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The new Mufti of Rwanda, Sheikh Musa Sindayigaya, has pledged more development projects for the Muslim community in Rwanda to pave the way for self-reliance.
The Rwanda Muslim Community, on Sunday, May 26, elected Sheikh Sindayigaya, after running unopposed for the position.
He was elected after Sheikh Salim Hitimana, who has served in the role since 2016, pulled out of the race at the last minute.
Sindayigaya from Kamonyi District was deputised by Sheikh Yunusu Mushumba. The elections for the Mufti and his executive team were initially set to take place at the end of 2020, but the process was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sindayigaya, 43, married with three children, was in charge of finance and planning in the replaced executive committee.
He studied Islamic theology in Saudi Arabia and has been in the management of the Rwanda Muslim Community since 2003 in different positions.
He has a Bachelor’s degree in Islamic studies and postgraduate diploma in public administration and a Master’s degree in public administration management. He is also completing PhD leadership and governance.
“I have three priorities in my leadership. These include unity of Muslims, development projects for the Muslim community to be self-reliant as well good governance and accountability,” he said.
He also pledged to eradicate radicalism among the Muslim community.
“The Muslim community has to contribute to rebuilding the country and we call upon the community to participate in the forthcoming elections,” he said.
The outgoing Mufti, Sheikh Salim Hitimana, who led the community since 2016, said the Muslim community has achieved a lot in the past eight years.
“We built over 120 mosques. The Muslim community is constructing modern markets, commercial houses in Rubavu and Rusizi as a way of increasing financial capacity, and schools in Rwamagana, Kicukiro, and Musanze among others. Saudi Arabia will also help us build the Mosque of Excellence in Kigali,” he said.
The outgoing Mufti of Rwanda Sheikh Salim Hitimana, who has served in the role since 2016, and the newly elected Mufti of Rwanda Sheikh Musa Sindayigaya during the event. Craish Bahizi
Other projects include building the headquarters of the Muslim community in Rwanda. “The unity among the Muslim community is being strengthened,” he said.
The elected Qadhi or Muslim judges who interpret and administer the religious law of Islam are Sheikh Ibrahim Segisekure, Sheikh Hussein Biziyaremye as a deputy Qadhi and Musa Herve Hodari as a deputy Qadhi.
Those in charge of Fatwa, a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (sharia), include Sheikh Uthman Kabirigi, Sheikh Issa Hagumimana, Sheikhat Djalia Mpazimpaka, and Sheihkat Khadidja Nyirasafari.
The commissions in charge of Islam rituals, finance and planning, good governance and laws, social affairs, cooperation, women and family promotion and youth, financial auditing department, private sector, and Muslims with disabilities also got new leaders.
Sheikh Suleiman Mbarushimana, the advisor to the Mufti, said the elections were very transparent and all-inclusive as they began from the grassroots.
“The elections start at the mosque leadership level, then to the district, provincial, and finally the national level.”
Some individuals claiming to be community members have called into question the election process, which started on May 11, saying that it is not transparent, but without substantiating their claims.
These claims have been dismissed by different members of the community that The New Times spoke to, many of them saying that the rumours stem from “two self-seeking individuals with a criminal history who are using YouTube platforms to sow seeds of discord in the close-knit community.”
Sheikh Mbarushimana also dismissed the claims saying they aim to distort the image of the Muslim community in the country.
“These people want elections to be skewed in a way that would give an advantage to people they prefer, which is not possible because rules are clear. We are an organised community and cannot be swayed by a couple of self-seekers,” he added.
Other members of the community have linked the individuals to radical groups and have seen the existing cordial relationship between the council and the national government as an impediment to their sinister agenda to radicalise members.
The election took place on Sunday, May 26
TNT
