The headteacher of an Islamic school was beaten, burned, and fired after he converted to Christianity.
Islamic school headteacher
Yusufu Mwanje is the head of Ibunbaz Primary School, a private Islamic school in Bugiri town, Bugiri District in eastern Uganda. Earlier this month, he was attacked and burned by his colleagues after they heard them pray a Christian prayer. Following the assault, he was fired from the school.
A Christian businessman who supplied school equipment introduced Christianity to Yusufu. Whenever he comes to the headteacher’s office, he often prays in the presence of other Muslim teachers and staff. The businessman’s prayers encouraged Yusufu to get to know more about the Jesus he has been praying to. Earlier this year, the Muslim headteacher finally gave his life to Jesus Christ.
“I wanted to keep my faith in Christ secret and began missing Friday prayers as I attended evening prayers at the church,” Yusufu said in an interview with Morning Star News. “Some Muslim teachers noticed my absence and reported to the school management board.”
Yusufu Mwanje
Yusufu wakes up at 3:00 AM every day to pray to Jesus Christ right before he heads to the mosque. On April 1, while praying his usual early morning prayer, a staff member of his school overheard his prayer.
“I did not know that there was someone hearing as well as recording the prayers,” he said, referring to a school staff member who lived next to his house. “I prayed till 4:30 a.m. and then prepared to go to the mosque because I wanted to protect my job.”
The following day, the staff member gathered other school teachers to eavesdrop on Yusufu’s prayer.
“As I finished the prayers at 4:45 a.m. and began preparing to go to the mosque to pray, I heard a knock at the door,” he said. “As I opened the door, there were people outside my door. They began shouting, ‘Allah akbar [the jihadist slogan, ‘God is greater’]! Allah akbar! Allah akbar! This is a kafir [infidel], this is kafir…They grabbed me and took me inside the mosque and started beating me badly and accusing me of heading a Muslim school yet I had converted to Christianity. Others shouted, ‘A liar, a liar, a liar…He deserves the death penalty.”
“I remembered [the businessman] telling me that in times of persecution I should call the name of Jesus,” Yusufu said. “As I mentioned the name Jesus in a low voice, one attacker said, ‘Azab Azab,’ meaning ‘punishment’ in Arabic. Immediately, two Islamic teachers named Ustaz Hamudan and Hashim Sajabbi brought two old jerry cans and lit them with fire, and started burning me with them. It was too painful. I fainted.”
Assault
His desperate prayer for protection was answered when an elderly Islamic teacher intervened. He instructed them not to kill him.
“He instructed some to take me to the school clinic for treatment,” he said. “I then realized that Jesus had come to save me.”
Yusufu was not properly treated in the clinic, he only received a painkiller. The school officials immediately fired him. He left the school property burnt, wounded, and empty-handed. He called the Christian businessman who helped him get the right treatment he needed.
Yusufu suffered third-degree burns on his leg and second-degree burns on his back. The assault on him was the latest of the many Christian persecutions in Uganda.
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Reference: Christian Headlines
