The Abayudaya are a Jewish community in eastern Uganda who converted to Judaism in the 20th century. Through 2005 the opening said they survived a number of anti-Semitic regimes, including that of Idi Amin, who outlawed Jewish rituals and destroyed synagogues. The word does not appear anywhere in the article today; the opening now covers only their religious practice and demographics. A reader today does not learn that this community endured a regime that banned their rituals and destroyed their synagogues.
Read line by line and written up by hand.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-01. “antisemitism” appeared 1 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today it appears nowhere in the article, references included.
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The opening as it read in 2005
Abayudaya are a population in Uganda who practice Judaism .1Although they are not genetically or historically related to other ethnic Jews , they are generally devout in their practice of the religion, keep the Kosher laws, observe the Jewish Sabbath , and seek recognition from Jews elsewhere as part of world Jewry.2Their population is estimated at around 600, having once been as large as 3,000; like their neighbors, they are subsistence farmers.3They speak Luganda , although some have chosen to learn Hebrew as well. The sect owes its origin to Muganda military leader Semei Kakungulu . In 1913 , he became a Malachite , a belief system combining Christianity , Judaism, and Christian Science . In 1919 , Kakungulu had become far more clearly Jewish in his practices: he circumcised his sons and himself and declared his community Jewish. According to [1] , "he fled to the foot of Mt. Elgon at a place called Gangama where he started a separatist sect known as Kibina Kya Bayudaya Absesiga Katonda (the Community of Jews who trust in the Lord)." After Kakungulu's death, his followers divided into a group that reverted to Christianity and another, the Abayudaya, that became devout Jews. They isolated themselves for self-protection and survived a number of anti-Semitic regimes, including that of Idi Amin , who outlawed Jewish rituals and destroyed synagogues . In the 1960s and '70s the Abayudaya began a moderately successful effort to establish contacts with Jews in Israel and elsewhere in the world. The sect underwent a revival in the 1980s , centered on a self-described " Kibbutz Movement." As of 2002 , most of the community lives around the Moses synagogue in Mbale or the nearby synagogue in the village of Namanyoyi . Others live several miles away from Mbale in Pallisa , which has two synagogues. A fifth synagogue is in Namatumba , approximately 70 km distant.4
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16481118.
The opening as it stood in 2010 12 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Ethnic group The Abayudaya ( Abayudaya is Luganda for "People of Judah " , analogous to Children of Israel ) are a Baganda community in eastern Uganda near the town of Mbale who practice Judaism .Although they are not genetically or historically related to other ethnic Jews , they are devout in their practice of the religion, keeping their version of kashruth , and observing Shabbat .There are several different villages where the Ugandan Jews live.Most of these are recognized by the Reform and Conservative sects of Judaism.However, the villagers of Putti are still seeking an Orthodox conversion and practice strict Rabbinical Judaism .Their population is estimated at approximately 1,100, having once been as large as 3,000 (prior to the persecutions of the Idi Amin regime); like their neighbors, they are subsistence farmers.Most Abayudaya are of Bagwere origin, except for those from Namutumba who are Basoga .They speak Luganda , Lusoga or Lugwere , although some have learned Hebrew as well.(January 1997) "Among the Abayudaya".
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 366651471.
The opening as it stood in 2015 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Ethnic group The Abayudaya ( Abayudaya is Luganda for "People of Judah ", analogous to Children of Israel ) are a Baganda community in eastern Uganda near the town of Mbale who practice Judaism . They are devout in their practice, keeping their version of kashrut , and observing Shabbat . There are several different villages where the Ugandan Jews live. Most of these are recognized by the Reform and Conservative movements of Judaism. However, the villagers of Putti are still seeking an Orthodox conversion and practice strict Rabbinical Judaism . Their population is estimated at approximately 2,000 having once been as large as 3,000 (prior to the persecutions of the Idi Amin regime, during which their numbers dwindled to around 300); like their neighbors, they are subsistence farmers. Most Abayudaya are of Bagwere origin, except for those from Namutumba who are Basoga . They speak Luganda , Lusoga or Lugwere , although some have learned Hebrew as well. (January 1997) "Among the Abayudaya".
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 633421266.
The opening as it stood in 2020 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Ethnic group The Abayudaya ( Abayudaya is Luganda for "People of Judah ", ) are a community in eastern Uganda near the town of Mbale who practice Judaism . They are devout in their practice, keeping kashrut , and observing Shabbat .There are several different villages where the Abayudaya live. Most of these are recognized by the Reform and Conservative movements of Judaism. In June 2016 Rabbi Shlomo Riskin led a Beit Din that performed an Orthodox conversion for the Putti community of Abayudaya.The Abayudaya's population is estimated to number between 2,000 and 3,000; like their neighbors, they are subsistence farmers. Most Abayudaya are of Bagwere origin, except for those from Namutumba , who are Basoga . They speak Luganda , Lusoga or Lugwere , although some have learned Hebrew as well. This Is Our Story" . (January 1997) "Among the Abayudaya".
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 965061247.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Community in eastern Uganda that practices Judaism. Ethnic group The Abayudaya ( Abayudaya is Luganda for "People of Judah ") are a Jewish community in eastern Uganda , near the town of Mbale . They are devout in their practice, keeping kashrut and observing Shabbat . There are several different villages where the Abayudaya live. A community that converted to Judaism in the 20th century, most community members are affiliated with the Reform and Conservative movements of Judaism. In June 2016, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin led a Beit Din that performed an Orthodox conversion for the Putti community of Abayudaya. The Abayudaya's population is estimated to number between 2,000 and 3,000; like their neighbors, they are subsistence farmers. Most Abayudaya are of Bagwere origin. Some, from Namutumba , are Basoga .They speak Luganda , Soga , or Gwere , and some have learned Hebrew as well. This Is Our Story" . They've given me a gift as well" . (January 1997) "Among the Abayudaya".
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1161209686.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Community in eastern Uganda that practices Judaism Ethnic group The Abayudaya ( Luganda for "People of Judah ") are a Jewish community in eastern Uganda , near the town of Mbale . They are devout in their practice, keeping kashrut and observing Shabbat . There are several different villages where the Abayudaya live. A community that converted to Judaism in the 20th century, most community members are affiliated with the Reform and Conservative movements of Judaism. In June 2016, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin led a Beit Din that performed an Orthodox conversion for the Putti community of Abayudaya. The Abayudaya's population is estimated to number between 2,000 and 3,000; like their neighbors, they are subsistence farmers. Most Abayudaya are of Bagwere origin. Some, from Namutumba , are Basoga . They speak Luganda , Soga , or Gwere , and some have learned Hebrew as well. This Is Our Story" . They've given me a gift as well" . (January 1997) "Among the Abayudaya".
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1296598668. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
“antisemitism” appeared 1 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today it appears nowhere in the article, references included. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
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2020
Oct '23
2025
antisemitism
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Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined between 2010 and 2025.
Then
luganda for "people of judah "
Now
jewish community in eastern uganda
Sections that no longer exist
Present on 6 October 2023, absent today. A heading can vanish because the section was deleted or because it was renamed or merged, and we have not separated those here, so treat this as a list of what to check rather than a verdict.
Today4,475 characters
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
