al-m zan Newsletter of the Claremont Main Road Mosque ° No . 18
Ramadan 1437 June 2016 °
The Perils of Infidelity to the Constitution Dr. Aslam Fataar
The First SA Constitutional Court Judges (1994) During the 1990s we chose as a country to regulate state governance, institution building and human relationships (mu’amalat) on the basis of a constitutional democracy. We succeeded in laying a constitutional platform, however imperfect, as a means of working toward a common nation and citizenship. We committed ourselves as citizens to working towards a future based on equality, fairness and the rule of law. Our constitutional democratic commitments were based on a promissory note, that democracy would provide us with the tools and material foundations to struggle for a better life. Our constitutional dispensation was founded on the necessity of actively conferring human dignity on the people of this country. Our constitutional democracy is brought into question when our country fails to deliver on the promise of a fairer and more just society. Defending the Constitution is therefore a defence of an inclusive and productive path towards securing sustainable livelihoods and protecting the egalitarian vision of our democracy. It is in this light that we have to question two of the biggest infractions of our current day politics: one is the flouting of the Constitution by the President in light of the Nkandla debacle, and the other is the capture of the state by family interests. The Nkandla debacle follows on a steady pattern of corruption and looting of the state’s resources over many years. The Nkandla matter brought corruption,
tenderpreneurship, and the impunity of patronage politics into the spotlight. Nkandla confirmed government corruption as a pivot of state functioning. The blatant capture of the state by one family followed on the history of state capture during the Apartheid state. The outcome is the same: under Apartheid, corruption and state capture served as a proxy for white advancement. Current day patronage politics serve the enrichment of the nouveau politically connected. While we may have heaved a collective sigh of relief when the Constitutional Court ruled in 2016 that the President and the National Assembly were in violation of the Constitution when they refused to implement the Public Protector’s recommendations on Nkandla made in 2014, we must ask where this entire episode leaves our country. When the first citizen of the country is seen as flouting the Constitution we become cynical about the very democracy that we live in. State corruption and patronage are read as signs of an uncaring state. We have to consider where the impact of corruption, abuse of state resources, and the violation of the Constitution leave us as citizens.
“ Our constitutional democracy is brought into question when our country fails to deliver on the promise of a fairer and more just society. ” For many people, life is lived in twilight zones of poverty, hardship, and single parent and child-headed households. In the absence of formal employment, the use of the body, making money in the illicit economies of the townships, and informal livelihoods come together in desperate ways. People establish moral codes by which they figure out what is important, who should be respected, how cash is distributed, how relationships work, who should go to school or drop out, and who should eat. Moreover, people withdraw
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behind closed doors to protect themselves and their families against rampant crime on the streets, and violence in our communities. In such a context, broader commitments to good neighborliness, common courtesy, and sharing begin to fritter away. It is clear that our chosen democratic path has been rendered ineffectual. State corruption and capture are symbolic of the way the democratic path has been compromised. We as Muslims and conscientious citizens must ask how we can now intervene in our human drama. Going with the flow, or opting out, is not an option. The Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) advice to engage in mu’amalat i.e. productive human relations, must take centre stage. Inserting exemplifying practices into the body politick is crucial. We must continue to emphasize positive relationships in our workplaces and educational institutions. Our work colleagues, fellow students and friends are deserving of empathy, respect and decency. Advancing their aspirations is as important as being concerned about our own. Getting involved in social welfare and social justice orientated work takes our mu’amalat to the next level, targeting the improvement of life circumstances. Spending from our wealth in the service of others builds fellowship. It also alleviates hardship and suffering. The Prophet’s (pbuh) advice is now more important then ever: social relations are the terrain of our commitment to common moral values through our civic activities. This means participating in the type of politics that can force governmental accountability. We have to bring an accountable and responsive government back into the game through an assertion of common values and practices. Our humanity depends on remaining in the game of human engagement, interaction and relationships based on beauty, patience, goodness and virtue. (This article is a shortened version of a khutbah delivered at CMRM on 22 April 2016)
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