Muslims in South Africa: Origins, Struggles and Achievements (Part Three)

The early Cape Muslims were primarily skilled artisans, such as blacksmiths, bricklayers, boilermakers, carpenters, shoemakers, tailors and valets, servants, et cetera. In the formative years of the Dutch settlement at the Cape, they were considered a threat to the economic welfare of the White ruling class. Consequently, the Cape Town city council charged them exorbitant rents for houses to prevent them from accumulating property (Davids).

The Muslim traders who arrived in Natal were likewise viewed by the British as economic competitors. They, too, made it difficult for Muslims to acquire residential and trading rights. The Natal Indian Congress was originally established to pursue these rights for Indian traders, the majority of who were Muslims. The struggles of traders and artisans have been documented in numerous publications (Arkin).

Yusuf Dadoo gives a speech at the Johannesburg City Hall steps, with young Nelson Mandela at the left.

Nowadays, many Cape Muslims have retained their positions as artisans, while others are employed as factory workers and clerks and some are professionals. In Natal and the former Transvaal, descendents of the former indentured laborers are now factory-workers, clerks, artisans, or professionals. The descendents of traders who traditionally inherited the family business now pursue professional qualifications. This in part has led to the demise of several reputed businesses.

According to the Islamic Council of South Africa, about 20 percent of South African Muslims are engaged in trade and commerce, 40 percent are employed as skilled artisans, 25 percent are semi-skilled workers⁽¹⁾, and 15 percent are professionals or white-collar workers. Though these figures are far from accurate, they give some idea of the distribution of human resources among Muslims.

Many Muslim individuals have been involved in the struggle for justice and human rights, either in their individual capacity or as members of liberation movements or political formations (Omar).

The beginning of Muslim political activity can be traced back to the end of the 19th Century. Achmat Effendi, the son of the famous Abu Bakr Effendi, attempted to gain a parliamentary seat in 1894 but was foiled by conservative Whites (Davids). The South African Moslem Association was founded in 1902 at the Cape by Nematullah Effendi, the son of Abu Bakr Effendi, and the African Peoples' Organization was founded by Dr. Abdullah Abdul Rahman in 1905 (Saunders). While the former organization represented the interests of Muslims, the latter did not confine itself to Muslim concerns.

Later, many Muslims joined the Non-European Unity Movement and the Teacher's League of South Africa both of which were established in 1913 and were at the forefront of the anti-apartheid movement. Abdul Rahman was the first "person of color" to win a seat in the Cape Town city council in 1904 and the Cape Provincial council in 1915. Rahman championed Colored people's demands for franchise, their right to work and fair wages, and their right to education (Arkin).

In 1894, the Natal Indian Congress (NIC) was established in Durban primarily to fight for trading and residential rights for Indians. Restrictions on Indian trade and acquisition of land by the Transvaal authorities led to the establishment of the Transvaal Indian Congress. The majority of the Congress members in Natal were Muslim traders, as were its first three presidents: Abdullah Hajee Adam, Abdul Karim Hajee Adam Zaveri, and Cassim Jeewa.

One of the best known NIC stalwarts was Abdulla Ismail Kajee, who had formed part of the delegations to India in 1922 and to the United Nations in 1946 to demand civil rights for South African Indians. Mahatma Gandhi was, incidentally, invited by a Muslim trader, ⁽²⁾Abu Bakr Amod, to represent him in a civil suit against another Muslim trader. Muslims fully supported Gandhi's passive resistance campaign that protested against discriminatory practices against Indians. It was for this that Gandhi acquired international fame and honor.

In the Transvaal, two of the most prominent figures of the congress movement were Moulvi Cachalia and Yusuf Dadoo. While the former spent most of his political life in exile in India, Yusuf Dadoo became one of the leading figures in resistance against the White minority rule in South Africa. He was president of the Transvaal Indian Congress, chairman of the Anti-Segregation Council, and chairman of the Transvaal Passive Resistance Council. He, along with Monty Naicker, led the defiance campaign in 1939 that aimed at reversing discriminatory practices against Black South Africans (Calpin). Dadoo and Naicker attended the All-Asia Conference Delhi in 1947 and the United Nations General Assembly in Paris in 1948.

Imam Haron, a stalwart of the liberation struggle, inspired Muslim youth at the Cape to identify with the oppressed majority in South Africa. His death in detention is known throughout the world. The Muslim Judicial Council established in 1945 condemned the Group Areas Act, the Sabotage Bill, and other unjust laws. The Cape Muslim Youth Movement established in 1957 and the Claremont Muslim Youth Association established in 1958 greatly increased the political awareness of Muslim youth.

The majority of Indians and Colored people rejected the tricameral system and boycotted the elections. Both Qiblah, an Islamic revolutionary movement, was established in 1981 by Achmat Cassiem who had been greatly inspired by the Iranian Revolution and Call of Islam, which was established in 1984 by Faried Essack, rejected the distinct Malay identity which distinguished the Cape Malay Association that was established in 1923 (Saunders).

Qiblah was closely associated with the Black Consciousness Movement and the Pan-African Congress, while the Call of Islam became a major role player in the United Democratic Front (UDF), an umbrella body comprising of civic, community, and church organizations which initiated a campaign of civil disobedience. The Muslim Judicial Council also aligned itself with the UDF.

The Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa, which was established in 1970 in Durban, rejected the Indian identity and strove to include African Muslims as well as women in its structure and programs. Though it was initially nonaligned and opposed to the African National Congress' (ANC) willingness to form a government of national unity, it subsequently identified itself with the ANC and now fully supports the current regime.

The end of the apartheid regime and ushering in of the democratic era in 1994 was welcomed by the majority of South Africans, including Muslim citizens. Since then, sectors of Muslims have adopted pro-government, neutral, and anti-government positions. The Majlisul Ulama of South Africa, for instance, clearly advised Muslims against voting in the elections or participating in structures of the current regime.

The Africa Muslim Party, which was established in Durban, and the Islamic Party, which originated in Cape Town, did not gain a single seat in the 1994 elections. The Africa Moral Party, which contested the last elections, likewise gained little support. While supporters of these parties favored participation, they did not see it fit to join existing parties, they preferred a party which would primarily promote the interests of Muslims.

Today, there are a number of Muslim parliamentarians, councilors, and civil servants in South Africa, Most of who have aligned themselves with the African National Congress. A few have joined opposition parties such as the New Democratic Party and the Nationalist Party. Followers of the Islamic Unity Convention, however, have no faith in the new political dispensation, accusing it of corruption, elitism, abandoning the masses, caving in to international finance, and promoting immorality and vice.

Arkin, A. J., ed. The Indian South Africans. Pinetown, 1989.

Calpin, G. H. Indians in South Africa. Pietermaritzburg, 1949.

Davids, A. The Mosques of Bo-Kaap. Cape Town, 1980.

Omar, A. R. The impact of the death in detention of Imam Abdullah Haron on Cape Muslim Political Attitudes, (BA Hons, University of Cape Town, 1987), 1-9.

Saunders, C., ed. Studies in the History of Cape Town. Cape Town, 1981.

**Dr. Suleman Dangor is a professor of Islamic Studies and the Academic Coordinator in the School of Religion and Theology, University of Kwazulu-Natal.