Deputy Mufti Urges Young Muslims to Honour Parents and Build Strong Families

What the report says

The Nile Post reports that Uganda’s Second Deputy Mufti, Sheikh Hafiz Muhammad Harunah Bukenya, used a Nikah ceremony in Kampala to urge young Muslims to honour their parents, even when family members hold different religious beliefs. He spoke on behalf of Mufti of Uganda Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubaje at the wedding of Arshad Rukutana and Aryahimbisibwa Aisha Rukutana, held at Gaddafi National Mosque and officiated by Sheikh Abdul Wahid Rashid Nkalubo.

According to the report, Bukenya said Islam places strong value on keeping respectful family ties and pointed to the example of Prophet Muhammad’s relationship with his uncle Abu Talib. He also commended the parents of the couple for supporting their children’s decision to embrace Islam, despite the couple being raised in Protestant Christian families. Former Attorney General Mwesigwa Rukutana, Arshad’s father, said he allows his children to follow their own paths once they are adults and noted that he had seen positive changes in their behaviour after they converted.

The article also says Bukenya praised Rukutana for helping resolve a past dispute within the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, which he said contributed to stability in the body. In a sermon, Sheikh Hussein Ali Bulafu encouraged the newlyweds to treat marriage as a wider family responsibility and to raise children with strong moral and religious values so that family traditions and legacy can be preserved. The broader context is a public Muslim wedding attended by notable Ugandans, where religious leaders used the occasion to emphasize family, faith and social values.