Muslim Views, August 2015

DHIL-QAIDAH 1436 l AUGUST 2015

Vol. 29 No. 8

Call for march against corruption MAHMOOD SANGLAY

OICING concern against corruption, tens of thousands of South Africans are expected to take to the streets next month in protest against rampant corruption, especially in the public sector.

The poorest and most vulnerable communities are worst affected by corruption, according to United Against Corruption, the organisers of a public meeting held on July 28 at Community House, in Salt River, Cape Town.

The public meeting was attended by about 150 people, to discuss the action plan of the march in August.

The programme for the event consisted of a panel discussion featuring four speakers from diverse sections of society.

Ntuthozo Ndzomo represented Equal Education, a non-governmental organisation of learners, parents, teachers and the broader community dedicated to achieving quality and equality in South African education.

Ndzomo made reference to corruption in education and cited the case of the 200 000 ghost learners in a district in KZN. The numbers of learners in about 150 schools in 2014 were inflated by school principals, costing the Department of Basic Education millions of rands of taxpayers’ money.

Ndzomo also referred to other cases such as that of ghost schools in the Eastern Cape, a principal who had been absent for nine months while being paid, a promotions-for-cash racket in which posts of principals and deputy principals are sold for R30 000 each, and the well-known case of the textbook scandal.

The speaker called for the eradication of corruption and the space to speak about the problem in South Africa.

Wafaa Abdurahman from the

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THE Islamic Unity Convention (IUC) commemorated Quds Day in Cape Town on July 10 (23 Ramadaan) with a march to Parliament where a memorandum was handed over calling on government to take a firmer stance against Zionist Israel.

Announcing the last Friday of Ramadaan as Quds Day, the leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the late Ayatollah Khomeini, declared: ‘Quds Day is a universal day. It is not an exclusive day for Quds itself. It is a day for the oppressed to rise and stand up against the arrogant oppressors.’ Since this declaration on August 7, 1979, the call remains as relevant as ever. As the Zionist occupier tightens its stranglehold on Palestine, neo-imperialists continue to pillage the resources of the oppressed.

Photo SHAHISTA ROHAN-TOEFY

United Front, a coalition of leftist and activist groups, criticised the capitalist system for creating an environment in which greed prevails and in which the poor are further impoverished. She said that South Africa has favourable policies but that the system breeds corruption.

Abdurahman identified government and big business as the key role players in corruption. In the case of the former, she said the awarding of tenders attracts corrupt government officials while, in the private sector, capitalists are driven by share prices and profits.

On the other hand, the basic needs of the poor are ignored.

However, Abdurahman is hopeful that the workers are organising themselves and are willing to fight corruption.

Imam Dr Abdul Rashied Omar, from Claremont Main Rd Masjid, celebrated ‘a small victory’ in the fight against corruption by commending the recent efforts of the Department of Home Affairs in arresting corrupt officials and members of the public.

However, he identified the current energy crisis in South Africa and the government’s plan to build six new nuclear energy plants by the year 2030 as a venture with inherently high risks of corruption.

This is due to the high levels of confidentiality and secrecy required in operations involving nuclear project procurement.

Omar says there is already no disclosure on affordability and feasibility studies of the project, and the government ignored the provincial interfaith community in 2012 when it expressed its concerns over breaches of constitutional guarantees on consultation, accountability and financial expenditure.

He called for a focus on local community organisations to ensure that they are free of cor-

ruption and then on the need to educate people to hold those in power accountable.

He also called for support of whistle blowers and initiatives like the Anti-Corruption Task Team of the National Prosecuting Authority. He concluded, saying that we ‘need to work hard to expose and mitigate against the devastating consequences of the neo-liberal and capitalist economic policies being pursued by our post-apartheid government’.

Vuyo Lufele, regional secretary of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, condemned attempts to block disclosures on the investigations into the R250 million upgrade of President Zuma’s private home in Nkandla and called on him to resign due to his support for neoliberal economic policies.

Lufele said corruption in the private sector is rife but that it is not reported widely enough. He referred to the R30 billion pricefixing scandal by the country’s biggest construction companies.

He also quoted the Auditor General’s report which identified the department of Health, Basic Education, Human Settlement and Public Works and the key drivers of corruption in government.

He also pointed out that corruption is an apartheid-era phenomenon and that the working class is the worst affected by corruption in society.

He concluded by listing a set of demands by Numsa, including that President Zuma must establish a Commission of Enquiry, in terms of Section 84 of the Constitution, to probe the impact of corruption on the delivery of socio-economic services and on Eskom’s load-shedding schedule.

Lufele also demanded the release of all reports into corruption, such as the Sicelo Shiceka and James Cross Reports, and the implementation of both the Kabuso and Pikoli Reports.

Muslim Views ‘Focus on Corruption’ - Page 3

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Muslim Views . August 2015

Muslim Views . August 2015

Between the old and the new

WHEN Antonio Gramsci, a native of Italy, a man mocked because of his physical form and a man who was locked away because of his brain and his boundless energy in opposing oppression, wrote famously that ‘the old is dead; the new is not yet ready to be born’, he might well have been a prophet looking forward many decades into South Africa in 2015.

The death of apartheid was something we all correctly applaud. Some of the aims of apartheid were institutionalised racism, social oppression and the engineering of severely limited life-chances for the majority of the country’s inhabitants.

The end of such a system is not a trifling thing, and so its end is justifiably held up as a major victory in the public utterances of the ruling elite.

The key understanding of the period since the coming into being of the constitutional democracy in South Africa, in 1994, lies in recognising the policy choices that were made post-1994.

It is sad how completely misinformed many social commentators are when they routinely rattle off that the problems in South Africa are ones to do with implementation, not policy, which they consistently hail as progressive.

At the heart of our policy regime, under the ruling ANC, is the whole-hearted embrace of a capitalist economy, which big business negotiated out of the former liberation movement during the negotiated settlement in that blood-drenched period between 1990 and 1994.

Gone were the notions of nationalisation of the banks; dismissed were policies that would have secured the mineral wealth of our country for the greater good of its poorest citizens.

In this period of ‘occult instability’ (as Franz Fanon terms it) between the ‘death of the old’ and the much-anticipated birth of the ‘new’ South Africa, was a set of key policy choices that are, today, still praised by big business.

At this point the argument becomes more complex.

What we have to hold are seemingly contradictory thoughts. First, that apartheid’s legacies are with us today, in easily identifiable physical forms, for example, in the horrific, despicably-named ‘informal settlements’ that continue to grow on the fringes of our cities.

Second, and this is where the complexity emerges, is the acknowledgement that the current post-apartheid state is responsible for the policy choices that have consolidated the worst gains won by global capital under apartheid.

This notion is fiercely opposed by the ruling political and economic elites in South Africa.

But the thousands of street protests in 2014, spread across South Africa, and certainly not confined to the most obvious neo-liberal vanguard in the form of the DA in the Western Cape, speak of a different reality.

The savagery of the Afrophobia that now sweeps the country with greater regularity is a direct result of the hopelessness of many of our youth who see, correctly, that their futures are ‘informal’, if we are to take the fact that their livelihoods are now spoken of quite normally as located in the ‘informal’ sector.

Muslim Views starts a new series on corruption on this page, this month. Let us keep in mind why we oppose corruption. It cannot be in order to make things a little better or more ‘moral’. The goal is nothing less than the eradication of a system of elite political and economic rule.

Our editorial comment represents the composite viewpoint of the Editorial Team of Muslim Views, and is the institutional voice of the newspaper. Correspondence can be sent to editor@mviews.co.za

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Turning the tide on the scourge of corruption IMAM DR ABDUL RASHIED OMAR

and responsible citizens so that those in power can be held accountable for their political and moral mandates. DemocraTHERE is a growing national cy demands the building of conconsensus in South Africa that corruption is threatening and sultative and transparent social undermining our hard-earned institutions that will root out democratic rights and freedoms. endemic corruption, and address Twenty-one years into our the needs of the poor. democracy, the corrupt pursuit We can, however, only do so of money and power is visible at effectively if we remain vigilant all levels of our society, and it is and are organised. The only real robbing the poor of their basic guarantee for a healthy democneeds and opportunities. Cor- racy, bereft of corruption, is that ruption also undermines our of strong civil society that can democratic rights through mis- hold those in power accountable management for their and incompemoral and tence in critipolitical cal areas that mandates. prevent govThird, we ernment from need to be building a robust in our more just and support for equal society. the rights of In many ‘whistle cases of blablowers’ tant corrupwho seek to tion, perpetrauncover distors are not honesty and held accountcorruption able. Consewherever it quently, a culexists. Moreture of over, while impunity has Imam Dr Abdul Rashied Omar we need to taken root, commend particularly in the establishgovernment, where people are ment of the Anti-Corruption not punished for their misuse of Task Team, under the National power but, rather, are often seen Prosecuting Authority (NPA), to be ‘rewarded’ with other we also need to urge governposts. ment to muster the necessary Sound moral and ethical stan- political will to bring to justice dards found in our Constitution high profile political and public are compromised and abused figures guilty of corruption. through these endemic acts of Fourth, and perhaps most corruption. What, then, are importantly, we need to work some practical ways in which we hard to expose and mitigate can turn the tide on the scourge against the devastating conseof corruption threatening our quences of the neo-liberal and young democracy? We need to capitalist economic policies stop whining about the problem being pursued by our postof corruption but truly believe apartheid government. that the power to turn the tide Only if we view and work to against corruption lies in our combat corruption at the syscollective hands. temic level will we be able to We need to channel our justi- deal with the roots of corruption fiable frustrations with the deca- effectively. dent trends in our society in conThe capitalist environment in structive ways that will reverse which post-apartheid South the prevalence of corruption, Africa subsists has bred attiand bring about the positive tudes of entitlement and greed in changes that are desired. One of all strata of our society, rich and the first things we need to do is poor alike. Unless the moral valensure that our own institutions ues and behavioural patterns are free of corruption and its that define our society are transinsidious effects. formed from a culture of greed We need to confess that cor- to that of a culture of altruism ruption is not limited to govern- and caring, our country’s proment or the corporate sector but gressive Constitution and Bill of that our own Muslim institu- Rights will remain an unrealised tions can and do experience cor- dream. Muslims and all people ruption. By raising the alarm of faith and conscience can play about the growing trend of cor- a critical role in assisting with ruption in our society, we are this challenging task of systemic not pontificating against others transformation and moral but, rather, giving voice to a regeneration. Let us, together, moral problem over which there assume the difficult task of rootis national consensus. In order ing out corruption in our indito do so effectively, we need to vidual and communal lives, and form interfaith networks and in the life of our nation. alliances with civil society Imam Dr A Rashied Omar is groups who share our commit- the imam at Main Road ment to combat the scourge of Mosque, in Claremont, Cape corruption.

Town, and former chairperson Second, we need to educate of the Western Cape Religious our people to become informed Leaders’ Forum.

It was narrated from ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: The curse of Allah is upon the one who offers a bribe and the one who takes it. (Ibn-Majah and Al-Tirmidhi)

This newspaper carries Allah’s names, the names of the Prophets and sacred verses of the Holy Qur’an.

Please treat it with the respect it deserves.

Either keep, circulate or recycle.

Please do not discard.

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Muslim Views . August 2015

Farlam report leaves political leadership untouched YUNUS OMAR

T is the time to point (the) finger. In the first place, to point (the) finger at those whose fingers pulled the trigger.

But, uhmm, the foot soldiers?

What about those who pulled the strings... who give the orders... and who are they? Tell me. Who are they? Minister of Police? The president? The... he’s got to answer! This is what we want to see from the commission... and the president... and the ministers in the security cluster... I’ve been there. I know how it works. And if the police carried this out without that kind of instruction, then, what are they guilty of, in terms of the way they dealt with that situation? You see, heads need to roll, at a very high level, and we don’t want to see a commission of inquiry that whitewashes things, that keeps the lid on... that, in the end, will apportion blame to the strikers, to the union splits, to the mine-owners, and so on. What about the politicians, who are the ones responsible?’ – Ronnie Kasrils, former Minister of Intelligence, 1994-2004, interviewed in Miners Shot Down, a film by Rehad Desai, 2014.

Kasrils, many months before retired Judge Ian Farlam released his report (on March 31, 2015) into the deaths of 44 people at Marikana during August 2012, echoed what many felt would be the outcome of the governmentappointed commission of inquiry.

In this short piece, the Farlam Report, as it is widely called, is not the object of my critique.

‘I

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There will be time enough for that.

For now, it is perhaps more useful to point to some of the evidence as presented by the commission in the report.

This is done in order to show that South Africans, and persons elsewhere, have a wealth of data to work with in the attempt to dig down further to find those who are actually culpable of the murders of 34 miners on August 16, 2012.

Remember, too, that the deaths of union officials, security personnel and policemen in the days before the massacre must be investigated, criminal charges laid, and convictions secured.

Justice must be for all.

As an example of the type of information contained in the report, it is useful to look at pages 159 to 169 of the report.

This section, in Chapter 9 (‘The events that occurred on Tuesday, 14 August 2012’), and headed ‘Discussions between Lieutenant General Mbombo and Lonmin Management’, provides some insight into how the Farlam report included evidence presented at the inquiry.

For example, between pages 160 and 161, allegations that the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) were behind the strike, and that they had tabled a demand for a R12 500 salary, are pointedly indicated to have been withdrawn by the Lonmin representative at the meeting, Mr. Mokwena, under cross-examination.

Yet, in much of the public utterances and statements we hear, an association has been manufactured between ‘Amcu’

and ‘the blame’ for the events at Marikana.

Quite alarmingly, the commission’s report, on the first page (page 42) in which it substantively investigates the context of the massacre, states in the ‘Introduction’ to Chapter 3: ‘...the tragic events that occurred during the period 12 to 16 August 2012 originated from the decision and conduct of the strikers in embarking on an unprotected strike and in enforcing the strike by violence and intimidation, using dangerous weapons for the purpose.’

No matter how detailed the rest of the evidence in the final report, the apportioning of blame to the decision of mineworkers to embark on an unprotected strike as resulting in a massacre of their own comrades by police, is, at the very least, puzzling.

The use of language is critical here. At this initial stage of the report, the mineworkers are characterised as ‘enforcing the strike by violence and intimidation’, and ‘using dangerous weapons for that purpose’. Thus, linked to the word ‘mineworkers’ are the words ‘violence’, ‘intimidation’, ‘dangerous’ and ‘weapons’.

There is insufficient space to say more but the effects of language and over three hundred years of the framing of the black body as something to be feared, may just be at work here.

It may explain why we middleclass folk lift our hands in prayer for those maimed and killed elsewhere but need reminding of the details of Marikana.

Much more needs to be thought through with regard to the relative silence that still surrounds Marikana.

In spite of this, Marikana, and what it means for South Africa’s democracy, is being debated more and more. What needs to be added to this debate are a series of questions to the political elites and their sycophants. For example, does Marikana warrant the same response as did the 1960 massacre at Sharpeville? Don’t the events of June 1976 remind us of state force and the politics of protest?

One of the questions that needs to be asked is: did we hold the policemen who pulled the triggers at Sharpeville and Soweto more responsible than their political masters?

In academic studies conducted with older people, one of the issues confronted by researchers is how memory can be fallible, i.e. what we remember may not quite be what we actually experienced.

But when our collective political memories are cleansed because of political expedience, it questions the basis of our own morality and the course of our democracy.

When politicians are elected, they need to show leadership when it matters, not when the powerful are deposed, and it is then easy to climb on a moral bandwagon.

‘What about the politicians?’ as our former Minister of Intelligence has asked. The government-appointed Farlam Commission of Inquiry report is largely silent on this issue.

But the South African state is a changed animal from August 16, 2012.

The ANC-Cosatu-SACP ruling alliance is under immense pressure from within its own ranks.

It is now a fact of history that ‘the Marikana moment’ was a tipping point in the decision by the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) to withhold subscriptions to Cosatu, causing Cosatu severe cash-flow problems, and plunging the leadership into two stark camps: those who uncritically support the ANC, and those who state that the ruling alliance has effectively abandoned the working class.

While official spin attempts to characterise the rupture within Cosatu, therefore, effectively, the rupture in the ruling alliance, as a personality clash between Sdumo Dlamini and Zwelinzima Vavi, the effective issues include a meltdown in support for the continued marginalisation of the working class and the unemployed in the country.

What the Marikana Commission of Inquiry has delivered is a body of evidence that will be looked at in two fundamental ways. The ruling alliance’s supporters will look through lenses that seek to shift the blame away from its leadership.

The marginalised miners, their widows and those who remember the guns of Sharpeville, Soweto, Gugulethu and Cradock, will look to the report and ask simply: what potential for justice sits in those pages?

The full Marikana report can be downloaded at http://www.gov.za/sites/www.gov. za/files/marikana-report-1.pdf.

‘Miners Shot Down’, Rehad Desai’s acclaimed documentary about the Marikana massacre can be viewed in HD at https://vimeo.com/102544024

Muslim Views . August 2015

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Muslim Views . August 2015

SRC head attends Brics Youth Summit AAISHA DADI-PATEL

TWENTY-two-year-old Shaeera Kalla, the President of University of the Witwatersrand’s Student Representative Council (SRC), travelled to Russia to attend the Brics Youth Summit as a youth delegate, from July 3 to 6, where she had the opportunity to engage with other young people from the respective Brics nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – on a number of issues.

‘This was the first youth summit. We had conversations around five key themes – political cooperation, economics, humanitarian, science and technology, and media and information.

What was most interesting was to see the various perspectives we could bring to the table,’ said Kalla, speaking to Muslim Views.

Kalla says that she identifies with the term ‘student activist’ far more than she does with the term ‘student politician’, and cites distinct differences between national politics and student politics.

‘Student politics does tie in with it but what we do is more focused on the problems that we face as young people, and there is a growing anger with the status quo, hence the term “student activist” is more fitting.’

Kalla was a part of the breakaway sessions focused around the theme of political co-operation, and found the engagements enlightening.

‘It was interesting to see the similarities between certain countries. When discussing Israel/ Palestine, for example, both South Africa and Brazil don’t

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The President of the University of the Witwatersrand Student Representative Council, Shaeera Kalla (left), making a point at a session of the BRICS Youth Summit which she attended recently.

Photo SUPPLIED

view Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organisations but, rather, as resistance groups.

‘But not all countries share the view that terrorism should be linked to its social and economic roots, instead of the propagandist approach that terrorism is religion-based,’ she says. ‘In the end, we had a policy document which dealt with our key findings from all five areas, and this was handed over to the Brics leaders – our heads of state – for the Brics summit happening the following week.’

Kalla says that the youth delegates hope there can be changes in the discourses around power in the world.

‘We want to see a different approach to power. Right now, the world is pushed by military and economic power, and a change in this order is necessary.

If Brics can stay true to this intention, we can effect change not only in our Brics countries but in

our respective regions as well.

‘For example, we don’t want South Africa to be an exploitative powerhouse – we want it to be an empowered nation that can productively and progressively uplift the whole of Africa.’

Talking about how South Africa fares compared to other Brics nations, Kalla says that Brazil and South Africa found a lot of similarities between each other, especially in terms of infrastructure and race issues. Comparatively, the host country, Russia, proved to be far more developed than the other Brics nations.

‘We stayed in university residences which are completely free, good-quality and allow students access to utilities such as WiFi, and this was interesting to see, given that we come from South African universities where students get excluded from res because they can’t afford upfront payments.

‘Even textbooks are much

cheaper; tertiary education is far more accessible there. Of course, our contexts are very different – Russia is far more developed than South Africa is – but it’s nice to see that students can live so well.

‘Brazil is very aware of the issues facing their country – they have done a lot of research and have statistics on hand. And that’s something we can learn from them – until you haven’t identified and accepted that there are problems, there is really nothing that you can do for change.’

Kalla says that this is ultimately what being a Brics member is about – forming partnerships through which we, as a nation, can learn and, thus, benefit.

‘Although each country is very much focused on their own issues, by having partnerships with countries, you can learn a lot from them without necessarily being allied to them, and this will go a long way in understanding the world we live in, better.’

The summit took place in Tatarstan, a part of Russia where more than 51 per cent of the population is Muslim. It also happened to be the holy month of Ramadaan when Kalla visited, and she says that she felt the Ramadaan spirit.

‘We visited a beautiful mosque there and although barely any English is spoken at all, the people were still so warm and friendly. One of the nights I was at the mosque just before taraweeh.

There was an old lady there who gesticulated to me that she wanted some water, and when I gave her some, she gave me a rose.

‘It was interesting to see how Islam is different in different places – I was so intrigued to see for myself the universality that our faith has. I was so far from home but I felt such a sense of unity. At no point did I witness or experience any Islamophobia.’

Kalla says that as a Muslim woman, she is happy to see a shift in the narrative of what Muslim women can and cannot do.

‘With Muslim females, there is a stereotype that you cannot be out in the world, expressing your views, and women get put into particular roles. But it looks like this is starting to change. Muslim women are now being given the agency to decide the directions which they want their lives to take. There isn’t one way to be a good Muslim woman.’

Muslim Views . August 2015

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Muslim Views . August 2015

Genderless divinity, gendered humanity This essay by SAFIYYAH SURTEE is adapted from a talk presented at the ASK Academy Annual Conference, in March 2015, on “Humanity’s connection to Divinity” and is the first of a series of essays for Muslim Views interrogating Islam and Gender.

THE starting point, as with any field of enquiry, is to go back to the beginning and, in this case, that is Allah, which, as my title suggests, is ‘genderless divinity’.

The problem of understanding Allah as male must be interrogated as it remains a pervasive notion in the Islamic tradition in which the common translation for ‘hu’ is too often rendered as ‘he’.

So, is God genderless? I’m not inclined to say yes or no but rather pose the suggestion that Allah encompasses the entire spectrum of what we commonly refer to as gender, and thus, when we come to find and understand our own gendered identities, they reflect something of the Divine for can we ‘be’ anything that Allah is not when our very being is from that Divine ‘Be and it Is’ (Q 2:117).

A cursory look at the asma alhusna the beautiful and perfect names of Allah through which we come to understand something about the nature of divinity, conjures up those qualities which we typically identify as ‘feminine’ – Rahman (compassionate), Raheem (merciful), Wadud (loving) and Lateef (gentle), amongst others – as well as those generally understood to be ‘masculine’ – Hakim (wise), Adl (just) and Wakeel (trustee) as some examples.

The problem arises when we start to ascribe feminine qualities to females exclusively and, likewise, masculine qualities for males alone. This is not a denial that some characteristics come more naturally to men and others to women but, rather, is a critique of the belief that only one gender can possess such qualities.

In this way, I believe, men are at most risk because they are prevented from developing their nurturing sides. Women, too, are disadvantaged from harnessing their capabilities for strength and independence, leaving us with rather imbalanced men and women.

Then there is the very problematic issue of viewing those socalled feminine qualities as ‘weak’ and ‘meek’.

So, what am I suggesting? That men act more like women and women like men?

Not exactly, rather, that we each look into ourselves to find our own gender truths, away from the stereotypes of what we

are ‘supposed’ to be – even more warped by messages from the beauty industry for women and the corporate greed machine for men.

I am suggesting that, firstly, we look to the one whom we consider as ‘insan al-kamil’, the complete human being. He, Muhammad (SAW) displayed characteristics which some might view as ‘unmanly’ and ‘feminine’, and yet, these were the most beautiful aspects of his very nature and his sunnah.

The Prophet Muhammad’s (SAW) soul had a deeply feminine nature within. He also introduced reverence for the feminine to his early followers when he would say things like, ‘In this world, women and perfume have been made dear to me, and my comfort has been provided in prayer.’

(Sunan an-Nasa’i) He cited women along with perfume, which symbolised fine etiquette, and prayer, which represented the core of faith. He would respond with the name of his wife Ayesha (RA) when asked who was most beloved to him, which was not a characteristic answer from a man at the time.

In the Quran, Surah alKouthar gives an especially revealing look into the Prophet’s feminine soul. It was revealed because his enemies had been taunting him about having no sons, only daughters, while they had been given sons to perpetuate their patriarchal ways.

Allah revealed this message of consolation to the Prophet: ‘We have given you al-Kouthar so pray to your Lord and sacrifice, surely the one who hates you will be cut off (from progeny).’

(109:1-3) Al-Kouthar is known as a sacred pool of life-giving water in Paradise – a profoundly feminine symbol. It represents a heavenly exaltation of the feminine over patriarchal society.

Furthermore, Allah says, ‘There has certainly come to you a messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; (he is) concerned over you and to the believers is affectionate and merciful.’ (9:128) In this verse, Allah describes Muhammad (SAW) with two of the divine names, Ra’uf (affectionate) and Raheem (merciful).

Why are these qualities often seen as feminine and soft? Especially

There is a problem with conventional definitions of masculinity and femininity, if we view the masculine as all that is harsh.

The Prophet (SAW) was someone very much in touch with what we, today, call his ‘feminine side’ but which are really just pinnacles of the beauty of humanity when one of the greatest human beings who walked this earth was characterised by them?

There is a problem with conventional definitions of masculinity and femininity, if we view the masculine as all that is harsh. The Prophet (SAW) was someone very much in touch with what we, today, call his ‘feminine side’ but which are really just pinnacles of the beauty of humanity.

As both men and women, the world we live in today can make us harsh. We need to inculcate gentleness in ourselves, in our families, communities and the broader society because, as Allah says, the Prophet is ‘a mercy for all the worlds’ (21:107) and we, as his ummah, are to be that ‘ummatan wasatan’ (2:143), the justly balanced ummah. This means that – within ourselves as well – we need to find balance, even in terms of our gender obsessions and social expectations.

The Islamic legal traditions have normalised these social expectations to a great degree and we are dealing with a massive body of literature in which a hierarchical structure of society is presented with God at the top, followed by men and then women, with men acting as the interlocutors between women and God – ‘mini-gods’, as it were.

This is completely incongruent with true touheed.

Then we have our spiritual tradition, which is, in many ways, liberating and redeeming, in part because its subject is the ruh (soul) – that ungendered entity of the self which is journeying to God.

Academic integrity is in order here, and if I am at risk of romanticising the spiritual tradition, then I am quickly reminded that, in many ways, even the spiritual masters of the past struggled with social norms and expectations, and this occasionally seeped into their writings.

For example, menstruation was referred to as an obstacle in the spiritual path, or the idea of body-soul dualism was often at the expense of women representing the body – partly, perhaps, due to the strong embodied experiences of women such as menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth and lactation.

Certainly, in the fiqh, these experiences became the sum of women’s lives – trapped in their bodies. The Sufi tradition, for the most part, offers reprieve, for women, too, have souls with the potential to know and seek God. When women are body bound, their functionality becomes their purpose, and their essence is lost.

Even today, since the rise, spread and decline of western feminism, the beauty/ fashion industry and the corporate ladders continue to chip away at women souls.

So, on the one hand, we are dealing with oppressive interpretations of religion and spirituality; on the other, capitalism and objectification of women. These affect both gender indent and gender relationships, which suffer when men and women are cast into iron moulds. From this aspect of gender relationships, we need to look for the third way. Is there one? I believe we can find it in submission – together, as men

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and women – to the greater truth, like Bilqees (AS) and Sulaiman (AS), as Allah tells us, submitted together to the divine truth, ‘I submit in Islam with Sulaiman, to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.’

(27:44) Or, like Zakariyya (AS) and his wife, Al Yashbi (AS), who worshipped together. ‘They were ever quick in emulation of good works; they used to call on Us with love and reverence, and humble themselves before Us.’ (21:90) All of them were following the primordial sunnah of Adam (AS) and Houwa (AS) when they turned to Allah with the first duah ever made by humanity, which was one asking for forgiveness and mercy. ‘Our Lord! We have wronged our own souls: If You forgive us not and have not Mercy on us, we shall certainly be lost.’ (7:23) At the heart of all our gender relationships, it is with this shining light that we should navigate: ‘The believing men and believing women are auliya (protecting friends, helpers, allies, supporters and spiritual guides) of one another.’ (9:71) This is the ummatan wasatan described by Allah: men and women acting in the name of wilayah (close association, trusteeship and responsibility), encouraging and nurturing each other to the highest spiritual truths and social responsibilities.

Safiyyah Surtee is a postgraduate student in the Study of Islam at University of Johannesburg, and serves on the committee of Masjid ul-Islam, in Johannesburg.

Muslim Views . August 2015

9

A feminist friendship with Ibn Arabi MAHMOOD SANGLAY

‘IF you approach Ibn Arabi with your mind only, he’s impossible to understand. You have to fall in love with his work.’

Sa’diyya Shaikh, Associate Professor in Religious Studies at UCT, is a scholar of the Andalusian mystic Ibn Arabi (11651240). She was recently appointed head of department. Her book Sufi Narratives of Intimacy: Ibn ‘Arabi, Gender and Sexuality, is based on her doctoral research.

The book was published in 2012 in hardback by University of North Carolina Press and copublished in 2013 by UCT Press and an Indian publisher. This year, Shaikh was named winner of the UCT Book Award 2015 for her research. The co-publication of the book made it accessible to a broader audience.

Her study has received excellent scholarly reviews and the compliment she appreciates most is one from Dr Vernon Schubel, Professor of Religious Studies at Kenyon College, Ohio, USA. Schubel said, in response to reading her book, ‘It’s the first time I’ve understood Ibn Arabi.’

Shaikh’s first contact with Ibn Arabi awakened in her a latent sensibility that had been shaped since she was a child drawn to a ‘justice paradigm’. And it was not an intellectual awakening, she hastens to add. It was the innate recognition of a drive to understand what it means to be human in a peculiar socio-political context.

In the eighties, this drive was informed by a struggle for social justice in which race was the

S

dominant narrative. Gender justice, specifically, was a marginal narrative, both in the liberation struggle and in religion.

Women activists in the eighties, therefore, had to articulate their aspirations for social justice by negotiating the socially inscribed barriers and hierarchies in gender and in religion. Hence the feminist imperative to direct the liberation narrative in the struggle for social justice had to be anchored in innovative ways.

It was in such intersections of religion, race and gender that Shaikh confronted the discrepancy in the anti-apartheid liberation discourse. ‘The kinds of things that Muslim men were saying about the need to transcend racial boundaries fell flat on its face when it comes to gender.’

In her masters thesis, in 1996, Shaikh explored gender violence and encountered Muslim women in abusive marriages who were told to exercise sabr (perseverance) when assaulted by their husbands.

These narratives reflected an institutional patriarchy supported by readings of the Quran that effectively compromised the humanity of women (and men).

Her findings had already consolidated for her a feminist paradigm as a way of engaging social and political issues, and seeking emancipation from the barriers to a realisation of existential human potential. But Shaikh aspired beyond this: hers was a quest to explore the means to attain spiritual self-actualisation.

In the years of her journey to her doctoral research, she gradually constructed a peculiar Islamic

Associate Professor Sa’diyya Shaikh is pictured at the UCT library in June this year with her book on Ibn Arabi, Sufi Narratives. Shaikh was also recently named winner of the UCT Book Award for her pioneering study of the 13th century mystic.

Photo MICHAEL HAMMOND/UCT

feminist paradigm, and a precocious sensibility to a spiritual path that complements her commitment to social justice. The connection between the justice paradigm and the spiritual paradigm was intuitive, she says.

When Shaikh was doing course-work in Sufism for her Ph.D at Temple University (19961998) as a Fulbright scholar, she discovered Ibn Arabi. It was during a series of extensive sessions of reading Ibn Arabi in preparation for a seminar with Sara, a fellow student, that she had an epiphany, like a ‘capsule in time’.

Sara is Tunisian and a native speaker of Arabic, and she was a

tutor in Arabic for non-Arabic speakers. However, Ibn Arabi made no sense to her in Arabic.

Instead, they were both overwhelmed by the meaning and compelling beauty of the English translation. The text was not about gender but about the way in which human beings are the microcosm of the divine attributes.

This moment sparked an interest that led to a reading of Sachiko Murata’s Tao of Islam (1992), which is the first study of gender and Sufism.

Shaikh found parts of this text exquisitely beautiful and parts of it ‘troubling’ because Murata’s

reading of Ibn Arabi was inconsistent with her own. Murata, says Shaikh, embraces patriarchal stereotypes and social hierarchies in which women are marginalised.

Thus, in discovering Ibn Arabi, Shaikh also discovered her own calling as academic and activist.

Her project was to re-read Ibn Arabi as a Muslim feminist. At that point, she had not yet formulated her Ph.D proposal even though she had completed her course-work and field examination.

When she expressed an interest in Ibn Arabi as the topic for her dissertation, her supervisor, Mahmoud Ayoub, strongly advised her against it, saying she should leave this for later in her academic career.

She attempted three other proposals and found ‘nothing worked’ so she proposed a comparative study of Al Ghazali and Ibn Arabi. That too proved futile.

‘You can’t compare a rivulet and the ocean, not that I’m disrespectful of Al Ghazali.’ After all, it was Al Ghazali’s Munqidh min al-dalal (Deliverance from Error) that first attracted her to Sufism.

Indeed, Al Ghazali is where her journey to a friendship with Ibn Arabi began.

Next month we critically engage some of her ideas on Ibn Arabi.

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Muslim Views . August 2015

Muslim Views . August 2015

11

Reverend told, ‘Stop your Palestine nonsense’ SHAHISTA ROHAN-TOEFY

‘I’VE always worshipped God and been active in the life of my local church, since a child. It was there that I was taught that the Israelites were God’s chosen people. I grew up listening to stories of a spiritual Israel.

‘This was before a modern political entity with the same name appeared on our maps and stole land and killed people.

‘I grew up and saw the evils that Israel inflicted on Palestine and I started to ask questions,’ said Reverend June Major.

Reverend Major, the previous priest of St Matthews Anglican Church, in Claremont, Cape Town, says there have always been a few members at her church who were pro-Israel and had a problem with her supporting Palestine.

On August 9, 2014, just before going to a pro-Palestine march, one of the church wardens, Charles Meyer, told her to stop her ‘Palestine nonsense’ and gave her an ultimatum; the church or Palestine.

‘I knew what I had to do. I will not be silent in the midst of injustice and lose my salvation.’

Reverend Major decided to pray on the decision and fasted for 40 days with the hope that God would guide her decision.

At the end of October 2014, she resigned as rector of St Matthew’s Church.

‘I did not resign as a priest but only as rector and from the stipendiary ministry. I get no pay now.’

Reverend Major was aware that Meyer did not have the authority to fire her but said that

Reverend June Major at the International Quds Day March on Friday, July 10.

Photo SHAHISTA ROHAN-TOEFY

some of the clergy were making her life tough, and things would just continue in that vein.

‘I know he does not have the authority but they made my life and ministry very difficult, made it close to impossible for me to minister because of my stand for Palestine.’

When contacted by Muslim Views, Meyer said that he was

not interested. ‘She could have mentioned my name but I don’t want to have anything to do with June Major.

She resigned from the church and that’s all I’ve got to tell you.’

Reverend Major says that after her resignation, her fellow Christians and colleagues started spreading rumours that she had resigned because she had turned her back on God, that she had converted to Islam and that she was pregnant.

They even said that she had joined a terrorist Islamic organisation.

‘After ten years in full-time ministry, I get treated like a leper.’

Dean Michael Weeder, the vicar general of the diocese of St George’s Cathedral, and the priest who would have had the authority to relieve Reverend Major of her duties, says that they have a long history of supporting Palestine.

‘We, as a cathedral, for example, have last year or the previous year embarked on a 48-hour solidarity fast with Gaza.’

He says that, as a church, they are standing fully behind the oppressed masses of Gaza.

‘Recognising that there are Jews, Muslims and there are Christians within Palestine,’ he continues, ‘we don’t stand with the Muslims because they are Muslim, we stand by them because they are oppressed.’

That has been the position of their church not only in South Africa but also in solidarity with St George’s Church, in Jerusalem.

Also, the Anglican community, globally, have aligned themselves with the people of Palestine.

Dean Weeder says that the dio-

cese supported her in the sense that they didn’t prohibit her.

‘I was delighted that someone who doesn’t have a long history of struggle fell in love with the Palestinian cause.’

As for the ultimatum that Meyer had allegedly made, Weeder says that the church cannot be held responsible for individuals fighting.

‘If we go according to what Reverend June is saying, they are not the people who employ her.

We are bound by protocols of the universality of human rights, labour rights and the protocols that govern the employment of a priest.’

He adds, ‘I can confidently say to you that Reverend June Major is not a victim of pro-Israeli prejudice on the part of the diocese…

Reverend June Major resigned stating reasons of moving on and exploring other possibilities.’

Dean Weeder says that their position as Christians is not premised on the Hebrew scriptures.

‘We are guided by scripture, by human intellect, by ethics and by other protocols, including scripture but we don’t allow one text to be the basis for their reasoning why we do not do something in a way that has been presented there.’

He says that if Meyer had really made those statements then it is his opinion – ‘It is an ill-informed opinion but it’s his opinion.’

Reverend Major responded by saying, ‘I had, for months, told my bishop about all the issues and nothing came of it.

‘Life was made very difficult for me in the parish. It became unbearable. I never once spoke

with Dean Michael [Weeder].

Palestine was always thrown in my face by the wardens.’

It has been an up-hill battle for Reverend Major who has received threats, insults and is defamed on a regular basis.

She pickets in front of parliament every Friday. On the opposite side of the road there are Israeli picketers who have taken to calling her names and berating her, she claims.

They even got some of her exparishioners to stand with them so as to embarrass and insult her.

But, she says, ‘I chose this path, it’s difficult but I don’t regret it.’

She says there was an incident where one of the Israeli supporters approached her at parliament and offered her R300 000 to stop protesting in front of parliament.

‘They said I should take the money and stop my support for Palestine or else they would make sure that I would never find work as a priest in South Africa again.’

Reverend Major doesn’t know if those were just empty threats but since October 2014 she has been unsuccessful in all her job applications and is reaching the end of her savings. ‘One God fearing Christian told me that I will live on the streets but I won’t find work until I acknowledge Israel.’

Major, who is now a member of the National Coalition for Palestine, says that as far as the Israelis are concerned, the Palestinians have no rights, their children are not human beings.

‘Christians must stop supporting apartheid Israel. The God who created Israelis is the same God who created the Palestinians, and you and me.’

Muslim Views

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Muslim Views . August 2015

The direct speech of Allah SHIREEN MUKADAM

‘BY time. Indeed, man is in a state of loss. Except those who believe and do righteous deeds.

And advise each other to truth.

And advise each other with patience.’

As a child attending madrassah in the mid-1990s, in Cape Town, we always concluded each class with the recitation of this surah before leaving the mosque.

We recited Surah al-Asr (by Time) in Arabic. Sadly, I didn’t understand the meaning of it until this year, almost two decades later. It’s only now that, for the first time, I can appreciate this surah’s beauty.

As a lover of languages, I’ve always wanted to learn Arabic.

I’ve tried learning through parttime courses but it was never enough. With a language, one has to fully immerse oneself in it, and there was never time.

After completing school, I went on to pursue tertiary education, and then to work. The secular life has always been my focus.

This year, in January, I enrolled for a full-time Arabic course at Darun Naim li Zuhur (an offshoot of Darun Naim, except run by and for females) because I thought it might be worth a try as an inroad to understanding Arabic better.

Initially, I was hesitant because the course was not what I have always been seeking to learn – conversational Arabic.

Instead, I signed up to learn classical Arabic, which means Quranic Arabic.

Muslim Views

I grew up in a culture where the emphasis has always been on reciting Arabic, not understanding it. I diligently learnt the Arabic alphabet, how to write it and recognise letters, and how to read the Quran with fluency and tajweed. The object was to complete the recitation of the Quran from start to end. It didn’t matter that I didn’t know what I was reading.

The focus of this course is grammar (nahu) and sarf (verb morphology). As a lover of languages, I know that grammar forms the foundation of any language and, therefore, decided to give it a chance.

What started off as something I was just trying, turned into the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I found the Quran.

During Ramadaan, I attended taraweeh at Stegman Road Mosque, in Claremont. During one of his post-taraweeh talks, Shaikh Riyaad Walls spoke about the importance of learning classical Arabic. He went on to say that there are some scholars who believe that learning the Quran is compulsory for every Muslim.

This resonated with me. In the opening verses of Surah alBaqarah, Allah says, ‘That book, in it there is no doubt. It is guidance for those who have taqwa.’

If the book of guidance for Muslims is in Arabic then we cannot fully appreciate its guidance

and wisdom unless we understand the language in which it was written. It seems like a simple concept but it is not one that we have internalised in South Africa.

Translations don’t suffice because of the richness of the Arabic language.

I grew up in a culture where the emphasis has always been on reciting Arabic, not understanding it. I diligently learnt the Arabic alphabet, how to write it and recognise letters, and how to read the Quran with fluency and tajweed. The object was to complete the recitation of the Quran from start to end. It didn’t matter that I didn’t know what I was reading.

As a child, I didn’t think that anything was missing; until now, when I am only beginning to realise the depth of what has been missing.

‘Verily, we have sent it down as an Arabic Quran, in order that you may understand.’ (Surah Yusuf, 12:2)

The Quran is the direct speech of Allah. Through learning Arabic and understanding what you are reading in Arabic, it is as if Allah is talking directly to you.

This experience is empowering and helps you draw closer to Allah.

One of my favourite verses is, ‘O you who believe, seek help in patience and prayer. Indeed Allah is with those who are patient.’

(Surah Baqarah 2:153) As someone who has always been active in the secular world, I have been surprised by how many times I have come across concepts like ‘justice’ and ‘corruption’ in the few verses I’ve read so far.

These themes, which are so relevant in our contemporary world, come up again and again in the Quran. The Quran is living. It will always be relevant, until the end of time.

Allah also mentions His wrath and the consequences for those who disbelieve, who are hypocrites or oppressors, many times.

But, almost every time that He describes the severe punishment, it is very closely followed by mention of Allah’s mercy, that He is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.

This gives encouragement and hope.

It’s never too early or too late to start learning classical Arabic.

The youngest student in my class is 13, and the eldest is 70-yearsold.

It’s not too difficult, either.

Arabic is a challenging language, yes – I have not yet mastered weak verbs. But Allah promises in the Quran, that He will make it easy for those who want to learn it.

Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan has an online programme ‘Arabic with Husna’ where he teaches his ten-year-old daughter, Husna, the basics of classical Arabic. If Husna can do it, so can you!

I have realised that my knowledge of Arabic studies gained in the past months is only a drop in the ocean. Learning a language is a lifelong journey and I am humbled by the mountain of Arabic I have yet to traverse before I will have understanding.

While I am grateful for this opportunity, Alhamdulillah, my wish for children today is that they can start this journey sooner than I did, before they commence their lives as adults, pursue tertiary education, choose careers and partners, and that they are able to read with understanding, the words of their Lord, in order that it (the Quran) may be guidance for how best to live their lives.

Muslim Views . August 2015

13

South African Islamic art foundation launched YASMIN DESAI-CHILWAN

THE launch of The South African Foundation of Islamic Art (Safia) was met with great excitement by the community at the Radio 786 Ramadaan Expo, in June 2015.

Members of Safia exhibited together for the first time as a group. They consist of art appreciators, artists and artisans who work independently and exhibit under the banner of Safia.

Initially, in 2006, Achmat Soni and a core group were instrumental in the establishment of Safia, a non-profit organisation. Safia’s vision is to call like-minded people together with the purpose of creating an awareness of Islamic art, and to promote and preserve its legacy in a South African context.

More members joined in 2015 and Safia was ready to be launched.

Visitors told prolific artist, Nurunisa Gaibie-Harneker, whose work attracted many admirers at the expo, how they were awed by their discovery of so many talented local Muslim artists.

The exhibition space was continuously filled with people who were curious about the paintings and sculptures. Styles of work ranged from traditional Islamic art to modern and contemporary.

A contemporary piece with expressive brush marks of a ‘dripping’ burkah, by Rishka Chilwan, created many a dialogue, with various interpretations.

The art on display offered a moment of quiet for some and, for others, it evoked strong emotions that resulted in many discussions between Safia members and visitors. Artist Tasneem Chilwan-Soni experienced the healing of art and the benefits of creativity as a means

Some of the members of Safia are, from left (standing), Sedick Ariefdien, Mohammed Kamil Edwards, Yasmin DesaiChilwan, Fatima Isaac, Achmat Soni, Tasneem Chilwan-Soni, Thoerria Najjar-Philander, Rishka Chilwan, Atika Plato-Hoosen and Nurunisa Gaibie-Harneker. In front are Abdul Aliem Abrahams and Shaheen Soni. Safia members not in the photograph are Raffiq Desai, Adenaan Esmael, Khaleel Dhatay and Zaitoon Abed.

Photo MUJEEB HOOSEN

of self-expression through her work. While speaking to many people at the expo, she recognised their yearning to express their emotions in a creative manner. A visitor identified with one of ChilwanSoni’s paintings and was moved by the realisation that a stranger had captured how she felt.

‘Partici-Paint’, a painting produced at the show, was an idea initiated by Adenaan Esmael, senior advertising strategist in the marketing department of Radio 786. This was an invitation for the public to experience the joy of participating in creating an artwork. Sixty-three

individuals were motivated to take up the opportunity to paint.

A young man who contributed to the painting was overwhelmed by his experience and stated that he had been searching for a means of self-expression for a long time.

With ‘Partici-Paint’ he discovered how therapeutic painting is and stated this was ‘it’ for him.

During the course of the weekend, Shaheen Soni, of Soni Art Studio, and chairperson of Safia, presented his ever-popular children’s painting workshops. It was uplifting to observe these little ones confidently exploring colour and

shape.

For Abdul Aliem Abrahams, art serves as a means of contemplation. The process of selecting objects in nature and designing sculptures with them brings him closer to his Creator.

The visitors’ admiration was heightened as they watched some of the artists and artisans in action.

Sedick Ariefdien’s teaching background was evident while demonstrating his methods of mould-making to produce various architectural shapes.

Mohammed Kamil Edwards, an 82-year-old, motivated visitors

with his paintings. This versatile artist has a wealth of experience and knowledge of various skills and use of materials.

Charismatic artist, Ismail Achmat’s landscape, oil on canvas, drew a large audience as he painted it in its entirety at the expo.

Radio 786 will auction this painting, and the proceeds will go towards their bursary fund.

It was a privilege to watch Achmat Soni paint an intricate arabesque design. He is an accomplished Islamic artist and mentor to many of the Safia members and countless people in the community.

Raffiq Desai and Atika PlatoHoosen were both inspired and taught by Achmat Soni. Under his guidance they discovered the beauty of Islamic art. Desai introduces a contemporary colour palette in his works and Plato-Hoosen uses principles of colour therapy.

She stated that the launch was a platform where she could share and identify with the artists’ love and enthusiasm. She was amazed at the talent and is looking forward to seeing what is yet to be discovered.

Safia’s aim to create an awareness of promoting Islamic art and crafts and to educate the community will be achieved through art classes, workshops, exhibitions and sharing information via social media.

The benefits of joining Safia include networking, access to a database of information and skills, opportunities to exhibit locally, nationally and internationally, and receiving discounts on art materials and framing at Soni Art Studio.

For more information about Safia and membership visit the Facebook page: Safia South African Foundation of Islamic Art/ e-mail: Safia.islamicart@gmail.com or phone: 084 332 7036.

Muslim Views

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Muslim Views . August 2015

Engen implicated in racial discrimination incident MAHMOOD SANGLAY

‘STOOD in the centre of your petrol station was a man literally dripping with blood due to a stab wound,’ wrote Gavin Swift in his letter of complaint to Engen on January 1, this year.

Swift continued, ‘Your staff, including the manager, were laughing at him, taunting him and offering no aid whatsoever, not even a chair to sit on or a sip of water.’

Gavin Swift is a British actor who visited South Africa to perform in the stage production of War Horse, at Artscape Theatre, from December 5, 2014 to January 4, 2015.

On January 1, after the evening’s performance, Swift and his girlfriend went to purchase some supplies at the store attached to the Engen fuel station, in Orange Street, Cape Town. It was there that Swift encountered what he described as the ‘most foul affair’ he has ever experienced.

The injured man standing in the ‘centre’ of the Engen service station was, according to Swift, a black vagrant who had been stabbed for allegedly attempting to steal something. However, Swift was mainly concerned that the man was bleeding profusely and that no one was offering him any aid.

Swift says that the Engen staff told him that because of his attempted theft, the man had forfeited his right to the medical attention he desperately needed.

Swift claims that it is only after he made repeated appeals to the Engen staff that they eventually called an ambulance. Initially,

Gavin Swift played the role of Geordie, a soldier, in the world-renowned stage production of the book and film War Horse at Artscape, in Cape Town, in January 2015. Swift complained to Engen about an incident involving the poor treatment of an injured man by their staff at their service station in Orange Street, Cape Town. He claims that Engen ignored his complaint.

Photo SUPPLIED

they had told him they did not have a number for an ambulance.

Swift bought the injured man some water and his girlfriend helped the man drink because he could no longer lift his arms due to the large quantity of blood he had lost. Swift and his girlfriend left soon after the ambulance arrived.

Engen’s version of the incident is somewhat different. Gavin Smith, Group Communications Manager of Engen, responded with a written statement in which he claims the injured man had been pursued by members of a gang. He says Engen staff responded to the situation by pressing the panic button and by

alerting the police.

He adds that ‘independent reports revealed’ that Engen staff had called the ambulance. When asked to identify the independent sources, Smith declined to disclose the information. It appears Smith is unwilling to acknowledge that the ambulance was called only after Swift’s appeals.

Smith disputes Swift’s claim that the Engen staff had laughed at the injured man and that they had failed to go to his aid.

A reliable source to consult, in order to verify and corroborate the versions of both Swift and Smith and to establish what actually occurred, is the closed-circuit television footage recorded at the service station at the time of the alleged incident.

Smith says a copy of the footage was supplied to the police. Muslim Views also requested a copy thereof. Again, Smith declined.

Smith alleges that Swift had posted his complaint on Facebook without first contacting Engen. It appears Smith was not aware of the proof of Swift’s email to Engen previously sent to a colleague of his who had initially dealt with the complaint.

When asked for evidence of Swift’s alleged Facebook post, Smith failed to produce any. In a standard online search for such a post, Muslim Views found none.

Smith further claims that he attempted to contact Swift after the latter had lodged his formal complaint via Engen’s online

‘Customer Service Centre Feedback’ form. When asked for proof of this attempted communication, Smith again failed to produce same. It is noteworthy that Engen initially requested proof of Swift’s online complaint before they were willing to entertain any enquiry

by Muslim Views; this despite the fact that the complaint ought to be on their relevant online database.

In February 2014, Engen defended itself against allegations of racism by saying that the company ‘prides itself on being ethical, fair and transparent’. Evidence of this, however, is patently lacking in the company’s unwillingness to back up its own claims related to the above incident.

Despite the lack of credibility in Engen’s version of the incident, Smith says he is happy that Engen staff had dealt with the situation appropriately.

Swift, however, disagrees. ‘The truth of this matter is that had the man been white with a bit more cash, he would have been treated in the proper manner immediately.’

The most telling, and perhaps the most disturbing utterance that night, according to Swift, was that of the Engen security official who allegedly said, ‘You don’t understand. These people, they’re not like you and me. They wander around in packs. They rob together. They all sleep together.

They all fight together. You’ve seen Animal Planet? It’s like that.

These people are animals.’

Diverse mix of speakers for Muslim women’s conference DURBAN CORRESPONDENT

AN award-winning author, an Islamic Studies researcher, a political analyst, an 89-year-old community stalwart, a grassroots activist and a social worker – these are the women who will take to the podium of the fourth annual Muslimah Today conference, in Durban, on August 29 and 30, with the aim of inspiring fellow Muslimahs from around the country.

Karen Tahira Jayes, who won both the Sunday Times Fiction Award and the South African Literary Award’s K Sell Duiker Award for her novel For the Mercy of Water (Penguin).

Jayes will make two presentations. One is entitled ‘Viewing Motherhood and Work as Gifts from Allah’.

The other presentation, ‘Muslim Political Prisoners and the Impact thereof on Women’, will draw on her writing experience with CAGE, a UK-based independent organisation that advocates justice for detainees and other victims of the so-called War on Terror.

The theme of Muslimah Today 2015 is ‘The Spirit of Sacrifice in the Lives of Women’, and Ayesha Kajee, former executive director of the Freedom of Expression Institute, and the founding director of the International Human Rights Exchange Programme, at Wits University, will share with the audience stories of sacrifice in the lives of women on the African continent.

In a separate session, Kajee will look at ways in which Muslim women can make a lasting, positive impact on South African society.

Muslim Views

‘A distinguishing feature of the conference is the fact that it brings together women from a diversity of cultural, racial, ideological and socio-economic backgrounds, thereby fostering a spirit of sisterhood within the community.

‘Lasting relationships are formed at Muslimah Today, and they transcend these lines, which are often divisive,’ says the director of ILM-SA, Fatima Asmal.

The line-up of speakers also includes Masnoenah Kamalie, an Islamic Studies researcher based at International Peace College South Africa. Her topics include ‘Reflecting on sacrifice as a theme in the lives of women of the Quran’ and ‘The hifdh tradition amongst women of the Cape’).

Hanna Zuma, a member of Sisters in Deen, a grassroots Islamic organisation will relate ‘Stories of sacrifice from grassroots dawah experiences’.

Salma Ally, a final-year social work student currently based at the Provincial Spinal Rehabilitation Centre, in Phoenix shares her topic entitled ‘My Story: With every difficulty comes ease’).

Zuleikha Mayat, now 89, the author of the famous Indian Delights cookbook, and a community activist of note, will also present a session in which she shares insights into her latest book, Travels of Binte Batuti.

Muslimah Today is organised by ILM for Women, a branch of the faith-based organisation, Institute for Learning and Motivation – SA, better known as ILM-SA. For more information on registering for Muslimah Today, Whatsapp/ SMS 083 271 4500 or email info@ilmsa.co.za

Mrs Zuleikha Mayat addresses delegates at last year’s Muslimah Today conference

Photo SUPPLIED

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Muslim Views . August 2015

CONFERENCE JUNE 16 th 2015

www.no2xenophobia.co.za

Xenophobia is the anti-thesis of Ubuntu By Iris Siers and Nurudean Ssempa On Youth Day, June 16, 2015, a conference took place at the Islamia College in Cape Town aiming to unite and create dialogue between people that are on the humiliating and hurtful end of racism and xenophobia. The one-day Xenophobia Conference was sponsored by Kaaf Trust, Palestine Museum and Islamic Relief South Africa. It attracted over a hundred delegates from townships and city suburbs. Speakers were carefully chosen from the academia and local , national and international organizations.

Dr. Anwah Nagia, founder of Kaaf Trust and chairperson of the Palestine Museum called for free movement across Africa in which the African continent would be united without the borders which were imposed by colonial leaders. “We Africans need to take a step back and regenerate our pride,” he said. “We need to regenerate our African brother and sisterhood spirit,” he further pointed out.

Shaykh Sa’dullah Khan, an activist during the anti-Apartheid era and CEO of Islamia College, described xenophobia as ‘the anti-thesis of Ubuntu and a betrayal of our political struggle. To witness acts of xenophobia in South Africa is especially troublesome and hurtful, as it is a country that struggled against violence, hatred and discrimination for centuries during the times of colonization and apartheid.’

Re-emphasizing the point during her speech, Elizabeth Petersen, founder of the South African Faith and Family Institute, said, “We need to watch out so that we don’t become the oppressor we fought against.”

Ms. Sadia Kidwai, a Policy and Research Analyst for Islamic Relief World Wide, spoke via Skype from the United Kingdom on the matter of forced migration and how this is represented in Islam. Interestingly, within Islam, people facing persecution have a duty to seek refuge elsewhere. She pointed out that Muslims have a duty to provide asylum and assist those that are seeking refuge as best as one can. Providing refuge is, thus, “not simply a matter of charity, but a matter of justice,” she added.

Mr. Julian Masimila, Advocacy officer for South African Human Rights Commission, Western Cape, gave the assurance that “non-nationals, refugees, and asylum seekers living in South Africa, are entitled to nearly all rights enjoyed by ‘everyone’ in the South African constitution.”

Mr. Muhammad Khalid Sayed, the chairperson of the ANC Youth League in the Western Cape, ended the conference on a political note. Fighting xenophobia is one of the biggest objectives for South Africa’s political leaders, he said.

There was broad consensus among the participants that South Africa’s struggle out of a bloody history and the spirit of Ubuntu that prevailed during that struggle go completely against the idea of xenophobia. Although xenophobia is an increasing problem world-wide, for a country that prides itself on its just society and constitution combating xenophobia should be the primary objective. During the conference there were already many voices calling for another such event, although the organizing committee felt the turn-out was rather low.

The solution to that problem, however, was brought forward during the conference as well. Due to the large representation of refugees at

the conference, the delegates called for the next forum to happen in one of the townships. It is crucial to get the entire community involved and the quickest and most effective way is to bring such events to the centre of the conflict, which is in the townships.

The general agreement of the conference to start combating racism and xenophobia was “to be the change that you wish to see in the world”; to approach people with kindness rather than hostility. Furthermore, it is important to engage more. This was underlined by the reactions given by delegates.

Mogseen Aziz, a South African, thought it was a great day. “It was nice to see people discuss xenophobia openly; speakers got some very important points across.”

Djaria Imutoniwase, a horticulturalist from Rwanda, agrees. “It opened up our minds,” she said.

Amin Abdulrazaq, a refugee from Somalia, added to this that he thought conferences and forums like this are crucial in trying to combat emotional issues like racism and xenophobia.

Shaykh Sa’dullah Khan, Chief Operations Officer of Islamia College

Mr. Julian Masimila of South African Human Rights Commission, Western Cape Office

Mr. Muhammad Lwande co-organizer a representative from Khayelitsha

Ms Elizabeth Petersen Director and Founder of South African Faith Family

As Mr. Ramadhan Wagogo, the lead founder of MRASA Refugee Centre, the organisation behind the conference, articulates: “Xenophobia and racism are not going to go away unless we deal with it as a society and as a country at all levels and all forums as a discourse which needs a collective intervention and resolution.”

Thus, the main aim of the conference was to unite and to create a dialogue in which foreign nationals can be viewed as part of the solution to national issues rather than perceiving them as the problem.

According to Ms Fatima Hendricks, one of the conference organisers, a Community worker and a student at the Madina Institute Cape Town, this goal was achieved. “We have got encouraging feedback from community members who attended, viewed the conference proceedings on ITV Networks which covered all events,” says Ms Hendricks, who is also a postgraduate student at Thomas Jefferson University in USA.

(UNHCR): Vanessa CoulsonLangenhoven

“I read about the conference in Muslim Views. It’s unfortunate I was unable to attend, but I am ready to participate in the follow-up community interactions so that I can have an opportunity to share my perspectives,” says Siddeeq Railoun, a Transformation Change Management Activist.

To end in the words of Mr. Wagogo, the MRASA Director: “It is high time that we change our perception of foreigners as the ones taking what is ours and start seeing them as the valuable people that they can be; that we can learn something from.”

Dr. Andrea Brigaglia from UCT

1

Conference output and more about the upcoming events are available from: www.no2xenophobia.co.za Telephone: 021 637 9181

1. Left to Right: MRASA director Ramadhan Wagogo , the organisation behind the xenophobia conference with key xenophobia conference sponsors, Mr. Jusuf Patel Country Director of Islamic Relief South Africa and Dr. Anwah Nagia lead founder of the Al- Kaaf Trust and chairperson of the Palestine Museum. Xenophobia Conference partners Mr. Farid Sayed editor of Muslim Views and Mr. Muhammad Lwande co-organizer of the conference and Mr. Mogseen Aziz graphic designer and director of Pixeleight Web and Graphic Solutions.

2. Right to left: Some of the organizing committee members of the Xenophobia Conference Ms Fatima Hendricks a Cape Town Community worker, Dr. Omatayo Sulaiman a Nigerian Orthopaedic Surgeon based in Cape Town, Mr. Muhammad Lwande, a co-organizer and community mobilizer from Khayelitsha, Mr. Minhaj Jeenah of Islamic Relief South Africa, MRASA Director Ramadhan Wagogo and MRASA Member Mrs Mariam Namulindwa.

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Muslim Views . August 2015

Muslim Views . August 2015

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Muslim Views . August 2015

Youth camp gives practical guidance on facing modern challenges SHAHISTA ROHAN-TOEFY

MUSLIM youth face many challenges, like racism and discrimination, and are regularly tempted to join questionable organisations and groups. At the Living Faith Youth Camp, youth are given guidance on how to deal with their daily challenges.

This is the youth camp’s second year of operating and, since their formation, have had two successful camps.

Children are often confused about decisions they need to make while navigating life’s challenges. Members of the team at the Living Faith Youth Camp are a bit older and can share their experiences and give advice. They also hope that this will help youngsters make better decisions.

Saleemah Jaffer, one of the volunteers in the Cape Town coordinating team says, ‘It’s all about the empowerment of the individual. Many high school children do not attend madrassah and this camp is like a spiritual boost.’

Jaffer says adolescent children and their parents often have very different ideas about what is good and fun for them but, with the camp, both groups agree that the youth can only benefit and enjoy participating in the process.

The Living Faith Youth Camp was started by a group of Madina Institute alumni. These alumni felt the need to pay back to society and, amongst themselves, identified areas they wished they were knowledgeable in when they were growing up.

The core Living Faith team consists of Abass Darab, Nabila Bana, Ahmed Deeb, Aboobaker Kalla and Tazkiyyah Amra.

Darab is an Afghan-American

Muslim Views

Living Faith campers enjoying the fun and challenging outdoor team-building Photo SUPPLIED activities in Grabouw, in 2014.

who is the coordinator, Arabic teacher, tutor and is a part-time student at Madina Institute, in Cape Town.

Bana is an economics graduate from University of Cape Town (UCT) and a graduate of Madina Institute. She is currently involved in developing a social entrepreneurship venture that establishes a platform for informal traders and artists, and encourages local trade.

Deeb, who is from Orlando, Florida, has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and also studied at Madina Institute. He is a certified life coach and a passionate community activist.

Kalla is a graduate of Madina Institute and UCT. He is passionate about leadership, business and youth development, and is currently in a graduate programme at Citibank, working in the accounts services department.

Amra, from Durban, is a graduate from Madina Institute and an engineer by profession. She moved away from designing buildings and roads to pursue her passion for development.

Lisa Tundwe (15) attended the last Cape Town camp, in December. She said that the Living Faith Youth Camp was extremely well organised and the people at the camp has good intentions, ‘In this day and age we need guidance like that.’

She says her highlight of the camp was the lectures. ‘It wasn’t what I expected it to be. It was interactive, funny and relatable, and it wasn’t boring at all.’ She feels that the camp helped her grow.

They would discuss their individual experiences with Islam, and everyone got to express how they felt about their deen. They were given tips and advice on

Living Faith youth participating in a river rafting race in Grabouw, in 2014.

Photo SUPPLIED

how to apply Islam at this point of their lives. ‘The mentors were amazing, they were spontaneous and young and I felt I could relate to them.’

Tundwe’s mother, Neema Kanbege, commented on the camp. ‘I think it is beautiful. Lisa came home a changed person and started questioning everything.’

It was a positive experience for her daughter and she learnt a lot.

‘My daughter still stays in touch with the Living Faith team and if she has questions she e-mails them.’

The next camp will be in Cape Town, from October 9 to 11, and there is only space for 50 youth. It costs R550 per child but this amount does not cover all the expenses so they rely on donors to fund a big portion of their expenses.

The ages that they cater for are 13 to 17. If anyone would like to register their child or would like to sponsor a child or even just make a donation they could contact them via e-mail, camp@livingfaithproject.org or contact Saleemah Jaffer on 072 271 2994.

Muslim Views . August 2015

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‘We are all still who we are’

E get together once a month, and have been doing so for the past thirty-odd years. Like giggling school kids we, wild raconteurs, take over a restaurant and split our sides with bellowing laughter while simultaneously solving all the world’s problems.

The boys’ night out leaves all worldly issues sorted and behind, and we normally depart completely relaxed.

Of course, there have been awkward moments such as when a story best told in the deeper, isolated recesses of a rugby scrum was overheard by a hajji whom I had treated on Arafah not even a month earlier. I am still not sure who was more embarrassed.

When it is over, we all leave the restaurant, knowing that we are all still who we are, still have the same nicknames and tease each other about out frailties and shortcomings.

W

There was a scar on his left cheek, now faded with the blessings of the passage of time and the artistic strokes of accompanying wrinkles, writes Doctor SALIM PARKER. After all these years, we still possess maverick tendencies but, generally, are unchanged people except for the rise in abdominal girth and receding scalp covering.

The familiarity is reassuring and an escape to the company and comfort of close friends. It is so different to one of my encounters while on Hajj.

‘Skollie!’ I excitedly exclaimed when he entered my consulting room in Makkah about two weeks before Hajj.

He was taken aback and clearly not impressed. ‘Salaam, my name is Shaikh Shaafi*,’ he formally announced.

I looked at him. Was I wrong?

Was this not the person that I had played rugby with for a while and shared many precious moments with? I looked at his face. There was a scar on his left cheek, now faded with the blessings of the passage of time and the artistic strokes of accompanying wrinkles. That scar I had accidently caused to my own teammate when I recklessly went, boot first, into a ruck during a ferocious match. That reassured me; he was indeed one half of a pair who had fearlessly gang tackled much larger opponents and, in the process, developed a formidable reputation. He was known to risk life and limb on the rugby field with a rather indifferent and reckless regard for the rules of the game, hence his nickname.

We had lost touch after our days of mayhem but I know that he had enrolled at one of the Islamic institutions of higher learning. Now he was standing here, in the flesh, after more than two decades. He was accompanied by his wife and she looked askance at me.

‘Salaam,’ she said. ‘Shaikh is not feeling too well. Could you please see to him?’ I gestured both to chairs and tried to initiate some small talk. ‘Are you still involved in rugby in some way such as coaching?’ I asked.

He lived for the sport and, during our heydays, had frequently mentioned that the coaching structures at our club left much to be desired and he had visionary plans to propel it to stellar heights.

‘It is incumbent upon us to refrain from such earthly indulgences. They lead you down the wrong path,’ was his stern and cold reply.

I was immediately on the back foot and retorted rather cumbersomely. ‘Sport keeps you fit and the camaraderie and friendship that it fosters lasts a lifetime,’ I argued.

‘I thought you were intelligent,’ the shaikh replied. ‘Wearing shorts is contrary to our religion, and the fruitless waste of energy chasing a ball instead of being in constant remembrance of our Creator is clearly an issue we should not even be debating. You need to grow up,’ he concluded his sermon.

I was saddened. Sport and the friends he had made during that career had shaped him to some extent. Was it not the constant but gentle urging by his teammates that had led him to go for counselling for his drug addiction? He had never gone to mosque during that time, and it was the assimilation by the rest of us that had introduced him to, at least, follow the compulsory prayers and, later, to learn the value of fasting.

Sport in our community was a social structure that was always intricately fitted in where religious schedules allowed it, not the other way around. I diverted the discussion to his medical problem and soon sorted it out.

‘You need to be alert to the entrapments of the worldly ways.

Life is short and there is no time other than for full devotion to your religion,’ were his parting words. I listened but did not respond. Instead, I simply greeted and called in the next patient.

That evening, I witnessed him castigating some fellow pilgrims raucously laughing at the dinner table. He admonished them to keep a low volume and to hurry off to the Kaabah to pray.

When one of the guilty apologised and asked the shaikh why he was sitting at the dinner table for hours and not praying, he was given a tongue lashing. The shaikh sharply lectured about the virtues of spreading the true values of the religion to the deviants.

The guilty tried to explain that they had been discussing some of the rites of Hajj and one member of the group had narrated a funny but true incident, which had led to the boisterous laughter.

Every hour, every opportunity, every day he searched out the lost souls to whom he could spread the proper way. On one occasion, a fellow learned one spoke to him and advised him to concentrate on his own Hajj as Allah was sure to guide everyone. But he was not going to stop saving those who would otherwise be doomed to eternal fire. I was obviously identified as one of them. Beardless, purveyor of an intoxicant called coffee, shameless wearer of denim garb, bearer of unholy news such as current cricket scores, he made it his mission to mend my mindless ways.

At first, I engaged him and tried to debate. Music is forbidden? A fellow shaikh had given as persuasive counter-arguments.

Should we always be serious?

Our beloved Prophet (SAW) smiled until his molars could be seen. Abstain from sport? Again, Nabi Muhammad (SAW) had engaged in archery and raced against one of his wives. No, we did not try to convince him of the correctness of other viewpoints, merely that other narratives exist and should be respected, if reasonable.

The day of Arafah arrived. All of us were to depart Mina indistinguishably clad in our perfectly similar ihraams. All except me, as I was still dressed in civilian clothes, attending to patients.

He disdainfully reprimanded those showing disinhibition in their unbridled excitement. The horror when he spotted me was clearly evident but he said nothing. The horror increased tenfold when he saw me thirty minutes later in my ihraam. I was bristling with enthusiasm; I had been gifted another Arafah! In a few hours, we were all going to the vast plain closer to our Creator than any other time in our lives.

I was initially pushing an elderly person in a wheelchair to the awaiting bus then ran back to fetch a chair which another pilgrim had forgotten in the tent, then united a family who had, somehow, got separated.

He looked at me disapprovingly but it mattered not one iota to me nor my fellow workers. ‘Hajj unleashes our youthful exuberance,’ I smiled. ‘Judge and condemn us all you want. We are on our way to the Supreme Judge whose mercy to forgive exceeds our capacity to sin.

‘It is the time that we’ll be as close to Him as possible and where His infinite mercy will be showered upon us. I shall remain who I am, there is no new me.’ I held out my hand to greet. He reluctantly shook it, stared at me in a resigned and pitying manner, and looked away. He never ever talked to me again. *Not his real name Comments to salimparker@yahoo.com The only constant is change but the change does not have to change our good constants. Though constant change is evident around the Kaabah, it remains a constant in our lives.

Photo SALIM PARKER Muslim Views

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Muslim Views

Muslim Views . August 2015

DISCUSSIONS WITH DANGOR

The Taliban-Islamic State battle for supremacy Another factor attracting disenchanted Taliban members to Islamic State is the latter’s slick online propaganda, writes Emeritus Professor SULEMAN DANGOR.

N an open letter, signed by Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor, identified as the deputy of the Islamic Emirate and member of the Shura (council), Afghan Taliban warns the leader of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, not to make any decision that prompts the anger of the Islamic Emirate, which considers jihad in Afghanistan as its own preserve.

Since the Islamic Emirate does not intend to interfere in the affairs of the Islamic State, the letter states, it expects the Islamic State to reciprocate.

The letter further states that the emirate in Afghanistan, under the leadership of Mullah Mohammad Omar, is supported by 1 500 ulama, and that Afghan renowned scholars across the Muslim world have pledged allegiance to him.

Mullah Omar rejects al-Baghdadi’s claim to the caliphate.

According to the letter, the Islam-

I

ic Emirate has successfully eliminated all disputes, conflicts and divisions through unity.

It seems that the Taliban leaders have become increasingly concerned because of in-fighting, defections within their own ranks and breakaway factions that have allied themselves with the Islamic State.

Islamic States spokesman, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, declared in January 2015 that the group had established a province in Khorasan (a region that covers parts of both Pakistan and Afghanistan) with a former Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander serving as the governor of the province.

This has led to clashes and heavy fighting in eastern Afghanistan between the Taliban and factions aligned with the Islamic State.

Provincial spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai said that 1 000 families had fled villages to escape the fighting after two local Taliban commanders changed sides to join Islamic State and launched attacks against their former leaders.

Some defectors appear to be frustrated that the Taliban have not gained significant territory in Afghanistan (unlike the Islamic State in Syria).

Supporting the Islamic State seems the best alternative. Another factor attracting disenchanted Taliban members to Islamic State is the latter’s slick online propaganda.

In warning the Islamic State to back off in Afghanistan, the Taliban argued that if the two groups were to become rivals in the country, decades of fighting foreign powers and the Afghan government could be undone.

They demanded that the jihad against the American invaders and its puppets ‘should be carried out under a single flag, a single leadership and a single order’, and reminded Islamic State that Shaikh Abdullah Azam, Osama Bin Laden and Abu Musab alZarqawi had all launched their Jihad from Afghanistan.

In the letter, the Taliban outlined their achievements against foreign forces which they fought for 13 years. Furthermore, they reminded al-Baghdadi that they had established an Islamic system during their rule in Afghanistan, a system that had rooted out communist and other un-Islamic ideologies from the country. They were prepared to defend their achievements against anyone who challenged them.

For his part, al-Baghdadi referred to Mulla Omar as ‘a fool and illiterate warlord’ who ‘does not deserve spiritual or political credibility’. IS-related Twitter accounts accuse the Taliban of being ‘apostates’ under Pakistani control. Perhaps that is why they wish to expand their so-called caliphate over the whole of Afghanistan.

In a subsequent letter, the Taliban softened their stance toward the Islamic State, reaching out to

Muslim Views . August 2015

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… they reminded al-Baghdadi that they had established an Islamic system during their rule in Afghanistan, a system that had rooted out communist and other un-Islamic ideologies from the country. They were prepared to defend their achievements against anyone who challenged them Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi and calling for unity between the two jihadist factions. It appears that Mullah Omar views the Islamic State as a serious threat to the hegemony of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Mansoor called on Al-Baghdadi to get into direct contact with Taliban leaders to resolve their disputes. He referred to Al-Baghdadi as a ‘brother in Islam’, noting that the Taliban had not interfered in Islamic State affairs and that Osama bin Laden had recognised the authority of the Taliban’s emirate. He wished alBaghdadi well and emphasised their brotherhood.

In the meanwhile, the Pakistani Taliban who operate separately from the Afghan Taliban but are loosely aligned with them, declared allegiance to Isis, and ordered mujahidun across the region to help Isis in its campaign to set up a global Islamic caliphate. In a message on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, the Pakistani Taliban said they fully supported Isis goals.

The Taliban issued a statement calling on rival jihadist factions in Syria to reconcile, and called for the creation of a common shura council capable of mediating the differences between the warring insurgent groups in Syria.

The Islamic State has rejected all attempts at mediation. Instead, it released the following statement: ‘We clarify to the Muslims that with this declaration of the caliphate, it is incumbent upon all Muslims to pledge allegiance to the Caliph Ibrahim and support him…and the legality of all emirates, groups, states and organisations becomes null by the expansion of the caliphate’s authority and arrival of its troops to their areas.’

This declaration puts paid to any hope of the Islamic State recognising the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan. The Taliban, of course, would never accede to such a ‘take over’ by the Islamic State.

Worries about the intrusion of the Islamic State into Afghanistan may have contributed to the Taliban’s receptiveness to a proposal to start peace talks with the Afghan government.

Taliban representatives and an Afghan delegation both attended a peace conference in Oslo, raising the possibility of face-to-face meetings. The Taliban have also opened an office in Iran. These regional alliances have one common purpose: to halt the so-called Islamic caliphate of Abu Bakr alBaghdadi.

Muslim Views

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Muslim Views . August 2015

Health File

Over the counter medication: abuse or addiction Dr IMTHIAZ HOOSEN

Over the counter (OTC) medication

OTC (over the counter) medications are commonly used by people to self-manage their symptoms.

These medications can be bought without requiring a prescription, and include medicines such as analgesics (pain killers), cough syrups, decongestants, antihistamines and laxatives.

OTC medications are widely available, easily accessible and, usually, inexpensive.

The general public tends to perceive OTC medicines as being safe but, when used inappropriately, they can cause significant harm. OTC products that contain codeine are of particular concern.

Codeine is derived from opium and belongs to the opiate family of drugs, which includes heroin and morphine.

Codeine, like other opiate drugs, can be highly addictive if abused.

Researchers found that codeine-based analgesics are amongst the most widely abused OTC medication.

South Africa is one of only a handful of countries that still allows codeine-containing products to be purchased over the counter. In 2012, it was reported that 32 million units of codeine were sold in South Africa.

The abuse of OTC medication is prevalent in many countries, including our own.

A study conducted in Cape Town found that almost 8 per cent of individuals who were admitted to drug rehabilitation

abuse occurs when individuals use OTC medication for non-medical reasons, and in a manner that is contrary to the way that it is prescribed centres were abusing prescription or OTC medication.

In the 2010 International Narcotics Control Board Report, South Africa was ranked as the number one country in Africa and number 49 in the world in terms of average consumption of narcotic drugs.

Codeine-based medication such as Suncodin, Sinutab, Mypradol or cough syrups are used medically for the relief of pain or as a cough suppressant.

Properly managed, short-term medical use of these types of medication under medical supervision rarely causes addiction.

However, the regular use of codeine-based medication several times a day, for several weeks or months can result in a physical dependence.

Over the counter (OTC) medication abuse occurs when individuals use OTC medication for

non-medical reasons, and in a manner that is contrary to the way that it is prescribed.

People may inappropriately use OTC medication to help them to sleep, to elicit a particular experience such as to feel ‘high’ or ‘calm’, to numb emotional pain or to help them to cope with stress.

When individuals abuse OTC medication, they, typically, take doses higher than the recommended dose, and they may combine OTC medications with alcohol, illicit drugs or prescription medication.

Combining OTC medicines with other substances can cause serious health consequences.

Some OTC medications contain codeine in combination with paracetamol or ibuprofen, and consuming large amounts of these substances could cause liver and renal damage and gastric bleeds.

Other untoward effects of abusing OTC medication include confusion, hallucinations, coma and even death.

Those who abuse prescription and OTC medication are also more likely to have other psychiatric conditions such as depression, anxiety disorders and antisocial personality disorder.

In addition to the risk to their physical and mental health, those who abuse OTC and prescription medication are also more likely to experience adverse social consequences such as family or marital discord, job loss or being less productive at work, legal problems and accidents.

The following symptoms may indicate abuse or addiction to OTC medication: l Becoming increasingly preoccupied with the OTC medication and spending a lot of time acquiring, using or recovering

from the effects of the medication, and spending less time on other important activities like work, education, relationships or recreational activities. l Using more medication than intended and being unable to keep to the prescribed or recommended doses. l Using more medication over time at higher doses or using it more frequently to get the desired effect or finding that the same amount of medication is less effective than before. l Being unable to cut down or stop using the OTC medication. l Continuing to use OTC medications despite being aware that it is causing physical or psychological harm or it is causing serious problems at home, work or school. l Experiencing cravings or withdrawal symptoms when trying to reduce or stop the OTC medication.

Common withdrawal symptoms associated with codeinecontaining medication include agitation and anxiety, difficulty sleeping, runny eyes and nose, sweating, goose bumps, yawning, muscle aches and pains, stomach cramps, diarrhoea, vomiting and dilated pupils.

If you recognise these symptoms in yourself or someone else, it is important that you consult your health care provider.

Doctor Imthiaz Hoosen is a psychiatrist at Rondebosch Medical Centre.

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Life’s little treasures, born too soon DR M SHUKRI RABAN

HEARING the words, ‘You are pregnant,’ can, for some, be the best days of their lives, others meet the news with, ‘Oh no!’

Whether the pregnancy is planned or unplanned, it is an absolute miracle.

The ‘Born Too Soon’ report states that 15 million babies are born too soon each year, and that premature birth rates are rising.

About ten per cent of South Africa’s babies are born prematurely.

However, the possibility of delivering prematurely is something that barely crosses the minds of expectant parents as they dream and excitingly plan for their perfect, healthy, bundle of joy.

Suddenly, and unexpectedly, your baby arrives much earlier than anticipated; you are no longer dreaming of your baby, the miracle is right in front of you, much smaller and fragile than you could ever have imagined.

The unexpected premature arrival of your baby can be a nerve wrecking and frightening experience.

In this article, we look at why your premature baby is special and what you may encounter with your little treasure, born too soon.

Babies are termed premature if they are born alive before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy.

Of these, 83 per cent are moderate to late premature (32 to <37weeks), ten per cent are very premature (28 to <32 weeks) and five per cent are extremely premature (<28 weeks).

Where and who will care for my baby?

Dr M Shukri Raban Photo SUPPLIED

The reasons for premature birth are varied.

Known factors that may increase the risk of premature birth include having had a previous premature baby, a pregnancy with twins or more, problems with the uterus, cervix or placenta, smoking, alcohol and other recreational drug abuse during pregnancy, infections of the amniotic fluid and lower genital tract, high blood pressure, diabetes and physical injury or trauma.

In certain cases the cause is unknown.

Avoiding premature birth is dependent on the cause.

Medical conditions presenting before or during pregnancy must be managed well by the obstetrician or other appropriate specialist.

Depending on the premature baby’s age, weight and specific needs, the baby may need to be taken to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

This is the best place for your baby to receive the support and care he or she requires.

It is normal to feel anxious about your baby’s stay in NICU. Don’t be afraid to ask questions of the doctors and nurses so that you understand your baby’s condition, the various equipment and alarms.

This will allow you to feel more relaxed.

It is preferable that premature babies be managed by a neonatologist.

A neonatologist is trained to handle the most complex and high-risk situations involving newborn health problems, especially those related to premature babies. Neonatologists – the best care for newborns.

What to expect Sometimes, babies are born before their bodies are ready to leave the womb.

These are some of the complications which may be encountered: The skin is immature, resulting in an inability to control body temperature.

Premature babies are placed in plastic bags, with only the face exposed, to keep them warm till they are stabilised in a warm incubator in the NICU. The lungs of premature babies lack a substance called surfactant,

which results in breathing problems.

There are various ways the lungs can be supported while they continue to mature.

Premature babies can also have long pauses in their breathing, called apnoea.

The two most common problems with the heart are a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), which is a persistent opening between the two major blood vessels leading from the heart.

Usually, the ductus arteriosus closes spontaneously but, occasionally, it remains open, making it difficult to wean the baby off a ventilator or oxygen.

In these cases, the PDA has to be closed either medically or surgically. The other problem is low blood pressure, which needs to be corrected.

Premature babies, less than 32week gestation, are at risk of brain haemorrhage as their brains are immature and soft.

Most bleeds are mild and resolve without any impact on brain development. Larger bleeds can cause permanent brain damage.

Feeding is a challenge in premature babies. All mothers must endeavour to provide breast milk for their babies. It protects the baby from infection, especially necrotising enterocolitis (NEC).

Providing breast milk for your baby is THE biggest contribution to your baby’s wellbeing! The sucking and swallowing reflex only develops at 35 weeks, till then the baby is fed via feeding tube placed in the stomach.

Preterm babies are vulnerable to infection.

The most cost-effective method to protect them from infection is hand washing and providing breast milk to your baby.

You can also assist by doing Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC), also known as skin-to-skin, which is essential for good bonding, promotes better growth, temperature regulation and breast feeding.

KMC can commence while your baby is in NICU. Remember, the NICU management of a premature baby and weight gain is a slow and steady process.

Premature babies are ready to go home when they can breathe on their own, maintain their body temperature, have reached a certain weight and are able to feed well.

This is a big day! Be well prepared.

Remember that premature babies are at risk for developmental problems.

Always attend your follow-up visits with your clinic sister, paediatrician or neonatologist.

You have been blessed with a little miracle, remain positive on this journey, embrace it, love your little bundle, and let your baby and this experience of parenthood shape you as a person/ couple as much as you will shape your baby’s future.

Give hope, give life, give milk!

Dr M Shukri Raban is a Paediatrician/ Neonatologist [MBChB (Stell), FCPaed (SA), Cert Neonatology (SA), DCH (SA), DipHIVMan (SA), MPhil Neonatology (UCT)] based at Melomed Private Hospital, Gatesville. Telephone 021 637 2358

Little miracles

born too soon

Premature infants have an optimal chance at Melomed Hospitals.

Our new Melomed Gatesville and Melomed Bellville Hospitals have specialised Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU), fully equipped with the latest advances in modern technology to cater for premature infants. These units are staffed by highly skilled and qualified Neonatologists, Paediatricians and Nursing Practitioners to ensure these little treasures are well taken care of. Soon we will extend our footprint to our new Melomed Tokai Hospital enabling us to care and cater for the needs of these premature infants in a comprehensive, dedicated and advanced NICU, purpose-built to ensure an optimum outcome for these little miracles.

Our Melobabes programme aims to help expecting mothers prepare for the exciting parenting journey ahead. Visit our website on www.melomed.co.za to find out more.

www.melomed.co.za info@melomed.co.za Melomed Gatesville: 021 637 8100 Melomed Bellville: 021 948 8131 Melomed Mitchells Plain: 021 392 3126 Melomed Tokai: Opening Soon!

Muslim Views

24

Muslim Views . August 2015

- ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE -

Muslim Hands Street Child Programme THASNEEM BUCKUS

SPREAD across almost every major city in the developing world, and despite living and working on the streets, street children are amongst the most ‘invisible’ of all children.

The death of a family member, abuse at home and extreme poverty are just a few of the reasons that millions of children become separated from their families.

Once on the streets, life for these children can be extremely dangerous and they are often stigmatised and denied the most basic rights.

There are estimated to be up to 150 million street children in the world today.

In Pakistan alone, there are approximately 1,5 million.

Stigmatised as criminals and shunned by their communities, they are the most difficult to reach with vital health, education and welfare services.

With no guardian to protect them and no home to shelter them, street children are left open to all manner of dangers.

The threat of violence, robbery and exposure to drug peddlers is constant, and a large proportion of them have experienced abuse and sexual exploitation.

As street children must provide for themselves, they are often exploited by employers who force them to work for long hours in hazardous conditions for very little pay.

Muslim Views

The fact that Meeral Shah refers to his life on the street as ‘better’, speaks volumes.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Muslim Hands is working hard with our partners on the ground to re-shape the future of children like Meeral.

Muslim Hands’ Street Children Programme is structured to help street children change their lives with simple, realistic solutions.

What we’re doing

Image SUPPLIED

Perilous jobs like scavenging through rubbish for recyclable materials expose children to diseases, moving machinery and dangerous materials.

From the horrors of home to the horrors of the street Meeral Shah, a child labourer, was just nine-years-old when he ran away from a village near Multan and found his way to Karachi.

‘I was working for Waderas [feudal landlords] as long as I can remember. My entire family works for them and I have done every type of work they gave me.

Their supervisors used to beat us

all very harshly.

‘When I was around sevenyears-old, one of their caretakers [name removed] raped me.

‘It was very painful and I cried a lot.

‘Then he started abusing me daily – and if I cried out, he would laugh loudly.

‘Soon after, he brought a friend along with him and they both abused me at the same time. I shouted and cried a lot but no one came.

‘This time, I somehow managed to tell my father but [because of his fear of the powerful landlords] he cautioned me to not speak of this.

‘This is when I tried to escape [that household] but was caught and severely beaten.

‘The caretaker and his friends continued to assault me regularly, making me dance naked for them before raping me – now I wanted to kill them or kill myself, and once did try to kill myself.

‘That’s when I ran away again, and God helped and I kept hidden and travelled continuously and I escaped.

‘Now I have been here in Karachi for about four years, and my life is much better.

‘In fact, I am now the group leader here and take care of my juniors.’

l We’ve been working with Azad Foundation, in Pakistan, and Glad’s House, in Kenya, to help vulnerable children. l Our drop-in centres provide children with food, shelter and healthcare. l We run educational and vocational training programmes for children of all ages. l We engage children through sports. l We are building nationwide support networks with a variety of institutions. l Our outreach workers are using their expertise to reach out to street children. l We are training street children to become ambassadors and mentors.

In an effort to raise funds for our Street Child Programme, Muslim Hands will be hosting a Charity Dinner on August 28, 2015.

The ticket price is R180.

For more information, contact Muslim Hands on 021 633 6413 or visit mail@muslimhands.org.za.

Focus on Finance

Muslim Views . August 2015

25

Your responsibility as a director in a company THE question of corporate governance as it pertains to directors is a wide-ranging topic.

A key feature of the Companies Act, 2008 (the Act) is that it clearly emphasises the responsibility and accountability of directors.

The old Act did not make statutory provision for the duties of directors other than the duty to disclose any material (direct or indirect) interests which the director has or may have in contracts that have been proposed or entered into by the company.

The Act reduces the company’s reliance on the regulator, the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). The counter-balance to the diminished role of the regulator is greater emphasis on the role of the directors of the company.

By accepting their appointment to the position, directors tacitly indicate that they will perform their duties to a certain standard, and it is a reasonable assumption of the shareholders that every individual director will apply his or her particular skills, experience and intelligence appropriately and to the best advantage of the company.

The directors of the company are the key people entrusted by law with the function of administering the company, and are central to ensuring good corporate governance in the company.

The different types of directors are executive, non-executive and alternate directors.

HASSEN KAJIE, CA (SA), a director of NEXIA SAB&T, based in the Cape Town office, and AYSHA OSMAN, CA (SA), National Technical Manager for Nexia SAB&T in the Centurion office, draw attention to the greater responsibility placed on directors of a company in terms of government legislation.

All directors carry equal responsibility to ensure that the company complies with the law and is properly governed.

Executive directors are salaried and involved in the day-to-day running of the company, and alternate directors are appointed to act on behalf of a director when she/ he cannot, personally, fulfil her/ his duties.

The definition of director in the Act includes a member of the board of a company or an alternate director.

For the purposes of those sections that deal with qualification, eligibility, Directors’ Code of Conduct, liability, and indemnity and insurance, the definition is extended to include an alternate director, prescribed officer, a person who is a member of a committee of the board or the audit committee, irrespective of whether or not the person is also a member of the company’s board.

The companies Act 71 of 2008 was formed against the backdrop of a general corporate reform, the vision being that company law should promote the competitiveness and development of the South African economy.

It is important to outline the

duties that directors are required to fulfil under the common law, being the fiduciary duties, duty of care, skill and diligence.

The common law duties are detailed below.

1. The fiduciary duty (Section 76): l To act bona fide in the interest of the company; l To exercise powers for their purpose; l To exercise independent judgement in decision making; l Not to use corporate property information or opportunities for personal profit; 2. The duty to exercise care and skill and diligence – Section 76(3) – the director is obliged to display either the same care as a reasonable person would display in the conduct of his/ her own affairs or that degree of skill which may be reasonably expected from a person of his/ her knowledge and experience.

3. The duty to prevent any conflict of interest. Directors are obligated to make known all direct or indirect material interests which they may have in any contracts concluded or to be concluded by the company. (Section 75 of the Act) A breach of any of the above

Hassen Kajie is a Director of the Cape Town office of Nexia SAB&T.

Aysha Osman, National Technical Manager in the Centurion office of Nexia SAB&T.

results in the director being liable to the company for any damages it sustains as a result.

Shareholders retain ultimate responsibility for the company and have the power to remove or not to re-appoint directors, however, they do delegate the day-today running of the company to directors who, in turn, appoint and supervise management.

While many of their duties can be delegated to management, the directors retain overall responsibility over management, and have a duty to monitor management’s performance. It is the directors’ responsibility to ensure the smooth running of the company.

If you would like a specific topic featured in the upcoming issues, kindly send your suggestions to technical@nexia-sabt.co.za.

This article is intended for information purposes only and should not be considered as a legal document.

Please note that while every effort is made to ensure accuracy, Nexia SAB&T does not accept responsibility for any inaccuracies or errors contained herein. If you are in doubt about any information in this article or require any advice on the topical matter, please do not hesitate to contact any Nexia SAB&T office nationally.

Muslim Views

26

Muslim Views . August 2015

AWQAF - promoting self-reliance and sustainability

Waqf and future planning ZEINOUL ABEDIEN CAJEE

THIS article explores a fundamental reason for establishing the waqf system. We focus on future planning or planning for the future.

Waqf is a voluntary, permanent dedication of a portion of one’s wealth to Allah SWT in the form of capital, whereby the ‘fruit’ may benefit any person, groups of persons, communities, the public or any creation of Allah, fi sabeelillah, in perpetuity.

Another name for waqf is sadaqah jariyyah i.e. perpetual sadaqah.

Whatever is given as a waqf will always belong to Allah, and the original owner has dispossessed him-/ herself of that wealth.

The waqf can be in the form of cash, property, shares, jewellery or any non-consumable asset – it could be as little as R1 or so much that the sky is the limit.

The waqf is made during one’s lifetime or through one’s will as a wasiyyah, preferably documented in a formal waqfiyyah (deed).

Why does one make a waqf or, in other words, leave a legacy?

Both the Quran and the sunnah implore believers to give for now and for the future.

In Quran 73:20, Allah says: ‘And establish regular prayer (salaah); And give regular charity (zakaah); And loan to Allah a beautiful loan.’

Muslim Views

Allah SWT commands the believers to establish three specific institutions: salaah, zakaah and the third is recognised by scholars and ulama as, amongst others, waqf.

A loan is, generally, capital in nature and repayable some time in the future. In this case, the loan is to Allah and He will repay it in due course to the lender, as the Prophet (SAW) said ‘with great profit and reward’.

The key is that the loan remains capital in nature and is used in a way that will be beneficial to Allah’s cause. Both zakaah and waqf are important pillars in the funding of Islamic causes, and both are needed to empower the Muslim ummah.

The noble Prophet Muhammad (SAW) set the example and advised the noble Sahabah (RA) to leave legacies, and the general terms and conditions thereof – giving away a portion of our best and most loved wealth to Allah SWT. (Surah Aa’le Imran:72) The fact that a waqf is a non-consumable fixed asset means that it is intended to last forever. If it is to last forever then the future must be involved.

When Umar (RA) got a piece of land in Khaibar, he came to the Prophet (SAW) saying, ‘I acquired a piece of land better than which I have never had. What do you advise me regarding it?’

The Prophet (SAW) said, ‘If you wish, you can keep it as an

Waqf is a voluntary, permanent dedication of a portion of one’s wealth to Allah SWT in the form of capital... endowment to be used for charitable purposes.’ So, Umar gave the land in charity (i.e. as an endowment on condition that the land not be sold nor given as a gift nor bequeathed, (and its yield) would be used for the poor, the kinsmen, the emancipation of slaves, jihad and for guests and travellers; and its administrator could eat in a reasonable, just manner. He also could feed his friends without intending to be wealthy by its means.’ (Bukhari Vol. 4: No. 33) In Surah Yusuf, a great example is given about planning and saving for the future needs of society. Remember the dream interpretation of the seven prosperous years followed by seven lean years? We need to take lessons from that beautiful and educative story. We have no guarantees in life.

We do not know when calamities will befall the ummah.

I was told that Kuwait keeps ten per cent of all its revenue in a special Security Fund. This fund helped it through the Iraqi invasion during the 1990s. The question is: Where is the South African Muslim ummah’s community fund?

The answer is the development of the Waqf system and, in particular, institutions such as Awqaf SA and other decentralised institutional and private waqfs need to be strengthened and new ones founded.

For every R100 000 invested today at an income yield of 7,25% per annum, and capital growth at 7% per annum, the result is that the investment will grow to around R3 million in 50 years, by which time the waqf would have generated and spent on community development projects an amount of about R3million. (The R100 000 could be made up of various waqf donations ranging from R1 to R100 000.)

Waqf is the most enduring, sustainable, voluntary sunnah Islamic charity to help fund community needs into the future. It is quite conceivable for the ummah in South Africa to have a community-based waqf fund worth billions going into the future; others have done it, why can’t we?

We should have every Muslim child well educated in both deen

and dunya. We should eliminate poverty. Our contribution to the broader society should be more meaningful. Our dawah efforts should yield a greater number of exemplary Muslims.

Our youth should be free of drugs and gangsterism and, instead, be trailblazers and torchbearers showing the way.

We should have schools and universities that produce the best of the crop.

We should have special schools for the gifted and those with special needs. We should have special institutions that are professionally staffed to serve the ummah and the nation.

Our ulama, imams and muadhins should be well cared for with proper housing, healthcare, and the best education and development for them and their children.

Our children, elderly and destitute should have proper care, love and protection. Our scholars and professionals should be geared to serve the nation.

The ummah should be an indispensable community, a blessing and a rahmah to society, insha Allah. Through the waqf system, we can achieve all of this and more. We need to plan for the future, now.

Zeinoul Abedien Cajee is the founding CEO of the National Awqaf Foundation of South Africa, a chartered accountant (SA) by profession and holds a Masters in Education.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

‘We are winning’

I REFER to your correspondent, S Martheze’s, letter to the editor (MV July 2015) wherein he raises some queries about the Woolworths Boycott.

First, in response to the Apartheid Israeli state’s brutality against the Palestinians, before the call for BDS from the Palestinians, there have been various calls for more than three decades now to boycott this or that. All of these targets have had some advantages to them and disadvantages. There was and never will be a 100% perfect target.

In my interview with your paper, in the previous edition (MV June 2015), I outlined some of the reasons why the largest ever coalition of Palestine solidarity organisations in this country made a unanimous decision to boycott Woolworths.

This is the consensus of the leadership of those organisations – and we must respect consensus. There is nothing that prevents anyone else from choosing an additional boycott target if they want to, and can mobilise people around it.

The important thing is that those who support the Palestinians must not fall into the Zionist trap of ‘what-aboutism’. (Zionists often say: ‘What about North Korea, Zimbabawe and Tibet? These countries have much worse records.’) They offer an endless array of other possible targets not because they are really interested in boycotting these other countries but simply because they want to draw our attention away from Palestine.

Questions of ‘What about’ Pick ’n Pay, Coca Cola etc are fine but only if you are prepared to do something about it yourself. We in the National Coalition for Palestine (NC4P) have made a choice and are working at sustaining that consumer boycott and winning it.

We have done so with other campaigns like that at University of Johannesburg (which we won in 2011), Karsten Farms (which we won in 2013), Bill Gates Foundation (which we won in 2014).

Second, your correspondent suggests that we are not going be as successful because, whereas South Africa did not have any friends in the 1970s and 1980s, Israel has plenty.

This is not true; virtually all the European powers, the United States and numerous other powerful countries supported South Africa and denounced our liberation movement as terrorists. Of course, the political

conditions have changed and Israel is a formidable enemy.

In the past ten years of its existence though, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel has notched up far more victories against Israel than what the anti-South African Apartheid movement had done at a same point in its history.

Counterpunch has just noted that ‘direct foreign investments in Israel dropped by an astonishing 46% last year, much to the chagrin of the Israeli government who has recently referred to BDS as an existential threat far greater than the one supposedly posed by Iran.

‘And just this June, the Rand Corporation published a report stating that if BDS could maintain an aggressive campaign as it is now, Israel’s economy could suffer losses anywhere from 5 to 15 billion dollars each year, for the next ten years.’

Clearly we are winning. While we try to be strategic in how we fight our battles, winning is not the only reason we embark on them. We embark on them because our consciences will not allow us to sit back while Palestinians are being murdered on a daily basis. Truth coupled with action will destroy Zionism – insha Allah, in our lifetime.

Professor Farid Esack National Coalition for a Free Palestine and BDS South Africa

MV trivialising slave history?

WHY is the history especially Cape slave history been trivialized by Muslim Views.

Let me remind one another our slave history is always to be found in cookery books or read at slave seminars which a handful of our Cape Malays attend that wish to informed about this brutality that was meted out the Malays that was driven out of their mother land and sold in the slave markets in Cape Town. Only the Slave masters offspring attend as to prevent us from we Malays asking compensation.

I know that this Slave history period is an very traumatic period that all of us Malays want to forget.

But these tragic event is part of our history that should never be forgotten, but there is this tendency that our history is trivial in comparison to the apartheid oppression that happen in South Africa recently.

The article by Toyer Nakidien is all about praising Jan F.E.Cilliers.

Do we as Malays need to know Afrikaans? It is because of him and

his Afrikaner RACIST volk that OPPRESSED millions of Black South Africans. I also believed this Racist Afrikaner was a drug addict himself also. Why was this not mentioned.

Our Malay (Shafie sect) people should not recognize what the late Shaikh Abubaker Effendi (Hanafee sect) has contributed to the Muslim Malay community. The late Hanafee Sheikh was deliberately sent to Cape Town to implement the divide and rule policies of the Imperialists of Queen Victoria.

We, as Cape Malays requested a Shafiee Qadi but he was sent in 1860’s to fill that post. After his arrival a lot of amok was sown amongst the Muslim with the Hanafee doctrine versus Shafiee.

When the late Sheikh A Effendi arrived there was no slaves, as the abolition of slavery law was passed in 1808 but was delayed to 1834 to another four years later to 1838.

On the Slavery sporting event by your Senior Journalist Mahmood Sanglay is that the facts were definitely not checked. How is possible that this person, Mooi Angela from Bengal, have received her freedom from slavery as the timeline was wrong and nobody got their freedom until 1770’s with very exceptional cases. The Dutch east company needed people and lots of it to be in serfdom for the DEC families. But mostly women were prostituted at the Slave lodge.

I have not seen any tangible or intangible proof of this (maybe a sari of 1660’s or 1770’s). In any case if this historian Ansa Datta has this relevant information about Mooi Angela why do racists Afrikaaners hate the Indians so much. Seen it for my myself in the old apartheid Orange Free state.

Bengalis slaves in Cape Town that is news to me. I see most Bengalis economic migrants working as slaves for South African Indian shopkeepers now. This Bengalis slave labour system is ran by an Indian gangster out of Dubai. Most of the Bengalis is now forced labourers earning pittance and which incidentally they have sold everything in Bangladesh as they could not even afford the air ticket to South Africa.

Hope this letter will be published.

May you and family and all the Muslim Views staff have a Blessed Eid Mubarak/ Selamat Hari raya Aid ul Fitri Terima Kasih/ Shukran Was salaam Moegamat Gielmie Hartley (slave masters surname) This letter has been published as received.

Muslim Views . August 2015 The Editor responds: Far from trivialising Cape slave history, these articles invite readers to further explore how committed people of this generation are, in their own quiet ways, building on the rich heritage of those who were brought to these shores as slaves.

Toyer Nakidien responds: I THANK the editor for allowing me to respond to Mr Hartley’s letter.

I need to emphasise that my article was about a Halaal eating establishment in the Paarl area, not about ‘Cape slave history’. For the benefit of readers who have not read my article referenced by Mr Hartley, it is titled ‘A guest house with a conscience’ (MV May edition) and focuses on an establishment owned by the Moerats in Paarl that facilitates the rehabilitation of drug addicts. The opening lines of the article quoted Jan FE Cilliers and, translated, reads, ‘It’s the yellow and the blue,/ It’s the veld and the sky,/ And a lone bird above it/ Flies slowly and high/ That’s all’.

I then describe the surroundings in which I found myself at the guest house, and write, ‘It is no wonder that poets of old such as Jan FE Cilliers could pen such simple yet profound gediggies like the opening lines quoted above. When surrounded by such beauty and peace, what more could one want?’

Ironically, far from ‘praising’ the poet, I appropriated his words to express my appreciation of nature – Allah’s creation – rather than the poet’s intended use, which was to lament the English destruction of the farmlands during the Anglo-Boer war.

How this can be seen as being ‘all about praising Jan FE Cilliers’ is beyond me.

The rest of my article is about Roggeland, where the Moerats are doing sterling work with rehabilitated drug addicts. I fail to see how an article about an establishment where a committed family, the Moerats, is doing admirable work for a troubled group of individuals can be seen as ‘trivialising’ ‘Cape slave history’.

On the contrary, I feel that Mr Hartley, in his response, has trivialised the exceptional work being done by the Moerats at Roggeland.

Mahmood Sanglay responds: Mr Hartley’s contention that ‘the facts were definitely not checked’ is incorrect. They were checked.

Datta’s research is corroborated by that of Gavin Lucas in his book An Archaeology of Colonial Identity, published in 2006. Lucas also states that Angela was manumitted in 1666.

Historian Robert Shell, in Children of Bondage (1994), states that Angela married Arnoldus Willemsz Basson in 1669. This would not have been possible if she were still a slave then. Furthermore, according to the Swartland Basson family’s heritage records (of 2011) Angela died in 1720, hence it is not possible

27

that she was manumitted in 1770.

Another record of a slave manumitted prior to 1770 is that of Catharina van Bengale, who was freed in 1656 in order to marry Jan Wouterz. This is according to the research of Ide Marie Corley-Carmody in her thesis In the Place of the Father.

Paul Tichmann, Director of Social History at Iziko Museums, concurs and says: ‘The Dutch East India Company had occupied parts of the Indian coast and the Indonesian Islands and had wrestled the spice trade away from the Portuguese long before Jan van Riebeek was sent to the Cape to set up a refreshment station.

‘As the VOC proceeded to colonise the Cape, they brought enslaved people from India, including the Bengal region. Almost 25 per cent of the enslaved people brought to the Cape were from India. The Column of Memory installation in the Iziko Slave Lodge Museum indicates the names of some of the enslaved from Bengal, Malabar and other parts of what was then India.’

All of the above is derived from credible sources. Hartley does not quote a single source in disputing the facts in the article. Thus, his comments in this respect in his letter should be dismissed as his unfounded personal views.

Write to:

editor@mviews.co.za Fax: 086 516 4772

Kindly include full name and address details.

IMA fundraiser TO sustain its projects providing primary health care and other medical services to the poor, the Islamic Medical Association (IMA) depends on the community for donations.

With this in mind, the IMA has arranged a Golf Day in Durban, on Sunday, September 13.

Direct donations may also be made to IMA’s banking accounts: Zakaah banking details: IMA Zakaat Fund, HBZ Bank, Acc. No. 11901105818, Branch – Durban 570126, Reference: Your Name.

Lillah banking details: Islamic Medical Association Clinics Committee, Nedbank, Acc No. 1359250492, Branch – Overport, 131326, Reference: Your Name.

The IMA has been in existence for over 35 years and is registered as a non-profit organisation (NPO) providing Section 18A tax receipts for all donations.

To book your participation or join as a sponsor in IMA’s Golf Day, which will be held in Durban, telephone 031 207 2250.

Muslim Views

28

Muslim Views . August 2015

- ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE -

Sanzaf bursary applications for 2016 now open NURENE JASSIEM

THE Sanzaf Education Empowerment and Development (Seed) Programme’s financial assistance to tertiary students for the 2015 academic year was one of the highlights in the recently released Sanzaf’s 2015 Audited National Annual Financial Statements.

The Seed programme, which has five tiers, is aimed at empowering and helping those in need of financial assistance to achieve their full potential, starting at nursery level through to postgraduate studies.

The bursary fund is a major part of the Seed programme, and Sanzaf is proud to announce that, for the 2015 academic year, Sanzaf assisted 1 254 students with bursaries worth R17,11 million.

This is a staggering increase of 346 students from the 2014 academic year. As Sanzaf continues to ensure that our programmes run efficiently and effectively, the registration dates for bursary applications for the 2016 academic year have been moved. Applications opened on August 1, and will close on September 30, 2015.

The bursaries are made possible thanks to generous contributions from the community. Those wishing to sponsor a student can do so by signing up for a monthly debit order, making a direct EFT to Sanzaf bank account or via the Sanzaf website at: www.sanzaf.org.za.

For more information about the qualifying criteria or to make

Muslim Views

Sanzaf recently hosted the breathtaking Final 5 Pillars Plus Quiz at ITV studios. High schools across the country participated, with a winner from each zone afforded the opportunity to compete in the finals. The winners and the sponsors gathered for the prize-giving (from left): Moaz Osman from Broadway Sweets, the title sponsor of the 5 Pillars Plus Game Show, Yusuf ‘Tara’ Seedat, Sanzaf’s Public Relations Officer in Gauteng, Firdaus Alli from Al-Aqsa High School Lenasia, the overall first prize winner, Naeema Sulaman from Orient Islamic High School, in Durban, the winner of the highest regional score, and Moulana Abdurrahman Laily, representing Al-Anwar Travel, the sponsor of the two double sets of Umrah tickets.

Photo: SANZAF MARKETING

a contribution to the Seed programme in the Western Cape, contact Aneesah or Faeza on 021 447 0297 or email aneesahr@sanzaf.org.za / faezag@sanzaf.org.za.

Sanzaf Women’s Day event SANZAF will be hosting a spe-

cial Women’s Day celebration on August 30, 2015. The event is aimed at women from all religious and cultural backgrounds and seeks to commemorate the accomplishments, struggles and strengths of women through the expression of storytelling, shar-

ing, love, laughter and inspiration. Guests will be treated to allround 5-star treatment, from the venue (Crystal Towers Hotel and Spa, Century City) to the food and entertainment on offer.

The event will also serve as a fundraiser.

Tickets are on sale at only R250 pp. For more information, call 021 638 0965 or email shameemah@sanzaf.org.za / farahnaazb@sanzaf.org.za or visit www.sanzaf.org.za. You can also like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter: @SANZAFSA.

Light from the Qur’an

Muslim Views . August 2015

29

Women, the champions of compassion IBRAHIM OKSAS and NAZEEMA AHMED

IN his discussion on women in Risale-i Nur, the contemporary Quranic tafsir by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, he describes women as the champions of compassion, since the self-sacrifice felt by women within their compassion means that they want nothing in return, and it is this reality that expresses true sincerity.

Bediuzzaman says that women are capable of great heroism as evidenced by the fact that a mother will sacrifice her life to save her young from danger, both as the demand of her essential nature as well as the sacrifice being done with true sincerity.

Since her action is motivated by true sincerity, it means that she neither expects nor wants anything in return. Bediuzzaman is of the view that through developing this heroism, women may save their lives both in this world and in the hereafter by means of it.

However, this important attribute does not unfold under the influence of certain bad currents of thought or else it is exploited.

He cites the following example: A compassionate mother undertakes every sort of self-sacrifice so that her child should not fall into danger in this worldly life and should receive every sort of benefit and advantage; she raises him with this aim in mind.

Thinking, ‘My son is going to

A proof of this heroism of women in regard to compassion, which wants absolutely no recompense and nothing in return, and of their sacrificing their very ruhs, which bears no meaning of personal benefit and no show, is that a hen, which bears a tiny sample of that compassion, will attack a lion and sacrifice its life for its chicks. be a pasha,’ she gives him all her property, takes him from the Quran school and sends him to Europe. But it does not occur to her that her child’s eternal life may have fallen into danger.

Though she tries to save him from prison in this world, she does not take into consideration that he may be sentenced to a prison in the hereafter.

And as the complete opposite of innate compassion, she makes her innocent child a claimant against her in the hereafter, while he should be her intercessor.

He will complain to her saying: ‘Why did you not strengthen my imaan and so cause me to be lost?’ And in this world too, since he did not receive a proper Islamic upbringing, he cannot respond to his mother’s wondrous compassion in the way it deserves; in fact, he does so very deficiently.

If, through not misdirecting her true compassion, she works earnestly to save her unhappy child from everlasting incarceration in the hereafter and from dying while in misguidance, the outcome of her good upbringing

will be that the equivalent of each of the child’s good works will pass to the book of good deeds of his mother and, just as after her death he will continuously send light to her ruh with his good works, so too, in the hereafter, her son will not be a claimant against her but, with all his ruh and life, will, in reality, be an intercessor for her, and a blessed child of hers for all eternity.

Yes, man’s first master and most influential teacher is his mother. In connection with this, Bediuzzaman explains the following to us, which he says he had always felt strongly within himself: ‘I am 80-years-old and have received lessons from eighty thousand people. Yet, I swear that the truest and most unshakeable lessons I have received are those inculcated in me by my late mother, which have always remained fresh for me.

‘They have been planted in my nature as though they were seeds planted in my physical being. I observe that other instruction I have received has been construct-

ed on those seeds. That is to say, the lessons instilled in my nature and ruh by my mother when I was one-year-old, I now see at the age of 80 to be each fundamental seeds amongst great truths.’

Bediuzzaman continues, saying that he considers it certain that he learnt to be compassionate, which is the most important of the four principles of his way – path of impotence, poverty, compassion and reflection – and to be kind and clement, which is the greatest truth of Risale-i Nur, from the compassionate behaviour and acts of his mother and from her teachings. Thus, the compassion of motherhood bears true sincerity and true self-sacrifice.

However, he issues a caution by saying that a mother will be misusing that compassion if she does not think of the position that her child will attain in the hereafter – which is like a treasury of diamonds for her innocent child – and, instead, focuses her efforts solely on turning the face of her child to this world, which is like temporary, transient fragments of glass.

If she considers that she is being kind and caring to her child in this way, it constitutes misuse of her compassion.

A proof of this heroism of women in regard to compassion, which wants absolutely no recompense and nothing in return, and of their sacrificing their very ruhs, which bears no meaning of personal benefit and no show, is that a hen, which bears a tiny sample of that compassion, will attack a lion and sacrifice its life for its chicks.

Bediuzzaman expresses that the most valuable and most essential principle in Islamic training and deeds pertaining to the hereafter is sincerity. Such true sincerity is to be found in the heroism of this kind of compassion. If these two points begin to develop among women, it will be the means to considerable happiness within the world of Islam.

He says that when it comes to the heroism of men, contrary to that of women, the heroism of men can never be for nothing; they always want recompense in, perhaps, a hundred ways. At the very least, they want glory and renown.

Bediuzzaman concludes that the sole means of saving women’s happiness in the hereafter, and their happiness in this world, as well as saving their elevated innate qualities from corruption, is the training given by the deen of Islam; there are no other means.

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Muslim Views

30

Muslim Views . August 2015

From Consciousness to Contentment

Strike a woman, you strike the Sunnah JASMINE KHAN

T is an accepted fact that the abuse of women exists throughout the world.

Women have been abused since the first caveman dragged his wife out of the cave by her hair. This, in cartoon form, has become amusing. Yet, the situation is very far from a joke. Abuse of women continues today, in the 21st century.

We are currently in National Women’s month, a month in which women are honoured for their achievements in various fields. Would it not be wonderful if women could be honoured simply because they are women, a creation of Allah?

Yes, the male is also a creation of Allah but let us look at the special status accorded to women by Allah SWT and the Rasul (SAW).

Allah is Most Merciful, Allah’s rahmah encompasses everything yet, Allah chose to place his mercy in the body of a woman.

In Arabic, the woman’s womb is known as ‘raheem’. The woman was chosen to bring into the world Allah’s creation, and she does it while suffering the most excruciating pain. Yet, that pain does not affect the way she feels about her children nor does it influence her treatment of them.

Rasulullah (SAW) said that jannah lies at the feet of the mother; he went further when asked to whom we have to be kindest. He was asked three times, and three times his reply was, ‘Your moth-

I

PART TWO

With great courage, they fearlessly marched to protest against the pass laws of the apartheid state. The women of South Africa sent a clear message that they would not be intimated by unjust laws er.’ It is only after being asked a fourth time that he replied, ‘Your father.’

It is an incontrovertible fact that he treated his wives with fairness and kindness, never raised his voice to them and honoured and respected all women.

We, as Muslims, are exhorted to follow the way of Rasulullah (SAW) yet, the extent of abuse amongst our women is beyond alarming. Whether the abuse is physical, financial, emotional or psychological, or a combination of all of these, something has to be done to stop it.

The first Women’s Day in the world was celebrated on February 28, 1909. It was held in honour of the women in the garment industry, in New York, who went on strike to protest their working conditions.

Closer to home, on August 9, 1956, one of the largest demonstrations in our country’s history took place. 20 000 women of all races marched to the Union Buildings, in Pretoria, to present a petition to the then prime minister, J G Strydom.

With great courage, they fearlessly marched to protest against the pass laws of the apartheid state. The women of South Africa sent a clear message that they would not be intimated by unjust laws.

After the petition was handed over to the secretary of the prime minister, the women sang a freedom song: Wathint abafazi, Strijdom! Since then, the phrase ‘Wathint abafazi, wathint imbokodo’ (You strike a woman, you strike a rock) has come to represent the courage and

strength of South African women.

This clearly demonstrates the power we have to bring about change when injustice is being perpetrated.

Today, Women’s Day is celebrated, and women in positions of power, and those who have risen in the ranks, overcoming great odds, take to the podiums to speak to the men and women of South Africa. Yet, in spite of this, the abuse of women continues.

Perhaps it is time that our women take charge of their own salvation, instead of suffering in silence. In 1956, the women protested the implementation of unjust laws; we, on the other hand, should protest the lack of implementation of the law of the shariah.

Islam is crystal clear on the

Positive and Effective Parenting

guidelines of behaviour; in fact, the epitome of being a Muslim is to practise justice, good and kindness.

The way our women are being treated is neither just nor kind.

Perhaps we should stand together and say, ‘So far and no further!’

Perhaps we should march against those who, when we go to complain or seek help, fob us off with platitudes and encouragements to ‘have sabr, sister’.

It s totally indefensible for anyone, be it man or woman, to profess to be a Muslim, and then blatantly ignore the Sunnah of our beloved Rasul (SAW). He it was who said, ‘I leave you two things, the Book of Allah and my way of life. If you hold fast to them, you cannot go wrong.’

Rasulullah (SAW) went further and said, ‘The best of you is the one with the best character, and the one who has the best character is the one who is kindest to his women.’

Women have the power.

Remember, Allah says that He will not change the condition of a people until and unless they bring about a change in themselves.

Our power comes from Allah, let us use it to bring about a shift.

Make a resolution right now: so far and no further.

Let us stand up for our rights, given, not by manmade laws but divine laws; laws from our Creator and from the example of Allah’s messenger (SAW). Let our cry be: ‘Strike a woman, and you strike the Sunnah!’

Grandparenting: challenges and rights of grandparents FOUZIA RYKLIEF IN this issue I cover two aspects of grandparenting, namely, challenges faced by grandparents who have full responsibility of raising their grandchildren, and the rights of grandparents when parents divorce.

Challenges when caring for grandchildren full time Many grandparents have full responsibility because parents are deceased, have deserted the children or are on drugs. Thousands of children are in legal foster care with their grandparents.

A growing concern is the large number of children orphaned when their parents die of HIVAids. One source states that 2,5 million children were orphaned by Aids by 2012, in South Africa. This was 63 per cent of all orphans in Sub-Saharan Africa. The grandmothers don’t have time to grieve because the children need them. These women carry on in spite of the challenges and the fear of what will happen to these grandchildren when the elders die.

In 2013, at the Age-in-Action Conference, I presented a paper on ‘Grandparents – Parenting a second time around’. Some of the information in this article were extracted from my paper.

Grandparents who are responsible for their grandchildren experience a great deal of stress, which affects their coping abilities. They should be receiving protection Muslim Views

and care but, instead, grandmothers have to stretch their small pension to provide food and schooling for their grandchildren.

Being a parent for a second time means responsibilities, decisions, disciplinary dilemmas, medical appointments, homework assignments, parent-teacher meetings etc. As a result, it is not surprising, that the grandmothers are prone to certain types of illnesses as they try to cope with the family trauma.

The elderly caregivers are usually at risk not only of chronic illnesses such as arthritis, high blood pressure, cardiovascular and respiratory conditions but also of neglected health if these conditions are not treated.

They also experience severe financial hardship when they do not have access to the child care grant received by parents who abuse it.

Inadequate housing is another challenge. Some grandparents live in shacks or informal settlements on the outskirts of the city, in areas without electricity, running water and sewerage.

The grandparents sometimes experience mental health challenges. Many grandparents in this situation thought that this would be their time for rest and relaxation. Taking care of small children removes this freedom and many grandparents resent it.

Some grandparents experience guilt for how things turned out with their adult children. They

think that if they had handled things differently, perhaps, they would not have been in this situation.

Also, there are so many decisions for grandparents to make when they are raising their grandchildren such as registering them for school, social worker visits and the everyday costs of raising a child, that they could suffer from stress.

Unless grandparents are in a community where there are other grandparents raising grandchildren, they may also feel a sense of loneliness; like they are the only ones going through this challenging time.

Grandparents might be caring for children who have been abused and/ or neglected and abandoned. This is tough because these children display a range of difficult behaviours resulting from the traumatic experiences they have gone through.

Caring for their grandchildren is thus a labour of love and, therefore, grandparents need to be saluted for the valuable contribution they make towards the healing of these children.

The grandparents’ rights when there is a divorce The delicate balance within families can be disrupted by breakups and divorce. The grandparent relationship can be a casualty when a grandparent is denied contact with the children because one parent is hostile toward the

parents of the other parent.

This usually occurs when there is on-going conflict between the two divorcing parents. Access can so easily become a weapon with which to hurt an ex-spouse and his or her family.

The question arises whether grandparents have automatic rights to their grandchildren when the parents divorce or when one or both parents die.

According to Tracey-Leigh Wessels, a Family Law Attorney: ‘South African Law does not make specific provision for grandparent rights over their grandchildren. The new Children’s Act 38 of 2005 Law does, however, provide for third parties who have an interest in the care, wellbeing or development of a child to apply either to the High Court or the Children’s Court (as the case may be) for an Order for Care, Contact or Guardianship over minor children.’

She explains further that the court’s decision will take into account the following: ‘The best interests of the minor child/ children; the relationship between the Applicant and the minor child/ children and any other relevant person and the child/ children; the degree of commitment that the Applicant has shown towards the child/ children; the extent to which the Applicant has contributed towards the child/ children’s financial/ maintenance requirements.’

The emphasis in the Act is on the children’s right to proper parental care – from both parents and other parental figures such as grandparents. It is tragic that what should be the natural result of affectionate family bonds needs to be controlled by laws and courts. It’s bad enough when parents deny each other access to the child because of unresolved conflict. Denying the child a relationship with his grandparent adds to his emotional stress.

Gillian Loundes, Family Law Attorney, states: ‘The message the courts are sending out is that anyone other than parents who wish to play a pivotal role in children’s lives must represent a positive influence in the child’s life. In addition, they must not create conflict and dissension in their environment and, above all, they must respect the rights and responsibilities of the child’s parent or parents.’

We need to remember that it is important for children to have the continuity of affectionate contact with loving grandparents – as long as grandparents can stay neutral in the battle between parents in the midst of a breakup.

While it is important that there be some sort of protection in law for grandparents to have meaningful contact with their grandchildren, it is even more important that the rights of the child to have a relationship with grandparents and all the benefits that it brings, are protected.

FOR ALL

Muslim Views . August 2015

Raffiq Desai: Life’s a ‘puzzlement’

My recent interview with artist Raffiq Desai led me to believe that his life story was not a smooth straight line but tortuous as King Monkut’s ‘puzzlement’, writes Doctor M C D’ARCY. OR some, life is a smooth, straight line. For others, it has bumps, twists and turns, day in, day out. This goes for commoners and kings.

Nineteenth century King Mongkut, of Siam (Thailand), scratched his head in the fictionalised musical-movie, The King and I, and declared to Anna Leonowens, English governess and teacher, ‘Life is a puzzlement.’

No wonder he was frustrated.

In real life, he had 39 wives and concubines and 82 children. History says: ‘The king wished to give his 39 wives and concubines and 82 children a modern Western education on scientific secular lines, which earlier missionaries’ wives had not provided.’

It also relates that headstrong Anna tested King Monkut’s patience sorely, allegedly bullying him to change old Siamese customs repugnant to her.

My recent interview with artist Raffiq Desai, led me to believe that his life story was not a smooth straight line but tortuous as King Monkut’s ‘puzzlement’.

Strangely, the interview ended with me viewing a real to goodness, genuine, 1 000-piece puzzle.

I first met Raffiq at an Islamic fair, at Good Hope Centre, a week before Ramadaan. From a distance, I saw his colourful collection of Islamic calligraphy but what intrigued me most was a canvas depicting the old Wale Street, in Cape Town. It was incomplete but the striking features were the meticulous drafting and spot-on deep perspective of the old St George’s Cathedral,

F

Raffiq with his 1 000-piece puzzle.

and Wale Street rising towards Signal Hill. That doesn’t come easily. And that’s when I knew that Raffiq Artist had a story.

Raffiq was born in the Pietermaritzburg highlands area, in 1958, and lived, for a time, on a family-owned farm in the tiny village of New Hanover.

His primary school, Islamic State School, could not assuage his penchant for art so he was forced to attend music classes where he heartily sang hymns.

(That applied to many of us in the old days, and we enjoyed that respite from boring arithmetic).

‘At primary school, I was avidly interested in comic books, not so much for the stories but for the technical art drawings. I devoured Superman, Batman and Spiderman. I copied them and enjoyed the art.’

At M L Sultan High School, he

Photo MC D’ARCY

specialised in motor mechanics, which also encompassed drafting but he had already veered towards becoming an artist one day.

When the family fell on difficult times, his mother taught herself to become a seamstress, sewing on an old, iconic Singer machine.

When a customer requested a particular styled dress she had seen in a shop window, Raffiq, at the age of seven, went into town, sketchbook in hand, and copied the garment’s particulars for his mother. Soon, he was making the pattern for the dress and chalking in the design on the selected material for his mother to cut and stitch to the customer’s specifications.

Post-matric, Raffiq decided to go to Johannesburg because ‘that’s where the gold is’. But the

Raffiq, the artist, with some of his work in the background.

gold was scarce and he had to work as a mechanic, which he did for a year.

An advert in the Sunday Times for a ‘Commercial Artist (only White males need apply)’ caught his eye and he applied for the job.

This company produced mailorder catalogues, one for ‘whites’ and another for ‘Blacks’.

The employer, taken aback by the applicant’s swarthy skin colour, repeatedly asked: ‘Are you capable for it?’ Given a layout test with some pots, Raffiq’s mechanical drawings stood him in good stead. He sailed through the exam in minutes and got the job.

‘The mail-order company was co-owned by two Jewish brothers. The compilation and layout of the catalogue, Best Discount, usually took a year to produce; I did it in a month, including all the artwork and layout. And, I worked there for ten years till the company was sold,’ said Raffiq.

A venture into newspaper ownership and publication was a bumpy ride. That went down the drain. Life was dark and empty.

After much turbulence, a new light came into his life with his marriage to his wife, Shereen, from Bridgetown in the Cape.

‘She was a gift from Allah.’ She gave him three sons, Rehan, Johaar and Tariq.

Despite sallying into other ventures, Raffiq still yearned to fulfil his passion in art. He related: ‘One day my wife saw an advert in a newspaper for lessons and art appreciation by an Islamic Art Foundation. She got me an appointment to meet the renowned artist, Achmat Soni, convener of the Islamic Art Foundation.

‘That’s when, in 1995, I first met Achmat. I visited his home and marvelled at the art on his walls, and that’s where I was inspired, and also to dedicate myself to pursuing my dreams in Islamic arts.’

Raffiq attended the Islamic Art Foundation’s art classes in Surrey Estate. ‘Achmat was impressed by my work,’ Raffiq continued.

‘Later, I took over some of the classes and ran it for two years in a Newfields classroom. But, like many social ventures, attendances frizzled out and classes ceased.’

For ten years, Raffiq worked at 5 Star Distributors, till the end of 2014. ‘I quit my fulltime job for my hobby: art. I sold some paintings. Family circumstances sent me back to Pietermaritzburg.

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There I had a stint of teaching Islamic art in Pietermaritzburg Iqra Library. The members were mainly elderly. This also petered out.’

Art is a fine passion. It can be cathartic. But, when it comes to professional sales, it can be unforgiving. In some art avenues, the costs can be substantial. Buyers are sometimes ignorant of the time, talent and costs involved.

Professional quality imported paints, canvases, brushes, varnishes and paint-mediums can spiral the outlay even before a brush hits the canvas. Framing is not cheap. Note: artists cannot survive on bread and water and live in attics inhaling dust and spider webs.

Back in Cape Town, Raffiq resumed his passion to paint traditional Islamic calligraphy.

‘I wanted Islamic art to be affordable. Originals are also sometimes sad to part with. I made prints and sold them at reasonable cost. Smaller greeting cards were even more affordable.

But, at the back of my mind, I wanted to produce puzzles; I have a love for it,’ said Raffiq. ‘Puzzles bring families together.’

Puzzles can be enjoyed over and over again. It is tactile; pictures painted that you can love and feel – winter, summer, over and over, for years. That intrigued Raffiq.

‘I wanted to produce picture puzzles of the highest quality, said Raffiq. ‘I had to fulfil that dream.

It took much time and money to produce and distribute.’

From the illustrations accompanying this column, that is plainly evident; art painted with style, meticulous and in sparkling colours married to a challenging pastime. For this innovation the artist, Raffiq, has to be commended.

From time immemorial, wooden puzzles have been enjoyed by young and old. Puzzles challenge the mind, soothe troubled souls.

This venture of Raffiq is ongoing; from this first venture, there are more to come. With this Islamic art puzzle, his life’s ‘puzzlements’ have produced the sweet fruit of his dreams.

The puzzle may be obtained from the producer on 021 704 3593 or 060 6226 899, at Quality Bakery No1 in Lansdowne Road, Athlone, Cape Town, near the BP Garage or from Sawants Islamic Wear (opposite HiLite Store) off Johnstone Road, Athlone, Cape Town.

Photo MC D’ARCY Muslim Views

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Muslim Views . August 2015

The director and I Born in Port Elizabeth, in 1925, Hajji Isgaak Agherdien joined Radio 786 a few years after retiring from teaching, in 1990. He was a popular figure in the corridors of Radio 786 since its inception in 1995, where he did voice training, book readings and recordings, and the Islamic Unity Convention (IUC) where he was chief adjudicator at their eisteddfods and directed two plays. TOYER NAKIDIEN, who has known Hajji since high school, gives us some insight into the man.

HAT on earth is going on back there?’ The voice boomed from the stage area.

We were in our first week of rehearsals for Spes Bona High’s 1975 production of Hamlet, and a few classmates and I were doing something else at the back of the hall.

‘I won’t have any disturbances while we are rehearsing. You are breaking the concentration of my actors. I want you to be focused; even when others are on stage, you need to concentrate!’

This was my first encounter with Hajji Isgaak Agherdien or, as the cast knew him, Ivan.

As high school students, we did not realise the importance of those words but many years later and after having acted as director a few times, I realise that Hajji was instilling in us – no, demanding of us – the discipline that is required when one commits to doing something.

As an aside, I recall insisting on that kind of discipline when working with some matriculants from the southern suburbs while we were rehearsing for an annual collaborative ‘concert’. The student I was reprimanding for not being disciplined was not impressed and showed it. Years later, while she was reading towards a degree in Film and Media Studies, at UCT – where Hajji acquired his degree in drama – the student encountered a friend of mine. She admitted that it was only then that she realised the importance of what I was demanding. She offered a retrospective apology.

After the outburst at that first rehearsal, we made quite sure that we did not do anything that

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Muslim Views

Hajji Isgaak Agherdien advising the 1975 cast of Hamlet. Although Spes Bona was a boys’ school at the time, unlike in Shakespeare’s time, the female roles were played by girls. In this case, the girls were from Vista High School.

Photo HESHAM NEAMATOLLAH EFFENDI

would raise the ire of Ivan The Not-So-Terrible. I use ‘Not-SoTerrible’ because many people feared Ivan as he did not shy away from expressing his displeasure, disapproval or disdain. On the other hand, those who were able to break through that façade got to know a sensitive, considerate human being.

This he displayed to us as cast members. In Hamlet, he had two performers playing the role of Hamlet. The one, played by Gareth Brink, was a fiery, aggressive character while Raymond Wattlington portrayed Hamlet as an introspective, contemplative student. Ivan allowed this.

Also, within the first few rehearsals, I disagreed with Ivan’s interpretation of my character, Polonius. Instead of forcing me to play the role as he saw it, he allowed me to develop my character with another member of staff, the late Hester Clark.

The play was a success and saw Spes Bona put on the map as, for the next few years, Ivan Agherdien brought the matric setwork plays alive on stage.

More than two decades later, I met Ivan again. He invited me to join him at a house in Rylands where he and a few teachers were adjudicating some poetry. It was a once-off poetry-writing competition held under the auspices of

the Islamic Unity Convention (IUC).

On another occasion I attended a radio workshop at UCT and again bumped into Ivan.

It appears that these random meetings were providence. A few years later, I attended a janazah in Salt River and met Ivan again. He invited me to an IUC eisteddfod. I enjoyed the experience and, the next year, he invited me to serve as an adjudicator.

A few years later, Ivan asked me whether I’d be interested in acting in a play that he would be directing for the IUC. I accepted.

This is when we became close.

It is also when I saw what endeared people to him but also what scared them. I learnt then that Ivan was indeed terrible when we did not deliver.

However, Ivan was now addressed as Hajji – a sign of respect for this senior member of Radio 786 – a name that, for me, took some getting used to. ‘The terrible’, however, was very much in evidence. It happened at one of the rehearsals of The Fall of Cordova, in 2003. We were struggling to perfect a scene involving a few novice actors. Despite them being novices, Ivan/ Hajji would not settle for second-best. He drilled and drilled but could not get them to do the scene the way he wanted it.

He lost his temper and shouted at a few of them. Being a bit more confident (and older) than the others, I challenged him, accusing him of unfairly criticising them.

He calmed down but, for the rest of the rehearsal, which, mercifully, was not too long, I felt very uncomfortable.

I went to his home to apologise for confronting him. Instead of the dressing down I expected – and what Hajji was sometimes known for – he said that that was part of the rehearsal process and what one could expect at times.

He told me to forget about it – as he had done.

At the next rehearsal, the incident was not mentioned and Hajji picked up where we had left off, cajoling the young performers into giving their best. Needless to say, I was impressed!

Performance was in Hajji’s blood and he was always at hand to offer advice. In 1997, he worked with the young, madrassah-going children of Rylandsbased Madrasatul Quds, coaxing these young bloods to give of their best for the production of The Call of the Bilal.

While he was chief adjudicator for the IUC eisteddfods from 1998 to 2005, Hajji would go around to participating schools, advising the teachers and learners in the preparation of their presen-

Hajji Isgaak Agherdien, chief adjudicator of the IUC Eisteddfods, addressing the audience before announcing the winners in the different categories.

Photo ABDURAHMAN KHAN

tations, be it poetry, drama or choral.

In 2014, I visited Hajji while he was recovering from illness.

He had, by then, lost some vision in one eye and had difficulty reading. He spent a lot of his time listening to recordings and the radio.

Whenever I enquired about his health, he would respond with, ‘Alhamdulillah, I am satisfied.’

But I knew that this usually energetic man who had lived such a busy life felt frustrated.

On one of my visits, I gave him a recording of some nasheeds (Arabic religious songs) performed by a high school female group. Their melodious voices so touched Hajji that he was inspired to use them in a dramatisation of a Quranic story.

We discussed the idea and I was prepared to run with it – on condition that he would be there to mentor me. Sadly, by that stage, Hajji was not well enough to drive but was too considerate to expect others to drive him around.

I urged him to reconsider, arguing that people would be honoured to do this for him but he would not relent.

Perhaps, deep down, he knew that there would not be time, for, in January 2015, the year that I was hoping to work on Hajji’s idea, Hajji, after a brief illness, breathed his last.