Al-Mizan Ramadan 2018

al-m zan Newsletter of the Claremont Main Road Mosque ° No. 22

Ramadan 1439 May 2018 °

THE CAPE ACCORD

Communities United Against Hate Speech and Discord WHEREAS the current geo-political climate of Islamophobia, both internationally and locally, which promotes intra-faith hostility and unwarranted attacks on foremost figures, by individuals and groups within our broader faith community, compels leading organizations in our societies to connect, collaborate and understand each other to proactively engage in promoting concord, fraternal union and the eradication of extremism; AND WHEREAS, such an alliance fosters greater connectivity, increases collaboration, promotes comprehension and enhances contribution to the attainment of the higher objectives of the Shariah; AND WHEREAS, in the spirit of the Amman Accord, declared in Jordan in November 2006, endorsed by more than 500 leading Muslim Scholars from 84 countries, Eminent Citizens, Ministers and Heads of State of all 56 countries of the Islamic World; Scholars, Muftis and Alims of Six International bodies and the Jeddah Academy of Fiqh; AND WHEREAS, such Amman Accord, constitutes a global and universal principle of persuasive and binding effect upon all Muslim Societies, AND WHEREAS, we, the representatives of Communities United Against Hate Speech, Division and Discord, in the Republic of South Africa; RECOGNISING the Prophetic Command: “The Believer is never one who taunts, curses; nor is indecent nor abusive.” [Tirmidhi, Bayhaqi] ACKNOWLEDGING that we live in a world of religious pluralism; APPRECIATING that South Africa is a state model of multi-culturalism and diversity of faiths; NOTING that the right to follow one’s faith or conscience is among the basic human rights that underpins our South African Constitution; AFFIRMING that such right resonates with the Maqasid of the Shari’ah in promoting the welfare and goodness of the human being; ASSESSING the critical importance of social stability and peace for the promotion and material welfare of South African Civic Society; DECLARING our firm resolve to dissuade and/or engage and/ or take appropriate legal action within the framework of the South African Constitution and the Chapter 9 Provisions against any individual or group who abuses the higher ethical principles of Islam as the basis for a deliberate and unwarranted attack on the dignity of a fellow South African citizen or group or entity with malicious intent, publicity and incitement to harm; DO HEREBY, by our signatures hereunder, SOLEMNLY AFFIRM the spirit of the Amman Accord and strive to uphold the dignity of Muslims and the positive image of Islam and call upon all South African Muslims to protect, promote and advance this image as commanded by our Prophet MUHAMMAD (Upon Whom Be Peace).

Dated at Cape Town, South Africa, this 1st day of December 2017.

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021 683 8384

www.cmrm.co.za 2018/05/10 8:40 PM

IMAM’S MESSAGE Imam A. Rashied Omar During my `Id al-Adha khutbah on 1 September 2017, titled “Ending Anti-Shi`a Sectarianism and Embracing the Amman Message”, I suggested that CMRM should be reaching out to allies within the broader Muslim community to build a public campaign towards countering and ending intra-faith hatred and sectarianism within the South African Muslim community. CMRM Board member, Raashied Galant, first proposed the latter strategy.

In pursuit of one of the above goals of forging a strategic alliance within the Muslim community to combat sectarianism I met members of the Islamiyya Academy on Thursday 7 September 2017. They were already engaged in an initiative with a similar purpose of promoting intra-Muslim tolerance called a “synergetic alliance.” At the meeting they shared with me a draft version of what they dubbed as the ‘Cape Accord; Communities United Against Hate Speech and Discord’. I expressed CMRM’s support for such an initiative and promised to attend the next meeting of the founders of the “Synergetic Alliance and Cape Accord” initiative, which was to took place on the weekend of 29/30 September 2017. I shared the draft “Cape Accord” with the CMRM Board who readily supported my efforts at exploring a strategic Muslim alliance to promote intra-Muslim tolerance and cooperation.

The inaugural meeting of the Cape Accord then took place on 1 December 2017 at the Jami atul Qurra hafiz school in Schaapkraal. At this meeting the Cape Accord was officially endorsed and signed by ten Muslim organizations and communities who pledged to be ‘United Against Hate Speech and Discord’. The signatories included: Islamiyya College, Islamic Peace College of South Africa (IPSA), Madina Institute, Jami atul Qurra, Masjidul Quds Institute, Claremont Main Road Masjid, Al-Ansaar Radio, Al-Ansaar Foundation, and Al-Ghazali Mosque and Centre. Each of the signatories were given framed copies of the Cape Accord to be displayed at their institutions.

The framed copy of the Cape Accord was installed and unveiled at CMRM after jumu`ah on Friday the 22 December 2017. As part of the unveiling ceremony Shaykh Sa’dullah delivered the khutbah at CMRM on the theme of intra-Muslim tolerance. During his khutbah, titled “Pathway to the Cape Accord” Shaykh Sa’dullah introduced the key principles and context of the intra-faith Cape Accord. He proposed that: “The Cape Accord is a joint commitment to the following principles articulated in the Prophetic tradition: A Muslim is one from whose words and actions other Muslims are safe. [Sahih Bukhari]. A Mu’min is one in whom humanity finds security regarding their lives, dignity and belongings [Tirmidhi]. The intra-faith Cape Accord is mounted and displayed on the front wall of the masjid next to the mimbar and next to our inter-faith tolerance plaque, the Charter of Compassion, installed at the masjid in 2010.

A week after the unveiling, on 29 December 2017, Ebrahim Rasool delivered the khutbah at CMRM, and made the following remarks on the Cape Accord: “The Cape Accord is an important bulwark against this decay from the inside out. But it will not be enough unless we do battle to defend the resilience we inherited over 300 years; unless we advance the Shared Abode we conceptualised at the National Muslim Conference 24 years ago; unless we revitalise authentic leadership that can retain much of who we are and incorporate the diversity of Muslims who have joined us over the last two decades; and unless we can refresh our mandate as citizens of both a South African Nation and a global Ummah, to stop the decay from the inside out.”

CMRM’s participation in the Cape Accord is part of its modest contributions to foster a local environment of adab al-ikhtilaf and ta`wun - an ethics of disagreement and cooperation in the promotion of goodness. It is expected that many more South African Muslim organizations and leaders will The Unveiling of the Cape Accord endorse the Cape Accord in 2018 and that it will spawn a robust national movement calling for intra-Muslim tolerance. An international conference at which the Cape Accord will be formally launched is planned for the second half of 2018.

We are delighted that one of the architects of the Cape Accord, Hafiz Advocate Abubakr Mahomed, will also be delivering the keynote address at the CMRM AGM on 3 June 2018.

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Beginnings and Endings

Ebrahim Rasool

These reflections were delivered in a khutbah at CMRM on 29 January 2018, two weeks after the passing of Ebrahim’s father, al-marhum, Ismail (Boeta Miley) Rasool.

َ‫الَّ ِذي َن إِ َذا أَ َصابَ ْت ُه ْم ُم ِصي َب ٌة َقالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّ ِه َوإِنَّا إِلَ ْي ِه َراجِ ُعون‬ Those who, when afflicted with calamity, say: ‘Verily from God we come, and to God we are returning!’ (Q2:156)

In the great journey of any earthly life there are only two fixed points, the origin and the destination. In moments of great tragedy or loss these are the two fixed points we invoke to give comfort and meaning. We invoke it with finality – God has claimed that being!

We evoke it with resignation – what can you do about it? And we invoke it with gratitude – the being has fulfilled its task.

You bring the night from the day and You bring the day from the night; You bring life from what is dead, and You bring death from what is living.

And You provide sustenance to whom You will without keeping an account [Q3:27]

Yet, for those left behind, this reminder should evoke a warning that is contained in the present continuous tense – “we are returning” – so that we understand that every step of life is a return, a step closer to the destination, a step closer to death, a step in preparation for the next phase of life, and a step closer to accounting for life.

So change is with us constantly. Change manifests God’s sovereignty over all that exists. The history of life is a history of ever shifting phenomena: shifts in empires and sovereignties; shifts in the pre-eminence of religious communities; as well as shifts in the pre-eminence of knowledge communities. Thus, the verse preceding the one above, teaches us to pray:

In the last two weeks, my family and I have had to face this refrain, not with the ears of the giver, but of the receiver, having had to prepare my father for the great transition of his own being. If we could, we would have wanted to hold on to him a bit longer so that his preparation for his transition could be more perfect. And yet we understood his need for peace, which ultimately did not come through healing, but through deliverance. So now we are resigned to a Forgiving Creator to manage the blemishes and imperfections of his life. We take comfort in the poetry of Jalaluddin Rumi who says in the Mathnawi:

‫قُلِ اللَّ ُه َّم َمالِ َك الْ ُمل ِْك تُؤ ِْت الْ ُمل َْك َم ْن تَشَ ا ُء‬ ‫َوتَ ْن ِز ُع الْ ُمل َْك ِم َّم ْن تَشَ ا ُء َوتُ ِع ُّز َم ْن تَشَ ا ُء َوتُ ِذ ُّل َم ْن‬ ‫ش ٍء َق ِدي ٌر‬ ُ ْ ‫تَشَ ا ُء ِب َي ِد َك الْخ‬ ْ َ ‫َي إِن َ​َّك َع َل ك ُِّل‬ Oh God! Lord of all sovereignty!

You share sovereignty with whom you want, and you remove sovereignty from whom you want.

You honour whom you want, and you disgrace whom you want.

In your hand is only good and you have power over all [Q3:26]

“If your aspiration bears you to Heaven, ‘tis no wonder: Do not regard your weakness, regard your aspiration; For this aspiration is God’s pledge lodged within you, For every seeker deserves what he seeks!”

Transitions are a constant, but can be positive or negative and their direction requires constant vigilance, constant nurturing, constant intervention, and constant effort. Using the notion learnt from Professor Guy d’Maupassant who described the Eiffel Tower as the ugliest building in the world. When challenged by his students who exclaimed: “But Professor, you eat in it every day!” he replied: “Yes, but when I’m in it, I don’t see it!” He taught us the difference between proximity and distance. When you are in it, you may not see it.

The transition of my father had announced itself seven years ago with the arrival of cancer, but in this year he allowed us to make memories with him so that he and all of us could accept his transition, and have provision for it. Transitions are the way of God. In chapter 3 (Surah Ali `Imran), verse 27, God teaches us to pray that we may recognise a world of constant transitions:

ِ‫تُولِ ُج اللَّ ْي َل ِف ال َّن َها ِر َوتُولِ ُج ال َّن َها َر ِف اللَّ ْيل‬ ‫َوتُ ْخر ُِج الْ َح َّي ِم َن الْ َم ِّي ِت َوتُ ْخر ُِج الْ َم ِّي َت ِم َن الْ َح ِّي‬ ِ ْ ‫َوتَ ْرز ُ​ُق َم ْن تَشَ ا ُء ِبغ‬ ‫اب‬ ٍ ‫َي ِح َس‬

We pray that Allah pardons al-marhum Boeta Ismail (Miley) Rasool, and all of our deceased relatives and friends. We pray for their comfort in Allah’s compassionate embrace, for their peaceful rest in His loving care, and for their blessed passage into the most fragrant and highest of the gardens of Paradise.

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RAMADAN PROGRAMMES 2018 CMRM 2018 Post-Tarawih Programme FOCUS/THEMES

DAYS AND DATES

KHUTBAH RESPONSES

FRIDAY EVENINGS

PROFILE

Leading Tarawih Prayers Hafiz Muhammad Abdullah Lubwama

QU’RAN TAFSIR AND REFLECTIONS

TUESDAY & THURSDAY EVENINGS

COMPASSIONATE CARING

WED 23 MAY; WED 30 MAY; WED 6 JUNE

LAND & SPATIAL JUSTICE

SAT 19 MAY; SAT 26 MAY

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

TUESDAY 5 JUNE

BLACK MUSLIM EXPERIENCE OF RACISM

SUN 20 MAY

CMRM PROGRAMMES: JANAZA COURSE; RAMADAN CHILDREN’S STORIES; CAPE ACCORD (AGM); JAP IN DUNOON

SUN 27 MAY; SAT 2 JUNE; SUN 3 JUNE; SAT 9 JUNE

KHATAM AL-QUR’AN – LAYLATUL QADR

MON 11 JUNE

Muhammad Abdullah Lubwama was born and grew up in Luwero Uganda, where his parents still live. He is 24 years old and unmarried.

He completed his hifz studies at Bugembe Islamic Institute Jinja Uganda in February 2012, and thereafter spent a year in Tanzania refining his tajweed and hifz recitation.

He completed an Advanced Certificate in Islamic Theology and Arabic Language at Naggalama Islamic Institute in Uganda in Dec 2014. Muhammad is in his second year of a Postgraduate Diploma in Islamic Studies at IPSA and leads daily salahs at CMRM. This will be the second consecutive year that Muhammad will be leading the tarawih at CMRM.

Ramadan 2018 JUMU’AH Schedule 18 MAY CMRM

18 MAY DUNOON

25 MAY CMRM

25 MAY DUNOON

1 JUNE CMRM

1 JUNE MASJID AL-QUDS

8 JUNE CMRM

IMAM RASHIED OMAR

IMAM SHAHEED GAMIELDIEN

MUJAHID OSMAN

IMAM RASHIED OMAR

SHAYKH SA’DULLAH KHAN

IMAM RASHIED OMAR

SHAEERA KALLA

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RAMADAN PROGRAMMES 2018 Tips for a healthier Ramadan 1. Eat a suhoor meal that fits in with your day ahead. There is no physiological need to ‘carbo load’.

2. To avoid the commonly experienced first few days ‘fasting headache’ or generalised feeling of tiredness or fatigue, sprinkle salt to your morning meal and add a magnesium supplement (e.g.

SlowMag 1 tablet morning and evening) to your daily routine.

3. Drink water - as per your thirst - and adjusted for your daily activity and weather on the day. For example, lots of physical activity and sunny outdoors, probably requires additional hydration.

4. No late night snacking. Rather have a nutritious suhoor meal than a midnight sugary greasy snack. Water, caffeine-free tea is best.

5. Try a lower sugar lower starch iftar. See CMRM Wellness Facebook group for guidance and recipes.

6. Move. Ramadan is not an excuse for moving less. Movement in the form of walking throughout the day is good even better is to add a post iftar walk or jog /run. See the Ramadan Running Club at CMRM. 7. Sleep. Or sneak a 20 minute nap during the day. Prioritise good quality sleep - if possible at least 7 hours. If not possible, don’t stress, improve the sleep you get. No ‘screen time’ for 1 hour before sleep.

8. Join the CMRM wellness groups - the weekly running/walk groups, organised CrossFit sessions, Saturday Wellness Classes. See CMRM Wellness Facebook group for further details.

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jihad against poverty Solidarity Visits to Leeuwenkuil Farm

On Sunday 17 December 2017, CMRM joined farming communities from five neighbouring farms at Leeuwenkuil, to celebrate Christmas and the end of 2017. It was a day of entertainment that included a puppet show, a Kung Fu demonstration and a ‘modeling’ show by Leeuwenkuil children. It was all good fun and a pre-cursor to what all the children were looking forward to most of all, which was receiving xmas gifts from ‘Father Christmas’ after lunch. All the gifts, kindly sponsored by generous CMRM donors, were beautifully wrapped and packed under a Christmas tree that the farmworkers had set up in the barn. Saffiya Abrahams (6yrs old) from CMRM, who celebrated her birthday, gave each child a party pack with their gifts. The day ended with some cakes for all, and then the distribution of food parcels, frozen chicken packs and hygiene care packs to the adults.

On Saturday 15 January 2018, CMRM delivered back to school stationery for 32 learners from Leeuwenkuil & Knollefontein farms. Stationery included all the writing exercise books needed for different grades, maths sets, calculators, pencil cases, flip files, brown paper and plastic and the usual pens, pencils, crayons, rulers, erasers, sharpeners and pritt. We extended our congratulations to two siblings, Kurtley Cedras (Grade 2) and Allston Cedras (Grade 6) who each received school awards for outstanding achievement in 2017. Both of them attend the nearby farm school Kersboslaagte Primary School. We also took the opportunity to take pics of the flourishing community garden that had pumpkins, mielies, sweetmelon and watermelon waiting to be harvested.

On Sunday 15 April 2018, CMRM once again visited the farming community of Leeuwenkuil. Workers from four surrounding farms joined us on a day when temperatures reached 39 deg. The Gordyntjiedorp drama group did a short skit dealing with alcohol abuse, and read a short story about being caring and non-judgemental of other people.

Uzair Appolis, who recently returned from a successful kungfu tournament in Hong Kong, then shared some kungfu training moves with the children. After lunch we once again distributed food parcels and toiletry care packs, as well as lollipops to the children.

Our thanks to all the CMRM members and friends who have joined us on visits to the farm, and all those who so generously contribute to the modest support and solidarity we are able to provide to these communities.

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Visiting The Islamic Republic of Iran: The Cultural Complexity of a Proud People

Aslam Fataar

I visited Iran in December 2017. We visited three cities and had the opportunity to spend time with ordinary folks. We got to understand how this rich and enduring culture is the result of adding onto, never throwing out, their various layers of cultural inheritances including: Persian, Zoroastrian, Islamic, Safavid, (Shah) Pahlavian, Socialist, Nationalist and various other aspects.

We were exposed to various elements of global consumer culture which we observed among young people who shared with us their musical tastes, their love for Western and non-Western movies, fashion, clothing, their experiences with the world of work, and desire for travel. We also got to understand a little bit about how the contradictions between Iran’s rich and overlapping cultural inheritances are mediated by the current Islamist emphasis on a particular religious political articulation.

Some of these mediations are positive and productive as shown by the country’s economic and political self-reliance, and its generally anti-imperial global political stances. Other mediations of the Islamist political dominance seem to be constrained by the lack of opportunity for creativity and innovation, allegations of corruption, and constraints experienced in the areas of gender and class disparity and open political expression.

I got the sense that ordinary folk have found interesting ways of establishing small freedoms in this context, in the way they dress, their adherence to their Persian history and their love of music, and dance (done under cover and out of sight).

And some expressed desire for a more egalitarian society in the areas of gender, criticism against elite domination, and calls for minority rights and inclusion.

My reading on the rise and establishment of Shi’asm in Iran reveals a complex story about religion in the Safavid era from the 15th century onwards when Shi’asm became the doctrinal creed in Iran.

There is much to understand here about how doctrine intersect with local cultures and deep histories, and how they are reworked in different epochs. Iran’s political history during the 20th century reveals a failed experiment with constitutional democracy, the autocratic rule of the first and second Pahlavi dynasties, the treacherous removal of democratically elected Mohammed Mossadegh by the CIA in 1953, and Iran’s experiment with secular modernization during the reign of Reza Pahlavi.

I remain fascinated by Khomeini’s velayat-al-fakih doctrine (governance of the jurist) which is based on a re-reading of Shi’a dogma regarding secular governance, and whose insertion at a strategic moment during the 1978-1980 Iranian revolution made the modern Islamic Republic possible.

I would argue that Khomeini’s doctrine gave that society its latest cultural and religious inflection which is currently being challenged and reworked in interesting ways.

There is nothing static or essentialist about social, cultural, religious or political life in the Islamic Republic of Iran and its current political moment is a very interesting case in point.

Iranians get very worked up, almost to a person, by the Wahhabi takfiri discourse. I asked myself whether this reveals an antiSunni perspective? Perhaps, I thought. But not from what I could discern. Iranians had an entirely political reading of takfir doctrine.

AT ENTRANCE TO SEYYID They mention the American influence in the MOSQUE IN ISFAHAN Middle East, they were vehemently opposed to the austere literalist interpretation employed by the takfiris, and there is a geo-political dimension to their opinions, including Iran has many minorities such as the Kurds, Arabs, Persian their views on Saudi influence and expansionism in the Middle Armenians, Lurs, Mazandaranis, Turkmen and religious East. Of course, Iran’s support for groups in Lebanon, Syria and minorities such as Jews, Christians and Bahais, some who Yemen makes the country at the very least complicit as a player have reported persecution. The religious culture is dominated by in ongoing sectarian politics and militarism in the Middle East. the Shi’a version of Islam. This means that the country’s formal What is clear among all Iranians is that an anti-Israel position is a public culture and semiotics are inflected by Shi’a symbolism and pillar of political faith, based on a very careful distinction between Zionism as the enemy of the region and Judaism as a proud and religious practices. accepted Abrahamic religion.

What I found interesting was that there was an absence of doctrinal rancor or polemics, in other words, no Sunni-Shi’a Tehran, the capital city was an amazing mix of architecture, polemics, or Sunni vilification. This is instructive for people living congestion, mad driving, culture, and people going about in other contexts such as South Africa, and elsewhere, which their way, making viable lives. This was an important trip, life have seen an increase in anti-Shi’a intolerance over the last five affirming in that excitable, astonishing, productive and beautiful years. Such intolerance is borne of a larger geo-political battle in way. Ordinary Iranians have worked out how to ‘stand on’ many the Middle East, between Saudi Arabia and Iran, over expanding different points of meaning and contradiction, giving expression their respective spheres of dominance in countries such as Yemen, to their humanness in the softest, gentlest and humblest ways Lebanon, Iraq and Syria. In this situation the Shi’a-Sunni polemics imaginable. My impressions are indeed perfunctory based on a short and superficial, yet quite intense trip. What we observed and is a proxy for geopolitical contestation. experienced gave us a wonderful sense of everyday Iranians and 7 their dignified lives.

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MASJID ACTIVITIES Springfield Convent Students On Thursday 19 April CMRM hosted a group of 70 Grade 11 learners and 4 educators from Springfield convent.

Imam Shaheed Gamieldien and CMRM administrator Shariefa Wydeman gave an introduction to Islam including the Pillars of Islam, and demonstrated how to take ablution (wudu) before salah, and demonstrated the postures of the salah. The session ended with a lively Q&A with learners.

Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital On Wednesday, 7 March 2018, Imam Shaheed joined leaders from other faith groups at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital for an inter-faith prayer gathering for the water crisis in Cape Town and South Africa. Prayers were offered for rain and relief for drought stricken regions. On Thursday 19 April 2018 Imam Shaheed Gamieldien joined other faith leaders to offer opening prayers and blessings at a thanksgiving ceremony at the Children’s hospital. The thanksgiving ceremony was organised by the Friends of the Children’s Hospital Association (FOCHA). The FOCHA provides non-medical support to patients, their parents and caregivers at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital. FOCHA has been in existence since 1978 and the ceremony was to give thanks to all their donors and supporters over the past 40 years.

Film Screening and Discussion of Disturbing the Peace On Sunday 10 December, CMRM hosted a film screening and discussion of the documentary film, Disturbing the Peace. CMRM congregants were joined by members from the Christian and Jewish faith communities, with most of the latter members of the Save Israel, Stop Occupation (SISO) group. The film looks at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the perspective of former enemy combatants – Israeli soldiers and Palestinian resistance fighters – who join together in pursuit of seeking a peaceful resolution to this intractable conflict. The movie brings into focus the devastating loss of dignity and human life in an ongoing cycle of violence and tries to retrieve a narrative of humanity in its appeal for a peaceful and non-violent resolution to this conflict.

The movie sparked challenging questions, some of which were raised in the discussion forum after the screening. These included amongst other things, the sanctity of human life in the context of a struggle for liberation; personal transformation towards peace and justice even against your own community; is striving for peace selling out your struggle; are there really two sides to the conflict; is recognizing the other an endorsement of a two state solution. Although divergent views were expressed, the dialogue was respectful and augurs well for many more such dialogues between different faith communities.

St. Luke’s Hopice

Imam Shaheed is part of the St.Luke’s Hospice team that provides spiritual care to patients. He attended an interfaith day of prayers at St.Luke’s Hospice in Kenilworth in April. On the far right is St. Luke’s Spiritual Care co-ordinator, Patrick Paulse.

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MASJID ACTIVITIES Inspiring Practical Janaza Course In March 2018 we had a three week practical janaza course for ladies presented by CMRM administrator, Shariefa Wydeman. Shariefa is an experienced ghasila (toekamandie). The course was introduced by Boeta Faried Khan, who is also a registered undertaker and ghasil. Boeta Faried went through all the bureaucratic requirements at the time of death and provided a useful checklist and guidelines to prepare for a janaza as well as contact details of registered undertakers, hearse services, burial societies and cemeteries in the Western Cape. In the sessions that followed, Shariefa covered both fiqh and practical aspects of the ritual cleansing (ghusl) and shrouding of the deceased, as well as salatul janaza and the period of mourning (‘idda) for widows. In the last session, participants brought dolls and material to learn through practice how to prepare a kafan and shroud a deceased body. The course was immensely inspiring and hopefully participants have been empowered to be in a position, if the need arises, to participate in the final rites for deceased family, including the ritual cleansing and shrouding of the deceased as well as performing salatul janaza.

Raising Awareness Against Gender-Based Violence Mawlid al-Nabi celebrations on Thursday evening 30 November 2017 was a special evening, as CMRM members wore orange scarfs in response to the United Nations call to “ORANGE THE WORLD” to symbolize a world free of gender-based violence. Dr. Sa’diyya Shaik delivered the talk on Mawlud evening. She reflected on the pervasive paradigms of violent domination and toxic masculinity in our society, and compared this to the life and model of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as a mercy to the world. She urged us to look to the prophetic model to find a model for all human beings emerging from qualities of generosity, mercy and unconditional love, a powerful model of gracious masculinity and humanity.

The following day, on Friday 1 December 2017 after jumu’ah, CMRM members held a silent vigil on the Main Road to raise awareness of gender-based violence and encourage non-violent gender interactions and gender harmony. Many of the placards had the names of recent victims of gender-based violence such as ReneTracy Roman (13), Courtney Peters (3), Stacha Arendse (3) and Kaitlyn Wilson (5).

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GUEST SPEAKERS Deon Snyman

15 Dec 2017 Topic: Restitution & Reconcilliation

Ebrahim Rasool

29 Dec 2017 Topic: Transitions in Life: Beginnings & Endings

Hafsa Kanjwal

5 Jan 2018 Topic: The Conflict in Kashmir

Thandile Khona

26 Jan 2018 Topic: Solidarity with Muslims in Kwanobuhle

MASJID ACTIVITIES Addressing Visiting Students on Decoloniality and Islam On Friday 19 Jan 2018, two groups of visiting students and academics listened to the excellent khutbah delivered

by Prof Aslam Fataar on ‘Imagining Islam from the Perspective of the Wretched of the Earth’. The first group of visitors included about 30 Ramon Grosfoguel, Aslam Fataar and Salman Sayyid students who were attending the University of Johannesburg’s Summer School on ‘Islam, Decoloniality and Liberation Theology’, in Cape Town. The khutbah by Aslam addressed this topic by pondering the question ‘What is a decolonial Islamic approach and how could such an approach empower marginalised communities to establish productive and viable lives?’ Visiting international scholars and decolonial theorists at the Summer School, Prof Ramon Grosfoguel and Prof Salman Sayyid, as well as UJ scholars Prof Farid Esack and Dr. Shaheed Mathee accompanied the students. The second group included about 20 students from the Methodist Theological School in Ohio, United States, who were in Cape Town for cross-cultural visits. Prof Farid Esack gave a short talk and engaged with the students after jumu’ah.

During jumu’ah, we also displayed banners inside and outside the masjid of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign to raise awareness about the continued illegal detention of Palestinian political prisoners such as Marwan Barghouti and 16 year old Ahed Tamimi and other child detainees.

Nafisa Patel

9 Feb 2018 Topic: Solidarity Against the Exploitation of Women

Ali Abunimah

16 March Topic: Solidarity with Palestinians (BDS)

Mahan Mirza

6 April 2018 Topic: Differences of Opinion as a Tradition in Islam

Brian Ashley

20 April Topic: 1 Million Climate Jobs

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TRIBUTE TO Abdul Moutie Isaacs (1936 – 2018)

Mama’s Fridge Moutie’s eyes were as wide as saucepans, staring in wonder at the new arrival. He was grinning from ear to ear at this brand new fantastic fridge that was being delivered by the Blacher Brother’s delivery truck. He was so proud, as he looked over the crowd; practically the whole neighbourhood had come to see what was being unpacked in front of the modest two-bedroomed cottage of Sies Beira.

There was no shortage of hands as everybody volunteered to assist in the carrying of the fridge, in through the front door and down the hallway before settling down Sies Beira’s fridge. Moutie felt like a million tickie lad, because it was their brand-new fridge. It didn’t matter if he would have to be sleeping at the foot of the fridge for lack of beds in the house.

He knew his Mama Sies Beira had a plan with this fridge, she always had a plan. He could not wait for Derre his father to come home that night. What extremely exciting adventures would lie ahead, he could only imagine.

Moutie was still reminiscing about that day next to the purring fridge, when his Mama Sies Beira yelled out “You better get those ice-blocks made, …vanaand gaan die warmte die mense bied het”. He jerked from the shock of his mother’s sudden remark.

But, he knew better than to even make the slightest sound. His mother had a pleasant friendly round shaped face, with slanty almond shaped brown eyes. However, an apparently jolly disposition could easily see itself transformed into his worst nightmare as he was sure to be reprimanded if he did not respond immediately. He knew all too well the risks involved in delaying one second longer.

Making the ice blocks was a labour of love for him, and it gave him great satisfaction

to know that on a mercilessly hot District Six evening half the neighbourhood, both young and old, would be sucking on iceblocks that he had made with his own two hands. His mother had also diversified the fridge sale to include the selling of bottles of coke and this was a pure luxury item at the time. Moutie was in charge of the handling of all monies, and these monies were to go directly into the money jar, inside the fridge of course. He would eventually pay in ‘cold’ cash, the monthly installments to Mr Blacher himself in Loop street at the end of the month. Moutie was particularly proud of this responsibility as it made him feel closer in charge as the next man in the family after his “Derre”.

He was very proud of his father, a quiet man of tall and slender build, who worked as a tailor at Rex Trueform. Rumour had it that he was instrumental in the development of one of the signature lines at his workplace.

When he died in later years though, their family did not even receive so much as a condolence card. When his father was done with his day job, he would often have visitors over in the evening. All adults would be squashed into the tiny dining room and there was neither the space nor the tolerance for any children brazen enough to venture into “Grootmense se gedaab”. The adults would speak to Moutie’s Derre with deference as if he was some kind of Imam. Years later Moutie would come to understand that his father was respected as a wise family counselor. At the time though all he could think about was when these people would leave since they were using the dining room which also doubled over as his bedroom at night.

The ice block job was much better than his other job of cleaning sheep tails. This because of all the flea bites his body would be riddled with thereafter. Besides needing to deal with his own flea emergency he would have to deal with all the flea removals required of each of his seven younger siblings, all of them of the whining female kind. He could not for the life of him understand their insatiable curiosity in needing to volunteer with the sheep tails, to thereafter kick up the hugest commotion about becoming the potential supper of the fleas. Fatima was the worst whiner of them all wincing “Boeta Boeta its itching, eina, ouch …its sore”, as he pinched each little flea off her until it was all done. Often he would bemoan his Boeta job. He did however feel that he needed to help his

mother Sies Beira who after all had to help his father maintain a house filled with nine kids. And besides, all the girls in Boeta’s family loved their Boeta...dearly. He was also a gifted and special teacher…

[Pappa’s District Six childhood memory shared with and penned by Fagmieyah Darries.]

Grandchildren, early memories (2000’s) [by Abdul Qasif Isaacs] Pappa taught a weekly adult education Qur’an recitation class from his home, and was a founding member of the local children’s madrassa. This involved offering part of his house as temporary accommodation while the construction of the madrassa complex was underway. One day after school Fazeelah came to Pappa and asked for help with her madrassa lesson. Following her lesson Pappa asked me what my lesson was. Though I had no lesson, I pointed at a random page. This was my first lesson with Pappa.

Everyone in the house said that we’re going on Hajj. I did not yet understand the true meaning of this. During the lessons with Pappa, instead of the regular reciting, we were taught the du’as of Hajj and what to do on Hajj. He demonstrated this by using a Rubik’s cube to represent the Ka’bah and Lego ‘mannetjies’ to represent us.

I read the last page of the Kitab. Pappa shows me how to perform wudhu and I recite my first lesson from the Qur’an. The one thing I take with me for the rest of my life from Pappa, is the ability to recite the Qur’an.

Boeta Moutie Isaacs regularly attended CMRM for jumu`ah, tarawih prayers and other events during the last few years of his life, after he moved to Newlands to live with his son Fadly.

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Spatial Planning Legislation

A New Challenge To Address Past Spatial Injustices “cornerstone of an inclusive City” that the City needs to promote. It lists one of its goals as supporting and facilitating the creation of environments that accommodate mixed residential types and a range of income levels.

Angela Andrews The Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act, 2013 (SPLUMA) is a framework for town planning legislation which came into effect in 2015. Its lofty goals include the principle of spatial justice that requires that past spatial and other development injustices must be redressed through improved access to and use of land. Given the current context of our spatially divided cities, the housing crisis, unemployment, inadequate public transport, the history of forced removals and social exclusion in our city, one would have expected a clamouring for its implementation. But the opposite is true.

Outside of town planning circles no one seems to know anything about it. This article explores the issue, and considers how the legislation can be used by civil society to promote spatial integration and inclusionary housing in our divided city.

As with numerous other pieces of postApartheid legislation, such as the National Environmental Management Act, and the Marine Living Resources Act, SPLUMA requires future decisions to have regard to principles that address the legacy of Apartheid, and to promote transformation and equality. These statutes however give little detail as to how these goals are to be implemented by administrative officials.

When a municipality considers and decides on a land use application it must have regard to these principles and the applicable spatial development frameworks.

The City of Cape Town Spatial Development Framework (CTSDF) goal is to “promote integrated settlement patterns in existing and new residential areas…” and ensure that basic services are available as a

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At present the City of Cape Town, like most municipalities, does not have detailed policies that guide decision makers as to how to implement SPLUMA and its transformative objectives.

It only has broad policies to promote densification and transport orientated development.

Developers who seek approvals and claim that their projects will promote the fulfilment of SPLUMA do not usually encounter any difficulty at the Municipal Planning Tribunals with the issue of whether their developments will give real effect to the imperatives of social inclusion and transformation.

“Given the current context of our spatially divided cities, the housing crisis, unemployment, inadequate public transport, the history of forced removals and social exclusion in our city, one would have expected a clamouring for its implementation. But the opposite is true.”

Ofcourse, it seems easy to argue that these policies will do little to change the legacy of Apartheid spatial planning, given that affordability is a key issue in determining where people live. This argument was tested for the first time before the Municipal Planning Tribunal (MPT) for the Southern District on 17th April 2018 when Claremont Main Road Mosque (CMRM), representing congregants (and their descendants) who had been directly affected by the Group Areas Act forced removals, challenged the granting of planning approvals for a large proposed development in Thicket street, Newlands, where 256 flats are planned to be built.

CMRM’s submission as Intervener argued that the application for the approvals did not provide any evidence of how the principles of SPLUMA and the

CTSDF were going to be promoted, and for this reason the approvals should not be granted. CMRM asked for a postponement of the approval, to enable it to engage with the developer, but this was refused. The approval was granted and the reason given was that “notwithstanding the principles contained in SPLUMA, the MPT is not in a position to delay decision-making in the absence of an appropriate Council policy framework and an agreed upon set of criteria and mechanisms to guide the implementation of inclusionary housing in private developments”.

The Tribunal may have incorrectly understood its legal position. Based on legal precedent, the Tribunal is obliged, before approval, to consider facts from which it will appear that developers have indeed paid due regard to the imperatives of social inclusion and transformation. CMRM will therefore be appealing the decision on the basis that the Tribunal failed to require evidence that historical imbalances in spatial planning would be addressed through the granting of the approval for the Thicket Street development. In recent decisions of other Municipal Planning Tribunals in the Western Cape the issue has been addressed by reserving a portion of the development for affordable housing or requiring a development levy for approvals, that is to be utilised elsewhere to promote spatial integration. This is also in keeping with trends in other jurisdictions such as the UK and USA used in order to promote affordable housing.

Angela Andrews is a public interest laywer with the Legal Resource Centre and assisted CMRM with its submission as Intervener at the Municipal Planning Tribunal.

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