The Monitor (Kampala)
Al -Mahdi Ssenkabirwa & Robert Mukombozi
5 April 2005
Kampala — Religious activists have backed Muslims in opposing the proposed Domestic Relations Bill (DRB) that was designed to regulate marriage.
Through the Media for Peace and Religious Tolerance (MPRT), they argued that Parliament should not enact a law that undermines norms of some religions and traditions.
Mr Issa Kirarira, the MPRT chairman, said on Thursday, "If the Muslims are not contented with the Bill, why should the government go ahead to enforce it?"
He appealed to the government to drop the DRB to avoid likely chaos caused by Muslims.
"The government should know that Uganda is not prepared to undergo any form of conflict and peoples' freedoms should be upheld,"he said
Kirarira said they would not sit back when leaders are repeating past mistakes.
"If the government goes ahead to pass this Bill against the will of some religious groups, it will imply that they learnt nothing and forgot nothing from leadership of the past regimes," Kirarira said.
He said Muslims should be given chance to practice marriage and divorce as per the teaching in the Quran.
"It is after they have failed to control themselves that the government can intervene to form and enforce this law," he said.
Kirarira's reaction comes days after Muslims stood out to protest provisions of the DRB which they say infringes on their freedom to practice marriage as stipulated in the Quran.
They marched through Kampala City to Parliament.
They presented a petition to the Deputy Speaker, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, and demanded that the Bill be scrapped because it is against the Quranic teaching.
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