Muslim Views, February 2015 by Muslim Views

Vol. 29 No. 2

JAMAD-UL-AWWAL 1436 l FEBRUARY 2015

LEILA KHALED was given a heroine’s welcome on her arrival, on February 6, at OR Tambo International Airport. She is pictured above at the airport press conference, third from left. Also present to welcome her were, from left, Ahmed Kathrada, well-known anti-apartheid activist, Winnie Zondo, ANC Women’s League Gauteng Provincial Exco member, Malusi Gigaba, Minister of Home Affairs, and Bones Modise, Gauteng Provincial Secretary of the ANC Youth League. Khaled was responsible for the hijacking of two passenger aircraft in 1969 and 1970 when she was in her mid-twenties. The image of her clutching a Kalashnikov became part of popular culture of the 1970s in which the Palestinian struggle for freedom started gaining global recognition. At 70 years of age, she remains committed to the struggle for the return of her people to Palestine. She continues to hold on to the key to her family’s former home in Haifa. Khaled is a Marxist and a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Photo CHE ERASMUS NCHE

Where there is occupation, there is resistance MAHMOOD SANGLAY

HE Leila Khaled tour of South Africa, from February 6 to 16, added impetus to the growing public interest in the struggle of the Palestinians among South Africans. In particular, it has renewed a national focus on the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. The striking image of the young Leila Khaled with her chequered scarf clutching an AK-47 was as era-defining as that of Che Guevara, Ruth First and Nelson Mandela. Her youth and courage captured the imagination of leading movements in art, music, literature and other popular culture

genres. She supports popular workers’ struggles and maintains a secular outlook as a human rights activist. Khaled was a guest of BDS South Africa, and her visit was essentially an opportunity to promote the BDS campaign and raise funds for the organisation. The success of the visit is evidenced by both the significant public support it enjoyed as well as the official reception accorded her by leading members of the ANC. She was welcomed in Johannesburg by the ANC’s Women’s League, Youth League, military veterans, Home Affairs Minister, Malusi Gigaba, and activist Ahmed Kathrada.

The visit was also welcomed by church leaders, trade unions, other political parties and civil society organisations. This was her third visit to South Africa. According to Muhammed Desai of BDS South Africa, a man bearing a firearm was removed from the press conference at OR Tambo International Airport by BDS security personnel. Desai said that opposition from groups like the South African Zionist Federation and the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) was expected and that they had made adequate provision for any attack by extremists. Desai called the attempts by Israeli supporters to thwart the

tour ‘pathetic’ and said their petition of a paltry 1 040 online signatures in protest against the tour was laughable. In an open letter last month, the African Christian Democratic Party MP and whip, Cheryllyn Dudley, also called on President Jacob Zuma to withdraw the visa issued to Khaled. ‘Back in the 1980s the SAJBD and Israel were proud supporters of the Apartheid regime that killed our people and today they are proud supporters of the Israeli regime that is killing innocent Palestinians,’ a BDS statement reads. Almost every interview with Khaled dealt with her label of ‘terrorist’ and her support for an armed struggle.

The discourse on South African media generally tended to balance the two opposing sides in attempts to deal with the issues surrounding Khaled’s visit with varying degrees of objectivity. The pro-Israeli lobby has offered the standard response of calling Khaled a terrorist, and called on the government to refuse entry to Khaled. Instead, the ruling party gave her a heroine’s welcome. In addition, the tour elicited fair coverage of the contested definition of terrorism and the use of violence for political purposes. CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

Suraya Dadoo’s “Resistance: absolute for some, questionable for others” is on page 4 of this edition Anna Majavu’s “SONA 2015: Leila Khaled’s presence in Parliament lost in pandemonium of local politics” is on page 6 of this edition

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Muslim Views . February 2015

leaders calling for the protection of freedom of expression in the wake of the killing of the journalists at Charlie Hebdo. This exemplifies a tragic manifestation of moral relativism. The hypocrisy is possible because the murder of journalists by Israel on the one hand and the ostensible support for freedom of expression on the other are disjoined in a morally perverted discourse. The war against terror, in moral relativism, seeks to justify collective punishment and what is euphemistically referred to as collateral damage. The recent debate on the renaming of Table Bay Boulevard to De Klerk Boulevard is also an example of the farcical in moral relativism. The proposal was put to the city by Executive Mayor Patricia de Lille who once was a member of a party that espouses uncompromising Africanist ORAL relativism is the view values. that moral judgments are true In terms of the Pan Africanist Congress or false only relative to a (PAC) manifesto, ‘the progressive force given standpoint (such as that of a of African nationalism continues to be religion, culture or a historical locked in mortal combat with period), and that no standpoint is reactionary forces of Herrenvolkism’. uniquely privileged over all others. The paragraph in the manifesto from This view sustains commonly held which this position is drawn, effectively positions that reflect some uncertainty calls for a clear rejection of the basic and ambivalence on matters of moral values the National Party had stood dispute. for, including its colonial past and Moral relativism is characteristic of apartheid legacy. much of the social and political Today, De Lille has embraced the developments in the world today. neoliberal values of the Democratic The consequences of such moral Alliance which, in fundamental ways, relativism can be perplexing, farcical are antithetical to the Africanist values and even tragic. of the PAC. The Democratic Alliance’s An example is the position of ideology is a hybrid of preserved neouncertainty in the common expression colonialist capitalism and liberal ‘one man’s terrorist is another’s democracy. Hence, it endorses the freedom fighter’. argument of the City of Cape Town that Invoking this trite viewpoint without de Klerk’s role in the ‘transition to a progressing to a firm ideological new dispensation’ and his Nobel Peace position on terrorism is an indication of Prize justifies the renaming. a crucial moral point of dispute being Apparently, his acquiescence to rendered indefinitely open-ended and peaceful transition as opposed to relative. inevitable defeat and disgrace in a An example of the perplexing is the revolution earns him that honour, and debate on terrorism and armed supersedes his legacy of leadership of struggle in the wake of the visit to a political party stained with the blood South Africa by the Palestinian activist of tens of thousands of South Africans. Leila Khaled. Our leaders and all people of The stark hypocrisy of a military conscience must seek moral absolutes occupation by a colonial state decrying in order to find solutions in conflict and legitimate resistance in terms of in peaceful discourse. international law is possible in a Such values are the foundation for morally relativist paradigm. defending a true democracy and for The hypocrisy is also evident in world attaining enduring peace.

Moral absolutes must guide our values and conduct

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Xenophobia is not a helpful term DR AUWAIS RAFUDEEN RECENT Unisa seminar on the attacks by township residents on foreign shopkeepers asked searching questions about the term ‘xenophobia’. Is such a term useful in describing what is taking place? According to academics such as Steve Lebelo, Eddie Plaatjie, Zandi Radebe, Thabang Dladla and Ndumiso Dladla, the answer is a resounding ‘no’. The very title of the January 30 seminar reflects this sentiment: ‘Dispossessing discourses: Soweto as political rupture’. The liberal discourse of ‘xenophobia’ is a dispossessing discourse. It forgets history and puts the blame on those who were dispossessed by that history. These academics reminded us that, from their very beginning, townships were constructed as zones of violence, ‘a place of physical and spiritual death’ to use Ndumiso Dlada’s evocative phrase. They were created purely to ‘house’ a labour force to see to the needs of white society. They were not meant to provide spaces for decent human living. Under such inhuman conditions, violence is inevitable: townships were constructed in such a way as to build violence at the level of family and community. We should hardly be surprised if we see such violence being extended to foreigners. The people of the townships are not by nature ‘xenophobic’ – they are trapped in conditions where violence is built into the fabric of history. This means that we cannot ignore the brutal history of colonialism and apartheid in understanding what is happening. South Africa has still not truthfully addressed that history. In the absence of such awareness, the term ‘xenophobia’ is used by some as a means of reinforcing historical amnesia. It is used by white privilege (and, of course, black liberals as well) to pin the problem as one of attitude and behaviour,

not one of history. In so doing, it absolves past and current privilege from any responsibility for creating the conditions for violence. In addition, privilege then classes ‘foreign blacks’ as hardworking and ‘local blacks’ as lazy. This again is a nuanced form of racism, a contemporary way of divide and rule. The condemned of South Africa’s history are still being condemned – this time for being ‘xenophobic’. But as an increasingly angry black intelligensia is asking: who is doing the condemning? I do not think that there was anything said in the presentations that absolved anyone of personal responsibility for acts of criminality. And, of course, people should be held accountable. But to see what happened in the townships solely in terms of lawlessness is almost equally criminal. By any measure, South Africa’s township residents have been victims of history. I think it is now patently obvious that the vast majority of South Africans have not experienced the benefits of democracy. Massive unemployment, poverty and inequality have bedevilled the rainbow nation. Corruption and crime, which middle classes tend to think are the most important problems facing the country, affect the poor more than anybody else. It is impossible to look at the violence directed against foreigners in isolation of these issues. And while it is true that the responsibility for the state of affairs also needs to be laid at the door of the ANC government and its failed neoliberal policies, the roots of the current violence are ultimately to be found in the greater violence that was unleashed by colonialsm and apartheid – the legacy of which is still very much with us. We cannot be diverted by the strawman of ‘xenophobia’ from addressing that legacy. Dr Rafudeen is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies and Arabic at University of South Africa.

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Resistance: absolute for some, questionable for others The right to resist is absolute for some but questionable for others, writes SURAYA DADOO. THE South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) described the recent visit of Leila Khaled, a Palestinian freedom fighter most famous for hijacking an airplane in 1969, and a current politburo member of the Palestinian resistance group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) as ‘an attempt to import terrorism’ to our country. One wonders, then, how the SAJBD, and other Zionist groups that fiercely opposed the visit, reacted to the ANC’s head of international relations, and Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Obed Bapela’s statement to Khaled in Rustenburg on Saturday: ‘We welcome you, unashamedly. You are one of us and will always be one of us.’ Zwelinzima Vavi tweeted the next morning: ‘#LeilaKhaled is a freedom fighter to me – she is welcome to the land of freedom fighters.’ On Monday, February 9, Khaled was invited by Parliament to attend the State of the Nation Address (SONA). Had ‘terrorism’ been imported to South Africa or was it here all along? The loud opposition to Khaled’s visit, by a small minority should, however, be part of a larger discussion about the right of people to resist occupation – an inalienable right enshrined in international law. United Nations General

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Assembly resolutions, the Fourth Geneva Convention and its subsequent protocols, protect the right of people (including the Palestinians) to ‘fight against colonial domination and alien occupation’ by all available means – including armed struggle. This right justified South African armed resistance, and legitimates Palestinian efforts to fight Israeli oppression. Their Israeli occupiers subject them to pass laws, checkpoints, curfews, expulsions, home demolitions, legalised torture and numerous human rights violations. Palestinians are trapped by a farcical peace process that has enabled the theft of over 40 percent of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, through the creation of illegal Jewish set-

tlements. The result is a series of dismembered enclaves separating the West Bank from East Jerusalem. The Gaza Strip is cut off from the dissected OPT, and a complete land, air and sea blockade imposed by Israel further compounds Gaza’s isolation. Our leaders at Codesa would never have accepted a ‘mini-state’ with its major cities cut off from each other, its government unable to control its own water resources, develop its agriculture or manage its trade with neighbouring states. One of the reasons offered by the SAJBD for its opposition to the Khaled visit was that the PFLP rejects the ‘two-state’ solution. Is this the two-state solution that the SAJBD expects the PFLP, Hamas and other Palestinian resistance movements to endorse? The Palestinian pursuit for a just solution – not just a two-state solution – to this occupation is simply dismissed as ‘terrorism’. Palestinians are always expected to apologise for and condemn Palestinian resistance, despite the lack of agreement on a definition of terrorism. The word ‘terrorism’ is readily applied to Palestinian individuals or groups who use homemade bombs but never to a nucleararmed Israeli state that has used white phosphorous, DIME bombs and other internationally prohibited weapons against noncombatants. Israel will claim it is acting in self-defence, and its draconian measures are necessary for ‘security’. As an occupier, however, Israel

cannot be considered to be acting in self-defence under the rules of international law in its resort to the use of force, especially during Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip, last year, and Operation Cast Lead in 2008-9. Israel was not responding to an armed attack by the military forces of another state. Rather, it acted as an occupying power using force to effect its control of the territory and its domination over the occupied population. Israel’s actions are those of an occupying power using force to maintain its occupation and to suppress resistance, rather than a state resorting to force in lawful self-defence.

What about non-violent resistance? Palestinians are often taken to task, particularly in the West, for not embracing a non-violent strategy. ‘Where is the Palestinian Gandhi?’ is a question often asked in condemnation of Palestinian armed resistance. The literal answer to that question is that the Palestinian Gandhis are either in prison, exile or dead. That aside, Gandhi was not fully passive in his approach to resistance. He categorised armed resistance in the face of impossible odds (such as those faced by Palestinian fighters in the face of the sophisticated Israeli military) as ‘almost non-violence’ because it was, essentially, symbolic. For Gandhi, forceful resistance was ‘a refusal to bend before overwhelming might’. In the face of Israel’s high-tech

slaughter and repressive measures against the Palestinians, it is difficult not to see how indiscriminate and haphazard rockets fall into the category of token violence that Gandhi was reluctant to condemn. Sharing the stage with Deputy Minister of Public Service and Administration and former Umkhonto we Sizwe operative, Ayanda Dlodlo, Khaled declared in Tshwane on Friday (February 6): ‘Armed resistance is not an invention of the Palestinians. It is an invention of humanity... Where there is occupation and oppression there is resistance. Resistance is a duty.’ The American Revolution, the French Revolution and Africa’s wars of liberation in the 1950s and 1960s confirm Khaled’s statement. We honour Nelson Mandela as a hero because of his resistance to, not because of his subservience to, apartheid repression. The Warsaw Ghetto uprising by the Jewish population against Nazi occupiers is a source of inspiration. Jews who joined the armed resistance in Poland, and other places under Nazi occupation, are heroes, not just for Jewish people but for all of humanity. The right to resist domination is universally celebrated and absolute for some – but questionable for others. Suraya Dadoo is a researcher for Media Review Network (www.mediareviewnet.com) and the co-author of Why Israel? The Anatomy of Zionist Apartheid: A South African Perspective (Porcupine Press, 2013). Find her on Twitter @Suraya_Dadoo

Muslim Views . February 2015

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Muslim Views . February 2015

SONA 2015: Leila Khaled’s presence in Parliament lost in pandemonium of local politics AMONGST the audience in Parliament’s public gallery for President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) was a Palestinian freedom icon who carried with her the hopes of all Palestinians that the ANC government would begin making moves towards cutting ties with Israel. Leila Khaled, a decades-long leader in exile of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, was in South Africa as a guest of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) South Africa movement. For a brief moment this week, after BDS South Africa released a press statement saying that Zuma himself had invited Khaled to his address, there was a sense that perhaps the ANC government might be getting ready to do much more than voice support for Palestine while continuing to foster trade, diplomatic and intelligence relations with the apartheid state of Israel. After all, Home Affairs minister Malusi Gigaba had welcomed Khaled when she landed in South Africa days earlier, and had even given a joint press conference with activists from the BDS movement, which wants a trade ban between Israel and South Africa in solidarity with Palestine. However, BDS South Africa quickly backtracked on their announcement, saying that Khaled had been invited to the SONA not by Zuma but by senior parliamentary staff. The very fact that BDS South Africa had to issue a correction

indicated that someone in Zuma’s office had made it clear that the president was averse to the idea that he could have invited Khaled to his oration. Although there was never any suggestion that Zuma would use his address to announce changes to South African relations with Palestine or Israel, if the president himself had invited Khaled, this would have suggested a move towards state endorsement of BDS. Eventually, Khaled’s presence at the SONA went unnoticed after local politics in the form of an Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) anti-corruption protest stole the show. This was somewhat symbolic of the ruling party’s approach to Palestine over the past 21 years, where the ANC decries the brutal military occupation of Palestine by Israel in public but behind closed doors, props up the Israeli apartheid system. ANC relations with Israel are so cordial that the Israeli secret service is permitted to operate its own office inside OR Tambo airport. Sometimes Israeli atrocities, such as the 2010 slaughter by the Israeli military of nine international peace activists who were sailing to Gaza to protest the Israeli siege, will prompt the ANC to make a gesture of outrage, such as recalling the ambassador to Israel. But even in this case, the ambassador was sent back to Israel after a few weeks. During his recall period, the spokesperson for the South African embassy in Israel repeatedly emphasised that the government had no intention

of cutting ties with Israel. The ANC government can do much more to support the Palestinians. The BDS campaign, and the Open Shuhada Street organisation before them, have focused so far on grassroots activism against Israeli products, with protests against Wellness Warehouse for stocking Ahava beauty products and demonstrations against Woolworths for stocking Israeli produce. Both Wellness Warehouse and Pick ’n Pay do need to be taken to task over their support for Israel especially since, for at least the past ten years, they have been sent letter after letter by Palestinian solidarity groups urging them to stop stocking Israeli produce. The protests against Israeli produce are also useful as they bring the oppression of Palestinians into the public eye and mirror the protests against Israeli produce that are happening all over the world. However, BDS South Africa protests have been marred of late by frequent outbursts of anti-Semitism by some of its members from COSAS and SASCO. Members of these organisations left pigs’ heads in Woolworths recently, and this week made the offensive demand that the Durban University of Technology expel Jewish students. After being challenged, they continued to insist that any student funded by Israel should be ‘immediately de-registered’. This was a misrepresentation of the academic boycott of Israel, which aims to have universities

sever ties with the Israeli academy and refuse funding from Israeli institutions but not to persecute local Jewish students. Given that BDS South Africa, these days, is dominated by tripartite alliance partners, the ANC government should be obliged to give impetus to the global BDS movement by taking steps of its own. It could start by setting up a diamond beneficiation industry in South Africa and providing tax incentives to the major diamond mines to have their rough diamonds cut and polished locally. The state of Israel receives an enormous boost from South African diamond mining companies who send billions of rands worth of rough diamonds to Israel every year to be cut and polished. ‘With an annual turnover of some R280 billion and exports of R110 billion (net), the diamond industry is absolutely central to the Israeli economy, accounting for roughly 30 percent of exports and 5 percent of GDP in recent years, while providing employment for an estimated 20 000 people in Israel itself and an additional 35 000 abroad,’ says the Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall campaign. The campaign quotes Israeli political economist Shir Hever as saying, ‘Every time somebody buys a diamond that was exported from Israel, some of that money ends up in the Israeli military, so the financial connection is quite clear. ‘Overall, the Israeli diamond industry contributes about R10 billion annually to the Israeli mili-

tary and security industries.’ There is clearly no need for South African diamonds to be cut and polished in Israel. The media reported recently that a collective of organic rooibos tea farmers in tiny Nieuwoudtville, in the Northern Cape, had been disadvantaged after government suddenly arrived and set up a state-funded rooibos tea processing factory in the same town, without any consultation. So it is clear that the state has a large capacity to intervene in industry, contrary to government’s claim that it has not been elected to build factories. One wonders, if the ANC can set up a rooibos tea factory for no apparent purpose, why it cannot set up a diamond cutting and polishing plant in the Northern Cape, too? This would provide many hundreds of vitally needed jobs in diamond beneficiation, and would be a form of sanction against the state of Israel while leaving boycott and divestment to be advocated for by BDS South Africa. For now, it remains to be seen whether the ANC’s support for BDS South Africa will evolve beyond words into concrete support for sanctions against Israel. Majavu is a writer concentrating on the rights of workers, oppressed people, the environment, anti-militarism and what makes a better world. She is currently studying for a Masters Degree in New Zealand. This article was first published on the website of The South African Civil Society Information Service (sacsis.org.za).

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National Muslim Prison Board signs historic document FARID SAYED

ON December 10, 2014, the National Muslim Prison Board (NMPB) entered into an agreement with the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) by signing a Memorandum of Understanding. This historic milestone event bolsters spiritual ties, creates understanding and cooperation between the NMPB and DCS, and paves the way for Muslim inmates to have a clearer view of what is available to them in terms of their faith. The landmark agreement was signed by the Chairman of the NMPB, Mufti Siraj Desai, and the DCS Chief Deputy Commissioner of Incarceration and Corrections, Mr James Smalburger, at the DCS Head Office in Pretoria, Gauteng. This partnership builds on years of collaboration between NMPB and the DCS, and aims to promote corrections as a societal responsibility while working together towards the spiritual upliftment and education of inmates. The department recognises the NMPB as the official NGO representing Muslim inmates in South Africa and its importance in rehabilitation and reintegration of inmates. As per the signed agreement, the DCS will liaise with the NMPB in respect of Spiritual Care policies and procedures and also avail inmates for services and programmes within a secured environment. Through the facilitation of its spiritual programmes, the NMPB will support rehabilitation and restorative and reintegration pro-

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‘The NMPB and the Department of Correctional Services have pledged to work together on issues of mutual concern that includes spiritual care of inmates, forgiveness and reconciliation, restoration and reintegration to combat criminal acts that destroy families, neighbourhoods and communities.’

Moulana Azeem Khatieb receives an award for 25 years of excellent service from Photo SUPPLIED the DCS Director Spiritual Care, Reverend Henny Human.

grammes for inmates. The NMPB will provide funds for their own programmes. The Regional Muslim Chaplain (Western Cape), Moulana Mohamed Azeem Khatieb, witnessed this long overdue event and stated: ‘The National Muslim Prison Board and the Department of Correctional Services have pledged to work together on issues of mutual concern that includes spiritual care of inmates, forgiveness and reconciliation, restoration and reintegration to combat criminal acts that destroy families, neighbourhoods and communities.’ For the past 25 years, Moulana Khatieb has dedicated his time to promote a positive image of Islam and advocate humane incarceration.

The document signed includes provision for the next Muslim chaplain to be appointed when Moulana Khatieb retires in February, 2015. Moulana Khatieb quoted that the biggest success story in prison is ‘an inmate embracing Islam (now a parolee) who became a qualified aalim in December 2013’. The NMPB has been in existence for over four decades and started under the leadership of the late Imam Abduragmaan Bassier who had the vision to plan for the future of Muslim inmates. Imam Bassier’s vision was that the legacy of Islam must be maintained in the corridors of the prison, and this played a pivotal role in the appointment of the first Muslim chaplain in South

Africa. Muslim organisations such as the Muslim Judicial Council, the jamiats in KZN, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Free State and Gauteng, including many ulama and individuals played a major role in the achievement of this historic milestone. Over the years, the NMPB has been involved in presenting Islamic programmes such as reading Quran, Islamic Studies, Life Skills, HIV/ AIDS, Positive Values, Anger Management, Reading for Redemption, Pre-Release within correctional facilities, and have also been instrumental in conducting successful victimoffender dialogues (VOD) in many communities. The way forward will be to deal with the challenges that hamper service delivery, and to ensure a uniform performance of work ethics in the spiritual care provided. Some of the aims and objectives of the NMPB are to: l promote unity and harmony; l provide a platform to deliberate and resolve national and regional issues; l foster solidarity and cooperation; l promote effective communica-

tion; l promote the freedom of religion as entrenched in the constitution and the legislative framework; l encourage spiritual education, social and economic upliftment; l articulate the Islamic position on issues that affect Muslim inmates; l actively collaborate and work together in catering for the dietary needs of Muslim inmates. Some accomplishments of the NMPB are: l implementing halaal compliance in prison kitchens; l implementing policy and procedures regarding Muslim inmates; l establishing Islamic syllabus and prayer facilities; l annually celebrate important Islamic events; l provide Ramadaan guidelines; l provide guidelines and dialogue in understanding Islam; l facilitating the halaal tender procedures; l establishing a Memorandum of Understanding; l regular consultations; l implementing the distribution of Islamic literature.

Muslim Views . February 2015

News blackout on MJC’s proposed advisory panel MAHMOOD SANGLAY

THE Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) is 70-years-old this year and, on February 10, the council was expected to make a major announcement relating to its anniversary celebrations. However, at the time of going to press, close to mid-February, nothing had been announced. On November 11, 2014, the MJC President, Moulana Ihsaan Hendricks, told a media briefing at their offices that ‘as part of the build-up to the 70th anniversary of the organisation’ it will announce the identification and selection of members of an independent advisory panel (IAP) of the organisation. The nominations process for identifying and selecting this panel commenced on November 25, 2014, and ended a month later on December 24. A nominations committee (NC) consisting of three professionals volunteered their services and expertise on a pro bono basis.

The nominations committee (NC) for the MJC’s proposed Independent Advisory has not yet reported on any progress with the nominations process, almost two months after nominations had closed. The NC members are, from left, Abdul Waheed Patel, managing director of Ethicor Political Consulting and convenor of the panel. The other two are Sulaiman Noor Mahomed, a leading businessman, and Associate Professor Waheeda Amien, an academic in law at UCT. Photo SUPPLIED

The convenor of the NC is Abdul Waheed Patel, managing director of Ethicor Political Consulting. The other two are Sulaiman Noor Mahomed, a leading businessman, and Associate Professor Waheeda Amien, an academic in law at University of Cape Town (UCT).

Despite enquiries by Muslim Views, the NC has not responded to questions on the progress of the appointment of the panel. No public or further media announcement relating to the 70th anniversary celebrations of the MJC has been made, either by the MJC or by the NC.

It is not clear whether the nominations handling process and vetting procedure had been concluded or how many nominations, if any, were received by the NC at the close of nominations. Muslim Views raised several questions with the NC relating to the terms of reference, outstand-

ing historical queries about the MJC’s Halaal Trust, the glaring omission of governance as part of the IAP’s proposed focus areas and the lack of public access to and participation in the process. In addition, the MJC announced at the November 11, 2014, press briefing that it would release a report on an independent audit of the financial affairs of the council. No news of this audit is available either. The NC was tasked with the responsibility of designing and implementing a ‘transparent process to call for nominations, identify, screen and recommend to the MJC a proposed list of suitable candidates’ for appointment to serve on the IAP. Thus far, the process is evidently flawed and lacking in transparency. This raises serious questions about the appointment of an effective, credible and genuinely independent panel for the advancement of the work done by the MJC.

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Muslim Views . February 2015

Perspectives

Hallaq’s impossible state: an interpretation Part 5 How the state makes us ccording to Wael Hallaq, the state and Islam have radically opposing conceptions of what an ‘ideal person’ is. For the state, the ideal person is the citizen, the obedient subject of the state. The citizen is that subject that recognises himself in the state, whose ideals are in agreement with the ideals of the state, and who is ultimately willing to die for the state. In contrast, in Islam, the ideal person is the cultivated self, a self which willingly acquiesces to and imbibes the moral law, namely the shariah, and which ultimately finds fulfilment in a living relationship with the Creator. There is really no common ground between the two. Why is this? It is because the modern state is, through and through, a modern historical product that developed its characteristic institutions as a response to the circumstances produced by that history. It developed symbols and beliefs that took the form of religion and, indeed, acted as a replacement for religion but these symbols and beliefs were also a result of these historical circumstances. The state’s ‘religion’ is a response to history, not to what is considered eternal. To give more detail: from the mid-seventeenth century, powerful monarchs arose in Europe

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In this series of eight articles, Dr AUWAIS RAFUDEEN presents an interpretive summary of a major recent book, The Impossible State, by a distinguished expert in Islamic law, Professor Wael Hallaq. The book speaks in a major way to the modern Muslim condition and the issues it raises are deserving of careful consideration by all those seeking to faithfully adhere to the shariah while navigating the tempestuous modern world.

‘whose main concern was to tighten their hold over their populations while increasing their coffers’. They did so by promoting colonisation in order to bring wealth (gold and silver) into their countries. This wealth helped support an industrial revolution that led to greater urbanisation in Europe as well as an emerging capitalism. With the latter, wealth became concentrated in the hands of a few, while the growing urban population was largely impoverished. Economic and social inequality, appalling working conditions and ruling class tyranny led to growing urban discontentment, unruliness and violence.

This resulted in a now taken for granted institution of the state: a well-organised and wellstaffed police force. By the late nineteenth century, every city, town and village had a police presence. To reinforce this presence, a massive prison system was created. In other words, if the unruly masses misbehaved they would be locked up. But modern European rulers also realised that they could not simply coerce their subjects to behave well, coerce them to become model citizens. These subjects needed to be educated into the good conduct required by the state. They needed to know how to become good citizens so as to maintain social order. And so the state school system was created, which was made compulsory upon children, both in order to maintain social order as well as to produce future members of the workforce with skills that would serve the capitalist system. The days of value-focused learning in a family or church setting was now well past. Rulers also realised that poverty could breed revolution – the French Revolution being a case in point – and so a social welfare net and public health institutions were created to try to avert such an event again. And so, what we today take for granted as the necessary elements of a state – the police, the prison, the school, the hospital –

were originally designed to serve the rule of the wealthy classes. These characteristic institutions of the state and its overarching bureaucracy not only sought to control the activities of the subject-citizen, it sought to make and direct them. In other words, their cumulative effect was to act upon the body of the citizen so as to make it think and act in certain ways. And so, for example, we now think it natural to have a police force or to have state schooling. (We are not saying these institutions are not necessary. The problems generated by the modern state have made them necessary but they are not natural. They are the result of particular historical processes deeply tied to a secular view of reality.) Having made the body think and act in certain ways, Hallaq says that the state can now ‘use the tamed subject as a fully developed skill or even as a tool whose performance is backed by selfimposed loyalty and efficient utilitarian enthusiasm’. The training process of the state has tremendous implications for all spheres of society, and none more so than the family. The family is no more regarded as a sacred, organic unit crucial to the emergence of happy and contented individuals. Rather, the law has uprooted this traditional definition and now redefines the family as composed of individual national citizens whose ultimate allegiance

should be to the state. Laws are now promulgated ‘in the interests of the child’ but these almost always come before the interests of the parents, especially those of the father. The modern state effective takes over the role of parent. Hallaq pointedly says: ‘The child becomes the site in which the authority of the state unfolds as a programme of reform inhabited by law, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers and technicians. ‘The patriarch of the family is replaced by the state: it is the magistrate, the school, the psychiatrist and the social worker that largely displace the parent.’ (Again, this interference of the state will be felt with more or less force given the pragmatic policies of a particular state. But the fact remains that all states, by their very nature, are capable of such intrusion.) The end result of all this state dominance is that, rather than being a pillar of society, the family is now the place ‘where society constantly threatens to become unglued’. Reference: Wael Hallaq, The Impossible State, Columbia University Press, New York, 2013. In part six Dr Auwais Rafudeen explores Hallaq’s foray into ‘the real meaning of life’. Dr Rafudeen is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies and Arabic at University of South Africa.

Muslim Views . February 2015 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

In dismissing the label of terrorist and its stereotype, and in justifying armed resistance, Khaled consistently raises the underlying truth that armed resistance to occupation is legitimate in international law. She argues that the occupation was, soon after 1948, de-politicised and deliberately packaged to the world as a humanitarian issue. This framed Palestinians as unfortunate victims in desperate need of humanitarian aid. Instead, Palestinians were campaigning for justice and for recognition of their human rights. Khaled was part of the movement that began to deconstruct, by means of armed resistance, the myth sustained by the Israeli occupation. She consistently reiterated this message in contextualising the historical struggle in her South African tour. However, the strategy that most effectively confounds the pro-Israeli lobby is that Nelson Mandela quite categorically expressed his support for the Palestinian cause and that he had

They were surely peeved that Khaled unequivocally condemned the Paris attacks as well as the atrocities committed by Boko Haram and ISIS. She refers to these groups as ‘terrorists’ and compares their actions to those of right-wing Israeli settlers. personally met Khaled on her first visit to South Africa, in July 2006. BDS South Africa used the image of Khaled seated with Mandela to great effect in their campaign. Perhaps the greatest irony of labelling someone a terrorist is the case of Mandela himself. He was on the United States terror watch list from 1986 till 2008. The listing was passed under the Reagan administration but remained in place even after Mandela was released from prison in 1992, had been awarded the

Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, and was president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. Till then, Mandela and other members of the ANC were required to get special clearance from the US Secretary of State in order to visit any part of the US other than the United Nations headquarters in New York. The ‘shame of dishonouring this great leader’ proved ‘rather embarrassing’ for the US, and Mandela’s name was then removed from the list. This episode demonstrates how labelling by superpowers justifi-

ably invites contempt from people genuinely committed to a human rights struggle. Furthermore, the Israeli lobby invoked the global angst in the wake of the Paris attack on the staff of Charlie Hebdo in order to raise opposition to Khaled’s visit. They were surely peeved that Khaled unequivocally condemned the Paris attacks as well as the atrocities committed by Boko Haram and ISIS. She refers to these groups as ‘terrorists’ and compared their actions to those of right-wing Israeli settlers.

The analogy, for Khaled, is starkest in the burning of Jordanian pilot Muaz al-Kassasbeh by ISIS, and that of Palestinian teen Muhammad Abu Khdeir in Jerusalem in the summer of 2014 by Israeli settlers. Arguably, the development that most deeply peeved the Israeli lobby in South Africa is the invitation Khaled received to attend the State of the Nation Address (SONA) in parliament on February 12. Although the South African government has a long way to go in showing genuine commitment and solidarity to the Palestinians, the symbolic value of the SONA invitation is significant. Khaled made plain in her public appearances that while the Palestinian leadership has good relations with democratic South Africa on both the ‘official and the popular levels’, and although they welcome humanitarian aid, the most important form of support that is lacking is diplomatic support. Khaled is clear that she is campaigning for the diplomatic isolation of Israel by South Africa and called for sanctions against the apartheid state.

Muslim Views

Muslim Views . February 2015

Islamia College – from humble beginnings to a beacon of learning The story of Islamia College is as historic as it is noble. It is an integral part of the struggle for a better South Africa through quality education and excellent facilities, writes FATIMA JACK-HENDRICKS.

EMERGING from humble beginnings in Rylands as Habibia Girls College, in 1984, Islamia College has grown in leaps and bounds. Beginning with two grades and 47 students in the storeroom of Habibia Masjid 30 years ago, it has now evolved into an impressive, fully fledged campus located on Imam Haron Road, Lansdowne. The current facilities on the Islamia campus include Masjidul-Furqaan, state-of-the-art Zohra Noor Auditorium, a multipurpose sports court, two new science laboratories (one for chemistry and one for life sciences), a revamped computer room, a high-tech library (reaching completion), ITV studios, Alhambra Restaurant, two cricket practice pitches, flood-lit Astroturf, Islamia Hall, a counselling centre and the philanthropic Islamia Cares Foundation. Registered as an independent school with the Western Cape Education Department, Islamia College, by the Grace of Allah, is now the largest independent Islamic school in the southern hemisphere, and one of the largest English-speaking Islamic schools in the world, with a student population of close to 1 700, serviced by over 120 educators and 20 other administrative, facilities and technical staff.

Muslim Views

Islamia students entering Academia Centre to watch a play. Assembly being addressed by the principal of Islamia, Mr S. Galant. Photo SUPPLIED

The campus houses pre-primary, primary, girls’ high and boys’ high schools in addition to a hifz academy.

Towards excellence From Zulpha Kamedien’s full distinctions in 1993 (that placed her as the top student in the country) to Ikraam Essop’s selection as the youngest Springbok in touch rugby (to represent South Africa in the 2015 World Cup in Australia), the pursuit of excellence continues. Over the past years three years, more than 300 students have matriculated from Islamia; over 240 attained university entrance

passes, in excess of 200 subject distinctions were achieved with over 25 students attaining A-passes. In the same period, Islamia has contributed more than 70 male and female Western Province players in various sporting codes including athletics, basketball, cricket, gymnastics, ice hockey, karate, rugby, soccer and touch rugby. The unique hifz academy, with its integrated academic programme, has produced 25 people who have successfully memorised the entire Quran. One of the patrons of Islamia, the esteemed transformational

educationist, Professor Jonathan Jansen, praised ‘the integrative and holistic approach of Islamia at a challenging time in our history’. On a visit to the Islamia campus, the vice-chancellor of UCT, Dr Max Price, paid tribute to Islamia graduates saying, ‘Islamia College has over the years provided outstanding students and have one of the lowest drop-out rates of all students who attend the University of Cape Town.’ Our numerous successful alumni, the invaluable support of the Islamia family through the years and the renewed enthusiasm of the Islamia team to further enhance the success of the institution at every level, make Islamia’s story a remarkable one.

Photo SUPPLIED

Tribute to the past and road to the future The secretary of the Board of Trust, Mr Abdul Razack, stated that tribute has to be paid to the founders of Islamia for their vision as well as acknowledgement of the role of all the key players who have ensured the running and nurturing of the institution through times of trials and ease. In the words of Islamia College Board chairperson, Mr Nazier Osman: ‘We call upon our learners, educators, administrators, managers, parents, alumni, supporters, the larger community … to cooperate in evolving Islamia from a good institution to a truly great one.’

Muslim Views . February 2015

Oasis Group Holdings won the 2014 Raging Bull award for Best Offshore Management Company of the Year. Posing with the award are, from left, Nazeem Ebrahim, Oasis Deputy Chairperson, CEO Adam Ebrahim, and Shaheen Ebrahim, Chairperson of Oasis. The Raging Bull awards are arguably the most prestigious honours bestowed on South Africa’s unit trust managers. In addition to acknowledging the investment skills of the managers who run these funds, the Raging Bull awards help investors identify funds in which to place their hard-earned savings Photo SUPPLIED

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Muslim Views

Muslim Views . February 2015

Hajji Abdullah Cassiem Banderker (03-12-1939 – 28-12-2014)

Isgaak Agherdien (29-09-1925 – 21-01-2015)

A generous and humble soul And now the stage is silent… MOHAMED ALI JAFFER

TOYER NAKIDIEN

HAJJI Abdullah Cassiem Banderker (endearingly known as Abba, Mullah Saheb or Khalifa Banderker) was born on December 3, 1939, in Morba, India. At the age of seven, he left India with his parents, Cassiem Ali and Amina Banderker, who had joined a wave of migration to South Africa. His two siblings, Abbas and Jameela were born in South Africa. On arriving here, he attended Douglas Road Primary School, situated in Wynberg, Cape Town. He was a model student. From a young age, Abba, with his father, attended and also led the gatherings of Moulood Shareef, giyarwin shareef, tahleel and various other functions (e.g. name-giving, duahs at weddings, janazahs, etc). At the same time, he embarked on a career as a shopkeeper and madrassah teacher, teaching children at Habibia Masjid. He was also a keen motorcyclist, gardener, an avid reader and coin collector. After the demise of his father, Abba carried on leading the community (the Athlone Mehfil, in particular) in the practices his father had participated in, and attained the title of Mullah Saheb Banderker. He had a passion for reciting and always did so with a sweet melodious voice. He was also a muadhin at Habibia Masjid and was very well known for reading the duahs and athaan for Jumuah Salaah. Abba, in an unassuming manner, served the community with distinction. Every person who knew him, knew of his commitment and contribution to society. Together with his household, he willingly sacrificed family time for the love of Allah Ta’ala, His Rasool (SAW) and the community. Together with the community, we were definitely privileged for his presence. His passing on December 28, 2014, has

AT about 5am on January 21, my phone rang and I knew that the inevitable had happened: my teacher, my director, my friend was no more. After a short illness, Hajji Isgaak Agherdien, ‘Ivan’ as many knew him, had ‘shuffled off this mortal coil’. ‘The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes’ notes Calpurnia in Julius Caesar. The heavens were quiet when Hajji died. In fact, it was a perfect summer day, not even as windy as it is on most summer days in Salt River. But Hajji [as the Radio 786 and IUC (Islamic Unity Convention) people referred to him] didn’t ever want to be a prince. He didn’t need to be yet, to many of us, he was! He was princely in the way he walked, the way he talked and the way he treated others, especially his students. There is a story of how Hajji brought male high school students to tears when he had to supervise them and read a story to them. Some students have gone on to careers in radio and television after some voluntary training with Hajji at the Radio 786 studio in Rylands. Hajji Isgaak Agherdien was born in Port Elizabeth but moved to Cape Town to study Drama at University of Cape Town. A few years after graduating, he was appointed at Roggebaai High School but, in 1964, he left South Africa with his wife and daughters for Zambia. There he taught and served as headmaster at Woodlands Primary School, in Lusaka. He also did part-time radio work for Zambia Broadcasting Corporation. In 1975, Hajji took up a teaching post at Spes Bona High School, after having returned to Cape Town the previous year. In his first year at the school, Hajji directed the classic Shakespearean tragedy, Hamlet. This was the first of many Shakespearean plays directed by Hajji that saw

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certainly left a void which will not easily be filled. He leaves behind his loving wife Hajani Zainab, his siblings, eight children, 17 grandchildren and the community he so lovingly served. He will be remembered for his deepseated humility and his sincere and loving nature. We pray that Allah Almighty accepts all his deeds and grants him the highest rank in Jannatul Firdous, ameen. Editor’s note: Hajji AC Banderker has a special connection with Muslim Views. At the height of the State of Emergency, in September 1986, when few people would have put their faith in a fledgling anti-apartheid newspaper, he unhesitatingly offered his premises, in Mavis Road, Rylands Estate, for rental. This enabled Muslim Views to firmly establish itself after operating for almost six months from a tiny room at the founding editor’s house. We will forever be grateful to Mullah Saheb for coming to the aid of Muslim Views at a trying time. The history of the paper will record the role of this generous and humble soul.

Spes Bona become the school that staged the matric Shakespearean setwork play for many years. After retiring from teaching, Hajji joined the staff of Radio 786 where he did book readings and voice training. He was Chief Adjudicator for the IUC’s popular eisteddfods and directed their two productions, The Fall of Cordova and Tuan Guru. Hajji Isgaak Agherdien is survived by his wife, Fatima, daughters Nadia and Tasneem, son-in-law, Yaseen, and granddaughters Nuraan and Saarah. In the words of Hamlet’s close friend, Horatio: ‘Good night sweet prince and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!’ May Allah grant Hajji Jannatul Firdous and place sabr in the hearts of his family and all those who held him dear to them.

A TRIBUTE to the late Mr M H Allie, principal of Habibia Primary School from 1946 to 1982, will be published in the March edition of Muslim Views.

Muslim Views . February 2015

Honouring our elders JASMINE KHAN

‘I NEVER thought I would see someone reach the age of 100 in my lifetime.Yet, here I am, and she is actually my aunt.’ Fowzia is sitting next to her late mother’s sister, Galima Abrahams, who just days before celebrated her 100th birthday. I could not help reflecting on the greatness of Allah as I watched Fowzia’s ten-month-old greatgrandson jumping up and down in her arms, next to his greatgreat aunt. Mimi’s birthday was being celebrated at a function arranged by the sons and daughters of one of her sisters, the late Bahia. A Quranic recital was followed by a lunch served to 250 of Mimi’s relatives. How did she react to this? She sat at the entrance, upright and with a regal bearing, a small smile playing around her lips. According to Najmunesa, her niece, on being told she is 100years-old, she exclaimed, ‘Who says? Show me my birth certificate.’ Looking at her, my grandmother’s favourite phrase came to mind: ‘She is so refined.’ The daughter of Ismail and Zubeida Abrahams and the eldest of 15 siblings, Galima, or Mimi as she is known to all, was born and raised in Athlone. She was never married yet, here she was, surrounded by hundreds of her relatives, most of whom she helped raise. Mimi had her favourite in each family. According to her greatniece, Bahia, her father Fuad was the favourite in their family and when his son Faeez was born, he became the favourite of that gen-

eration. He was given the best ice sucker while the rest of them got the normal ones. Bahia says that she was a great help to her mom, giving generously when they were struggling. Mimi lived for eleven years with Shanaaz, while her own mother was alive and she was like a second mother, and granny to Shanaaz’s children. Shanaaz’s 14-year-old daughter, Akeela, read out a poem especially composed for Mimi, and then paid such an amazing tribute to her great-aunt that most of those present were moved to tears. Akeela says she knew Mimi since she was born and feels honoured to be related to her. She was fun-loving and readily entered into any game they played. Another one of the younger generation, 17-year-old Afaaf, told me that for her it is a bit of a shock to have such an old person in her family but, she hastens to add, it is a shock in an ‘awesome’ way. She feels blessed and likes to spend time with Mimi, although Mimi does not speak much and cannot always hear properly. Mimi was a seamstress in a factory and could sew a fine seam. In fact, she often sewed an entire garment by hand when her sewing machine could not move with her. What is truly amazing is that here is one old person who was never made to feel a burden on her relatives. Young and old loved her because of her quiet, yet funloving nature. Currently, she is living with Faiza, another niece, in Clare-

Not many have the privilege of witnessing a family member celebrating a 100th birthday. Abas also had the honour of presenting a bouquet to Galima Abrahams at the Photo ABASHIA TAMBAY function.

mont, and is cared for by a lovely lady, Fatima. ‘I believe that Allah brought me to Islam specifically to care for Mimi,’ says Fatima. She, too, has no children and she says it is not just a pleasure but an honour to care for someone of Mimi’s calibre. ‘She does not talk much but she makes her needs known to me, and is lovable and not demanding,’ Fatima concludes. My last chat was with sevenyear-old Abas who handed the bouquet to Mimi at the start of the proceedings. He was absolutely thrilled at the honour and chatted to me freely. He may be too young to understand the significance of what he did but he, like the rest of the family, is truly blessed to be related to her. May Allah make Mimi’s last days her best. Ameen!

THE Touwsriver Islamic Society (TIS), in the Boland, has embarked on a project to establish a masjid in Laingsburg, a major town in the Karoo, on the N1 route, approximately 300 kilometres from Cape Town. Currently, the structure (pictured above) is at roof height, and the TIS is appealing for assistance to complete the project. TIS chairperson, Ismail Bhyat, says that not only will the masjid serve the needs of travellers – who currently perform salaah on the side of the road or at filling stations – but it will also help to spread the message of Islam in the region. ‘We would like to hear the echo of the adhaan flowing through the mountains. We successfully achieved this in Touwsriver, where Islam was almost non-existent. Today we have a masjid in place and Jumuah is performed,’ he added. For further details contact Mr Bhyat on 023 358 1120 / 083 300 4389 or email: assalaam786touws@gmail.com. Donations may also be directly deposited into the account of Touwsriver Islamic Society, Nedbank, Mountain Mill Worcester; account number 141 001 2360.

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Muslim Views . February 2015

Unending love CALL them my ‘strooimeisies,’ the proverbial bridesmaids. They never take centre stage; after all, no one can usurp that role in the cities of Makkah and Madinah during the Hajj period. However, they are always there, supporting and encouraging, disappearing into and emerging from the background as they are needed, without ever imposing. They are not mere accessories as they are vital to the success of any event or journey. Warm personalities, very giving in nature, moulded by their decades of life experiences, and with a sound knowledge of the requirements of Hajj, there are a number of them every year on the holy journey. Confused? Let me explain. Ladies generally outlive their spouses. In fact, for every hundred centurions, 85 would be of the gentler gender! So, every year, there would a number of our single ladies in their golden years, all over 70, sometimes, even in their nineties. They arrive in the Holy Land mostly as single travellers but, within a day or two, in fact, sometimes within hours, they have bonded with a fellow golden oldie. I have been privileged every year for more than a decade of being on Hajj to be ‘adopted’ by one of them for the duration of the journey. No one can ever take the place of my mother who gives me her blessings when I depart for Hajj, annually, but I have been fostered by at least one on every Hajj. Their innate nurturing and caring natures, sometimes suppressed and internalised after being widowed for decades as well as their offspring emptying the previously brooding nest, blossom again. They find fruition in the City of Peace, Madinah, from where mothers were prepared to be separated from their offspring for the love of their deen, as well as in the city where Hajira (RA) ran between Safa and Marwa searching for a few drops of water for her desperately thirsty child. She consulted me in Madinah, one year. A high fever, a tight chest and a generalised feeling of misery could not dampen the smiling 74-year-old spirit in her. She was in Madinah! No amount of medical advice could convince her to stay in bed when she could

They arrive in the Holy Land mostly as single travellers but … sometimes within hours, they have bonded with a fellow golden oldie, writes Doctor SALIM PARKER. go visit her Prophet whom she loved so much. She loved her Creator, all the time reciting some verse silently. She loved her Muhammad (SAW), and I frequently observed her lips pursing in salutations. She lived her deen, and would rather miss a meal in the five-star buffet serving restaurants to rest and recuperate than miss performing one of the five daily obligatory prayers in the Prophet’s Mosque. I, of course, sternly reminded her of the greater task still at hand; that of gracing the plain of Arafah, a few weeks ahead. I advised adequate rest and visiting the Prophet’s Mosque sparingly till she was well. ‘This is my second Hajj, and it might be my last. I want to make the most of it and want to spend every moment thanking Allah, conveying salutations to our beloved Prophet (SAW) and remembering my husband,’ she said. I gathered that he must have passed away and she confirmed it. ‘I am doing my husband’s badal hajj,’ she informed me. That meant that he never had the privilege or means to perform the fifth pillar of Islam.

Every year, there are a number of older women and men who perform Hajj on behalf of a departed loved one or for the love of Allah. Part of the expression of that love is performing tawaaf – being part of that continuous human circle of circumambulation around Allah’s house, the Kaabah. Photo Doctor ZUNAID BARDAY

‘When did you perform your first Hajj?’ I asked. ‘Oh, a while back,’ she replied. ‘And I told my husband that time that I want to go on Hajj alone, without him. Even if he could afford it or we could leave our livelihood and children safely in South Africa, I told him that I want to go on Hajj without him as soon as I had enough money to go,’ she continued. I never asked her whether he actually had money to accompany her or whether she simply was going to travel alone no matter what. I fondly remember all the couples that I have come across on all my Hajj travels. Most planned, performed and lived their Hajj together. It seemed that the happiness and rewards exponentially increased the more time couples spent together visiting the Prophet’s Mosque, making tawaaf and undertaking extra Umrahs before finally experiencing the climax of Hajj, the standing of wuqoof, in unison. ‘I would have thought it would have been a more wonderful time having your life partner with you,’ I said. ‘My Hajj was a journey to my eternal source, affecting every aspect, even way after my time on earth. I love my deen, and I love my Prophet, so I did not want any

distractions at all. ‘Believe me, I loved my husband, and the plan was that the two of us would perform Hajj together a few years after I performed mine. He fully understood and supported my reasons. I told him that Hajj was not like going to the bioscope (movies)!’ I burst out laughing at her creative use of similes, and confessed that I would not have performed my first Hajj without my spouse, and neither would she have done so without me. She smiled shyly and elaborated on what a fulfilling first Hajj she had. ‘But he passed away before we could fulfil my second dream. I am here to complete his dream and obligation,’ she said. Was that a tinge of regret I noticed? She could not stop smiling. ‘Allah loves me,’ she said with dreamy, starry eyes, an utterly appreciative and content look embracing her. ‘I love my husband, and Allah’s love for me allows me to fulfil my love to my husband and express my love for my Prophet (SAW) and my love for my religion.’ She spoke in the present tense and the multiple use of the word ‘love’ astounded me. She clearly loved life and no infection or doctor was ever going to interfere with it. ‘You are addicted to love!’ I

said. ‘Like you, I am addicted to Hajj,’ she replied, having intimated to me before that she was fully aware that I undertook the journey annually if Allah invites me. She was right. Hajj allows multiple expressions of the most intimate emotions and feelings. She was one of a few who ‘adopted’ me that year. They ensured that I received a good meal during busy surgery hours; they would insist that they were going to do their washing ‘just now’ on seeing me, and one of my thawbs would definitely not be a bother, and their irons were always ‘still warm’ when the creases of my clothes were noticeable. During mealtimes, they were an amazing source of anecdotes, and often would give insightful glimpses into the minds of us mere lesser mortals. The occasional gossip, punctuated by a gasping and embarrassed self-criticising ‘Allah is going punish me!’ giggle added to the spicy conversations. I saw her on Arafah and I saw her standing at the time of wuqoof, praying intensely. She was performing her husband’s Hajj and it was evidently considered a welcome gift by her to express her innermost affections. It then struck me how she seamlessly married all her different loves. She honoured her husband by fulfilling an obligation he could not, she followed the Hajj rituals by religiously following in the footsteps of Muhammad (SAW), and she was on Arafah, a time and place where she was going to be as close to Allah as was humanly possible. It was hot, and I am sure the ascending desert heat creates mirages. I never met or will meet her husband but, in the halo of mercy and contentment that surrounded her at that moment, was that his outline that I saw praying next to her? Comments to: salimparker@yahoo.com One of the requirements of Hajj is the sojourn at Musdalifah where hujjaaj gather small stones for pelting the Jamaraat. They also have to spend at least part of the night after leaving Arafah and performing the combined salaahs of Maghrib and Esha before moving on to pelt the major Jamarat (Aqabah). Photo SALIM PARKER Muslim Views

Muslim Views

Muslim Views . February 2015

Awqaf SA wins international award SHANAAZ EBRAHIM-GIRE

THE National Awqaf Foundation of South Africa (Awqaf SA) walked away with top honours in the Waqf and Endowments category at the prestigious Islamic Economy Awards, held in Dubai in January. Now in its second year, the annual awards was launched by the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC) and organised by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Thomson Reuters. The event recognises innovative, world-class business initiatives and ideas that have contributed to the social and economic welfare of the global Muslim population. Awqaf SA took the award in the category of Waqf and Endowments that recognises contributions in innovative solutions, government managed and private awqaf/ waqf management services and cross-border waqf institutions. Awqaf South Africa was represented at the gala event by Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Mr Haroon Kalla, and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Zeinoul Abedien Cajee, as well as members of the South African Diplomatic Mission in the United Arab Emirates, who came to support the nonprofit organisation. ‘We would like to express our sincere thanks to the organisers of this event for supporting the concept of the Islamic Economy as an alternative sustainable development economic model. This award will give Awqaf SA a plat-

Awqaf SA walked away with top honours in the Waqf and Endowments category at the prestigious Islamic Economy Awards, held in Dubai. Awqaf SA’s CEO Zeinoul Photo SUPPLIED Abedien Cajee (left) and board member Haroon Kalla accepted the award.

form to build an institution that will serve the community for generations to come,’ Kalla said. Meanwhile, Awqaf SA CEO, Zeinoul Abedien Cajee, said the award recognises the role the

organisation has played in the Waqf sector internationally, and expressed his gratitude to the organisation’s loyal base for their unwavering support. ‘The award truly belongs to all

our donors, supporters, volunteers, ambassadors and associates who share the vision of reviving our lost heritage of waqf or Islamic endowment system,’ Cajee said.

For more details on Awqaf SA or its current projects, visit the organisations’s website at www.awqafsa.org or email Awqaf SA on email address info@awqafsa.org.za

Muslim Views

Muslim Views . February 2015

Health File

Ghusl of the Ebola victim’s body DR SALIM PARKER

HE current Ebola epidemic has led to many Muslims being conflicted between their religious obligations to the deceased and medical advice. In Sierra Leone, it is believed that more than twenty imams have succumbed after contracting the disease while performing ghusl (ablution) on the deceased. Some studies state that 25% of Ebola is spread through unsafe ghusl practices; others put the figure as high as 75%. The Islamic Medical Association (IMA) recently published an article in the Journal of the Islamic Medical Association of South Africa (JIMASA) which attempts to respect the dignity and rights of the deceased while also protecting the health and welfare of the living. The Ebola virus is spread via body fluids, and patients succumbing to the disease are at their most infectious during their last moments and just after dying. Some of the symptoms leading to the ultimate demise are vomiting, diarrhoea, bleeding from any orifice, nasal and oral secretions and blood-stained sputum – all body fluids that contain the potentially deadly virus. The clothes and body of the victim are frequently covered by these fluids, and anyone who touches them is at high risk of being infected. Doctors thus advise that there should be no contact with the deceased unless

Muslim Views

As Muslims, we have to be mindful of the respect that has to be shown to the corpse. The current guidelines attempt to involve the family and uphold sound medical principles while adhering as much as possible to the requirements of the religion. full personal protection equipment (PPE) is worn. Islam requires the dying person to be placed facing Qibla and be reminded of the shahada (talqeen). After passing away, the eyes of the deceased have to be closed, whereafter ghusl has to be performed. The body then has to be shrouded in three pieces of white cloth. Finally, after the prayers for the deceased have been performed, the body has to be buried as soon as possible. These practices, however, are fraught with danger with Ebola victims. Allah, in His infinite wisdom and unlimited mercy, has provided guidelines through some ahadith of the Prophet (SAW). Though some have advocated the cremation of Ebola victims, this, and any mishandling of the body, is clearly prohibited in Islam. Ibn Majah narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘Break-

ing the bones of the deceased is like breaking his bones when he is alive.’ Medical personnel have urged the families of Ebola victims not to perform ghusl. Islamic scholars use the ‘Principle of Harm’, one of the universal maxims of Islamic law (shariah), when debating this issue. There is consensus amongst the scholars of all Islamic schools of thought (matha’ib) on this issue. The principle revolves around the removal of harm and forbids any act that may cause harm by any means. If a harmful act cannot be avoided then the lesser of two harmful acts should be chosen in order to prevent the greater one, which brings harm on a greater scale. Also, the avoidance of harm takes priority over the attainment of some benefit in certain cases. In the case of an Ebola inflicted corpse, the potential for con-

tracting and spreading the disease even when just touching the body is high and clearly exposes the person and society to great harm. The rights of the living in this case supersede the obligations to the deceased. It is for this reason that the majority of Muslim scholars advise NOT to ghusl the body of an Ebola victim. As Muslims, we have to be mindful of the respect that has to be shown to the corpse. The current guidelines attempt to involve the family and uphold sound medical principles while adhering as much as possible to the requirements of the religion. Talqeen should preferably be recited for the dying Ebola patient and, if possible, the sufferer should be placed facing Qibla by someone wearing PPE. After passing away, again if possible, the patient’s eyes should be closed by someone wearing PPE. The body should be placed in a

body bag in the clothes that the victim was wearing without ghusl by trained personnel wearing PPE. Some scholars advocate tayyamum (dry ablution where the one performing it touches the dry soil or similar material and wiping the face and hands of the corpse) but this involves possible exposure to body fluids unless PPE is worn. The body is placed in another body bag and then zipped up. The bag is then sprayed with a bleach or similar solution which effectively kills the germ. Family members are then allowed to pay their respects and find closure. The body is then transported to the graveyard and not the masjid by PPE-clad personnel in a specific vehicle. The vehicle will later be decontaminated. Janazah Salaah (prayer for the deceased) is performed at the graveyard and the body is buried as quickly as possible. Thereafter, the PPE-wearing personnel have to take off their garb in a specified manner. New knowledge is constantly coming to the fore. It seems that certain people are immune to the disease and may be able to ghusl the body without contracting and spreading Ebola but, until such time, all we can do is respect the Ebola body and safeguard society. Allah wa ahlam (Allah knows best.) Dr Salim Parker is the president of the South African Society of Travel Medicine (SASTM). Travel related articles can be accessed at www.hajjdoctor.co.za

Muslim Views . February 2015

Cancer: cells growing uncontrollably DR M IMRAN PARKER

What is the treatment for cancer?

CANCER is a disease in which the cells in the tissues undergo a change and start to grow uncontrollably. These abnormal cells can invade the surrounding tissue and spread to other organs via the blood or lymphatic systems and can spread to the lungs, the liver the brain and even the skeletal system.

What causes cancer? No one knows the exact causes of cancer. We, as doctors, seldom know why some patients develop cancer and other patients do not. What we do know is that cancer is always caused by damage to a cellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DNA and that there are associated risk factors. A risk factor is something that may increase the chance of getting a disease. However, having a risk factor does not mean that one will get cancer. Many patients who have risk factors do not develop cancer during their lifetime. Some of the associated risk factors are lack of physical activity, unhealthy diet, being overweight or obese, drinking alcohol and smoking. If on hormone replacement therapy, one should also be more vigilant and have regular checkups to prevent breast cancer. What is also important to know is what does NOT cause cancer. Cancer is not contagious; you cannot contract cancer from a person who has the disease. It is not caused by wearing underwire bras, implants, deodorants, antiperspirants, from mammo-

grams, caffeine, microwaves or cell phones, as myths often suggest. Although you cannot prevent cancer, some habits that can help reduce your risk are maintaining a healthy weight, staying physically active, eating fruits and vegetables and not smoking.

What are the signs and symptoms of cancer? The common symptoms are loss of weight, loss of appetite,

fatigue and sometimes night sweats. The signs are dependent on where the cancer may be, for example: a female with breast cancer will have a lump in the breast or under the arm, a patient with lung cancer may have a severe cough and even cough up blood, while a patient with colon cancer may exhibit a change in bowel habits. What is important is to know your body, and if anything out of

the ordinary happens then attend to it and see your doctor. If you are concerned about anything, we always advise on seeing your GP as a matter of urgency. The longer one waits, the greater the possibility that less can be done. Our aim is to detect cancer early and, in doing so, we can treat with an intention to cure. With early detection and treatment, people can lead healthy lifestyles.

Cancer treatment varies from surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Some cancers are treated with surgery and chemotherapy, others with surgery and radiotherapy and yet others with all three. The treatment depends on where the cancer is and what stage it is on. Each person is unique and hence each person with cancer will have a unique treatment. We have, however, advanced our treatment in modern times to the extent that we try to individualise the treatment superficially for the patient and that specific type of cancer. These days, we also have access to better supportive medications, meaning that patients may experience less of the side effects of treatment. The most common cancers amongst women are breast and lung cancer; among men the common cancers are lung and prostate. As doctors, we, therefore, encourage women to go for regular check-ups and mammograms, and our male patients to see their doctors for a prostate check-up. With early detection and treatment, people can lead healthy lifestyles. Every journey starts with a single step, and with cancer, every step forward is a tiny victory for us. Dr M Imran Parker is a radiation oncologist at Melomed Gatesville Hospital. Telephone 021 637 3794.

Muslim Views

Muslim Views . February 2015

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Muslim Views

Muslim Views . February 2015

Muslim Views

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Muslim Views . February 2015

Is this freedom of speech?

MY response to the French cartoonist drawing of our most beloved holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW): I want my strongest protest to be recorded. It appears to me that a double standard is practised to deliberately provoke and insult 1,5 billion Muslims throughout the world and to hide behind the word democracy and freedom of speech, which is an insult to democracy and freedom of speech. To Muslims there is a limit to what is freedom of speech and expression that also means not to spread any hate speech or disrespect any country, national flag, religion or publishing inflammatory cartoons about any king or queen from the East or from the West. God protect me! I dare not think of promoting racialism or Nazism ideology and call it freedom of speech; it is far below my Islamic dignity and principles. I end my letter with the verse of the Holy Quran, surah 2, verse 136: “Say you: ‘We believe in Allah and the revelation given to us, Abraham, Ismail, Ishaak, Jacob and the tribes given to Moses and Jesus and that given to all the prophets from their Lord and we make no difference between them.’” Janaab Abdul Gaffoor Hurzook Rylands Estate, Cape Town

Where’s the punch line? AIDS jokes are funny if you’ve never loved someone who died of AIDS. If you live in a bubble that allows you not to know that millions of Africans died, thousands of gay men died of criminal state indifference and denialism. Because they were, after all, only blacks and queers. Comedy material, not lives worth grieving. Ebola cartoons are funny – unless your partner is a public health doctor forced to choose every day between treating patients without protective clothing or abandoning them to save her own life. Cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad – portrayed in the most vile manner – are anti-clerical snigger fodder – unless you and half the men and boys and boy children and baby boys you know and love are named Muhammad. Unless you and your brothers, cousins, fathers, sons, friends are at daily risk of random, causeless stopand-frisks, patdown-gropes, stripsearches, cavity-searches inside Enlightened Fortress Europe. Because they can. Unless your grandfather, Muhammad, was raped and castrated by the French in their concentration camps in Algeria. Unless your mother survives daily harassment and threats of violence by Front National thugs in her banlieue by invoking the mercy of the Prophet on the ignorant. Unless all the naked bodies in the Abu Ghraib torture photos look like you. Naked prone men, trailing blood, dragged on leashes by grinning US soldiers. Naked men piled in flesh sculptures by thumbs-up flashing, beaming young GIs. Naked brown Muhammad buttocks branded with cigarette burns like pointillist skin canvases. Muhammads hooded and wired, bleeding from mouth and ears and anus, as their torturers laugh and strike poses. Naked violated men who look like you, like your brother, like your father, like the man your sweet baby boy will grow up to be. Unless you and your friends pass around testimonies like dirty stories from survivors of CIA anal rape, also known as rectal rehydration. Survivors of Guantanamo oral rape, also known as force-feeding. Because you need to testify before they happen to you. This is survival lore. Unless your little sister came home sobbing last week and screamed she would never go back to school, the Muslim Views

school your parents dreamed for her before she was born. It took hours of coaxing and comforting to elicit why. The bully who makes her schooldays hell found a delicious new cruelty, one that follows her beyond school like an electronic ankle tag. He put that cartoon up on the classroom whiteboard, and the teacher left it there all day as a lesson in free speech. Shailja Patel Nairobi, Kenya * Shailja Patel is a celebrated poet and the author of Migritude.

Judging is a two-edged sword RECENTLY, confronted by a critic, I heard the usual attack, ‘Politicians are all the same, they worry about themselves and use the community for votes.’ Though having heard this before, I was intrigued by the decree made by a critic that did not know me. Since our imams remind us that self-analysis is vital, and considering the critic, I examined my purpose for creating the Cape Muslim Congress – CMC. Years ago, as a student, I organised Jumuah at university. Since most students did not own cars, it was easier for us to roll out a carpet for two hours on a Friday instead of walking several kilometres to a mosque. A phone call to the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) requesting an imam was free and easy. As the Jumuah programme thrived, whenever guests visited Cape Town, we invited them to address the students. As a result, I met the late Shaikh Nazeem Muhammed who was fondly known as ‘The Lion of the South’ by the ulama of South Africa. It was Shaikh who invited me to join the MJC on graduation. Years later, working in the MJC’s Social Welfare Department (SWD) as a mediator, I managed the overflow from the office of Moulana Yusuf Karaan and Imam Abdul Mou’tie Saban. As they focused on marriage resolution etc, I was assigned the addiction problems. After eight years, I calculate that with ten cases a day at four days a week and 48 weeks a year, I assisted possibly 10 000 cases, including return visits. It was this grim experience that traumatised me to the reality of our local Muslim condition. While the university qualification was not wasted, it was the MJC training that prepared me for reality. That our communities are being systematically destroyed by organised crime and drug cartels was not yet that obvious. Having identified that the problems could not be easily resolved at a community level, I opted into politics with the idea of using the existing authority to reduce destruction. For example, marriages often fault because newlyweds live with family where privacy is limited. By ensuring that couples have access to housing, some privacy would ensure more stable families and communities. I was unprepared for the contest for resources in government, the evils of ineptitude and corruption that obstruct service delivery. That the DA and ANC spent R50 billion on stadiums that are now an enduring liability is one example. The bypassing of feasibility studies proved that corruption was widespread within the South African political and economic systems. I also did not fully grasp the racist nature of politics or the objective of ensuring that contracts for friends was more important than quality service delivery. It often seems that progress is assembled around specific people profiting. Thus, the struggle against social evils has been set aside while the rush for wealth has become the main goal. Recent audit reports confirm that 178 out of 278 municipalities did not have qualified finance officials and a third of municipalities were dysfunctional amidst irregular expenditure of R11,6 billion in 2013. Having said that, I considered that

my critic has possibly been waiting for years for a house or a contract and that has made him bitter. That is, however, not my fault. Instead of moaning, I suggest that as a collective, we take charge and become that change that we want to see in our city, province, country and the world. Since corrupt people are attracted to money, it is our duty to ensure that those whom we support have no hidden negative agenda. This can be done by studying the person’s or party’s credentials. Voting for a party without knowing if they get funding by drug dealers or Zionists is your own fault. In the words of the wise, change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we have been waiting for; we are the change that we seek. May Allah protect us from ourselves and our own judgement and from those who seek to harm us for reasons unknown. Cllr Yagyah Adams Cape Muslim Congress

There are good people out there I WOULD like to acknowledge Mr Abdul Jassiem and his friends who helped my daughter and her friend after a car accident on January 16, on Upper Orange Street, at 0015 in the morning. The car was very badly damaged and one of the girls was unconscious. Abdul and his friends came to their aid and covered the girls with their own jackets and managed to remove all their valuables from the car and made sure that the valuables made it back to the hospital. This is indeed an act of sincere honesty. Abdul even made a followup visit the next day to the hospital to make sure the girls were okay. If at all possible, I would like to publish this in Muslim Views. This act of helpfulness and honesty is hard to come by in our country today. Thank you. Kind regards Miles Hamilton Brown

Not surprised at matric results WE are not surprised at the 2015 matric results that have been announced by Minister Angie Motshekga; more so at the poor results of the Western Cape. We are actually surprised that the Western Cape has not performed worse. It is a shame on the authorities of the Western Cape Education Department. Besides the decline of 2,9 percent from last year, the province is now ranked 4th. There is nothing to blurt about having the highest percentage of university passes in the country. The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has embarked on a programme to close the schools of the poor so that it can use the extra resources to fund the schools in the leafy suburbs. The WCED is determined to close the schools of the poor to rob them of a better future. The department will make every effort to make sure that the schools in the leafy suburbs are guaranteed to get all the resources and, in doing so, guarantee the future of the children of the rich. Their idea of closing the schools of the poor is to deny them easy access to a free and quality education. They want to privatise education. Once the children of the poor have no access to schools, they will be exposed to the cheap labour market and get exploited. Thousands of matriculants in historically disadvantaged schools have defied the odds and have come through with top marks. Two years ago, Peak View High School, in Athlone, faced closure. We commend the principal and staff for making sure that the school obtained a 77,4% pass rate this year. What a feat for a school that does not have

resources like the schools in the leafy suburbs that are well cared for by the department. We commend people like Brian Isaacs, principal of South Peninsula High School, who make every effort to make sure that the learners at his school perform well. The department makes every effort to make the school ungovernable. The school refuses to be a lapdog of the WCED. We commend Livingstone High School for producing learners of excellence. Tahir Ebrahim, the top learner in grade 12, passed with an aggregate of 94,7%. This was not achieved with assistance of the WCED or MEC for education in the Western Cape. This was achieved with the help of the dedicated educators of the school. Despite the lack of resources at our disadvantaged schools, dedicated and creative educators find ways to provide meaningful educational opportunities to our learners. Some of our schools have no functional libraries, laboratory, school hall or for that matter sports fields. These facts cannot be ignored. And yet, contrary to the popular assumption that educators in disadvantaged schools are demoralised and demotivated, the extraordinary staff at these schools allow our schools to function under the most difficult circumstances. Our educators find ways to skirt the challenges posed by infrastructure constraints and work collaboratively to achieve these extraordinary results. Overall, the educators also demonstrate a resourceful, resilient attitude. MEC for education in the Western Cape, Debbie Schafer, must stop meddling in the affairs of the home affairs. She must concern herself with affairs in education. Her department is in a mess. It won’t be long before we hear about learners who cannot be placed at schools. She better get her act right. Her department is inept, incompetent and ignorant. Forward to a people’s participatory democracy. One solution! Free education! Abdurahman Khan Movement against illegitimate Leaders (MAIL) Cape Town

‘Distorted and irrational beliefs’ THE article ‘Seeking the Light Fantastic…’ by Shafiq Morton (MV December 2014) is a shocking reality of the distorted and irrational beliefs that have permeated Islamic society. It is also an insult to many Muslims who have become complacent to this type of expression and hence do not bother to respond. To claim that the soil near Quba has special healing properties is the type of thinking that has made many young Muslims become disillusioned with the level of Islamic preaching and Islamic literature of today, and also makes the religion a laughing stock amongst its opponents. Islam is a religion of Revelation and Reason, not Stories and Irrationality. There is no scientific evidence of the Quba soil claim. The same can be said for the water from the Zamzam source, which has in fact been analysed to contain high levels of arsenic and declared unfit for human consumption by the Association of Public Analysts in the UK. The sight of Muslims carrying heavy containers laden with water, and now digging up the soil from Quba, is a sad reality of the level to which Muslims have sunk. Besides the many contestable opinions expressed about the city of Madinah, the verse quoted in Surah Maida 5:15 ‘O People of the Scripture! Now hath Our messenger come unto you, expounding unto you much of that which ye used to hide in the Scripture, and forgiving much. Now hath come unto you light from Allah and plain Scripture,’ (M M Pickthall) undoubtedly refers to the light of the message, a figurative expression, not to the physical make-up of the Prophet (SAW). The claim that emanates from this verse is tantamount to raising the Prophet to a state of divinity, as Christians did to Jesus (AS), an attempt propagated by scholars of Hadith. That the Prophet was light before

he became form is not mentioned in the Quran nor that he performed any miracles such as emitting light from his incisors. The Quran, in fact, stresses the mortality of the Prophet (SAW) in one of the many verses, such as 18:110: ‘Say: I am only a mortal like you. My Lord inspireth in me that your Allah is only One Allah. And whoever hopeth for the meeting with his Lord, let him do righteous work, and make none sharer of the worship due unto his Lord.’ (M M Pickthall) To say that this argument is backed by interpretations of the Quran and hadith is to absolve the writer from responsibility. This can be accepted if the writer is an author of fiction but not one with a journalistic background in which the ethics of investigation and rationality prevail. To perpetuate the lies that the light of the Prophet (SAW) moved through the DNA of the Quraish, that the Prophet (SAW) was born circumcised, and 500 of his nearest ancestors were not pagan, indicates acceptance of stories handed down and distorted along the way. The term ‘DNA’ of course was not around when hadith was constructed around 250 – 300 years after the death of the Prophet, so with time comes further distortion. The author’s claim that the Prophet (SAW) will be granted the ‘station of intercession’ is also contradicted in the Quran in verses 7:188 and 2:48. ‘Say: For myself I have no power to benefit, nor power to hurt, save that which Allah willeth. Had I knowledge of the Unseen, I should have abundance of wealth, and adversity would not touch me. I am but a warner, and a bearer of good tidings unto folk who believe.’ [(M M Pickthall) 7:188] ‘Beware of a day where no person can avail another person, nor will any intercession be accepted from it, nor will any ransom be taken, nor will they have supporters.’ (2:48) The remainder of the article is filled with opinions and hearsay from past so-called scholars, and is not worthy of analysis, except to say that Muslims must move away from such unfounded thinking and focus on following the true example of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Members of The Open Mosque Wynberg, Cape Town See Shafiq Morton’s response on page 25. – Editor

Write to The Editor e-mail: editor@mviews.co.za Please keep your letters as brief as possible. Kindly include full name and address details.

Tribute to Imam Karjieker THE mureeds, family, friends and students of Imam Ahmed Ishaaq Karjieker invite the public to join them in paying tribute to the late imam of the Jamia Ahmedi Masjid, Grassy Park, on the 20th anniversary of his passing. The programme will be held at the masjid in Victoria Road, Grassy Park, on Saturday, March 14. For further details contact Abdul Hameed Wookay 021 638 4322 or email: rashaadchisthi@gmail.com

For the record THE January edition of Muslim Views carried an article on a gel-fuelled gas stove project by the Islamia Cares Foundation. An incorrect contact number for Radiyah Van Damien of the project was published. The correct number is 078 477 5761.

Muslim Views . February 2015

AN ANSWER TO THE OPEN MOSQUE:

Justifying the Light Fantastic SHAFIQ MORTON

The Members brush aside Hadith and pour arrogant scorn upon the academic enterprise of over 1 400 years of Islamic scholarship gious significance does not diminish in any way because of possible contamination. As for the Prophetic light, or nur, the Prophet (SAW) was in possession of miraculous attributes afforded by God, and there were times when his nur would become physically apparent. The writings on this fill volumes in libraries. By relying upon English for Quranic commentary, the Members have misread the verse at the end of Surat ul-Tawbah, which they use to justify that the Prophet (SAW) was a man ‘like us’ with no special qualities. If they were to read the Arabic – as opposed to translator Pickthall – they would realise the Quran reflects on the notion of the Prophet’s humanity in an elevated form. Indeed, the Prophet (SAW) was like us in flesh but in other aspects he was not. That is why the Quran does not use the colloquial word for man, ‘rajul’, when it addresses the Prophet (SAW). Instead, the elevated word ‘bashr’ is used.

Lexically, ‘bashr’ does not mean ‘man’ but ‘the bearer of good news’. The Quran is very specific in linking the Prophet (SAW) to the revelation, which sets him apart. The next word after the phrase ‘like you’ refers to the revelation. In other words, the message is: ‘I am a man like you, yes, but….’ and there is immediate confirmation that the Prophet (SAW) has attributes superior to us. It is also the view of the classical scholars that the Prophet (SAW) will intercede for us on the Day of Judgement. There are over 40 ahadith on this in all the major books, one account attested to by 14 Companions alone. It is reported from Ibn Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet (SAW), that he heard Rasulullah (SAW) saying each prophet up until Jesus had been given a special prayer for his people. ‘I have saved mine for the hereafter, and that will be my intercession for my ummah on the Day of Judgement.’ The Arabic in the hadith is ‘du’a-ti shifa’t ul-ummati yawmul qiyamat’. The word shifa’t means ‘intercession’. What the traditional sceptics always forget to mention is that the Prophet (SAW) never did anything without Divine sanction. His duah, his special prayer, was that it be postponed and Allah, the Almighty, granted permission. As for the Prophet’s (SAW) nasab, or lineage: firstly, anybody who knows history will know too that the Arabs specialised in

detailed family trees. Secondly, the Prophet (SAW) said about himself: ‘Nothing of me hailed from the fornication of jahiliyya (or moral debasement). I was only born through the union of Islam.’ Thirdly, Ibn Sa’d and Ibn Asakir report from Hisham ibn al-Kalbi that his father investigated 500 grandmothers of the Prophet (SAW) and found no signs of paganism or moral degeneration in any of them. My allusions to the prophetic DNA are an interpretation, yes, but if the Members want to dispute this they have to come up with an alternative as to how the prophetic nur travelled from generation to generation. The karamat, or minor miracles, of how this light manifested itself amongst the Prophet’s (SAW) Quraish ancestors are remembered because they were so remarkable. In the same vein, so is the extraordinary birth of the Prophet (SAW). The Members, it seems, are prepared to accept the immaculate conception of Jesus but struggle with the magnitude of the noble Prophet’s entry into the world, which was extensively witnessed and recorded. Finally, with the final sweep of a dismissive pen, we Muslims are summarily urged to follow the ‘true path’ of the Prophet (SAW). However, with the Prophet (SAW) stripped of his Sunnah, one can only wonder what this really means.

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THE assertion by ‘Members of the Open Mosque’ (Letters to the Editor, page 24) that my article ‘Seeking the Light Fantastic’ on the Prophet (SAW) reflects that I am a liar is a view that they are entitled to. As they state, Islam is a religion of reason and revelation but if they want to debate on Islamic matters, surely they will have to use Quran and Hadith as the primary sources of reason and revelation themselves, too? However, there is cause for concern here. The Members – apart from bizarrely demanding journalistic proofs alone – brush aside Hadith (which they regard as historical distortion) and pour arrogant scorn upon the academic enterprise of over 1 400 years of Islamic scholarship on the history of the Prophet (SAW). Nevertheless, given the authentic, classical paradigm (via Hadith), the healing qualities of Madinah’s soil are not a fairy story as the Members so cynically allege. We have the saying in which the Prophet (SAW) asked the Bani Khazraj – who were ill – whether they’d forgotten the soil of Su’aib (a place near Quba). ‘In the name of Allah…the dust of our soil mixed with our saliva is a cure for the sick by the permission of Allah,’ said the Prophet (SAW) to them. If this is considered weak, there is a supporting hadith in which the Prophet (SAW) says

that the dust of Madinah is a cure for leprosy. And in another hadith, Sayyidah A’ishah remarks that the Prophet (SAW) would wet his finger, put it in the dust and then apply it to a sick person. But the question: is this unscientific? The Saudi Journal of Science did a study in 2010 by taking soil samples from Madinah mixed with saliva. The findings were that the soil and the saliva both possessed certain anti-bacterial qualities. Similar studies were done in India, Yemen and Egypt. As for Zam-Zam being contaminated with arsenic, the Members have relied upon a 2005 report in which the British Food Standards Authority issued warnings against ‘fraudulent’ ZamZam water being sold in Britain. ‘Fraudulent’ is the word in the report. However, in 2011, the BBC also found arsenic in Zam-Zam samples. The critical question is whether Zam-Zam has been contaminated at source, as the Saudis reportedly damaged the eye of the well when dynamiting rock for the expansion of the Haram. The ‘old’ Zam-Zam water has a unique balance of salts and minerals. Space does not allow further commentary but I do have a sample of Zam-Zam water from 1987. The Members are welcome to take a sample to the lab. In any case, a reading of prophetic hagiography will tell us that Zam-Zam is one of the reasons why Makkah exists today – and arsenic or no arsenic – its reli-

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Muslim Views

Focus on Finance Muslim Views . February 2015

Free yourself from debt

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, present a step-by-step guide towards freedom from debt.

WITH a little dedication and prior planning, it is possible to reduce your debts on your own. Why pay debt counsellors and consolidation agencies fees for things you can do yourself? Here are some helpful tips to reduce your debts on your own.

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

Step 1: Evaluate your debts Collect all your financial documents to see exactly where you stand. This is an important step toward debt recovery and one that people are often scared to take. On a piece of paper, write down the balances, interest rates and monthly amount due for each of your debts. Include your clothing account, credit card bills, short-term study loans and other debts. Be sure to take note of any annual fees on your credit cards.

Step 2: Look at your budget After you have collected the information about your debts, you should take a look at your monthly budget. Write down your monthly income after taxes and subtract your rent/ house bond payment from this amount and other monthly expenses such as childcare, school fees, insurance, lights and water, telephone and groceries. Once you have subtracted all

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Step 4: Start negotiations your expenses, calculate how much you have left to pay off your debts. If this amount is too small, look for ways to reduce your spending. Consider turning off your DSTV subscription or joining a carpool as ways to cut back temporarily. The more you can pay towards your debts each month, the sooner you will be debt free.

Step 3: Make a plan Now that you know all about your financial situation, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to create a plan for reducing your debts. Use your information from Step 1 and 2 to fill in the following chart. Subtract your minimum debt payments (Step 1) and monthly expenses (Step 2) from your monthly income after taxes. The remaining amount should be used to pay off the debt with the highest interest rate and the highest balance.

Continue this cycle each month until the debt is paid off and then move on to the next highest rate/ balance account. This may seem like an odd process but it is the fastest way to reduce your debts. During this time, you should not add any new purchases to your credit cards. Also, try to increase the amount you pay toward the most expensive debt each month. Track your progress with a chart like this:

While you are starting to follow your repayment plan from Step 3, you should try to contact your creditors to see if you can improve the terms on your debts. You may be able to lower your interest rates or negotiate a reduced settlement on some debts by speaking with the customer service department. It is especially easy to negotiate the terms of debts that have been handed over to collections already. Also, think about moving some of your credit card debts to new accounts with lower interest rates. Moving a balance to a credit card with a 0% introductory

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

rate for 6-12 months can help you save a lot on interest.

Step 5: Follow-through your debt reduction plan Do your best to meet your repayment goals each month. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s okay if the amount you put towards your most expensive debt each month varies. Just try to consistently put as much as possible towards your debts. Signing up for a debit order payment and keeping track of your progress on the refrigerator can help you stay on track. When you reach major milestones, be sure to celebrate your success. Before you know it, you will be debt free! This article is intended for information purposes only and should not be considered as a legal document. 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.

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Muslim Views . February 2015

Muslim Hands’s annual stationery drive THASNEEM BUCKUS

EDUCATION is one of the most precious gifts we can give. In the classroom, learners not only bring their imagination to life but also empower themselves for an independent future full of opportunities. Recently, Muslim Hands embarked on our annual stationery drive. We aimed at ensuring that we properly equip as many learners as possible for the schooling year ahead. Alhamdulillah, this year, we extended our reach to not only schools but also to our welfare applicants thus enabling Muslim Hands to assist as many as 1 000 needy children. Muslim Hands was approached by ‘Breakfast Beat’ presenter Yusuf Mallie of local Islamic radio station, Voice of the Cape (VOC). Yusuf offered Muslim Hands the opportunity to join VOC on their annual stationery drive. By doing so, we would become a sponsor to VOC, and this would, in turn, gain us free advertising for getting involved in such a project. Planning of MHSA’s very own stationery drive was already underway so joining up with VOC would just help us expand our reach of schools. MHSA gladly accepted the offer to become a sponsor to the campaign. MHSA offered to sponsor 100 stationery packs, which included a Muslim Hands branded back-

pack. MHSA also offered to sponsor every child at the school with a warm meal on the day of the distribution. A child can have all the tools for an education but if they do not have any sustenance, they will never be able to concentrate and achieve anything. As part of their stationery campaign, VOC asked their listeners to nominate a school they thought most deserving to be recipients of the VOC-Makro Stationery Drive. Once all the nominations were in, each school was visited by the coordinators at VOC. After much deliberation, Stephen Road Primary School was selected due to the conditions at the school as well as the large number of learners that attend the school that are living below the breadline. The school’s staff complement is 21 and the number of learners registered for this year is 562. The

school is located in a sub-economic area, catering for a community of farm workers where most parents are unable to afford the high cost of a school uniform or stationery. Most times, the children are not even sent to school with lunch. In trying to combat hunger, the school has a functional feeding scheme providing daily meals to more than 350 learners. The stationery handover was done on the morning of Wednesday, January 28, 2015, at Stephen Road Primary School, in Lotus River. VOC had a live broadcast from the venue, hosted by ‘Breakfast Beat’ presenter Yusuf Mallie and ‘Afternoon Cruise’ host, Ayesha Laatoe. VOC went on air at 07:00am, giving listeners an insight as to what was happening at the school. Once the formalities were out of the way, Makro handed out chips and sweets to all the

learners who then made their way to their classes. The food distribution for the learners was set up in the hall. MH staff as well as volunteers began dishing the food into burger boxes, while learners, per grade, lined up outside the hall to collect their meals. About an hour later, all 562 learners were back in their classes with a warm meal. Educators as well as VOC staff were also treated to an early lunch. ‘Some of the children don’t even eat breakfast at home and they don’t have a meal at home,’ said volunteer Gwendoline Booysen.

Messages from some of the learners ‘I feel very grateful because it would save my mom a lot of money to get free stationery,’ said

Abigail Cotton, a grade 4 learner. Another Grade 4 learner, Farah Emandien, was ecstatic. ‘It’s not every day that we get stuff for free. And stationery is very important!’ ‘I’m very happy I got free stationery and I’m grateful to the school for doing this. It will save my mommy a lot of money,’ added Leayanre Brown, in Grade 5. In closing, the principal of Stephen Road Primary School, Mr De Wet, noted: ‘It is wonderful to see that each child has stationery for the year. At least now, with the stationery, the children can learn and the teachers can teach.’ If you are interested in being part of such a rewarding campaign, contact Muslim Hands on 021 633 6413 or visit muslimhands.org.za.

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Muslim Views . February 2015

Positive and Effective Parenting

Muslim Views . February 2015

TALKING TO CHILDREN ABOUT TOUGH ISSUES

Illness and death: talking to children when a parent has cancer FOUZIA RYKLIEF

ORLD Cancer Day was on February 4. It involves a global observance that helps raise people’s awareness of cancer and how to prevent, detect or treat it. A focus on cancer must also concentrate on how we cope with a diagnosis and what follows. It is especially important to consider how families deal with it and learn to adjust to the challenges and changes involved. All the general principles I covered in a previous article that focused on talking to children about tough issues will apply but I acknowledge that talking to children about having a terminal illness with the possibility of death demands more. An important first step is to manage your own emotions as much as possible before you talk to your children. Once you have spent some time coming to terms with your own fear, feelings of uncertainty about the future, anger, sadness and guilt, you are better able to help those who depend on you. It helps to talk to another family member or friend who will not judge you about your feelings.

Tips on talking to your children Parents may feel unsure about taking this step because they do not want to burden their children. All parents want to protect their children from the pain that

Not knowing is more scary for children than knowing. Remember that children may overhear conversations between adults and worry more if they feel that important news is being withheld from them. life can bring. Although it’s not possible to control the reality of having cancer, it is possible to make a real difference in how children handle the experience and go on with their lives after the death of a parent. This is only possible if we are open and honest about what is happening. Not knowing is more scary for children than knowing. Remember that children may overhear conversations between adults and worry more if they feel that important news is being withheld from them. While not all cancer sufferers die of their illness or do not die soon after they have been diagnosed, it is important that children need to be told of a parent’s terminal illness and the possibility of death so they can prepare themselves for what will happen next.

In any case, we know that death is part of life and children will have experienced the death of someone in the community. Hopefully, there would have been a discussion about it. The pain of losing a parent is likely to be worse if they are not prepared, and they may feel confused, hurt and angry that something so important was not shared with them. Not preparing children for a parent’s death may send the message that they are not important members of the family. It may also give the impression that death is so terrible that they will not be able to cope with it. Tell them about the illness and name it. For a young child, a simple sentence, ‘I am very sick, so I am going to hospital for special medicine,’ is sufficient. Older children may be given a more

detailed explanation. Try to balance optimism with realism. Telling your children that you will be fine will make them more confused and upset if your health does not improve. Offer a realistic but hopeful assessment of the situation, and focus on the fact that you are receiving treatment. Take their feelings seriously. Children’s feelings often include anger, sadness, guilt, fear, confusion and frustration. Let them know that it is okay for them to have many different feelings and that you have many of the same feelings, too. Welcome questions. Let your children know that they are free to ask any questions. Be honest, and don’t be afraid to say, ‘I don’t know.’ You may tell your children, ‘I don’t know the answer but I will ask the doctor at my

next appointment and get back to you on that.’ Prepare them for the physical side effects of treatment. ‘Because I am sick, I may lose weight and my hair may fall out. But, don’t worry, my hair will grow back. And I will always be the same mommy on the inside.’ Talk about anticipated changes in the family routine. Try to keep your children’s routines as consistent as possible but acknowledge that some things will be different. Be prepared to discuss death. Although it is difficult and sad, it is important to be prepared to discuss death with your children. Try to use clear, specific terms; avoid euphemisms such as ‘passing away’, ‘sleeping forever’ or ‘put to sleep’ because young children may confuse sleep with death, and fear that they may die in their sleep or that you will wake up from death. Try to keep the lines of communication open, as you will likely need to have several conversations with your child. Finally, parents must do their best to maintain a child’s normal schedule and routine, focus on protecting some amount of regular daily and weekly family time, and create an environment of open communication within the family. This will help children and adolescents to cope very well with a parent’s illness. Reference: Cancer.net Fouzia Ryklief is a departmental manager at the Parent Centre in Wynberg, Cape Town.

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Muslim Views . February 2015

From Consciousness to Contentment

Accountability: is it going the way of the dinosaurs? JASMINE KHAN RE there people in your life or family, who feel they can just say what they want, when they want, and you must not take offence? They usually call themselves ‘straight talkers’. In fact, they go as far as to say that ‘straight talk is no insult’. The truth is that their attitude and words are hurtful and disrespectful. They get away with it because their family or friends will chastise you for being too sensitive, and excuse the behaviour by saying you should not take notice of them, ‘that is just their way’. Those people are never held accountable for their actions. What is accountability? It is the quality or state of being accountable; specifically, it means we have an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility for what we say or do; to account or be liable for our actions. People who have for years boasted of ‘saying it like it is’, irrespective of the effect it will have on the other person, have been getting away with insulting, demeaning and hurting people for long enough. We should all be held accountable for our actions and, specifically, for what we say. Most likely, we have all said something inadvertently without thinking it through and have hurt another person’s feelings. Sometimes, we are under stress and find that we say the wrong thing or we do something out of character. We are only human and slip up from time to time. However, when we are conscious of what we have done and immediately try to set it right, that is known as taking responsibility and accounting for what we did. There are, however, those who not only refuse to take responsibility, they look totally amazed when you point out that what they did or said was inappropriate. They will rather sidestep and blame you for misunderstanding or being too sensitive or, and this one is a classic, you have no sense of humour. You will hear numerous excuses, and most of them will come from someone close to the offending person. ‘You can’t blame him; no one in his family has any tact,’ they say.

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Everything is excused – because we failed to get proper training as children, because we grew up in dysfunctional families, because of something that happened to us. We are not responsible for our actions, and there are no more rules.’ ‘That is just her way; she doesn’t mean any harm.’ ‘It is the way she is, she was raised that way: to say it like it is.’ ‘Heavens, you are so serious, can’t you take a joke?’ ‘The entire family is bad tempered.’ ‘I do think you are taking it out of context.’ ‘You must work on yourself, you are too sensitive.’ There are numerous such excuses, even from the guilty party. Sometimes I wonder whether all this psycho-analysis is a good thing. Too often people blame their bad behaviour on circumstances or how they grew up. ‘My father never had time for me,’ ‘My mother favoured my sister or brother’; there are a myriad more; What it really comes down to is a sense of entitlement. It has become fashionable to blame everything and everybody for our lack of accountability. ‘We live in what Saul Bellow calls the “Golden Age of Exoneration”. Everything is excused – because we failed to get proper training as children, because we grew up in dysfunctional families, because of something that happened to us. We are not responsible for our actions, and there are no more rules.’ (Charles W Coleson, from his paper titled ‘A question of ethics’.) The ego, the littlest, biggest demon that exists in our heads, has to defend itself at all costs because humility is regarded as a demeaning trait, and the overwhelming need to be right and dominant overrides meekness and kindness.

Our deen teaches us humility; we are urged to respect our fellow creation and we have the great example of the best of humanity, our Rasul, (SAW). He never demeaned or insulted anyone, and even in dealing with his greatest enemies, he chose his words carefully. When Nabi Moosa (AS) was instructed to approach Firoun, Allah urged him to speak gently. The Quran is filled with examples of kindness in dealing with people yet, some people still feel they have the right to be hurtful and insulting, simply because it is ‘just their way’. We should all take stock and check whether we are one of those who constantly complain, who believe that one must call a spade a shovel and then use it to bash those who are our nearest and dearest. Answering the following questions may help: l Do you have close friends and family or just acquaintances? l Are you one of those people whom others turn to for help or turn away from? l Do people pop in for tea, call you regularly? l Do you hold the attention of others when in a conversation or do they move away after a short while? l Do family and friends visit you often? Your answers will show you just how accountable for your words and actions you actually are, and not how accountable or responsible you think you are.

Once you have recognised whether people seek you out or avoid you, you should make appropriate changes in your emotional intelligence. Once again, it comes down to consciousness; being conscious of what we do or say will lead to a greater awareness of the part we play in the lives of others. The bottom line is that we all have to take responsibility; we have to be accountable for our own thoughts, actions and consequences – those at the giving end

as well as the receiving end. The moment you catch yourself saying something inappropriate, say ‘I am sorry’. Humility is a quality much loved by Allah. Instead of seeing it as something demeaning, see it for what it is: courage to admit your slip and to make amends for it. In this process, be kind to yourself because old habits die hard but keep on trying, work towards taming that ego and accept your role of responsibility.

FOR ALL

Muslim Views . February 2015

Go unto China: Part 1 The Chinese diaspora has, much to the consternation of many countries, permeated almost every country on earth, writes Doctor M C D’ARCY. DUCATE yourself, even if you have to go to China,’ is a golden maxim of Islamic scholarship. To the Middle East and Western World, China was once at the ‘end of the earth’. But, historically it was whispered to be a great centre of invention, innovative production and learning. Currently, China’s economy dominates the world. Its industrial output is immense. It must export to feed its 1,3 billion population. Its factories and furnaces need raw materials. For this need it is exploiting the Third World for its untapped minerals, forests, seas and agriculture. Chinese entrepreneurs are now ubiquitous. I saw a small Chinese shop in distant Upington. Windhoek, Namibia, has a Chinatown. A tourist guide informed our tour-group that Namibia had sold much of its vast mineral resources to China for armaments during the freedom struggle. In the centre of Windhoek is a monstrously tall, garish, goldcoloured building erected by the Chinese ostensibly as a Namibian heritage building but which is unused and derisively called a coffee percolator. The Chinese diaspora has, much to the consternation of many countries, permeated almost every country on earth. Its industries and artefacts have aggressively challenged the rest of the world, including South Africa where their exclusivity and aggressive sales have closed many local factories and caused huge job losses. Low cost imports from China are stifling new South African entrepreneurship. Local arts have also suffered. Industry and sales depend heavily on designers and artists to design and sell their products. Few are aware that artists, with their colour sense and attractive designs, play a vital role in sales. Graphic artists design products and create attractive packaging; Apple designs products that are sleek and ‘cool’; they sell. So, how does one fight this gigantic problem of foreigninduced poverty and stagnation? Go to China; learn from their innovations, skills, work ethic and dedication. That is central to the fight for economic survival. How did China, a poor overpopulated nation in the 1950s, change so fast into a superpower? And what of its heritage and past? Let’s ramble and ruminate on some history. In the cycles of empires, there are apogees (highs) and nadirs (lows); that is the nature of civilisations. The Greek, Roman and Persian Empires each had their glory before the Christian era. The Chinese Empire followed but its isolated splendour was

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Genghis Khan.

Windhoek, Namibia. The Chinese-erected heritage building – ‘The golden coffee Photo M C D’ARCY percolator’.

screened from Western history books. Between 700CE and 1200CE, the extensive Umayyad and Abbasid Muslim empires stretched from Persia to Spain. It was glorious for some time but soon disintegrated from rapacious infighting and shameless indulgence. In a trice, it was savagely destroyed by the bloodthirsty Mongol hordes of Genghis Khan in the thirteenth century. The Mongol Empire burst on the scene from Central Asia and its terror swept from China, the Middle East and to India. It even gnawed on East-European countries such as Poland and Bulgaria. (The Indian Mogul emperors, Shah Jehan (of Taj Mahal fame), Akbar and Jahangir were of Mongol descent.) The Mongol Empire crumbled soon after Genghis Khan’s death. But the bloodletting did not stop. Its fragments fell under the rule of brutal khans such as Genghis Khan’s nephew, Hulagu, who in 1256CE massacred the Ismaili sect and the dreaded Assassins of Alamut. In 1258, Hulagu defeated the last Abbasid caliph of Bagdad, alMustasim. Following Mongol belief about royal blood, he was probably rolled in a carpet and beaten to death in order not to shed royal blood in public. The great destroyer, Timur the Lame, conquered land from the Caspian Sea to Delhi, which he sacked in 1398CE. Before the battle for Delhi, Timur executed 100 000 captives. According to Wikipedia: ‘Scholars estimate that his military campaigns caused the deaths of 17 million people, amounting to about 5% of the known world population of the era.’ Timur devastated Baghdad but, strangely, became a Muslim of some ilk.

When Isfahan in Iran dared not to pay taxes to him, Timur ordered the massacre of the city’s citizens with the death toll reckoned at between 100 000 and 200 000. An eyewitness counted more than 28 towers constructed of about 1 500 heads each. The British Empire flourished during the European Industrial Revolution. It boasted that ‘The sun never set on the British Empire’. It exploited its colonies for raw materials to fuel its industrial revolution. Britain sold manufactured goods back to the colonies at high prices. Its sun precipitously sank after World War II. Looking back at man’s dwellings on earth, we see that man has always been restless. He relished the plains where the plants and the animals fed him. Soon, he wandered along the rivers and over the mountains. Then he challenged the rigours of the stormy seas and the searing, dry deserts. With time, he learnt to tame the solitude and the snows of the freezing Arctic. Man established homes in all these places. Then he traded via horse and cart, camel-caravans, little boats on lakes and big ships across stormy oceans, and, in recent times, across the skies in giant aircraft. Man not only traded in goods but also in arts, philosophies, beliefs, myths and religions. For most in the West, China was far away but not totally isolated; not an island unto itself. It built the famed Great Wall of China to keep out the Mongols from burning and trampling its populace but that only lasted for a short time. Goods such as ceramics, silks, paper, gunpowder, printing presses and other precious goods

flowed in and out together with foreign religions and beliefs: Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and Communism. Christian, Marco Polo of Venice (1254-1324), was one of the early travellers to record his journeys through China. He brought back news and tales of China too fantastic to believe. Some scorned him as a liar. He related his travels over the dreaded Gobi Desert and his years under the aegis of the Mongol Emperor, Kublai Khan. Despite imploring the emperor to let him go home, the emperor refused him permission to exit China. But he sent Marco Polo on a mission to Iran. One of the princesses was given in marriage to the ruler of Iran, and Marco Polo was sent to accompany her. However, Kublai Khan died when Marco was on this venture and he escaped back to Venice. Ibn Battuta, a Berber, from Tangiers in North Africa, was an intrepid Muslim who travelled and married his way along the Silk Route to China and south to East Africa. He described his travels in China under the rule of the Mongols in1345. On arriving in the city of Quanzhou, he noted the local artists and their mastery in making portraits of newly arrived foreigners. These portraits apparently were for security purposes. Ibn Battuta praised the craftsmen and their skill with silk and porcelain. He lauded their fruits such as plums and watermelons and was impressed by the advantages of paper money. He also described the construction processes of large ships in the city. Ibn Battuta elaborated on Chinese cuisine and its usage of frogs, pigs and dogs. Chinese chickens were also larger than the scrawny, desert-reared flocks. In turn, the Chinese sent fleets of mighty ships to explore trade with South East Asia and the coast of Africa where the sands still attest its historic presence via coloured glass beads. When in Malaysia some twenty years ago, I learnt about the famous Chinese Muslim Admiral Zheng He (1371-1433).

Photo M C D’ARCY

During the Ming Dynasty in China, he became one of the great explorers. He was given a large fleet of treasure ships and commissioned to trade with far-off places. Some of his ships were more than three times larger than those of Christopher Columbus. He is revered in South East Asia where he spread Islam. Many masajid throughout the Malay Archipelago are named after him, where he is known as Cheng Ho. Like other Chinese Muslims, he was fully integrated in both Islam and his Chinese culture without Chinese/ Muslim identity problems. On the art field during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, China’s art permeated the surrounding Muslim countries. Chinese artists even worked for the Persians to fashion their renowned miniature paintings – artworks so small and delicate that artists would go blind. They exported beautiful tiles revered and copied by the Iranian dynasties. Delicate porcelain was exported to the world, its recipe a secret but later determined that it was made of kaolin and groundup bones. The English copied it; best seen in their Stafford bone china tea sets. Of recent times, we are witnessing China’s stellar rise from the darkness and decimation seen during the Japanese occupation of China during the Second World War and the catastrophic conflation of the subsequent destructive Communist cultural revolution, to being a super-giant economic and military power. Its costs included the burning of founding father, Mao Zedong’s infamous brainwashing little Red Book and the reorientation of communist economic structure into a type of free-market economy. We have a long way to go the way of China. But what of the early scenes of Chinese presence in South Africa, and what was the interplay with other population groups? And what happened in China as far as early Islamisation was concerned? See the next issue. Muslim Views

Muslim Views . February 2015

The man who could not say ‘baas’ MAHMOOD SANGLAY

HERE is one word that could never come out of my mouth, and that is ‘baas’. But another activist said to me one day: No man, you mustn’t say ‘baas’. You must say ‘haas’. But you must say it so fast, whoever it is, he won’t know what you’re saying.’ In apartheid South Africa, it was generally expected of a black person to show obeisance to a white man by calling him ‘baas’. But Azmoodien Obaray, 80, would not countenance any kind of racism or injustice. Born in 1935, Obaray is the son of a butcher, Muhammad Alie Obaray. His father was incapacitated due to a stroke in 1949, and Obaray had to leave school in standard 6 (grade 8), at the age of 14, to work in the family business in East London. The one important pre-occupation in Obaray’s life, for which he has become popularly known, is that he is South Africa’s greatest fan of Muhammad Ali, the world heavyweight boxing champion. However, he is not a typical fan, the type whose adulation for a famous figure is superficial and therefore tenuous. His love for Muhammad Ali makes sense if viewed in the context of his own beliefs, values and attitudes, nurtured from childhood in East London, where he grew up and lived till the age of 31. Seven Obaray siblings attended St Johns Road Primary School, in East London, and they dominated competitive sport in a variety of codes. He says his record as the youngest soccer player at the age of 14 to represent the Eastern Cape remains till this day. In addition, in a bodybuilder contest, Obaray won the Cape Province title in Port Elizabeth, and he was the runner-up in the South Africa contest, in 1954. Obaray played rugby for Eastern Cape Universals and sustained a serious injury in a rugby tackle in 1955. However, sport was deeply racialised by law. ‘Indians’, ‘blacks’ and ‘coloureds’ played each other bearing these labels. Despite these institutionalised barriers, there were many instances of enlightened communities reaching out across these imposed divides. Obaray speaks isiXhosa fluently and uses language for the purpose of reaching out. In 1966, the Obarays moved to Cape Town. For the Ali vs Liston fight, on February 24, 1964, Obaray spe-

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Muhammad Ali being presented with a collection of poetry written by Azmoodien Obaray at a dinner in honour of the boxing champion on April 14, 1993. Photo SUPPLIED

cially bought a 15-foot (about 4,5 metres) aerial that he fitted to his car for better reception. And he acquired a PYE radio, which was considered the best at that time. For millions of fans worldwide, it was this historic match, together with Ali’s charismatic ridicule of the racist establishment in media and white American society generally, that won hearts around the world. But for Obaray, the most special moment was when Ali announced that he had embraced Islam. His connection with Ali is deep and remarkable for he was not an ordinary fan.

Ali’s refusal to join the US Army to fight in Vietnam, despite the dire consequences, made a deep impression on Obaray. It inspired him to persevere for 19 years, writing letters, making calls and conveying messages in order to contact his hero. So it was until Wednesday, July 11, 1979, when he was awakened from his sleep in his home at 2.30 a.m. by a phone call from Ali himself. Ali had responded to a message from Obaray conveyed via Ali’s trainer, Angelo Dundee, who had been in South Africa earlier that year. Obaray had called Dundee at his hotel room in Johannesburg

and had earnestly requested Dundee to ask Ali to phone. From that day, Obaray’s world radically changed. The communication between the champ and his admirer attracted both media and public attention. The story made it to the front page of the Sunday Times and scores of people called Obaray for diverse reasons. He had to change his phone number in order to stem the intrusion into his life. In a letter handwritten and signed by Ali on July 16, 1979, he says to Obaray, ‘…show this letter to all those who don’t believe we are brothers and friends.’ In 1993, Ali visited South

Africa and the two met for the first time. Ali was hosted at a dinner in his honour on April 14, and Obaray presented him with a collection of 52 praise poems at the occasion. Obaray married at the age of 16 years and, this November, he and his wife Gairoenisa will be celebrating their 62nd wedding anniversary. He values punctuality, dignity, honesty and hard work. Much of his firm principled positions in life are inspired by Ali. And much of these values are expected to live on in his 7 children, 13 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren.