Hundreds of Muslims from the Insurance industry on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, gathered at the Insurance Tower for the 10th Iftar dinner.
The event which was organised by the Insurance Regulatory Authority of Uganda (IRA) in partnership with the Insurance Training College (ITC), was graced by the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and Secretary to the Treasury, Mr. Ramathan Ggoobi.
Mr. Ggoobi applauded IRA and ITC for organizing such a get-together event to remind the faithful about the virtue of sharing with others and for selecting a good theme – “Balancing Religion, Faith and the Professional Life.”
“It is good for us to come together and break the fast. Many of you are busy people; you work so hard but you need to balance professional life, work/ business with spiritual well-being because without a relationship with God, most of the things we do in life would be utterly meaningless,” he said.
He advised the faithful to always be people of integrity in whatever they do, serve with honesty, be reliable have good ethical values, noting that they are cornerstones of a good Muslim.
“I want to call upon all us to reflect on those three things during this month. Men and women who have adhered to those three have lived very fruitful lives,” he said.
Exercise self-control
The guest speaker, Dr. Ashraf Mutagubya, a Lecturer at the Islamic University in Uganda alluded to the need to balance religion and life, saying it is critical in building a wholesome Muslim.
“Islam is a religion of balance; be balanced in everything. Use what God has blessed you with to achieve a better place in the hereafter but don’t forget that you have a portion of this world you have to enjoy,” he said.
He added: “What we are gathered here tonight for is a demonstration of the understanding of balance between religion and professional life. I call on you to use this Ramathan to pick lessons that can help you grow and attain some bit of balance between work and religion.”
Dr. Mutagubya also urged Muslims to exercise patience and abstain from anything that provokes God’s anger like slandering and immorality among others.
“Exercise your body and inner self through Ramathan to do good. This is a time we are all spiritually charged; we are more patient, sacrifice a lot, and we are more disciplined. When the inner person is in control, you are better professionally,” he said.
The IRA Chief Executive Officer, Alhaj Kaddunabbi Ibrahim Lubega applauded the insurance muslim community for turning up in big numbers for the dinner.
He also challenged them to continue doing good deeds even after Ramathan and to always be good time managers.
“After this month, we will not expect you to do the opposite of what your religion tells you to do. Please continue doing good,” he said.
Takaful course in offing
The ITC Board chairman, Mr. Moses Turyomurugyendo urged Muslims to always be compassionate, empathetic and kind in their work.
He urged the industry to continue working together to build a stronger and more resilient insurance industry that serves the needs of the community.
The ITC Principal, Mr. Saul Sseremba challenged the Insurance Muslim community to continue with the values displayed during Ramathan as they serve their customers so as to win their trust in the industry.
“If we would behave the way we behave in Ramathan, we will win public trust as an industry and grow the sector. Unfortunately, after Ramathan, we tend to get back to our usual selves,” he said.
He said ITC plans to introduce a Takaful course so as to build a team of professionals that can ably sell insurance based on Islamic principles.