Barnabas Fund - International Headquarters River Street, Pewsey, Wilthire. Phone: +44 1672 565030 Latitude: 51 deg 23 min 18 sec N Longitude: 1 deg 45 min 48 sec W .
Home
News
Archives
Acid attack on pastor highlights growing...

Email:

Acid attack on pastor highlights growing religious intolerance in Uganda

To

Email address:
Separate multiple addresses with a comma (,). Maximum of 10

From

Your name:
Your email address:
Security test:
Please enter the numbers that appear here in the box below.
 refresh captcha
CAPTCHA Image
Security code:

Details provided here will never be used in any other context

Published: 16:00 GMT Standard Time - Wednesday 25 January 2012

Acid attack on pastor highlights growing religious intolerance in Uganda

Country/Region: Africa, Uganda

Christians in Uganda are calling for protection from Muslim extremists after a pastor had acid thrown in his face, leaving him disfigured and partially blind in his right eye.

acid-uganda-4x3.jpg
Pastor Umar Mulinde
Image: Vision Group/New Vision Printing and Publishing Company

The attack on Umar Mulinde, a convert from Islam, happened outside his church in Kampala on Christmas Eve, 24 December 2011.

Bishop David Kiganda of the National Fellowship of Born Again Pentecostal Churches called it a “terrorism act that the government should take seriously”.

Pastor Umar, who suffered burns to the right side of his face, neck and arms, is believed to have been targeted because of his conversion from Islam to Christianity and strong criticism of Islam. The 38-year-old father of six was also a leading figure in a campaign to block the introduction of Kadhi courts (sharia courts) in Uganda.

The attack took place in the church car park shortly after the conclusion of a seven-day evangelistic campaign. Pastor Umar, who had previously received death threats, said:

It was such a horrific terrorist attack on me by persons who in the name of religion poured acid on me seeking my death because of my religious affiliation and views.

I was attacked by a man who claimed to be a Christian. He called out to me shouting "pastor, pastor", and as I turned to see who he was, he poured acid which burnt part of my face.

As I turned away from the attacker, another man poured the liquid on my back and ran away shouting "Allah Akbar (god is great)."

Pastor Umar was taken to hospital in Kampala, where specialists struggled to restore the sight in his right eye. He was moved to a medical centre in Israel on 5 January after it was decided that he needed more advanced treatment. Barnabas Fund is assisting with the costs.

In an update from Pastor Umar from his hospital bed on Wednesday (25 January), he said that he is still in pain, having had two skin-graft operations on his face. The wounds on both of his hands have healed, but treatment is continuing on his right eye, which was severely damaged.

Rising tensions

The incident took to a new level the rising tensions in Uganda over religious conversions. Christians say that it demonstrates the government’s failure to protect them from Muslim extremists.

Pastor Umar’s wife, Evelyn, also a convert from Islam, said:

The main point of contention between Muslims and Christians in Uganda is that Muslims are yet to embrace the reality of freedom of worship or coexistence, but Muslims always think that any person who doesn’t believe like them is an enemy who deserves to be killed.

Pastor Umar came from a strict Muslim family and his father was an imam. He was a sheikh (Muslim teacher) before converting to Christianity, a decision that caused a strong reaction in the Muslim community. He used his extensive knowledge of both the Quran and the Bible in public debates about Islam and Christianity. Many Muslims were reportedly converted through his preaching.

The population of Uganda is around 85 per cent Christian and 12-15 per cent Muslim.

Help us: Share this article

Email:

Acid attack on pastor highlights growing religious intolerance in Uganda

To

Email address:
Separate multiple addresses with a comma (,). Maximum of 10

From

Your name:
Your email address:
Security test:
Please enter the numbers that appear here in the box below.
 refresh captcha
CAPTCHA Image
Security code:

Details provided here will never be used in any other context

christian, persecution, charity, church, persecuted, sookhdeo, Islam

Other articles

Latest Emergency

/_images_files/content/article_files/Syria/201305/Medical-care-4X3.jpg

Follow Barnabas

or

receive news & appeal emails as they are published

From Twitter

From Twitter_icon
Read more...

Daily prayer

Daily prayer_icon

  • The Sudanese authorities have intensified their crackdown on Christian activities by targeting Christian-run schools. Two of these in the capital, Khartoum, have been ordered to close. One is a primary school that the authorities discovered was not teaching Islamic studies or separating boys and girls. The other provided English-language lessons for 500 adults; three of its staff had been arrested and interrogated over suspicions that they were evangelising Muslims. Pray that Christian work and witness in Sudan will continue despite the increasingly crippling restrictions being imposed upon them, and that the Gospel will spread there. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed 24 hours ago

  • An upsurge of arrests and deportations of Christians in Sudan has further unsettled the country’s vulnerable Christian minority. In January three Christians of South Sudanese origin were detained and then ordered to leave the country because of their involvement with churches and a Christian radio station. The following month a group of at least 55 Christians were detained without charge, falsely accused of receiving money from foreign countries. Dozens of expatriate Christians have also been deported. Pray that this frequent and severe harassment will stop, and that the churches of Sudan will be allowed to worship and serve the Lord in peace. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Sat, May 2013 00:00

  • “We have reached here with the help of God. We shall live well with God’s help in our land.” A Christian woman gave thanks as she arrived in South Sudan after escaping from discrimination and oppression in Muslim-majority Sudan, thanks to the Exodus project sponsored by Barnabas Fund. Give thanks to the Lord that more than 3,500 Christians have already reached the safety of the Christian-majority South by plane and bus. Pray for His blessing upon them as they settle into their new lives, and pray too that others will be able to join them soon. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Fri, May 2013 00:00

  • Pray for 14 Christians in Nghe An, Vietnam, who were sentenced in January to between three and 13 years in prison on charges of subversion against the state. Their lawyers complained that the Christians had been subjected to torture, including sleep deprivation, and coerced into confessing crimes that they had not committed. Some of them had apparently been detained by police at random, some at a church service. During the two-day trial, thousands of Christians staged a protest against the arbitrary and illegal arrest of innocent people. Pray that the sentences will be revoked and the Christians released, and that the authorities will stop harassing and bullying the Christian community. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Thu, May 2013 00:00

  • “The decree is intended to provide the tools to end the house-church movement entirely.” Nguyen Van Dai, a Christian lawyer in Vietnam, added his voice to a chorus of concern among church leaders about Decree 92, which provides new guidelines for regulating religious practice in the country. The decree imposes harsh and complex new criteria that churches must fulfil if they are to obtain legal status; these will make it almost impossible for unregistered groups such as house churches (which have not been recognised by the government since 1975) to do so. Even if a congregation manages to fulfil all the conditions, the minimum period it will have to wait for recognition is 23 years. Pray that the churches in Vietnam will withstand this attempt to stifle their witness and will not only survive but thrive. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Wed, May 2013 00:00

Read more...

Quick navigation

© Barnabas Fund 1997 - 2013 All rights reserved.
Barnabas Fund & Barnabas Aid are registered trade marks