and when he returned to Uganda, he decided to embrace Islam .He was circumcised by one Shaban (an aide to the district commissioner of Entebe) who also named him SWAIBU.
He detested shirik from the onset and he refused to eat chicken slaughtered by his brothers who were not yet Muslims. Using the little Islamic knowledge he had so for acquired, he started teaching Islam to his own family and out of this effort, two of his brothers ( Juma Bagenda and Rashid Lwanga) and one sister ( Safia Nabukalu) embraced islam
He started acquiring further Islamic knowledge in Butambala from where he went to muwalimu (teacher) musale’s home in kyanja –kyadondo. From here he left for kizib (Tanganyika) where he found a prominent Swahili sheikh who taught him a lot
When he returned to Uganda from Tanganyika, he spent a little time in Buganda and left for Mbale where he teamed up with imam Yusuf and they started teaching Muslims from Buganda who were working in government as well as local Muslims. This is where he met Sheikh Abdu Samadu Ibn Najim, another prominent sheikh who further taught him and ordained him a Sheikh in 1911.
In recognition of his contributions to islam, prince Mbogo appointed him as the Twale (county) sheikh for kyaggwe county
His most outstanding contribution to islam in Uganda was teaching many muslims to the level of sheikhs. Shortly after being ordained as a Shiekh 1911, he started the first well organized and systematic madrasa school in Uganda at kitosi and later in buwenda- kyaggwe. In 1912, he transferred the school to kabonge- kyadondo.in1927, he built a school in Nnamasumbi and after retiring as a Twale Sheikh, he built another school in jjinja kawempe where he continued with his work of teaching Islam
He also established an Islamic college at katuumu- luwero district which he later entrusted with one of his sons Shiekh mahamuud katende who picked up from where his father had stopped-teaching of many prominent sheikhs in Uganda
Sheikh Semakula is the one who introduced Shiekhism in the year 1935 and the first Bawalimu (muslim teachers) to be ordained sheikhs were: sheikh Yusuf kasujja of Butambala, sheikh Abdul kadir Sentamu of Busukuma in kyadondo county and sheikh Muhammad lubowa of kibuli in kampala. These were ordained sheikhs on February 15th 1935
In 1946, he passed out another group of sheikhs who included, Abudnuur kinene,Muhammad mayanja,Ahmad male, Muhammad matovu, Abdulrahman mivule and his elder son Umar Katende
In 1950, shikh Rajab Bosa from mbale,Muhammad bin said from gulu, Hassan Njalila from bukedi,shk Ruhindo from Ankole, shk Abdul Aziiz from Tooro and many others were ordained sheikhs
In addition to championing the teaching of Islam to Muslims in general, sheikh Semakula practiced what he taught by teaching islam to his own children. out of the 28 children that he had, 16 became sheikhs and they include: sheikh umar katende, shk mahmood katend ( a very prominent teacher),Burhan semakula,musa lukoma,muhammad kyazze,Ali mutyaba,Muhammad katende,musa semwogerere,Ahmada mukiibi and others
Among his grand children who became sheikhs are Husein burhan, Muhammad murshid ( who served as kibuli imam for 40years), Zakiyu burhan serunjoji now district kadh Nakawa, among others
Sheikh semakula did not only teach islam to men but women also got an opportunity to acquire Islamic knowledge from him. In 1966, he ordained the first shiekhat by the names of HAWA Namugenyi
Administratively, sheikh Swaibu semakula was the first mufti of Uganda
His eminence sheikh Swaibu Semakuala was the one who prayed on behalf of muslims at the historical ceremony of October 9th/ 1962 during which Uganda gained its independence from the colonialists
Sheikh Swaibu Semakula passed away in 1973 aged around 99 years and he was buried at his own founded village –katuumu in Bulemezi county luwero district.
May the almighty Allah have mercy upon him.
