Vol. 36 No. 7
MUHARRAM 1444
• JULY 2022
Omaruddin ‘Don’ Mattera: an exemplary echo of conscience SHAIKH SA’DULLAH KHAN pays tribute to a poet, journalist, social activist and a freedom fighter who was the conscience of a nation. POET, journalist, social activist, freedom fighter, Omaruddin ‘Don’ Mattera has left us; and in his leaving, has left a legacy of courage, bravery and principled activism. This heroic soul wielded his journalistic pen as a sword in the face of oppression, used his gentle voice to echo the struggle of the downtrodden and utilised his poetic words as a means of conscientising the oppressed, always expressing his compassionate thoughts in rousing yet eloquent style. Even during his long illness, the impassioned flame of the freedom fighter was always present, and
so too the sharp wit, the humour and that warm smile. Growing up in the impoverished ghettoes of Sophiatown, ‘Don’ or ‘Bra Zinga’, as he was popularly known, was once a gang leader and spent time in prison. He embraced Islam in 1970 and, like the revolutionary African-American leader, Malcolm X, he emerged from the hell-holes of an oppressed society to become an exemplary voice of conscience, and a literary icon that echoed the cries of the Azanian people. He helped mentor many youth achieve great heights. He took gang members and made them
Omaruddin Don Mattera (1935-July 18, 2022) has left a legacy of courage and principled activism in the face of oppression. Photo: JIMI MATTHEWS
sportsmen; he took youth from broken homes and made them leaders; he took violent kids and moulded them to become healers of their communities. He inspired hope in multitudes of young people who lived in despair, and empowered many people in many different ways, though he was not fully appreciated for his genius and his
immense contribution. How does one capture the magnitude of a selfless soul? Omaruddin was arrested 202 times by the apartheid police, was incarcerated for 12 years of his life and spent eight years under house arrest. He is the deserved recipient of doctorates and numerous prestigious national and
international literary and humanitarian awards. The postapartheid government belatedly gave him recognition in 2006. May the Almighty bless the soul of this iconic poet, humble humanitarian; an articulate and gentle man who never forgot his roots, and who always maintained his sense of humanity, dignity, integrity and humility.
Mapping the history of Bayt al-Maqdis through the prism of the Quran
Dr Khalid El-Awaisi addressing a workshop in Cape Town, organised by the Al-Quds Foundation. Photo: HIJAZI CHANNEL / SAYED RIDHWAAN
EAST AFRICA EMERGENCY APPEAL
THE executive director of the Turkish-based Islamic Jerusalem Research Academy, Dr Khalid El-Awaisi, conducted a series of in-depth workshops during a ten-day academic tour of South Africa, from June 26 to July 26 The workshops were held in Gauteng, Durban and Cape Town, and focused on the history of Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) and Masjid al-Aqsa. According to the organisers of the lecture tour, the United Ulama Council of South Africa (UUCSA), ‘The workshops were designed to enable participants to understand the historical and contemporary challenges relating to the blessed land through the prism of the Quran, Hadith and
Islamic history.’ Dr El-Awaisi’s speciality is the historical geography of Bayt al-Maqdis. In 2007, he published a groundbreaking monograph, Mapping Islamic Jerusalem: a Rediscovery of Geographical Boundaries, in which he was able to unearth the geographical extents of Bayt-al Maqdis. He is currently working as associate professor and the head of the Department of Islamic History at the Social Sciences University of Ankara. Dr Khalid was hosted by UUCSA, in partnership with Al-Quds Foundation SA, Palestine Information Network and the Palestinian Solidarity Forum of KZN.