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30 Th e An n u A l Re v i e w o f is l A m in Af R i c A • is s u e no. 12/13 • 2015-2016
Uganda’s Militant Islamic
Movement ADF: A Historical
Analysis
Abdulhakim A. Nsobya
University of Cape Town
Introduction
On the morning of Sunday, August 14 2016, armed
assailants raided Rwambongo District in the city
of Beni, in North Kivu province of the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) near the Uganda
border. On that occasion, more than fty people
were killed and an unknown number left with
injuries, according to a United
Nations report.1 Six suspects,
including one Ugandan and one
Tanzanian, confessed in front
of the Beni High Court to being
members of a Ugandan rebel
group known as the “Allied
Democratic Forces” (ADF).2
Commenting on the massacre, the head of the
Holy See, Pope Francis, called the reaction of the
international community a “shameful silence.”3
ADF is a rebel group established in the mid-
nineties in opposition to the government of
Uganda, predominantly on the basis of their belief
that the country should adopt sharia law. ADF’s
theology and interpretation of Islam are largely
based on the teachings of the Sala school of
thought. After their establishment, the ADF had
come into the spotlight for a number of violent
incidents, including their attack on a technical
institute in Kabarole District (western Uganda), in
which fty students were burnt in their dormitories
and 150 were abducted.4 Since then, the group has
persisted in carrying out numerous attacks that
target both the army and civilians. The group has
also been linked to a number of terror attacks in
Kampala and to numerous assassinations of Muslim
scholars opposed to their ideology, including a
Shia leader in 2015.5 According to a report released
by the Bureau of Democracy,
Human Rights and Labor of the
US Department of State, a total
of twelve prominent Muslim
scholars have been killed in
Uganda in the past four years
by the ADF.6 In 2015, the ADF
founder and leader Sheik Jamilu
Mukulu, was arrested in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
and extradited to Uganda where he is currently
awaiting trial.7
History of Islam in Uganda
The arrival of Islam in Uganda dates back to 1825in
the north and 1844in the central region.8 In the
north, Islam is believed to have spread thanks to
the stationing of Sudanese soldiers led by Emin
Pasha.9 These soldiers settled in the West Nile sub-
region due to developments in Sudan during the
era of the Mahdi.10 In the central region, historians
trace the roots of Islam to the arrival of traders
from the East African coast. It is said that one of
ADF is a rebel group established in
the mid-nineties in opposition to the
government of Uganda, predominantly
on the basis of their belief that the
country should adopt sharia law.
31
Th e An n u A l Re v i e w o f is l A m in Af R i c A • is s u e no. 12/13 • 2015-2016
the rst Muslim traders to arrive in central Uganda
was Ahmad bin Ibrahim, a moderate Wahhabi
sympathizer who, according to European sources,
introduced Islam to the Buganda King Suuna I.11
In 1856, King SuunaI died before completely
embracing Islam and was subsequently succeeded
by his son Mutesa I. Unlike his father, Mutesa
was keen to adopt the new religion. At the same
time, however, he did not want to abandon his
traditional beliefs. Mutesa was primarily interested
in establishing strong ties with
the Arab traders who had
weapons which could be used
to strengthen his kingdom,
but he also did not want to
lose support from traditional
chiefs.12 Mutesa nally adopted
Islam and publicly identied
himself as a Muslim in the early
1860s. He learnt to read the Quran, studied Arabic,
observed the fast during Ramadan and built a large
mosque in the capital in which he led both the
Friday collective prayers and the daily prayers.
Moreover, he also established a strong relation-
ship with the Sultan of Zanzibar who would send
him different scholars of the Ba‘alawi Su order to
teach him and his subjects. Ba’alawi Tariqa is one
of the Su orders that originated with the Ba’lawi
family in Hadhramawt, Yemen. It was founded by
Sheik Muhammad bin Ba’alawi (d. 1232) in Hadh-
ramawt and spread widely across the rim of the
Indian Ocean. In East Africa it was popularised by
Habib Salih b. Alawi Jaml al-Layl (1844-1935), one
of the Hadhrami Diaspora.13
Using his status as a king and Islamic knowl-
edge from Ba’alawi teachers, Mutesa inuenced
his subjects to embrace Islam and to pray in his
mosque. Thanks to Mutesa’s action, by the late
1860s Islam had become the unofcial state reli-
gion of the Buganda Kingdom, with a signicant
number of converts from the Baganda tribe.14
Mutesa’s rule is remembered as a very autocratic
one. One incident, in particular, is related about a
group of Muslims who had complained to the King
because he had refused to undertake the Muslim
custom of circumcision, due to an old Buganda
custom according to which the blood of a king
should not be shed. When these Muslims refused
to pray behind him, he sentenced them to death
by burning.15
It was while these sorts of controversies were
raging that Europeans arrived in the late 1870s,
bringing with them resources and arms that were
superior in comparison to those from the Arabs.
At that time, Zanzibar had already come under the
indirect control of the British.
Once again, Mutesa welcomed
the new visitors and allowed
them to preach and spread
their religion, Christianity. The
introduction of Christianity
to the kingdom marked the
beginning of religious wars in
the years to come.
In 1884, Mutesa died of small pox. Prior to his
death, religious struggles between Muslims and
Christians had already started in the kingdom.
Muslims and Christians supported different sons of
Mutesa – who had converted to either Christianity
or Islam – according to religious afliation.
Eventually Mwanga, a son who had no religious
afliation, took over. Nevertheless, Muslims and
Christians remained in competition. After four
years of Muslim reign in most of the key positions
in the palace, Mwanga was ousted and a Muslim
leader was chosen instead. They then proceeded
to establish a Muslim State, circumcised Kalema,
their king, gave him the title of Sheik and started “a
radical reordering of society along Islamic lines.”16
By the end of 1888, Muslims, who were the largest
group and the most heavily armed, had succeeded
in driving out their Christian (both Protestants and
Catholics) counterparts from the royal court. It was
not too long after this incident that the Christians
sought help from the Europeans, who intervened
by expelling Muslims from Buganda and Kampala.17
The resulting battle left scores of Muslims dead and
many others arrested, and their property burnt to
ashes. Just two years of Muslim rule in Buganda had
left a legacy of misery in the Muslim community.18
By the end of 1888, Muslims, who were
the largest group and the most heavily
armed, had succeeded in driving out
their Christian (both Protestants and
Catholics) counterparts from the
royal court.
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32 Th e An n u A l Re v i e w o f is l A m in Af R i c A • is s u e no. 12/13 • 2015-2016
The Muslims who survived regrouped in the
kingdom of Bunyoro, a separately ruled region and
the main rival to the Buganda kingdom (modern-
day Western Uganda), with support from Bunyoro’s
king Kabalega. Upon learning this, Captain F.
Lugard (d. 1945), a military administrator in the
British Protectorate of Uganda from 1890 to 1892,
advised King Mwanga to immediately return the
exiled Muslims. This was largely due to the fear that
they might unite with foreign ghters from Sudan
after Britain had succeeded
in blocking the expansion of
Egypt up the river Nile in 1900,
making Buganda one of the
British protectorates.19
British authorities viewed
Islam as a threat to their
interests; the outcome of this was
that all the inuential positions
in the country prior to and after independence
fell into the hands of educated Christians. The loss
of their powerful status within the ruling class,
coupled with a lack of western education led to a
shift in the social and economic status of Muslims.
They largely resorted to work as butchers, taxi
and bus drivers, and shop-keepers. At the time
Uganda gained its independence in 1962, there
were only two Muslims with bachelor’s degrees in
the country, the late Abubakar K. Mayanja (1929-
2005) and Ally K. Kirunda (b. 1935).20
The colonial government also implemented the
famous Buganda agreement of 1900, which gave
land to chiefs and Christians, but left Muslims out.
In this agreement, Muslims were only allocated
one small, impoverished and arid county out
of the eighteen which were distributed. This
discrimination denied Muslims access to wealth
and socio-economic development and sowed
widespread ill-feeling towards their fellow
countrymen and the government.21 Muslims
became “second class citizens”22 under subsequent
governments following their failed attempt to
establish a state controlled along Islamic lines.
The situation continued in the same direction
until the rise of General Idi Amin in 1971.
The coming to power of Idi Amin was seen by
Muslims in Uganda as a second chance to regain
their glory. Amin took over power through a
coup-d’état and immediately changed the politics
of the country. One of the earliest points in his
agenda as a Muslim president was to redress the
religious imbalances created by both colonial and
post-colonial governments. He started by forming
an umbrella organisation called Uganda Muslim
Supreme Council (UMSC) and putting all Muslim
groups under its authority.23
Islamic education was also
promoted, contrary to the
policies of the previous regimes.
The regime laid the foundation
for the establishment of the
Islamic University in Uganda
(IUIU), the Uganda Muslim
Education Association (UMEA),
and various Muslim teachers’ training colleges
and schools. The Uganda Muslim Supreme Council
was given a twelve-acre prime plot in the middle
of the capital city. Construction of its headquarters
commenced immediately with the support of King
Feisal (d.1975) of Saudi Arabia.
Additionally, during Amin’s rule, with its ofcial
Muslim population of less than six percent,24
Uganda became a member of the Organisation of
the Islamic Conference (OIC), which allowed the
country to receive nancial assistance to build
mosques, schools and clinics. Important to note is
also King Feisal’s visit in 1972, which strengthened
the relationship between Uganda and the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia, an alliance that opened up the
doors for young Muslim students to study at the
Islamic University in Medina.25
On the whole, Amin’s era was the time for
Muslims to ourish again in Uganda. Conversion
to Islam by soldiers was encouraged and highly
praised by the president. Every year, mawlid (the
anniversary of Prophet Muhammad’s birthday)
celebrations were ofcially organised under
the patronage of special envoys from the army.
Reports were brought to the President from the
various mawlid celebrations with lists of new
One of the worst incidents of post-coup
anti-Muslim violence occurred on 26
June, 1979, when a mob of Christians
armed with spears, knives and ropes,
rounded up Muslims in western Uganda
and tied their hands behind their backs.
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Th e An n u A l Re v i e w o f is l A m in Af R i c A • is s u e no. 12/13 • 2015-2016
converts.26 On April 11, 1978, however, Amin’s rule
came to an end when he was ousted by Tanzanian
troops backed by some Ugandans in exile, in
what is locally known (in Christian circles) as the
liberation war.27
“We have nished the stem [i.e. Idi Amin],
the branches [i.e. the Muslims] are yours.” This
statement was attributed to the ghters who
ousted Amin,28 which illustrates the level of
animosity among religious groups that was felt
in the country. One of the worst incidents of
post-coup anti-Muslim violence occurred on 26
June, 1979, when a mob of Christians armed with
spears, knives and ropes, rounded up Muslims
in western Uganda and tied
their hands behind their backs.
The attackers said they were
working under the command
of then Minister of Defence
Yoweri Museveni (the current
president of Uganda at the
time this article was written),
as a revenge for the atrocities
committed by Amin.29 The men were then
assembled at River Rwizi in western Uganda,
where they were mercilessly butchered, with an
Imam’s head being cut into three pieces before
being thrown into the river.30 Among those who
were killed on that day was a woman, Madiya
Natende, who was seven months pregnant. Her
stomach was ripped open and she was thrown into
the water in front of her mother, who survived by
throwing herself into the river.31 Between March
and June 1979, a total of 67 Muslims were killed in
the sparsely populated Sheema district of western
Uganda.32
In northern parts of the country, such as in
the district of Arua, similar carnage occurred.
The victims were not only Muslims, but believed
to be part of the Kakwa tribe, of which Amin
was also part. The most widely documented
incident is the Ombaci massacre, for which a
truth and reconciliation program has recently
been commenced.33 During this incident, soldiers
under the orders of the leaders of the coup raided
various West Nile villages, and Arua in particular,
killing whoever they found hiding. They then
sought those who had taken refuge at the St.
Joseph Community College and at the adjacent
church. More than 2,000 people were massacred
thereby random ring and torture. In this climate
of violence, many Ugandan Muslims went into
exile in the forests of Zaire (today’s Democratic
Republic of Congo), from where they only started
to return in the late 1980s and early 1990s.34
Setting the Stage for the ADF
Amidst the political turmoil of the post-Amin years,
some Muslim youths who had travelled overseas
in the Middle East to carry
out studies in Islamic sciences
started to return to the country,
mostly from Saudi Arabia, but
also from Egypt and Sudan. The
returnees seemed to be more
vibrant and ready to articulate
their newly acquired knowledge
and identity not only to Muslims
but also to those in power.
Most of them had also been exposed to the
Sala doctrine and preached a strict form of
Islam which had not been known in the country
before.35
Sala is an Arabic word which carries a prior
meaning. Followers of this trend claim to be
Tabi‘un, or successors of the rst three generations
of Muslims. They preach strict adherence to the
Quran and hadith and persistently reject any
interpretations that conict with their “pious
ancestors” (al-Salaf al-Salih). They strongly criticise
Susm and all its practices, particularly ones such
as veneration of tombs, celebration of Prophet
Muhammad’s birthday (mawlid), music, taking
pictures of humans, and following the Islamic
legal schools.36
In the 1980s, the country also witnessed the
arrival of Jamaat al-Tabligh. The Tabligh movement
originates from the Deobandi school of Indo-
Pakistan. Their preaching is mainly directed at
grass-root Muslims to ‘correct’ their practices and
Among those who were killed on that
day was a woman, Madiya Natende, who
was seven months pregnant. Her stomach
was ripped open and she was thrown into
the water in front of her mother, who
survived by throwing herself
into the river.
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34 Th e An n u A l Re v i e w o f is l A m in Af R i c A • is s u e no. 12/13 • 2015-2016
bring them in line with the sunna. The movement
requires its male members to leave their homes in
small groups for varying periods of time in order
to proselytize.37 Although the Sala and Deobandi
schools have substantial differences, many Salas
in Uganda became activists within the ranks of
the Tabligh movement, later parting ways to start
their own movement.38
Another phenomenon that
occurred in the years immedi-
ately following the deposition
of Amin was the fragmentation
of Muslim leadership in the
country. As the UMSC was basi-
cally Amin’s own project, it col-
lapsed almost after his unseat-
ing.39 After numerous court bat-
tles between different Muslim
factions (including traditional Sunnis, Sus, Ta-
blighis and Salas), each claiming to be the legiti-
mate leaders of Ugandan Muslims, the nal ruling
was made against the Salas. This event was the
catalyst that transformed the rst generation of
reformist Salas in Uganda, led by those who had
studied abroad, into a full-edged radical Islamist
movement.40
Exploiting the fragmentation of the Muslim
political and religious leadership, on 22 March,
1991, about 1,000 Muslim youths attacked
the UMSC headquarters and took it over. The
attackers claimed that they wanted to rescue
Muslim independence from government interests
and to purify the national mosque from the
leadership of non-Muslims – by which they meant
the leaders of the Su orders who controlled the
UMSC. The government responded by sending
armed military.41 At the end of the confrontation,
four policemen and one Sala activist were killed,
and more than 400 Sala activists were arrested,
including one of their leaders, Jamilu Mukulu.
Other leaders, like Sheik Yunusu Kamoga and
Sheik Abdulkarim Sentamu, ed into exile in
fear of being arrested.42 This event set the stage
for the formation of the Allied Democratic Forces
(ADF).43
The Aftermath
Prior to the UMSC attack and the arrests of Sala
youths, their leader Yunusu Kamoga had addressed
them in a long talk that lasted from zuhr (the noon
prayer) to asr (the afternoon prayer) prayers, from
approximately1pm-4pm.44 In the address, Kamoga
had appealed to the angry youths to “sacrice their
lives to what is believed to [be]
correct and right, irrespective
of the outcome.”45
An essential recruitment tool
for the Ugandan Sala leaders
was to remind their followers
of all the injustices endured by
the Muslim community. Jamilu
Mukulu, for instance, produced
a popular cassette entitled,
Okuta kwa basilaam mu Ankole
(“Muslim Massacre in Ankole”). This tape of about
thirty minutes narrates the incident of Ankole,
concluding with a call for Muslims to avenge the
blood of their brothers. For years, this cassette
has been available for sale in Kampala, until the
government banned the selling and consuming of
Mukulu’s audiotapes.46
After his arrest in the aftermath of the UMSC
attack, Mukulu spent three years in prison with
some of his followers. It is during his reclusion that
the plan to ght the government was elaborated.47
At his release, Mukulu found that new Sala leaders
like Sheik Sulaiman Kakeeto had charted a new
path for the Sala movement in Uganda. Kakeeto
had denounced violence and helped establish
the Sala movement as an autonomous religious
group with its own mosque.48 Mukulu immediately
denounced Kakeeto’s moderate policies, and in
August 1992 formed his own movement, the Sala
Foundation, which initially drew followers from
youths who had spent time in prison with him.49
During their debates, Mukulu further accused
Kakeeto of misusing the money which was earlier
sent by a Saudi philanthropist to cover the legal
expenses of the incarcerated youths.50
Faithful to his objective of disseminating
“correct Islamic beliefs and practice”, and to work
Faithful to his objective of disseminating
“correct Islamic beliefs and practice”,
and to work towards establishing an
Islamic social, moral and political order
entirely guided by the sharia, Mukulu
put his recruitment plan into action and
formed “a militant group with the view
of overthrowing Museveni’s government.”
AR T i c l e s
35
Th e An n u A l Re v i e w o f is l A m in Af R i c A • is s u e no. 12/13 • 2015-2016
towards establishing an Islamic social, moral
and political order entirely guided by the sharia,
Mukulu put his recruitment plan into action
and formed “a militant group with the view of
overthrowing Museveni’s government.”51
The rst move of Mukulu was allegedly to ee
to exile in the United Kingdom and to help form
a rebel group – in 1994, originally called Uganda
Muslim Freedom Fighters (UMFF) – to champion
the rights of Muslims against what they saw as
Museveni’s disregard of their rights and interests.52
The UMFF also accused Museveni’s regime of
attempting to turn the country’s mosques into
government ofces as part of its policy to take
ownership of several properties belonging to
Asians who were expelled from Uganda by Amin
in 1972.53
Headed by Mukulu himself, UMFF set up
operations in the remote forests of Buseruka in
the Hoima District of western Uganda. In spite
of their secrecy, Uganda People’s Defence Forces
(UPDF) caught wind of their plans. On 25 February,
1995, the 1st Battalion attacked UMFF camps at
Buseruka, which were dismantled soon after.54
During this event, more than
93 UMFF members were killed,
while Jamilu Mukulu and about
other 40 survivors escaped into
the forests of Zaire (now DRC).55
This was followed by a campaign
of indiscriminate arrests of
many Ugandan Muslims, which
further strained the relationship between the more
moderate branch of the Ugandan Sala movement
and the government. As a result, some Salas who
had nothing to do with Mukulu and his movement
also ed the country into self-imposed exile, such
as the prominent hadith scholar Sheik Abdulkarim
Sentamu, in order to avoid apprehension by the
authorities.56
When Mukulu and his followers arrived,
the forests of Zaire/DRC were already hosting
various Ugandan rebel groups – a fact that had
stagnated the relationships between Museveni
and most successive Zaire/DRC leaders.57 In the
forest, allegedly with the support of Mobutu
Sese Seko (then president of Zaire) who advised
all rebel groups ghting Museveni to unite on
a single platform, Mukulu joined with other
rebel movements,58 leading to the formation of
the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). Due to his
charisma and his skills in mobilizing people, and
notwithstanding his lack of a military history,
Mukulu was appointed as the leader of ADF.59
The ADF was responsible for carrying out
numerous terrorist attacks in Kampala that
targeted civilians. These attacks in Kampala
continued even after the ousting of Mobutu
by Congolese rebels in 1997. Led by Lieutenant
Lourent Kabila, they received direct support
from the governments of Uganda and Rwanda.60
Between 1997 and 1999, at least 55 people were
killed and about 183 injured by ADF attacks.61
The Killing of Muslim Clerics
Discussions of the ADF activities increased in the
country when one of Jamilu’s former teachers and
friends, Sheik Abdulkarim Sentamu, who was a
prominent graduate of the University of Medina
and a specialist in hadith sci-
ences, returned from self-im-
posed exile. He denounced vio-
lence and condemned Mukulu’s
policy and his methodology.
Sentamu became an extreme-
ly popular Muslim cleric. His
weekly Friday question and an-
swer (Q&A) lectures, in particular quickly became
the most popular Muslim religious programme in
the country.62
On Friday, April 23, 2012, shortly after his
Friday Q&A session and Isha (late evening) prayers,
at around 9:00pm, Sheik Sentamu was shot dead
by unknown gunmen.63 In one of his last public
appearances, he mentioned having received death
threats unless he stopped “talking about Jihad
and [would limit himself to] teaching his Tawhid
(creed).”64 Although the ADF did not ofcially
claim responsibility for his murder, considering
the prior threats against the cleric most people in
Sheik Sentamu’s murder was only a
prelude to the death of other scholars in
Uganda. After his death, more than ten
Muslim scholars were killed in
similar incidents.
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36 Th e An n u A l Re v i e w o f is l A m in Af R i c A • is s u e no. 12/13 • 2015-2016
the country considered the ADF rebels to be the
primary suspects.65
Sheik Sentamu’s murder was only a prelude
to the death of other scholars in Uganda. After
his death, more than ten Muslim scholars were
killed in similar incidents.66 They included Sheik
Yunusu Abubakar Mudungu, Sheik Abduljawad
Ssentunga, Haji Abubakar Abbas Kiwewa and Sheik
Muhammad Maganda; who were all killed in 2012.
Still others include Sheik Abdulkarim Sebaggala
(d. 2013), Mustafa Bahiga (d. 2014), Hassan Kirya67
(d. 2015), Abdulrashid Wafula68
(d. May 2014)69 as well as Dr.
Abdulkadir Muwaya (d. 2015),
the leader of a Shia Muslim sect
who was vocal in preaching Shia
ideology in Eastern Uganda.
He also preached against ADF
recruitments in the area. He was
murdered on Christmas Eve of
2015 at his home in the Mayuge
district of Eastern Uganda.70
Conclusion
The above historical analysis of the development
of ADF in Uganda suggests some conclusions about
the causes that drove some Ugandan Muslims
to radical militancy. We can see that there were
various attempts by Muslims in Uganda to regain
political force from the 1880s until the 1970s during
Amin’s regime. It is important to note that in his
speeches, Mukulu always used historical Muslim
political grievances to gain new recruits. An ADF
defector in 2013 who was interviewed by The New
Vision, a government daily newspaper, stated that
the group receives eight to ten new recruits every
day, mostly from Uganda.71
The Ugandan government’s failure to address
Muslim grievances complicates the situation.
One of the main Muslim leaders of Uganda,
Mufti Zubair Kayongo (d. 2015), once argued
that all Muslims should shun all government
functions as an act of protest over what he called
“marginalisation.”72 His anger stemmed from
the fact that the ministerial positions offered to
Muslims were considered too few. Kayongo and
his committee of Muslim clerics resolved: “We are
aggrieved and extremely dissatised with the way
President Museveni distributed ministerial posts
as we hardly got any inuential positions beside
one Cabinet minister and four state ministers
despite enlarged cabinet.”73
Such discontentment keeps on building in the
hearts of many Muslims and can easily descend
into violence. It is not a surprise then that when
the government reported its decision to close
down some informal Islamic
schools (madrasas) and mosques
that were identied to be
recruiting cells for ADF, many
Muslims clerics opposed the
action as a systematic tactic
to stop the teaching of Islamic
religion in Uganda.74 Moreover,
on his rst appearance before
the judge, Mukulu claimed
that he was being tortured
and forced to eat pork and
drink alcohol.75 This prompted most Muslim top
leaders to issue a statement condemning the
police action. They quickly concluded that it was
an insult to all Muslims and their freedom, and
called for immediate investigations by relevant
authorities.76
Much has been done, especially by the
government, to eradicate the ADF and its activities
in the country. For the past ve years, ADF threats
have been numerous in neighbouring DRC and
very minimal in Uganda. However, the increasing
recruitment reports in Kampala and the killing of
scholars threaten the future security of the country.
Thus as long Ugandan Muslims’ grievances do not
receive decisive attention (especially some degree
of social justice), eradicating Islamism will remain
only a dream. Increased reports of human rights
abuses in undocumented locations – what Uganda
security agencies call “safe houses”77 – accompanied
by frequent, mysterious disappearances of
Muslims – 78 will continue to escalate tensions and
undermine security in the country.
Much has been done, especially by the
government, to eradicate the ADF and its
activities in the country. For the past five
years, ADF threats have been numerous
in neighbouring DRC and very minimal
in Uganda. However, the increasing
recruitment reports in Kampala and the
killing of scholars threaten the future
security of the country.
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Th e An n u A l Re v i e w o f is l A m in Af R i c A • is s u e no. 12/13 • 2015-2016
Notes
1 “UN condemns ‘appalling’ attack on civilians in Eastern
DRC,” UN News Centre, 15 August 2016. Accessed from http://
www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=54686#.
V85wD_l95kg on 6 September 2016.
2 AFP, “ADF Suspects on trial in DRC Massacre,” New Vision,
August 21, 2016. Accessed from http://www.newvision.
co.ug/new_vision/news/1433210/adp-suspects-trial-
drc-massacre on 6 September 2016.
3 Chiqui Guyjoco, “Pope Francis: ‘Shameful Silence’ perpe-
tuates attacks on Congolese people,” The Christian Times,
22August, 2016. Accessed from http://christiantimes.
com/article/pope-francis-shameful-silence-perpetuates-
attacks-against-congolese-people-subjected-to-have-no-
weight-in-world-opinion/61176.htm on 22 October 2016.
4 M. Serwanga, F. Nyakabwa and G. Mastko, “Uganda:
Massacre! – ADF burns 50 students to death in Kichwamba,”
All Africa, 9 June 1998. Accessed from http://allafrica.com/
stories/199806090083.html last on 4 September 2016.
5 Charles Kakamwa, “Leader of Shia Muslims Shot Dead,”
New Vision, December 26 2014.Accessed from http://www.
newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1318115/leader-shia-
muslims-uganda-shot-dead on 7 September 2016.
6 US Department of State, “Uganda 2015 International
Religious Freedom Report,” United States Department
of State: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.
Accessed from http://www.state.gov/documents/organi-
zation/256295.pdf on 7 September 2016, p.4
7 Zurah Nakabugo, “ADF leader Jamilu Mukulu ‘Arrested’,”
The Observer, 24 April 2015. Accessed from http://www.
observer.ug/news-headlines/37497-adf-leader-jamil-
mukulu-arrested on 13 September 2016.
8 Badiru Kateregga, “The causes of Muslim Wrangles in
Uganda,” The Campus Journal, 13 August 2013.Accessed,
from, campusjournal.ug/index.php/special-report/analy-
sis/537-the-cause-of-muslim-wrangles-in-uganda-and-
the-%2520possible-remedies+&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=z
aon 14 October 2015.
9 Ibid.
10 Abdin N. Chande, “Radicalism and reform in East Africa,”
in Nehemia Levtzion and Randall Pouwels (eds.), The
history of Islam in Africa, (Athens: Ohio University press,
2000). pp. 354-355.
11 Arye Oded, Islam in Uganda: Islamisation through a
centralised state in pre-colonial Africa, in Nehemia Levtzion
and Randall Pouwels (eds.), The history of Islam in Africa
(Ohio University Press, 2000). pp. 291-293.
12 David Robinson, Muslim Societies in African History: New
Approaches to African History, (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2004), p. 158.
13 For a detailed account of the Ba’alawi order in East Africa,
see; Anne K. Bang, “Islamic reform in East Africa, ca. 1870-
1925: the Alawi case,” a paper presented at the workshop
Reasserting connections, commonalities, and cosmopolitanism:
the western Indian ocean since 1800 at Yale University,
2000, p. 17-24; see also Anne K Bang, Sus and Scholars of
the Sea: Family Networks in East Africa, 1860-1925 (London:
Routledge Curzon, 2003), p. 13 -15; and Ali Aziz, Religion
and Mysticism in Early Islam: Theology and Susm in Yemen
(New York: I.B Tauris & Co Ltd, 2011).
14 Robinson, Muslim Societies in African History, p. 159.
15 Ibid. p. 160.
16 Kevin Ward, “A History of Christianity in Uganda,”
in Zablon Nthamburi (ed.), From Mission to Church: A
Handbook of Christianity in East Africa (Nairobi: Uzima
Press, 1991). Available online from the Dictionary of African
Christian Biography, http://www.dacb.org/history/a%20
history%20of%20christianity%20in%20uganda.html on
on 6 September 2016.
17 Ibid.
18 Hamidu Mbaziira, Ebisago N’ebibala by’obusilamu mu Uganda
(Kampala: MK Publishers, 2014).
19 Donald C. Savage, “A Prole of Buganda,” Africa South 5(4):
1961, pp. 81-85. Accessed from http://disa.ukzn.ac.za/
asjul6112 on 6 September 2016, p. 81.
20 Ahmad Kawesa Sengendo, “Universities and Islamic
institutions in East Africa,” Muslim World League, 2004.
Accessed from http://themwl.org/GLOBAL/content/
universities-and-islamic-institutions-east-africa/ on 14
October 2015.
21 Ali Mazrui, “Islam and the English Language in East and
West Africa,” in Wilfrend H. Whiteley (ed.), Language
Use and Social Change (Oxford University Press, 1971);
Abdin Chande, “Radicalism and reform in East Africa,” in
Nehemia Levtzion and Randall Pouwels (eds.), The history
of Islam in Africa (Ohio University Press, 2000), pp. 354-
355.
22 Abasi Kiyimba, “Detailed account of the 1979 massacre
of Muslims in Western Uganda,” The Campus Journal,
31July 2012. Accessed from http://campusjournal.ug/
index.php/special-report/investigation/534-a-detailed-
account-the-1979-massacre-of-muslims-in-western-
uganda on 6 September 2016.
23 Kateregga, “The causes of Muslim Wrangles in Uganda.”
24 Sibel Bozdogan, Gülru Necipoglu, and Julia Bailey (eds.),
Muqarnas Volume XXIV: An Annual on the Visual Culture of
Islam World (Leiden: Brill, 2007), p. 181.
25 Chande, “Radicalism and reform in East Africa,” p. 355
26 Oded, “Islam in Uganda.”
27 Daniel G. Acheson-Brown, 2001. “The Tanzania Invasion
of Uganda: A Just War?” International Third World Studies
Journal and Review, 12 (2001), pp. 1-11, p.9.
28 Prof. Abas Kiyimba has endeavored to compile names of
those who were killed from interviews conducted from
the survivors. For more on the massacre see, Kiyimba,
“Detailed account of the 1979 massacre,” Accessed
from http://campusjournal.ug/index.php/special-
report/investigation/534-a-detailed-account-the-1979-
massacre-of-muslims-in-western-uganda on 7 September
2016.
29 Ibid.
30 Ibid.
ug A n d A ’s miliTAnT is l A m i c mo v e m e n T Adf
38 Th e An n u A l Re v i e w o f is l A m in Af R i c A • is s u e no. 12/13 • 2015-2016
31 Ibid.
32 Anadolu Agency, “Uganda Launches a Probe into 1979
Massacre of Muslims,” Daily Sabah Africa, 17 Janu-
ary 2016. Accessed from http://www.dailysabah.com/
africa/2016/01/17/uganda-launches-probe-into-1979-
massacre-of-muslims on 7 September 2016.
33 For more detail about the truth and reconciliation project
see; JRP Field Note, “It was only the Guns speaking, with
a pool of blood owing: The Ombaci Massacre June 24,
1981,” (Gulu: Justice and Reconciliation Project, 2014).
34 Owen Erima, “The untold story of Ombaci Massacre-Meet
Veronica Eyotaru, A survivor,” Owen Erima: Exploring the
depth (blog), June 19, 2015, Accessed from https://owen-
erimah.wordpress.com/2015/06/19/the-untold-story-of-
the-famous-ombachi-masscre-in-uganda-meet-the-vic-
tims/ on 6 September 2016.
35 Chande, “Radicalism and reform in East Africa,” p. 355.
36 Ahmad Moussalli, “Wahabism, Salasm and Islamism:
who is the enemy?” Conict Forum Monograph, 2009, p.
1- 39; also for a detailed account of Salasm see, Roel
Meijer (ed.), Global Salasm: Islam’s new religious movement
(London: Hurst & Company, 2009).
37 Barbara Metcalf, “Islam and women: the case of the
tablighi jama’at,” SEHR,5 (1) 1996; for a more detailed
account of the movement see; Marloes Janson, Islam, youth
and modernity in the Gambia: the Tabligh Jama’at (London:
Cambridge University Press, 2014).
38 Chande, “Radicalism and reform in East Africa,” p. 355.
39 Kateregga, “The causes of Muslim Wrangles in Uganda.”
40 Chande, “Radicalism and reform in East Africa,” p. 356.
41 Tom Young, Readings in the international relations of Africa
(Indiana University Press, 2015), p. 186.
42 Sheik Abdulkarim Sentamu is a scholar who obtained his
education from the Islamic University of Madinah in the
1980s.
43 Kateregga, “The causes of Muslim Wrangles in Uganda”,
and Chande, “Radicalism and reform in East Africa,” pp.
356.
44 Mike Ssegawa, “The aftermath of the attack on Uganda
Muslim Supreme Council,” Daily Monitor, 4 August 2015.
Accessed from http://www.monitor.co.ug/artsculture/
Reviews/The-aftermath-of-the-attack-on-Uganda-
Muslim-Supreme-Council/691232-2818376-dmrbvn/
index.html on 7 September 2016.
Mike Ssegawa, “ADF Series: The rebel group becomes
active,”Daily Monitor, 5 August 2015. Accessed from http://
www.monitor.co.ug/artsculture/Reviews/ADF-series--
The-rebel-group-becomes-active/-/691232/2820096/-/
item/0/-/30qrds/-/index.html on 7 September 2016.
45 Ssegawa, “The aftermath of the attack on Uganda Muslim
Supreme Council.”
46 The author had access to the cassette, before the ban in
1998.
47 Ssegawa, “The aftermath of the attack on Uganda Muslim
Supreme Council.”
48 Chande, “Radicalism and reform in East Africa,” p. 356.
49 Ibid.
50 Ibid.
51 Ssegawa, “ADF Series: The rebel group becomes active.”
52 Chande, “Radicalism and reform in East Africa,” p. 357.
53 Sadab Kitatta Kaaya “How Muslims lost property,”
The Observer, 29 June 2014. Accessed from http://
www.observer.ug/features-sp-2084439083/96-special-
series/32510-how-muslims-lost-property on 15
September 2016.
54 Ssegawa, “ADF Series: The rebel group becomes active.”
55 Ibid.
56 Chande, “Radicalism and reform in East Africa.” p.358.
57 Katharine Murison (ed.), Regional Surveys of the World:
Africa South of the Sahara 2004, 33rd Edition (London and New
York: Europa Publications, 2004), p. 1173.
58 Ibid.
59 Ssegawa, “ADF Series: The rebel group becomes active.”
60 Murison, Regional Surveys of the World, p. 1173.
61 Ibid, p. 1172.
62 “Obituary: with sheikh’s death, Uganda’s Islam
‘computer’ shuts down.” The Observer, 24April 2012.
Accessed from http://observer.ug/component/content/
article?id=18406:obituary-with-sheikhs-death-ugandas-
islam-computer-shuts-down on 7 September 2016.
63 “Sheikh Sentamu murder: police chase 3 leads, remain
clueless.”The Observer 27 June, 2012. Accessed from http://
www.observer.ug/news-headlines/19505--sheikh-
sentamu-murder-police-chase-3-leads-remain-clueless-
on 23 October 2016.
64 Sheik Abdulkarim mentioned death threats in most of his
public appearances in 2012. The audio recordings are sold
on streets in Kampala. It can also be accessed on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aekSyYLBWEQ;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPdQc1Cajkg
accessed on 8 September 2016.
65 “Uganda Top Sheikh Assassination: Security Points At
ADF,”ChimpReports,23 April 2012, Accessed from http://
www.chimpreports.com/4365-uganda-top-sheikh-
assassination-security-points-at-adf/ on 7 September
2016.
66 “12th Muslim Cleric Killed in Uganda,” World Bulletin, 22
July, 2015. Accessed from http://www.worldbulletin.net/
news/161543/12th-muslim-cleric-killed-in-uganda on 22
October, 2016.
67 Farahani Mukisa, “More questions as another Sheikh is
gunned down in Kampala,” Daily Monitor, 1 July, 2015.
Accessed from http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/
National/questions-another-Sheikh-gunned-down-
Kampala/688334-2771268-wht0s3/index.html. On 22
October 2016.
68 Eddie Ssejjoba, “Another Muslim Cleric gunned down in
Mbale,” New Vision, 22 May 2015. Accessed from http://
www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1326795/
muslim-cleric-gunned-mbale on 22 October 2016.
69 Sadab Kitatta Kaaya & Zurah Nakabugo, “Kayihura ‘tired’
as another Muslim Cleric is murdered,” The Observer 03,
AR T i c l e s
39
Th e An n u A l Re v i e w o f is l A m in Af R i c A • is s u e no. 12/13 • 2015-2016
July 2015. Accessed from http://www.observer.ug/news-
headlines/38576-kayihura-tired-as-another-muslim-
cleric-is-murdered on 22 October 2016.See also: Uganda
Police Annual Crime Report 2014,http://ugfacts.com/
wp-content/uploads/2016/05/R_P_annual_report_2014.
pdf p.7.
70 Charles Kakamwa, “Leader of Shia Muslims in Uganda shot
dead,” New Vision, 26 December 2014.Accessed from http://
www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1318115/
leader-shia-muslims-uganda-shot-deadon 7 September
2016.
71 Steven Candia, ADF recruiting in Kampala, says defector,”
New Vision, 11 April 2013. Accessed from http://www.
newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1317119/adf-
recruiting-kampala-defector on 8 September 2016.
72 Stephen Otage, “Uganda: Muslims Angry over Cabinet
Posts,” The Monitor, 13 June 2011. Accessed from http://
allafrica.com/stories/201106141582.html on 8 September
2016.
73 Ibid.
74 “Muslims criticize Police crackdown on Madarasa
schools,” UGO Uganda, 9 August 2013.Accessed from http://
news.ugo.co.ug/muslims-criticizepolice-crackdown-on-
madarasa-schools/ on 8 September 2016.
75 Sam Waswa, “We’ve Never Tortured Jamilu Mukulu–
Police,” Chimp Reports, 7 September 2016. Accessed from
http://www.chimpreports.com/weve-never-tortured-
jamilu-mukulu-police/ on 8 September 2016.
76 Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, “UMSC Spokesperson
calls for an investigation into Jamilu Mukulu’s claims,”
UMSC/PRO’s Ofce (blog post), 7 September 2016.
77 Cliff Taylor, “Ugandan abuses bring regime of fear back to
heart of Africa,” Independent, 12November 1998. Accessed
from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/ugandan-
abuses-bring-regime-of-fear-back-to-heart-of-africa-
1184381.html on 15 September 2016.
78 al-Mahdi Ssenkabirwa and Farahani Mukisa, “Tabliq
sect leader arrested in Kampala,” Daily Monitor, 21
January 2015. Accessed from http://www.monitor.
co.ug/News/National/Tabliq-sect-leader-arrested-in-
Kampala/688334-2596608-vjmpekz/index.html on 15
September 2016.
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