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Kenyan Muslim clerics back Museveni's crackdown on gays
Sheikh Abubakar Bini (centre), the Chairman of the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya for Uasin Gishu County, accompanied by Zulfikar Osman (right), a Muslim elder, and other Muslim faithful during a past press conference at Madrasatul Huda Al-Islamiyah in Eldoret town. Photo | NMG
What you need to know:
- The council's deputy chairman, Sheikh Abubakar Bini, congratulated President Museveni and urged other leaders in Africa to emulate him.
A day after Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed into law a Bill that imposes death and life sentences on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) people in Uganda, the Supreme Council of Islamic Scholars, known as Fatwa, has endorsed the move.
The council's deputy chairman, Sheikh Abubakar Bini, congratulated President Museveni and urged other leaders in Africa to emulate him.
The law has been described as the harshest anti-LGBTQ+ law in the world.
"As chair of the Fatwa Council, I support President Museveni for this action. Leaders across the African continent should not hesitate to support President Museveni's action by emulating him," said Sheikh Bini.
Speaking in Eldoret, Sheikh Bini urged Kenyan MPs to speed up the process of tabling a similar Bill in Parliament.
He said Islamic religious scholars have already started a push to get the Bill introduced in the Kenyan Parliament on behalf of Kenyans, should the MPs hesitate to introduce it in Parliament.
Anti-LGBTQ+
Sheikh Bini urged local leaders not to fear threats from Western countries, including withholding aid to countries that are anti-LGBTQ+, and urged President William Ruto to be ready to support the Kenyan Bill.
"I urge President Ruto to show his commitment as a Christian who loves humanity and godliness by following the example of the Ugandan leader and signing a similar Bill into law when it is tabled in Parliament," Sheikh Bini said.
He added that President Museveni's action will earn him recognition as an African hero who ignored threats from Western nations by putting African values first.
Also supporting President Museveni's move was the Council of Preachers and Imams of Kenya (CIPK), which said it would use every opportunity to push for the enactment of a similar law in Kenya in the fight against homosexuality and general LGBTQ+ activities.
Similarly, Bishop Peter Simwa, the chairman of the Association of Gospel Ministers in Eldoret, supported Museveni's move, saying that LGBTQ is against the teachings of the Bible and degrades morals.
"The Bible does not support homosexuality. I hope our government will follow the example of the President of Uganda and make similar laws in the country," said Bishop Simwa.
The bishop claimed that pastors in Eldoret will soon hold demonstrations in the city to pressure parliamentarians to draft a law outlawing homosexuality.
