A Muslim in Uganda beat his wife unconscious for attending a church service on Sept. 18, sources said.
Hussein Kasolo had recently married Fatuma Baluka, 21-year-old daughter of an Islamic leader in a predominantly Muslim village, undisclosed for security reasons, in Eastern Uganda's Budaka District.
"When I arrived home, my husband shouted at me as an 'infidel,' and then and there started hitting me with a metallic object," Baluka told Morning Star News. "I fell down, only to find myself in a hospital bed."
Neighbors said they arrived and rescued Baluka, who was bleeding from head and leg injuries as her husband continued to hit her.
"We found Baluka unconscious, and we were able to overpower the husband's brutal attack," a resident who requested anonymity told Morning Star News.
They took her to a Budaka District hospital, where she remained until Thursday (Sept. 22).
"I have become an enemy to my husband, and my parents will not receive me either just for attending the church," she said. "I feel disowned and helpless."
She had visited the undisclosed, area church with a female friend. The church pastor, whose name also is withheld for security reasons, said she has become a Christian.
"She was among those who were prayed for in the church service, and on Thursday she mentioned to me that the very Sunday when she was prayed for, she felt convicted in her heart that she was a sinful lady, and that immediately a heavy burden rolled away," the pastor said. "She is now being discipled to be rooted in the Christian faith."
Baluka has taken refuge at a site away from her home, he said, adding that she needs prayer for emotional and physical healing.
About 85 percent of the people in Uganda are Christian and 11 percent Muslim, with some eastern areas having large Muslim populations. The country's constitution and other laws provide for religious freedom, including the right to propagate one's faith and convert from one to another, but Christians in eastern Uganda are suffering continual attacks by non-state figures.
