Alfred Wasike and M. Olupot
20 March 2008
Kampala — Bishops have advised Ugandans to ignore Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gadaffi's comments that the Bible was doctored and, therefore, fake.
The Bible is genuine and original and instead Gadaffi should do more research, the prelates insisted after a crisis meeting over the remarks yesterday.
The Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC), which represents the three mainstream churches: Catholic, Church of Uganda and the Orthodox, said it would issue a statement over the matter.
Speaking at Nakivubo Stadium on Wednesday, where he led thousands of Muslims who celebrated the birth of Prophet Muhammed, Gadaffi asserted that the Bible was not the one revealed to Jesus and the Old Testament was not the one which Moses received from Allah.
In the process of doctoring the Bible, Gadaffi argued, the reference to Mohammed had been deleted. He added that any scripture that failed to mention Mohammed was fake. He, therefore, called for the search for the 'original Bible'.
On his part, Bishop Dr. Zac Niringiye called for sobriety over the remark. "People should remain cool and let it pass. I hope by doing this, we shall be giving a lesson to our Muslim brothers to always stay calm," Niringiye advised.
"I urge the media not to inflame the matter. We may not be bothered because he also acknowledges that Jesus existed and still exists."
But UJCC head the Rev. Grace Kaiso asked: "What is he (Gadaffi) talking about? The Bible is authentic, genuine and original."
"We appreciate," he added, "that Gadaffi is not contended with his faith and is looking for something more fulfilling".
He said Gadaffi needed guidance to appreciate that of all religious leaders, "only Jesus rose from the dead and distinguishing himself over the others."
The Bible, he added, was silent on Prophet Mohammed because he came after Jesus. "All sorts of people who call themselves prophets interpret the Bible to fit their goals and interests."
The so-called prophets were running away from "the rigorous demands of Christianity, for example, of the principle of one man-one wife," Kaiso said.
"Jesus is the only one who overcame the greatest enemy of the human race, death. Therefore, any serious human being who desires to have hope in future must put faith in Jesus. Only through Jesus can one live with a sense of victory and destiny."
Kaiso also stressed that the Bible was sufficient for the human race to live happily on earth while preparing for the afterlife. "It is not deficient at all."
As if to support Kaiso's view, Bishop Matthias Ssekamanya, the head of the Uganda Episcopal Conference, advised Gadaffi to avoid "tampering with what he does not know" because "we do not share the same faith".
Ssekamanya, who also heads the Catholic diocese of Lugazi, said Gadaffi "does not value what we treasure as Christians" because he "is not part of us."
He called for "respect of each other and not to be critical of other faiths. President Gadaffi should stick to what he believes in and he should not interpret different faiths."
The head of the Inter-religious Council of Uganda, Archbishop Dr. John Wani of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, said: "Gadaffi's comments are very dangerous. He will have to account for his words. He has offended Christians in Uganda and the world over. He does not have facts."
The Koran, Wani noted, came after the Bible because Mohammed came after Jesus. "He is trying to promote Islam at the expense of other religions. But the facts in the Bible speak for themselves."
Bishop Evans Kisekka of Luwero Diocese said: "That is his opinion. He needs to go back and read and understand the Genesis of the Bible and the Koran. It is not correct for him to say the Bible is forged."
The Church of Uganda Provincial Secretary, the Rev. Aaron Mwesigye, added that Uganda had good relations between Christians and Muslims and that it was unfortunate that a visitor should try to divide the country, and to ridicule the faith of 85% of its population.
"We do not understand African hospitality in that way." He said the remarks were "an oversight, a personal and political attack on Christianity."
He suspected that Gadaffi was "seeing Christianity as a religion", which he said it was not. "It is life. The founder of Christianity is alive."
The overseer of the National Fellowship for Born Again Christians in Uganda, Apostle Alex Mitala said: "How can the Bible which came first corrupt the Koran? Mohammed is said to have come 700 years after Jesus Christ.
"We are not scared of what Gadaffi said and we won't be intimidated, we are however going to continue preaching the gospel and worship God with help of the bible."
More reporting by Flavia Nakaggwa, Patrick Jaramogi and Josephine Maseruka
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