Updated 5 December 2012

The East African country of Rwanda has seen its fair share of troubled times, but in May 2012, new energy is springing from the capital city of Kigali where the formation of a first ever Shia Muslim community is taking form.

Last May, a team of about 4 individuals from East Africa travelled to Kigali on a mission to help new Khoja Shia Ithna Asheri families settle in Kigali. These families arrived in Kigali about one year ago. During the course of their stay, they found that there was a thirst among the local people to learn more about Islam. To help meet this growing desire, the team facilitated the creation of the first Khoja Shia Ithna Asheri Jamaat in Kigali.    

The KSI Jamaat of Kigali initially started with about 10 families and has an executive body with Haji Shabbirbhai Dandjee as the President. Since then, the community has grown with families arriving from Nairobi, Mombasa and Dar es Salaam seeking new business opportunities which are abundant in Rwanda.

In July 2012, a building was rented to house the new KSI Jamaat of Kigali; today, the jamaat has grown in large numbers and has outgrown the Centre already. 

RAMADHAN 1433 PROGRAM
For the Holy month of Ramadhan, Sheikh Salimou Maroufou of Madagascar was invited to lead the Ramadhan and tableegh program in Kigali. Afternoon and evening prayers were held daily as were Dua e Iftetah, Ramadhan Duas and majalis. Almost 150 Rwandese Shias attended the program each night.  These newcomers to the Centre were keen to learn more about Islam and the Shia faith.

Eid ul Fitr was celebrated for the first time in Kigali where about 550 Shia Muslims participated. One of the team members who helped establish the KSI Jamaat of Kigali said: “it was an exceptional day in the history of our community.”
 
MUHARRAM 1434 PROGRAM
3 religious scholars visited Kigali to support the Muharram program at the Islamic Centre. Two of these aalims were Sheikh Chaik Talib and Sheikh Abu Jassim of Madagascar, and the third muballigh was from Mombasa. The Centre was draped with black flags and an Alam to symbolize the events that took place in Karbala. Afternoon and evening salaat were held daily; in the evenings, marshiyas, majalis, matam and niyaz took place every day where about 100 people attended each night. On Ashura Day, about 350 people joined in the remembrance of the sacrifices of Imam Husayn (as), his family members and his companions. This was the first ever Muharram in a Shia centre in Kigali.
 
The community in Kigali continues to progress and plans are underway to open a madrasah for the children and then eventually a Hawza Ilmiya.

For more information, please email secretariat@world-federation.org