University of Kwazulu-Natal professor Dr. Suleman Dangor delivers an in-depth four-part analysis of the makeup, history, struggle, and achievements of South African Muslims, one of the world's most distinguished Muslim communities.
The consolidation of Islam in Natal followed a similar pattern to that in the Cape. The establishment of the Grey Street Mosque in Durban in 1884 provided the trader community resident in the center of the city with a base for its religio-cultural activities. The expression of Islam among the Muslim labor (indentured) class, located some distance away near the Umgeni River, reveals distinct traces of Hindu customs and traditions (Mahomed).
These early migrants found their "spiritual home" at the Riverside complex established by Sufi Sahib, who was sent to South Africa in 1895 specifically to serve the needs of Muslims. He established mosques,
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The Grey Street Mosque, Durban |
orphanages, madrasahs and initiated the milad (Prophet's birthday commemoration) and `urs (commemoration of the birth or death anniversary of a saint). These practices are popular to this day (Dangor).
The Zanzibaris and Muslims of Indian origin have abandoned many of their earlier traditional practices. These changes could be attributed to the following: influence of the local madrasah, role of `ulama (religious scholars) who graduate from the dar al-`ulum (seminary) in the Indian sub-continent and in South Africa, the "reform" program of the Tabligh Jama`ah, access to Islamic literature, visits by scholars of Islam to South Africa, contact with Muslim organizations abroad, and Islamic conferences.
Nonetheless, mawlid and `urs are regularly commemorated throughout the country and the ijtima' (the gathering of followers of the tabligh jama`at) is held annually in the major centers of South Africa. The Natal Muslim Council was established in 1943 to co-ordinate existing educational and social organizations. More recently, Muslim legal, accounting and medical practitioners have established professional organizations which host conferences and workshops; publish articles, journals, and booklets; and arrange training and development programs for their members.
Natal coast Muslims — mainly of the trading class — moved to the Transvaal and started small business enterprises — primarily retail shops — in virtually every town in the province. Each town soon had its own mosque and madrasah; these became the focal points of Islamic activity. In larger towns and cities, families and communities established trusts to cater for the needs of their members.
Propagation of Islam by Muslim individuals and organizations, such as the well-known Islamic Propagation Centre in Durban, have met with relatively limited success. Converts (or "reverts") to Islam number in the tens of thousands at the most and constitute a significantly small minority of the overall Muslim population of South Africa. The effort at conversion by recent Muslim immigrants from African states is a new phenomenon. The success rate of propagation by non-South Africans is unknown at this stage.
A number of white families in Johannesburg embraced Islam through the efforts of people like Abdur-Rahman Wright, the founder and president of the Dawah movement and The God-Conscious Society. Elsewhere in the country, white individuals joined the fold of Islam as a result of marriage to a Muslim, due to their impression with the Islamic lifestyle, or through the influence of Islamic literature.
Islam in South Africa was consolidated further in the 20th century through the establishment of numerous non-governmental organizations, which provide the following services:
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Islamic Propagation Centre International, Durban |
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Education: secular and Islamic schools, madrasahs, dar al-ulums
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Social welfare: relief to the poor and needy, orphanages, old age homes
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Interest-free investment: Islamic banks, investment companies
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Bursaries and scholarships
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Islamic libraries
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Poetry recitals
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Youth camps (Dangor)
Muslims have contributed to national development and social relief through establishing schools and health-care clinics for the general population in under-serviced areas, and providing financial and material contribution to the victims of flood, drought, unemployment, etc. They have donated generously to universities and technikons. More recently, Muslims have initiated skills development programs for the majority African population.
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There are no less than 400 mosques and 400 Muslim organizations in South Africa. |
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There are no less than 400 mosques and 400 Muslim organizations in South Africa (Davids). While commercial enterprises, social welfare and relief organizations provide a valuable service to the communities in which they operate, the media and educational institutions have been the prime shapers of opinion in addition to the mosques.
The dar al-`ulum and Muslim private schools play a major role in shaping the attitudes, views, and perceptions of Muslim youth. In recent years, the media, too, has begun to impact on Muslim society on a fairly substantial scale. Newspapers range from the very traditionalist to the modernist. Two radio stations serve the Western Cape and three the Gauteng region. The Kwazulu-Natal region has no permanent Muslim radio station.
After the 1994 elections in South Africa, thousands of immigrants arrived in the country mainly from African and Asian countries. Among them is a fair proportion of Muslims from India and Pakistan, as well as from over twenty states in Africa — chiefly Senegal, Malawi, and Nigeria. The African Muslims in particular have added a new dimension to Islam in South Africa — in respect of sufi practices, e.g., the annual Magal of the followers of Shaykh Ahmad Bamba of Senegal.
Religious Disputes
The Hanafi, Shafi`i and Maliki madhhabs (schools of jurisprudence) are represented in South Africa. The first recorded dispute was that between the Hanafi and Shafi`i madhhabs at the Cape after the arrival of Abu Bakr Effendi.
His founding of the Ottoman Theological School, which propounded the teachings of the Hanafi madhhab within an almost exclusively Shafi`i population, was destined to lead to conflict between the minority followers of the Hanafi and majority followers of the Shafi`i madhhab.
In the 1980's, the attempt by the small Qadiani community at the Cape to be recognized as Muslims culminated in a court case. This ended in a deadlock when their antagonists withdrew from the case on the grounds that a non-Muslim judge was not competent to decide on an issue involving the definition of a Muslim. The majority of South African Muslims does not accept the Qadianis as Muslims.
More recently, theological differences between followers of the Deobandi school of thought and the Barelwi school led to verbal disputes, "pamphlet wars," and even isolated cases of violence. The former adhere to a more orthodox form of Islam; the latter indulge in innovative practices that they regard as meritorious.
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Muslims ensured that their children received Islamic education by establishing madrasahs. |
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The advent of the Shiites in South Africa post 1994 is viewed as a new challenge mainly by the `ulama, apprehensive of Shiite influence on the Sunni majority. The fact that the Shiites have succeeded in "converting" a small number of Sunni Muslims has added to this apprehension.
has led to the formation of the United Ulama Council which includes both these groups, as well as the Cape-based Interestingly, the fact that both the Deobandi and Barelwi schools are opposed to Shiite doctrines has served to deflect their hostility to each other and unite them in their opposition to the Shiites. Their common interest in the recognition of Muslim Personal Law by the state Muslim Judicial Council.
The Hajj and Umrah Council is another forum where representatives of the two groups share common concerns in relation to the welfare of pilgrims. Nonetheless, recent disputes concerning the certification of halal products by the South African National Halal Authority are being manipulated to create division between the two groups.
Education
The early Muslims at the Cape as well in Natal and the Transvaal were deprived of formal education. The first schools that provided education to the "non-Whites" — which included the majority of Muslims — were provided by missionaries. Later, Muslims established secular schools at their own expense. It was only in the middle of the 20th Century that the state began providing education to all its citizens.
Nonetheless, Muslims ensured that their children received Islamic education by establishing madrasahs. These exist independently of the state school system and are attended in the afternoons — after the normal schooling hours. Several dar al-`ulum have been established throughout the country, most of them for males but also a few for females. These reflect the Deobandi-Barelwi divide in their theological orientation. More recently, many private Muslim schools have been established in South Africa. While most are co-educational, a few cater for girls only. The majority of Muslim children, however, attend public or state schools.
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see Dangor, Expression of Islam.
- Technikon is a term used in South Africa to refer to a university of technology
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For details, see Davids, Mosques, 54-5, 131-3.
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M. Ajam, The raison d'etre of the Muslim Missionary Primary School in Cape Town and its environs from 186-1980 with special refernce to the role of Dr A. Abdurahman in the modernisation of Islam-Orientated Schools (PhD thesis, University of Cape Town, 1986), 58, 129; A. J. Arkin, et al (ed), The Indian South Africans, (Pinetown, 1989), 104.
Sources:
Mahomed, A. B., ed. The Saint. Durban, 1970.
S. E. Dangor, Sufi Sahib. Durban, 1995.
Dangor, S. E. The Muslim Community in South Africa. Journal of the Centre for Research in Islamic Studies, 11 (1991), 70.
Davids, M. Directory of Muslim Institutions and Mosques in South Africa. Maraisburg, 1996.
**Dr. Suleman Dangor is a professor of Islamic Studies and the Academic Coordinator in the School of Religion and Theology, University of Kwazulu-Natal.