A 19-year-old student at Makerere University says his view of Islam has changed after he spent Eid day early this week with a Muslim family.

Jet Steven Mulindwa, a second year student of Bachelor of Social Sciences had always had a negative view of Muslims, thanks to their categorization as murderers by sections of global media. 

But all this appears to have changed on ‘Eid al Adha, a day when Muslims celebrate the Feast of offering sacrifices to God. This year, the day fell on Tuesday, August 21 and it’s on that day that Mulindwa visited the family of Hajji Bandiira Kabogoza in Nakasozi, Buddo in Wakiso District.

"I am still mesmerized, I cannot stop admiring the generosity of Hajji Bandiira Kabogoza's family," says Mulindwa.

Born in a Catholic family and raised in the same background, Mulindwa did not bother to learn much about Muslims and Islam. Thanks to the negative portrayal of Islam in international media, Mulindwa developed a wrong mentality about Muslims. He always thought they are murderers, unfriendly and anti-social to those from other faiths.

Mulindwa adds that even in Uganda several prominent murders such as the 2010 terror attacks on Kyadondo Rugby Grounds and Ethiopian Village Restaurant were blamed on Al Shabaab militants who are linked to Muslims.

"Look at the recent arrests of people linked to prominent murders in this country, from Muslim clerics to former AIGP Andrew Felix Kaweesi, most suspects are of the Islamic faith. It is therefore understandable for me to mistake them for all sorts of crimes," he says.

On ‘Eid Day, however, Mulindwa sat and shared a meal at Hajji Kabogoza’'s home and his perception appears to have changed forever. Kabogoza’'s son, Ukasha Mukasa Kitumba, also a student at Makerere, invited Mulindwa to his home. Their friendship developed when Ukasha meet Mulindwa in the same University hostel last year.