Home? I was a Canadian woman in Africa standing in a Muslim
mosque , named in honour of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. How out
of place could I be?
And yet I fully understood the significance of his greeting.
Only minutes earlier, I had donned a head scarf and skirt, slipped
off my sandals and entered this magnificent copper-domed structure. Like most Westerners,
I knew little about his faith. But as we compared the text of the Qu’ran and
the Holy Bible, shared religious
teachings and discussed Muslim and Christian rituals, I learned our beliefs
were more alike than not.
The visit to the Gaddafi National Mosque, and an earlier excursion
to the Kampala arts and craft market, were early introductions to Uganda, as we
settled into our new surroundings, including getting acclimatized to the plus
30 degree Celsius weather, getting to know our teammates, and becoming more
familiar with the Canadian Co-operative Association’s international development
work here and throughout Africa.
The mosque sits high atop one of the 20 hills that encompass
Kampala. A few of us took the 308 steps to the mosque’s minaret, where we were
rewarded with a panoramic view of the capital. The structure is the second
largest of its kind in Africa and has the capacity to hold 35,000 worshippers.
The faithful are called to prayer here five times a day. About 20 per cent of the Ugandan
population is Muslim, the remainder largely Christian.
Our trek to the hill top was a perfect starting point from
which to begin our two-week educational study mission.
It was a reminder that we are a family of brothers and
sisters – black and white, Muslim and Christian.
The next morning we headed to Misandi to start our journey
of discovery – to gather and tell stories of people helping people.
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