Newsletter of the Claremont Main Road Mosque · Vol.3 No.1 - August 2013/1434
‘Id al-Fitr 2013
Curbing Sectarian Impulses Shaykh Ighsaan Taliep “And obey Allah and His Messenger; and fall not into disputes, lest you lose heart and your power depart; and be patient and persevering: for Allah is with those who patiently persevere.” [Q8:46] In the above ayah Allah, the Almighty, prohibits the Believers from falling into strife and dissension (tanāzu’) since this will lead to their downfall and cause their power to disperse. The Qur’an furthermore admonishes the Believers to refrain from factionalism and sectarianism (tafarruq) and reminds the Believing community of Allah’s great bounty upon them if they become a welded brethren. In the view of many, the Muslim ummah is currently witnessing a dangerous rise in sectarianism and factionalism that seems to be palpable even to people of other faiths! As a consequence of the “Arab Spring” it appears that the flames of extremism and intolerance have been breathed with new life. The cries for political freedom in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Syria and elsewhere seemed to have provided the opportunity and momentum for extremist groups to terrorise and destroy Islamic cultural heritage of hundreds of years. This type of extreme behaviour gives rise to increased sectarianism among so-called Wahabi-Salafist and Sufi groupings. An equally sensitive and dangerous fault line which has been exploited to the injury of Muslims in countries like Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, and elsewhere is the Sunni-Shi’i divide. Retaliation bombings and killings between Sunnis and Shi’is in these countries occur virtually on a daily basis. It is of grave concern that signs of these tensions are undeniably rearing its head among South African Muslims. How should we address this challenge? Firstly, we must understand that it is the will of Allah that people will always differ in their interpretations of the primary sources of Islam (see Q11:118). For example, the SunniShi’i schism has been part of this ummah for fourteen hundred years and it is not going to go away. Secondly, if we are to avoid the catastrophic consequences of sectarianism as it plays out elsewhere, the obligation falls to responsible and courageous leadership to propose new
ways of managing differences within their communities. Thirdly the Qur’an enjoins that good and evil are not equal, but that the best of strategies (ahsan) be employed to repel wrong. Only in so doing do we stand a chance of removing hatred and sectarianism that lead to violence and killing that regrettably has become so common in parts of the Muslim world. Fourthly, the underlying principles for such strategies are clearly enunciated in our primary sources. We must allow the pervasive Prophetic principals of tolerance (tasāmuh) and balance (wasatiyyah) based on justice (‘adl) and the performance of good (ihsān) to shape our attitudes and positions. The consequences of dogmatic and extreme attitudes are too ghastly to contemplate!
“The Muslim ummah is currently witnessing a dangerous rise in sectarianism and factionalism that seems to be palpable even to people of other faiths!” Fifthly, a major factor is the incendiary undertones in the curricula of certain Islamic centres based on dogmatic theology. Such education programmes breed intolerance that are encapsulated in condemnatory concepts like, kāfir (infidel), mushrik (idolater), mubtadi’ (heretic), fāsiq (morally depraved). This is hugely problematic for the ummah.
Editorial This ‘Id al-Fitr edition coincides with the celebration of Women’s Day on the 9th August 2013, and so we feature some articles that address this theme. Imam Rashied provides an insightful tafsir of qur’anic verses that unequivocally affirms the equal status and rights of women in society. Fatima Seedat challenges us to think carefully about how we respond to the proposed Muslim Marriages Bill in terms of its recognition of the role and voice of women in the marriage contract. Shuaib Manjra reminds us about the prevalence of violence against women in our society and suggests some concrete ways in which we can fight this scourge. At this time of ‘Id al-Fitr we give thanks for the many blessings of Ramadan and pray for peace in the many conflict ridden parts of the world. The lead article by Shaykh Ighsaan Taliep sounds a timeous warning for us to guard against growing sectarianism in our own society, which has been the source of conflict in so many parts of the world. Raashied Galant further provides a critical reflection on the violence and destruction perpetrated by Muslim Power in West Africa and the Middle East. In this edition we also report on the many activities in our Jihad Against Poverty campaign which we undertook this Ramadan with the generous support of many of our congregants. We also feature a sample of the many excellent post-tarawih guest speakers we invited. Finally, we celebrate the life of Aunty Fatima Ganief, one of the oldest women jamat members at CMRM. We wish you all ‘Id Sa’id Wa Mubarak
Sixthly, all Islamic solutions must of necessity be tempered with mercy. This quintessential principal in Islam finds Prophetic sanction in the hadith, “Those who are merciful will receive mercy from the Most Merciful; show mercy to those on earth and (as a result) He who is beyond the heavens will show you mercy.” Let us hope that we have the moral courage to live with differences in society without amplifying differences into becoming sectarian conflicts.
40-42 Main Road, Claremont, 7708 • 021 683 8384 • www.cmrm.co.za
Chairperson’s Message Yusuf (Jowa) Abrahams Assalamu Alaykum wa rahmatullah and positive optimism It is an honour for me and with a sense of pride had on Sunday 28 we AGM ssful succe very to report back on the and Board members July 2013. We had more than 50 attendees, as well as current ities activ presented their portfolio reports on 2012 al Report, which Annu 2012 our buted developments. We also distri The 2012 Annual Report includes the audited financial statements. activities for each of the contains mission statements and lists 2012 on: Missi M’s CMR of following five key dimensions rty o Jihad Against Pove o Gender Justice o Interfaith Solidarity o Youth Empowerment and o Environmental Justice ssion and resolution at the Below are some of the main points of discu 2013 AGM: tration as either an NPO or • The masjid will continue to pursue regis deductions. PBO – this will enable donors to claim tax er explore the setting up furth to d titute • A sub-committee will be cons masjid Board. This will also of a masjid Trust and its relationship to the entail reviewing the masjid constitution. more involved in masjid • The masjid must find ways of getting youth ts for youth. even more g nizin orga activities and generally tain full functional main will rasa mad the that ment agree • There was id. The madrasa masj the of independence with the support up the procedural write to n rtake unde have management committee workable. and accountability processes to make this and total expenses was 407 R704 was 2012 for e incom total • Our 462. R115 was year the R537 956. The net surplus for ons to the masjid ibuti contr in ase incre the by • We are pleased member pledges – and s administration through jumuah collection Member pledges and 327 R174 was Jumuah collections for the year was R159 930. um member pledges at • The AGM decided to maintain current minim R100 per month. the pool of knowledge, • Our greatest challenge in 2013 is to grow for voluntary support in skills and expertise from which we can draw rammes. prog order to build and sustain all our masjid iting new members to recru in tive asser • We will undertake to be more ng members take personal the majid. It was recommended that existi member in the coming responsibility for recruiting at least one new year. bers for their many hours Our sincerest gratitude to all Board mem efficient administration. an ve achie we of sacrifice in ensuring that Imam Shaheed for their Finally, our thanks to Imam Rashied and id. At this time we masj the inspirational work and leadership at all our parents and id, masj the at arts always think of all those stalw that they and all our loved friends, who are no longer with us. We pray Allah. ones be given a high place in Jannah, Insha be filled with peace and Eid Mubarak to you all! May your year -Allah. Shukran once Insha h prosperity. May you enjoy good healt ort. supp again for your continued
Imam’s Message Imam Dr. A. Rashied Omar One of the highlights of Ramadan 2013 was the use of the unique opportunity provided by the nightly post-tarawih talks to inform and mobilize the congregation with regard to the vision and mission of CMRM. Each evening, carefully chosen speakers addressed one of the five key dimensions of CMRM’s Mission, namely Jihad Against Poverty, Gender Justice, Interfaith Solidarity, Youth Empowerment and Environmental Justice. The post-tarawih talks were all edifying and provided congregants with a deep and textured understanding of CMRM’s compassionate and socially responsive vision of Islam. Thanks to our techno-savvy congregants audio-recordings, and in some cases video recordings, of these talks were posted on the masjid website nightly for the benefit of those who were unable to be attend. The most inspirational of these post-tarawih talks was the three Christian speakers. Green Bishop Geoff Davies of SAFCEI, commended CMRM for being the first mosque to become an ecocongregation and advised congregants that in serving God we must not only care for our fellow human beings, but all of God’s creation. Fr. Christopher Clohessy, of St. Bernard’s church in Claremont, spoke on the virtues of good neigbourliness and dedicated his talk to Fr. John Oliver, founder of the Cape Town Interfaith Initiative and the Western Cape Religious Leaders Forum, who passed away a few days before the start of Ramadan. Former Mayor of Cape Town, Gordon Oliver, responded to the Ramadan farewell khutbah delivered by Shaykh Sa`dullah Khan. The latter’s talk was part of an initiative by the Unitarian Church of Cape Town to show solidarity with the Muslim community during Ramadan. A group of members from the Unitarian church attended all four jumuahs in Ramadan. These three post-tarawih talks underscored the critical importance of the interfaith solidarity dimension of CMRM’s mission. It would not be an exaggeration to claim that CMRM is one of the leading Muslim institutions engaged in interfaith solidarity. In this regard we are fulfilling a vital role on behalf of the Muslim community in Cape Town and following a divine imperative of affirming the dignity of people of other faith traditions through intimate knowledge (ta`aruf) [Q49:13]. Finally, the post-tarawih talk by Imam Nurul-Iman Mustafa from the Dunoon Masjid highlighted the growing relationship we have established between our two communities during the past Ramadan. It is a part of our Jihad Against Poverty dimension that we seek to build on during the post-Ramadan period. It is our sincere hope that this exposure has not only helped in clarifying the socially responsive and compassionate vision of Islam, but that it has also inspired congregants to commit themselves to participating in one or more of these key dimensions. Finally, our sincere thanks to Hafiz Omar Hasan Masoud from Tanzania, for once again inspiring us in the tarawih prayers with his melodious recitations of the Qur’an. We pray that Allah blesses him and guides and protects him so that he may not be a stranger to our shores, Insha-Allah.
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The Equivalence and Dignity of Women in the Qur’an Imam A. Rashied Omar
Surah al-Ahzab (The Confederates) Chapter 33, Verse 35:
Indeed for Men who surrender and Women who surrender And for believing men and believing women And for devout men and devout women And for men who are truthful and women who are truthful And for men who are patient and women who are patient, And for men who are humble and women who humble themselves And for men who give in Charity and women who give in Charity, And for men who fast and women who fast, For men who guard their chastity and women who guard their chastity For men and women who engage in the remembrance of Allah For them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward (Q 33:35) The above Qur’anic verse establishes the full equality and dignity that Allah, the Lord of Justice, wills for both males and females. It is a paradigmatic verse and the lens and hermeneutical key through which all other verses pertaining to gender relations in the Qur’an should be interpreted. The verse describes ten exceptional virtues which should adorn fair-minded men and women and categorically affirms that both men and women who possess these qualities shall be equally forgiven and equally rewarded by Allah, the Lord of Justice. Through the repetition of both genders ten times, this edifying Qur’anic verse seeks to emphasize that both men and women have the same intrinsic worth in the eyes of their Creator and as such should be viewed and treated equally by all human beings. We should therefore interpret this verse to mean that not only can women attain the same spiritual heights as that of men, but women should also be accorded the same social, cultural, economic and political rights as men. According to two of the most famous classical commentators of the Qur’an, Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari (d.923) and Isma`il Ibn Kathir (d.1373) the context for the revelation of this verse of the Qur’an is instructive: A number of women, including Umm ‘Umara, had questioned the wives of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as to why the Qur’an did not address women as explicitly as it mentions men. It appears that these women companions (sahabiyyat) were not impressed by the fact that in the Arabic language, as in most other languages, the male gender is inclusive of the female gender, and that in using it the Qur’an was in effect addressing both genders. It is instructive to note that these illustrious sahabiyat did not feel that it was disrespectful or not their place to raise critical questions if they felt certain teachings of Islam were unjust to women. According to the Musnad of Imam Ahmad, Umm Salamah, one of the Prophet’s (pbuh) wives, was a keen scholar and had imbibed the critical spirit with which her husband had nurtured his followers and so took the challenge of the women to him by asking: “Why is it that we (women) are not mentioned in the Qur’an as men are?” A short while later, Umm Salamah recalls that she was busy combing her hair in her chamber when she heard the Prophet (pbuh) calling out from the pulpit. She describes the incident as follows: ‘I hastily did up my hair and ran to one of the apartments from where I could hear well. I pressed my ear to the wall and heard the Prophet (pbuh) reciting the full text of verse 35 of surah alAhzab, Chapter 33” [Tafsir at-Tababi]. The above verse was thus revealed in response to the question of gender equity raised by the female companions of the Prophet (pbuh) including his wives. The Qur’anic response to this question is unequivocal and asserts the absolute equality of and identical spiritual and moral obligations and rewards accorded to all individuals regardless of gender. Following these instructive verses of the Qur’an, there should be no ambivalence about the status of women in Islam. Hence, as conscientious Muslims, we should strive to always affirm the full and equal dignity and humanity of women in our homes, our communities, our masajid and most importantly, in our society.
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JIHAD AGAINST POVER Food and Blanket Distributions During Ramadan 2013, CMRM continued to build on its Jihad Against Poverty programme. The Dunoon masjid twinning in particular has flourished. For the second year running Imam Rashied’s student Hafiz Ismail Moses has led the tarawih prayers in Dunoon, and CMRM has sponsored daily iftars for 150 people. In addition Imam Shaheed and Imam Rashied delivered Ramadan khutbahs in Dunoon, and Imam Nurul Iman of Dunoon, delivered a post-tarawih lecture at CMRM. CMRM also sponsored daily iftar meals and distributed fitra parcels and blankets at the following venues: Khayelitsha, Blikkiesdorp, Dunoon, Saartjie Baartman Centre, Emasithandane Orphanage, Beitul Aman, Claremont Night Shelter and Leeuwenkuil Farm. At Leeuwenkuil we also provided a hot meal and gave children party packs. Many congregants joined in the distributions. The Blikkiesdorp distribution was co-ordinated by CMRM admin assistant, Shariefa Wydeman and her family. The need for a vaccum cleaner for the Bilal Masjid in Khayelitsha was identified by Shaykh Omar Masoud, and a CMRM congregant generously donated one. During Ramadan our jamat also had the opportunity to prepare Winter Care Packs for the children of the Emasithandane Children’s Home in Nyanga. The pack consisted of hot chocolate, marshmallows, sweet treats, pyjamas, slippers, and warm clothes. We thank the generous people who contributed and participated in this project. In Ramadan we also stepped up our support to organizations that work towards combatting violence against women. We sponsored daily meals at Saartjie Baartman Centre for abused women and children, IHATA Shelter for abused women and children and Christine Revel Home, a home that provides full time care to babies and children who have been neglected, abandoned, abused or orphaned. On the Sunday following‘Id al-Fitr we will deliver two bicycles sponsored by jamat members, for shop stewards representing farmworkers in Robertson. In total, we disbursed almost R150 000 to needy communities and individuals during Ramadan 2013. This is a substantial increase from distributions in previous years. May Allah shower his mercy and blessings on all of you who gave so generously during this blessed month.
Dunoon
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VERTY RAMADAN 2013 Emasithandane
Khayelitsha
Saartjie Baartman
Blikkiesdorp
Leeuwenkuil
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SATURDAY MORNING MADRASA Principal’s Message
Grade 1
Shafiek Abrahams
This is a summary of the madrasa report presented at the CMRM AGM held on 28 July 2013. The Saturday Morning Madrasa continues to operate in a challenging environment; competing with school sports, dealing with a schooling and education system under stress and the implementation of the new Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) programme. All these challenges impact on the Madrasa in various ways. In addition, the tough economic situation in our country continues to affect our parents and their financial obligations to the Madrasa. However, the Madrasa continues to serve students and parents with vast demographic profiles, both in terms of geographic location and socio-economic backgrounds. The Madrasa student roll is decreasing, and in 2012 the Madrasa had 380 registered students. At this point it would be useful to remind ourselves of the four major outcomes of the Madrasa and to see how we measure up to them. The four outcomes are: 1. Qur’an Reading: Learners would be able to recite the Qur’an with all tajwid rules. 2. Hifz: Learners would be able to memorise 1 juz of the Qur’an. 3. Arabic Language: Learners would be able to write the Matric external Arabic examination. 4. Islamic Studies: Learners would have learnt how to make salah, and various other practical aspects of Islam Below are some of the highlights of our achievements and challenges: • 23 learners graduated into the Qur’an at the end of year presentation ceremony in 2012. • After the favourable IEB report of the previous year, another group of four students successfully completed their matric Arabic external examination. • The hifz programme was disappointing last year. A total of 13 learners were not sufficiently prepared for the external hifz examination. Fortunately due to the commitment of some of the senior teachers an internal testing session was arranged. • The Madrasa once again organised a successful educational excursion on Saturday, 16 June 2012, to the shrine of Shaykh Yusuf in Faure.The success of this event can be attributed to the small group of parents who gave of their time to plan and organise all aspects of it. • Two teachers attended the teacher training course. They were joined by ten parents and other adults. All the parents graduated into the Qur’an and some of them went on to complete the psychology of teaching and learning component of the teacher training course. In conclusion, the Madrasa management and staff will continue to ensure that a good quality Madrasa education is provided to our learners and their parents irrespective of the many challenges that we face.
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Grade 2
Is Muslim Power Failing Humanity? deeply Christian people who have been hurt by Muslim Power. And the response of the traditional Muslim Power in that region to the atrocities of the rebels is anything but shocking. When the most powerful Muslim in Africa, the Sultan of Sokoto who rules over Northern Nigeria, but whose Tariqa extends over most of West Africa, finally came out earlier this year with a proposal on how to respond to Boko Haram, he said they should be granted amnesty.
Raashied Galant Muhammad Morsi, the deposed President of Egypt, has become the fall man for something way bigger and much older than him, viz the Ikhwaanul Muslimeen. It was not a man that the people of Egypt rose up against, but a party and an ideology. That party – The Muslim Brotherhood, the Ikhwaanul Muslimeen, the legacy of those great thinkers Hasan al-Banna and Sayyid Qutb - is essentially Islamic, and the rebels were majority Muslim, for such is the make-up of the Egyptian population. These events should hopefully be more than just significant for the global Muslim Ummah, because it is by no means isolated. In the territories and villages that have been secured by the Muslim rebels in Syria, there have also been rebellions against the rebellion. The people of Mali, Alhamdulillah, at the time of writing had just elected a President and had thus emerged from their rebellion...against a rebellion. And it was Muslim power that needed to be dislodged from an initial rebellion that it lead. So too in Somalia. In West Africa, mainly northern Nigeria, a war is underway to root out a Muslim Power that has caused untold mischief in that land – bombing churches, schools, markets, and killing women and children. Muslim Power being where the political institutions and the rule of law and justice are said to have as its foundation in the Qur’an and Sunnah and its leaders are cloaked in the garbs of pious Islam. Here it is not majority-Muslims in the forefront of the battle against Boko Haram, but
In Egypt, the Ikhwaan never really got a chance to exercise much power, and there are no political links between the Ikhwaan and these rebels and militia causing mischief in other parts of Africa. But in the territories of Boko Haram and those held for a time in Mali, Somalia, Syria and several other parts of the world too, Muslim Power has indeed had a chance to show its colours, and it has been horrible and reprehensible.
“In the territories of Boko Haram and those held for a time in Mali, Somalia, Syria and several other parts of the world, Muslim Power has indeed had a chance to show its colours, and it has been horrible and reprehensible.” From the bombing of churches and schools in West Africa, the destruction of precious heritage in Mali and Afghanistan, to injustices against women and young girls, and serious violations of individual freedoms of choice, expression, association and conscience in the countries where more formal Muslim powers govern – Muslim Power is fast failing humanity and this planet. The response of the Sultan of Sokoto is a dreadful indication of the paralysis of Muslim leadership to effectively respond to humanity with justice. The root of the ugliness in Muslim Power in this century is largely located in the defensive mode of the narratives of Islamic thought emerging from neo-colonialism, pitting Islam and that imaginary golden era Islam enjoyed in the Middle Ages,
as the alternative to western thought and governance. In this, Islam becomes an alternative power construct meant to be void of any western sensibilities around justice and humanity. When in fact, Islam in essence is neither a power construct nor a mode of government, but a moral vision for all of humanity, and where each and every Muslim is meant to be a steward of humanity and a guardian of this earth. But in the Muslim Ummah there has been a large failure to grapple with morality, justice, equality and freedom outside a defensive paradigm of an encroaching “other”. Where progressive scholars do in fact grapple with these issues, in much the same way that classical scholars of yore grappled with changing consciousness and sensibilities in years gone by, they are met now with labels of apostacy and/or outright violence. When Muslim fathers slit their daughters throats for being too westernized, when women are treated as persona non-grata, when women are criminalized for rape, when minorities are persecuted and murdered in Muslim countries, when people are beheaded (in Afghanistan) for having a party with music, it belies an hypocrisy that is symptomatic of the petty blinkers that have blinded many Muslims from justice and humanity in this world. Is there any hope of these blinkers being lost? The Global Muslim Ummah is here, in this century, on every continent, in a way unimagined by the Prophet (SAW) and the Sahaaba (RA). We do not need Muslim Power to be Muslim and to thrive as Muslims. In fact, this global Muslim Ummah has emerged from the death of the Islamic Caliphate. And those who still yearn for this Caliphate, have indeed caused mischief on this earth and transgressed bounds of humanity. The time has come for Muslims to reject and renounce these notions of Muslim Power and a Caliphate, and to get on with the business of being human and protecting this planet for all of humanity.
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MASJID A Interfaith Dialogue with Unitarian Church Rev. Roux Malan As Unitarians we have a long and illustrious history that dedicated itself to religious freedom since the 16th century in Europe. We, therefore, encourage our members to experience the expression of as many faiths as possible so that they can come to both a greater understanding and deeper appreciation of those faith traditions. With this in mind we dedicated three Sunday’s during the month of Ramadan to teach the Unitarian Community of Cape Town more about the Islamic Faith. Imam Rashied Omar visited us on 21 July 2013 to share more about the Muslim Call to Prayer and to answer our questions about the Islamic Faith. We attended the Friday prayers at the Claremont Main Road Masjid on 12, 19 and 26 July 2013 with members of our congregation.
Imam Rashied Omar and Rev. Roux Malan
During the month of Ramadan we have again been reminded of the strengths and wonderful possibilities of the prophetic tradition that Unitarians and Muslims share. As Unitarians we find that through our reflection on the unique expression of the prophetic tradition in Islam we come to a deeper understanding of our own prophetic call for peace amongst the religions of the world. The act of surrendering to a Greater Presence so tangibly expressed within the prayers of our Muslim brothers and sisters was both deeply moving and inspiring. We wish to thank the Claremont Main Road Masjid and Imam Rashied Omar for their great hospitality and warm welcome during our visits at the Masjid. We say “Eid Mubarak” to you all and hope to further the friendship between us in future.
Father John Oliver Tribute
Human Chain
CMRM members participated in the Human Chain along Klipfontein Road on 18 July 2013 to celebrate Madiba’s birthday. Imam Rashied along with Archbishop Thabo Makgoba read the opening prayers to launch the Human Chain.
On Friday 5 July 2013, CMRM paid tribute to Fr. John Oliver, who passed away suddenly on the 4 July 2013. Father John was the founder of the Cape Town Interfaith Initiative (CTII) and co-founder of the Western Cape Religious Leader’s Forum (WCRLF). Fr. John was a frequent visitor and guest speaker at CMRM.
Khayelitsha Site Visit
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On Tuesday 30 July 2013, Imam Rashied led an interfaith delegation of religious leaders on a site visit to Khayelitsha. The purpose of the site visit was to witness sanitation and living conditions in the township and listen to residents, in order to appeal to the City of Cape Town to improve living conditions in this impoverished area.
D ACTIVITIES Qur’an Reading Class
Guest Speaker Profiles Dr.Waheeda Amien
Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town
Bishop Geoff Davis The 2013 Qur’an reading class, led by Imam Shaheed, concluded the first half of the year just before the start of Ramadan. Classes will recommence after Ramadan on Wednesday evenings after Maghrib.
Muadhin practice
Southern African Faith Communities’ Environmental Institute (SAFCEI).
Shaykh Ighsaan Taliep
Principal of the Islamic Peace College South Africa (IPSA) and Second Deputy President of the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC).
Imam Nurul Iman Mustafa Imam Shaheed and Kassiem Adams trained these four young muadhins to lead the adhkar during Ramadan 2013. They are from left to right: Zubayr Wagiet; Adam Mohidin; Imran Adams & M. Nur Baderoon. Muamr Ajam and Aleem Saban also assisted with muadhin duties. Naqshbandi Muhammadi Masjid, Dunoon
Ramadan Running Group
Axolile Notywala
Social Justice Coalition (SJC)
Maulana Aftab Haider
This was the second consecutive year that the CMRM post-tarawih running group, coordinated by Dr. Salih Solomon, got together to run three times a week.
Ahlul Bait Foundation
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Response to Muslim Marriages Bill
Fatima Seedat Advocacy for passage of the Muslim Marriages Bill works with the assumption that passage of the Bill will remedy injustices that accrue from the denial of legal recognition of Muslim marriages. While I support the idea of a campaign to effect change, I think it is also important to know what might be achieved in campaigning for this Bill. It is my contention in this response that the application of Islamic marriage and divorce law in South Africa rests on norms of marriage and divorce that are contrary to what we otherwise envision as a spiritually affirming idea of marriage. I would like to draw attention firstly, to the dissonance between Islamic legal practice in marriage and divorce and our social understandings of marriage as a holistic partnership and further, to whether passage of the Muslim marriages Bill will increase or remedy this dissonance. Arguably, the notion of marriage that most of us work with is of marriage as a partnership, which includes notions of mutuality, agreement, consultation, equality and sharing. By contrast, the legal realities that govern Muslim marriage and divorce pertain to ideas of nikāḥ, ṭalāq, one-eighth share, and polygyny, concepts which are not necessarily governed by ideas of partnership.
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Law as an intellectual paradigm mediates between our ideals and realities by establishing norms for behaviour and Islamic law produces ethical norms for our lives as individuals and communities. In legal terms Muslim marriage is technically a contract of ownership, dominion or control. Nikāḥ, in jurisprudential terms is defined as a contract of milk, the root of which is m-l-k, meaning to own, possess, occupy or have sovereignty over. As a contract of milk, known juristically as ‘the milk
of nikāḥ’ or ‘ownership of the marriage tie’, the tie lies in the husband’s hand. To illustrate how ownership of the milk of nikāḥ works, a woman must consent to her marriage but has no role in consenting to divorce. She must consent to enter into the contract and to establishing the tie but, because she does not own the tie of marriage once it has been established, according to the jurists she does not have the legal capacity to relinquish the tie, or remove it. For the same reason, men have the exclusive unilateral right of ṭalāq, and further, the right of polygyny, which is the expression of the idea that a man may hold multiple amlāk simultaneously and therefore be married to many women at once. A woman may not, since she is never in the position of owner of the marriage tie.
“And among His signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquility with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are signs for those who reflect.” (Q30:21) Given our constitutional ideals of equality and democracy, and the evolution of marriage in South African law away from dominion, property and control, our discomfort with the contract of marriage conceptualised as milk is understandable. But there is little we can do to challenge it without overhauling the entire conceptual framework of marriage in Islamic law. Potentially, we might reformulate nikāḥ from a contract of male ownership of milk al-nikāḥ to a contract of mutual ownership or possibly even partnership, a form of mushāraka. However that would still leave us with a very commodity oriented notion of nikāḥ, which is not what we envision as an Islamic ideal of marriage either. Suffice to say that we would need to think very differently about marriage if we wanted it to look as we imagine it under principles of equality. The notion of a companionate, partnership marriage does exist in Islamic thought but unfortunately not in legal terms. Amongst the classical scholars for instance, Imam
Ghazali includes companionship amongst the five benefits of marriage. The Qur’an also supports the idea through Sura Rūm (Q30:21) “And among His signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquility with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are signs for those who reflect.” I call these the social, emotive or ethical aspects of Islamic marriage. This is what we think of in terms of marriage but it contrasts starkly against the legal aspects of marriage evident, for example, in Sura ṭalāq (Q65:1-12) In fact reading Sura ṭalāq is much like reading Divine advocacy on the part of women. There is an underlying sense that marriage is a point of vulnerability for women so at various points the Qur’an advocates for leniency and kindness toward wives. Qur’anic advocacy on behalf of women in marriage tempers the pre-Islamic historical legal paradigm of marriage, illustrating a sound genealogy and a long history of advocacy for women in marriage and divorce law. We also know that in the earliest Muslim communities women such as the Prophet’s Muhammad’s (SAW) granddaughter, Sakina Bint Hussein (RA), made contractual stipulations to adjust the inherent power imbalance of the contract of milk. Recognition of the gendered power imbalance in nikāḥ is therefore not novel; in fact our efforts at reform maintain the historical Qur’anic spirit of gender advocacy for wives. Therefore we should think carefully about what will be achieved in passing the Bill and formalising the concept of milk alnikāḥ in South African legislation. Given that nikāḥ in classical legal thought is fashioned upon ideas of milk or ownership, and given further that historically this paradigm was challenged by the Qur’an and early Muslims, further to which we in contemporary times are quite convinced of marriage as companionate form of partnership, what concept of marriage are we likely to achieve in passing the Muslim Marriages Bill? Unless we are attentive to the conceptual dimensions of the Bill, we run the risk of codifying into South African law a marital relationship of dominion, where milk al-nikāḥ continues as a normative male privilege.
In Celebration Of... Aunty Fatima Ganief – 83 years old Club in the Western Province team which won the famous Bonato tournament trophy in 1957.
Fatima Ganief, lovingly known as Fatima Ta Bul (after the nickname of her husband), is currently one of the oldest members of the Claremont Main Road Masjid (CMRM). She is one of a dozen or so elderly women who are staunch supporters of CMRM’s progressive programmes. Aunty Fatima is the mother of Yusuf Ganief of Desert Rose, famous for the spiritual and healing music he produces with his wife Lynne-Holmes. Fatima Ganief was born on the 30th of September 1929. She was the second eldest daughter of Yusuf and Gouwa Hanslo of North Street in Rosebank. The young Fatima worked at Alexander Jones as a textile worker. She was a very attractive young woman and married her Claremont sweetheart Cassiem Ganief on 30 January 1956 and remained married to him for 42 years until his passing in 1998. They had one child, Yusuf. Her son Yusuf says “My mother has always been an example of what it means to live with faith and having a positive attitude in life. Her tough upbringing as a child, losing her father at the age of 5 and having to work and rear her 7 siblings from the tender age of 9, whilst giving her mother the opportunity to work and support their family, contributed largely to her unwavering faith and serving others unselfishly”. The Late Cassiem Ganief (Ta Bul) lived opposite the Stegmann Road masjid and was a keen sportsman and a Western Province Cricket Board fast bowler. Together with the late Boeta Abubakr Hattas they represented Violets Cricket
Boeta Cassiem and Aunty Fatima were among the young people attracted to the progressive message of Islam articulated by As-Shahid Imam Abdullah Haron in the late fifties and early sixties at the Stegmann Road Masjid. In 1977 Boeta Cassiem and Aunty Fatima were part of the Baitul-Mal group under the leadership of the late Dr Abubakr Fakir, which left the Stegmann Road Masjid and ran the Lansdowne madrasa. It was during this period that Aunty Fatima served on the Lansdowne Madrasa’s Parents Teachers Association. It was also this same group, which later formed the core of the new congregation which was established at the Claremont Main Road Masjid in 1978. Aunty Fatima stood firmly by the side of her husband during his tenure as treasurer of CMRM and later as trustee of the new CMRM congregation between 1979 to 1998. She recalls many fond memories of the early years of the CMRM congregation.
“It makes me proud to have had parents who were part of pioneering a more progressive and universal understanding of Islam”. In his official capacities Boeta Cassiem arranged many fundraising activities and masjid social outings. He was also renowned for establishing and managing the tuck shop at the masjid. Aunty Fatima fondly remembers having to make soup and curry and rotie for the many fundraising activities of the masjid, especially when they renovated it and built the new atrium. Her husband’s enthusiasm and dedication to the masjid was a great inspiration to her. “It was an exciting period of my life” she reminisces. But Aunty Fatima also recalls the abuse they suffered from family and friends for the progressive Islamic positions they both supported. The decisions by the CMRM to celebrate `Id al-Adha with Makkah and to allow women to sit downstairs alongside the men was particularly challenging for them to defend. Aunty Fatima, however, proudly says that she and her
husband were not at all intimidated by their family’s opposition to their views and defended themselves vigorously. A great consolation was the fact that their staunchest ally and supporter was her father in law, Boeta Talib Ganief who lived with them. Yusuf says “It makes me proud to have had parents who were part of pioneering a more progressive and universal understanding of Islam. Their example has given me the faith and courage to challenge the status quo in pursuit of promoting an understanding of Islam that provides a map for all of humanity and which is not exclusive to a select few”. Aunty Fatima misses Boeta Cassiem dearly and recalls that he was a dedicated husband and father and loved his family dearly. On the first of December 1998 Boeta Cassiem Ganief (Ta Bul) passed away peacefully at his home in Devon Road, Lansdowne, after a short period of illness. Aunty Fatima will be 84 years in September 2013, Insha-Allah. Aunty Fatima remains a committed member of the CMRM and its progressive vision and is still a regular at the Friday jumu`ah service at CMRM. She has four grandchildren, Farzana, Nashreen, Jamil and Jalil and a great granddaughter, Safi. There is no doubt that she is an unsung hero of the CMRM. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank my late father for his love and being the wonderful altruistic person he was and to my mother I say…I love you and may Allah bless you with many more years” says her son, Yusuf.
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Breaking The Cycle of Violence and communities. This continues through generations. We have not adequately dealt with this scarring of the past. We lack the emotional vocabulary to express our feelings and have normalised the abnormal behaviour that comes from these scars – the behaviour of violence that lauds the policy of ‘shoot to kill’, a return to the death penalty or a view that believes it is okay to beat or rape a woman now and then.
Dr. Shuaib Manjra South Africa reacted with shock, disgust and disbelief at the brutal violation of seventeen year old Anene Booysen who was raped and brutality murdered in Bredasdorp a few months ago. The savagery and inhumanity of this crime shocked us. However the real tragedy lies in the fact that this is not an unusual occurrence – but is emblematic of a broader societal problem. This is a daily occurrence in many parts of our country – not least of all in the poor working class townships that remain a blot on our country. These incidents remain hidden except in the vilest cases. Violence against women is essentially an exercise in power. An expression of hubris that knows no boundaries – boundaries of race, class, ethnicity, religion or educational level are immaterial. People were outraged - an indication that each one of us are deeply affected by such violence. The knee-jerk response of most was to call for increased and improved policing, harsher sentencing and even the death-penalty. These measures may be necessary for both their punitive and deterrence value - but they largely serve to address the consequences of these actions. We cannot deal with this moral morass, these levels of endemic violence simply through harsher punitive sanctions. We should be asking a more fundamental question: how can this be prevented? What are the underlying causes of such violence? However in addressing the structural causes of such violence we must not detract from personal complicity; and in apportioning personal blame we cannot ignore societal influence. We need to address the structural causes of such violence in our country and put to bed any notion of short-term solutions or easy remedies, however attractive they may seem. The first and most important cause of such violence is our socialisation - the way our attitudes and behaviours towards women are
shaped in our formative years. Our children learn what they see and experience. If our society casts women as inferior, as weak, as object, as possessions, as servants – then our children grow up accepting such attitudes. In short we do what we learn, what we see and what we experience. These attitudes are replicated through generations. The second major cause is attributable to the cycle of violence, termed intergenerational violence, where those who are victims of violence or even witnesses to violence are more likely to become violent themselves. Such behaviour may manifest through anger, criminal behaviour, domestic violence, etc. Violence becomes a learnt behaviour, which is taught through society: such violence may be represented by physical violence, emotional, or sexual violence and includes violence used in a disciplining role. Children learn this as normative behaviour and re-enact such behaviours.
“We need to address the structural causes of such violence in our country and put to bed any notion of short-term solutions or easy remedies, however attractive they may seem.” Thirdly, to use the term coined by Nicaraguan psychologist Martha Cabrera, we are a ‘multiply wounded country’. This simply means that we are wounded in different ways and that this wounding is widespread. Our multiple woundedness as a country comes from our experiences of colonialism, apartheid, dislocation, victimisation, racism, patriarchy, marginalization, economic exploitation, violence, torture and other forms of disempowerment that reduces the majority of our population to the level of sub-alterns. We thus carry the weight of this scarring as individuals, families, cultures
Other contributors to such violence are the way a masculine identity is formed and expressed through power relationships. This combined with unemployment, drugs, gangs and alcoholism (some of which are manifestations of the need to express the masculine identity) gives rise to endemic levels of violence in impoverished communities. The absence of moral guidance and ethical norms only compounds this problem. We must not be fooled by those who offer simple, uni-dimensional solutions. The rhetoric of politicians, the preaching of the clergy, the marches of the activists and the selflessness of the NGOs are not sufficient to address this profound crisis. We need to all work together and declare a STATE OF EMERGENCY in this country. We need every resource to work towards rebuilding the shattered fabric of this society. What can we do? Carol Bower of Rapcan provides some practical solutions. The first is to ask better questions as to what creates the possibility for such violence to occur. The second is to raise our children differently –with self-discipline, the ability to make sensible decisions and live as free and equitable human beings that respect the rights of all others. Don’t allow them to become abusers or victims of abuse. Thirdly, develop intolerance for certain behaviours such as sexism, harassment and violence against women in all its forms. Furthermore, we need to support organisations delivering services to survivors of rape and violence. We also need to interrogate religious texts and cultural norms since culture and religion play an important role in socialising and legitimising such human behaviour. This is a long and difficult journey we must begin NOW before our society is irreparably shattered.
‘Id Sa’id Wa Mubarak’ Kullu ‘Am Wa Antum Bi khayr Ma’as-Salamah Was-Sihhah May your entire year be filled with Goodness, Peace and Health
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