SIHA Uganda: Opening the Black Box

Militant ideologies of Islam, have left Muslim communities in despair, of frequently being linked to attacks and being discriminated for their faith and appearance. Youth, being at a critical stage in their development process, therefore present a certain vulnerability to both being drawn into militant movements, and of experiencing a deep sense of marginalization and discrimination. Efforts to uplift their sense of belonging and understanding of moderate interpretations of religion have been undertaken by a series of actors.
In Uganda, SIHA Network in partnership with CEDA International, have initiated a project to address some of the challenges youth are encountering in Uganda. CEDA International hosted the trainings at their center, where the organization carries out vocational programs for youth. SIHA collaborated with a variety of actors, implementing training activities on moderate Islamic teachings, Islam and human rights, gender and both the Islamic as well as Ugandan legal framework. The trainings aimed at changing the narrative and mindset of youth living in the Kampala suburb of Kawempe, to establish the awareness levels of Muslim youths in notions of human rights, women’s rights, equality and non-violence approaches of human rights and to establish awareness around modern Islamic thoughts.
The trainings reached out to more than 100 youth and contributed to the initiating of critical thinking and evaluating their mindsets. What further resulted was the latest SIHA documentary “Opening the Black Box”, which will be launched soon in a series of events.