Newsletter of the Claremont Main Road Mosque · No.15
Ramadan 1436 • June 2015
Inspiring and Honouring Our Youth on June 16 Imam Dr. A. Rashied Omar June 16th 1976 represents a watershed in the history of the struggle against the racist and unjust system of apartheid, and left an indelible impact on the lives of those of us who experienced and lived this uprising. On that day, beginning in Soweto and spreading all over the length and breadth of South Africa, the youth of our country rose up against the unjust apartheid education system. In the ensuing struggle more than a thousand people were killed by the brutal apartheid police, many more were maimed and injured, and thousands of others fled the country or were detained. As a result of their courage and sacrifices the youth of our country breathed new life into the struggle for democracy and dignity for all South Africans irrespective of the pigmentation of their skin. With the dawn of a non-racial democratic South Africa it was only natural that June 16th became a special day, set apart for commemorating the heroic uprising of the students of our country in 1976. The 16th of June then is a day through and by which we pay a special tribute to our youth.
For those of my generation, 1976 not only shaped and awakened our political consciousness, but it was a baptism of fire into the world of Islamic activism.
In reflecting on the role of Muslims in the anti-apartheid struggle one discovers, not unsurprisingly, that this narrative of youth being in the forefront of the fight against racism and injustice resonates well. For those of my generation, 1976 not only shaped and awakened our political consciousness, but it was a baptism of fire into the world of Islamic activism. I vividly recall that during the late eighties a number of competing theories sought to account for the growing participation of Muslim youth in the anti-apartheid struggle. It is my
view that Muslim youth were radicalized by the same factors that had conscientized their non-Muslim peers, namely, the 1976 Soweto uprisings and the 1980 school boycotts and the rejection of the racist Tricameral parliament. By and large it was the Muslim youth who literally dragged their parents into the antiapartheid struggle in 1976 and afterwards. It was young Muslims who reminded their community that it is shirk /idolatry – i.e. denying the oneness and justice of Allah – to discriminate against people because of the colour of their skins. The freedoms and respect that Islam and Muslims are currently experiencing in post-apartheid South Africa are in large measure a direct consequence of the dynamic role of its youth since 1976. The Muslim community is therefore deeply indebted to and needs to display a deep sense of gratitude towards its youth who gave Islam a progressive image in South Africa. It is befitting and appropriate that South African Muslims join the rest of our compatriots in paying tribute our youth on June 16th. In so doing we acknowledge and recognize the valuable role which our
youth have played in the past and more importantly recognize the great potential which they have in shaping the future. But why, the cynic may ask, is a memory of the anti-apartheid struggle necessary at all? There are many compelling reasons that may be articulated. For one, the apartheid legacy of racism and economic injustices continues to bedevil life in democratic South Africa and the Muslim community is certainly not immune to these fatal diseases. Perhaps a more appropriate question to ask is what novel and creative ways can be found to make the commemoration of June 16th resonate with the needs and concerns of new generations of youth. In this regard Sayyidina `Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) has some compelling advice for us: “Raise your children in a different way than you were raised, for they are born for a different age you are living in.” The critical question for us to reflect on is: What have we done to empower the new generations of youth to use our collective memories of the heroic anti-apartheid struggle to secure a better future for South Africa? One suggestion is for parents to encourage their children to become involved in leadership programmes for youth and to become social activists by joining solidarity campaigns involving social and environmental justice issues. Another is for parents to share relevant literature with our children and to instill in them the values of anti-racism. Solidarity and dialogue with ‘others’ can go a long way in avoiding our own prejudices from rubbing off on our children. Last, but not least, parents have a responsibility to inspire our youth to believe that our country’s democracy opens up so many opportunities for them, that we as parents never had, and that they should seize. Let us use June 16th as the starting point for a new consciousness and appreciation of the role of young people in securing the future of our community and our country.
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40-42 Main Road, Claremont, 7708 • 021 683 8384 • www.cmrm.co.za Al-Mizan ramadan1436-2015B.indd 1
2015/06/08 11:07 PM