A Protestant church near Kampala, the capital of Uganda was closed at the beginning of August following a series of violent attacks and threats against local Christians.

The ‘Greater Love Church’ in the zone of Namasuba in the district of Wakiso was opened in May of 2017. Despite being located in a predominantly Muslim neighbourhood,  the church ministered to nearly half a million Christian faithful.

From the outset, there were many violent threats and attacks against the church and its members.  On occasions, Muslim extremists threw stones at the windows of the church. As a result of this aggression, the number of Christians attending church services diminished.

During one of the most recent attacks in early August, some of the Christian faithful were injured and needed to be hospitalised. The Muslim religious leaders have accused the faithful of this church of recruiting non-believers to their community and their services.

According to the constitution of Uganda, religious liberty exists in the country. However, the AIS Foundation has in recent months been notified of several attacks against new converts to Christianity.

In a recent announcement, the agency said: “Although Uganda is in general a pacific country, the high number of incidents attacking religious freedom over the last two years is disturbing.”  The author of the article went on to say that “these kind of incidents are most common in the eastern part of the country where Islam has a wider following.” He noted that many violent attacks in the area were not registered.   

Muslims represent only 12% of the population of Uganda.  85% of the inhabitants are Christians (42% Catholics and 36% Protestants).

Source:  AIS