Muslims pray for Uladi’s fall

Some Muslims in Lilongwe last week turned Eid ul-Fitr prayers into a platform of asking God to punish Home Affairs and Internal Security Minister Uladi Mussa for allegedly castigating UDF 2014 presidential candidate Atupele Muluzi, Weekend Nation has learnt.

The prayers, led by Sheikh Amin Tawakali, took place at Mloza Primary School at Area 23 Township in the district where the lead sheikh is said to have asked the Muslim community to pray for Mussa’s fall from his ministerial position.

In an interview on Monday, Sheikh Tawakali confirmed leading the prayers and asking God to punish Mussa claiming that all efforts to caution the minister on his speeches allegedly against a fellow Muslim have yielded nothing.

“We have tried to talk to the minister several times through the Muslim Association of Malawi (MAM), but he is not changing.

“He has been turning down some of our invitations to talk to him. He accuses us of acting as agents of the opposition. Islam preaches love and not castigation of each other for political reasons,” said Tawakali.

MAM secretary general Salmin Omar Idrus said in an interview on Tuesday he was not aware of Mussa’s summon to the association on the matter. He, however, said he needed to be appraised on some of the issues as he was outside the country.

Asked if praying for other people’s misfortune and suffering is consistent with Islamic teaching, Tawakali said they were left with no option but to pray for Mussa’s demotion because the minister has allegedly been ignoring their requests to change.

“As a Muslim, you cannot be castigating a fellow Muslim because of politics. How can one say that all Muslims are supporting a certain party?

“We are also praying against the use of Muslim women at political functions. Why should Muslim women wearing the hijab be rallying along the roads for politics? We want this to stop,” said Tawakali.

In a separate interview on Monday, another cleric Sheikh Rashid who ministers at one of the mosques in the district and attended the prayers also confirmed the special prayers on Mussa, but said Tawakali was better positioned to comment on the matter.

“That issue indeed came out, but Sheikh Tawakali is the one who can comment on it because he is the one who led the prayers,” said Rashid.

Sheikh Tawakali, however, insisted that they have made several efforts to caution Mussa through MAM in Lilongwe.

MAM Central Region secretary Hamid Kongwe refused to comment on the matter.

“All I can say is that all Muslims have the freedom to participate in politics. Some people have their own interests and feel bad about others. I am unable to comment on this because I did not attend the Area 23 prayers,” said Kongwe.

In an interview on Tuesday, Mussa accused Tawakali and his colleagues of working for UDF.

“Why should one use Eid prayers to mention an individual? Eid time is time for forgiveness and prayers to Allah.

“You don’t talk about any other person during Eid prayers. It’s all about Allah and Prophet Muhammad. I have never been invited by anybody,” said Mussa, adding that Islam encourages women to wear a hijab regardless of where they are going.

Atupele did not answer his phone on Friday, but UDF spokesperson Ken Ndanga said the party had nothing to do with the prayers against Mussa in Lilongwe.

“That meeting was not organised by the party, therefore, it has nothing to do with the party. As a party, we don’t want to interfere with religious gatherings because our members belong to different religions,” said Ndanga.

Atupele sued Mussa in May this year for allegedly falsifying his date of birth, during a radio programme, and saying that Atupele was not fit to rule the country, but in his defence, Mussa argued that Atupele, being an aspiring candidate for the 2014 presidential race, is liable to scrutiny and fair comment about his age.

The case is currently under mediation.