Newsletter of the Claremont Main Road Mosque · Id-ul-Fitr Edition · August 2011/1432 · Vol.1 No.1
Engaging the Jihad against Poverty
Editorial
During Ramadan 2010 CMRM undertook to make a modest contribution to alleviating poverty within our country. I presumptuously called it a jihad against poverty and argued that poverty alleviation is not the sole responsibility of economists or public officials, but rather it is an integral part of what it means to be an engaged Muslim.
This is the inaugural newsletter of the Claremont Main Road Masjid. Al-Mizan has a two-fold aim. It aims to provide a glimpse of the activities of Claremont Main Road Mosque through reports on social responsibility programmes, interfaith initiatives, khutab topics and madrassa events and through its feature articles, it aims to give voice to a balanced vision of Islam that reflects the ethos of CMRM. This is an ethos that is inclusive and compassionate, and that encourages critical engagement with both social and theological issues.
Imam Dr. A. Rashied Omar
One year later it might be useful to briefly evaluate how we have been engaging this struggle. I am delighted to report that the past year has been an exciting one for the mushrooming of CMRM’S social justice projects. One of our major achievements has undoubtedly been our steady support of the Emasithandane orphanage in Nyanga. Through generous support from our congregants CMRM has not only been able to provide regular donations in kind and upgrading of the infrastructure but more importantly we arranged for a number of activities for interaction between ourselves and the Emasi children. We recall the exciting Wynberg Park outing in October 2010 and the Christmas Dinner in 2010 at the masjid. These interactions provided small, but significant, opportunities for breaking down the stubborn racial and class divisions within the city of Cape Town.
“...those who are empowered with knowledge are more likely to live up to their full human potential...”
Even more significantly a few of our congregants were inspired to set up a weekend tutorial programme at Emasi thereby also nourishing the educational needs of these orphans. From an Islamic perspective, those who are empowered with knowledge are more likely to live up to their full human potential. All of these activities are consonant with the Islamic perspective which holds that acts
of generosity should not only encompass monetary gifts of alms and charity but should also emcompass every act of kindness and sharing of ones time, knowledge and skills to assist and empower others. CMRM has also through my participation in the Western Cape Religious Leaders Forum (WCRLF) been active in campaigning for improved sanitation conditions for informal settlements in Khayelitsha. Because of the national significance of this issue the May 2011 Municipal Elections was unceremoniously dubbed the “toilet elections.” In the post election period WCRLF has stepped up its campaign for improved sanitation conditions and jointly convene a sanitation summit in the next few weeks. I urge congregants to support us in this vital struggle by participating in the sanitation summit. We need to constantly remind ourselves that poverty is not limited to a lack of food or drink. Poverty encompasses the lack of all basic human needs, such as clean water, nutrition, sanitation, health care, education, clothing and shelter.
We would like to encourage congregants to submit any comments or suggestions on content that you would like to be covered in this newsletter. Also feel welcome to submit contributions to the editorial committee for consideration in future publications. We plan to have four issues per year. Submissions may be e-mailed to info@cmrm. co.za or handed in at the masjid office.
During the past year we have also been following up on a longstanding suggestion of twinning our masjid with the Sayyidina Bilal Masjid in Khayelitsha. In this regard I would like to commend those congregants who accompanied me in delivering the first and last khutbahs of Ramadan 2011 in Khayeltisha. Imam Ismaaeel Ngqoyiyana also delivered the 2010 Heritage Day khutbah at Claremont and it is our hope that he will follow this up with many more in the forthcoming year. Our involvement with the Blikkiesdorp masjid has been our weakest point. In 2010 we organized a memorable `Id al-Fitr programme in Blikkiesdorp which was by far the best supported programme event of 2010. However, for a number of reasons, we have lost the momentum on this project. We hope that after our distribution of fitra parcels in Blikkiesdorp this Ramadan, we will be able to revitalize our involvement with the Blikkiesdorp community. On the whole CMRM congregants have responded wonderfully to the jihad against
poverty campaign but we need to find creative ways of sustaining this interest throughout the year. We give thanks to the congregants of the Claremont Main Road Masjid for their commitment to a socially responsive vision of Islam. We pray that the wonderful spirit of solidarity that has been nurtured through this past year will continue to gather momentum during the rest of the year, insha-Allah.
40-42 Main Road, Claremont, 7765 • 021 638 8384 • www.cmrm.co.za