Our country can proudly claim Muslims as brothers and sisters, compatriots,
freedom fighters and leaders, revered by our nation. They have written their names
on the roll of honor with blood, sweat, and tears.’‘South Africa’s own Islamic
heritage has been a vital part of our history.
President Nelson Mandela
On April 27, 2014 we celebrate 20 years of democracy in South Africa. The liberation movement has transformed South Africa from a racist police apartheid state to one of the world’s most stable non-racist democracy, which has constitutionalized freedom of religion, culture, language, civil society, and individuals as human rights. Muslims have a rich heritage of political struggle in South Africa for 326 years (1668-1994). We have an ancestry of slaves, political exiles, ‘indentured laborers’, thinkers, and traders. We have endured many hardships such as the Group Areas Act and job reservation.
We were denied our human rights to practice Islam openly (1668-1828), to build mosques, and to vote for 326 years. Together with our oppressed compatriots, we made sacrifices in response to the Islamic imperative of struggling for social and political justice. For the poor, there are guaranteed old age pensions, disability grants, and child support grants. There is free and compulsory education.
How do we maintain our Contribution?
Muslims continue to play an active role in South African society and have entrenched ourselves as an integral part of the South African landscape. We enjoy all human rights; the primary one being the right to practice Islam, free of the Group Areas Act. Our country puts to shame many so-called advanced and mature democracies, which deny Muslims the right to wear the niqab (veil), to build mosques, to build minaras, or to give athaan. We are, therefore, proud of the freedoms which are entrenched in our constitution. It is our Islamic political duty to ensure the constitutional guarantee of all our hard-fought human rights. One of our Islamic duties is to participate in the political process, which will this year be to exercise our vote. Although Muslims constitute about 3% of the population we contribute significantly to poverty alleviation and disaster relief work in South Africa through zakaat and other corporate social spending ( estimated to be R3bn per year ) We are active in business and produce some of the best doctors, scientists, accountants, attorneys, judges, and academics.
How do we maintain our Influence?
The political change that our country has undergone has opened a debate within our community as to the Islamic permissibility for Muslims to interact and participate in this new democratic society and, in particular, the 2014 Provincial and National elections.
Elections are one of the world’s most ancient political institutions. An assembly of citizens in Athens as long ago as 500 BC elected representatives and other officials. Similarly in Islam, the first four caliphs were also appointed
after shura (mutual consultation) with the community was made. Elections or consensus of leadership appointments are therefore an indispensable part of democratic and good
government and not alien to Islam.
Representation of Muslims across Political Parties
Our country can proudly claim Muslims as brothers and sisters, compatriots, freedom fighters and leaders, revered by our nation. They have written their names on the roll of honor with blood, sweat, and tears.’‘South Africa’s own Islamic heritage has been a vital part of our history.’
Who to Vote for?
In making a choice we need to be careful not to be inward looking by being concerned about self-preservation but rather, through
our influence, contribute to the growth and development of our shared society. It is imperative that when we decide on voting for a political party we ask ourselves the following questions:
1. What is the representation of Muslims in the Party?
2.What influence the representatives will have in the governing structures of the Party?
3. How do the policies of the party affect Muslims locally and internationally
Without some form of elections there is no democracy. For democracy to flourish, elections must reflect the will of the people. The election process allows citizens the freedom and
opportunity to engage with the government in the pursuit of mutually beneficial social, political, economic and cultural objectives and a mechanism of selecting the individuals who will represent us in parliament to ensure that our concerns, needs, and aspirations are prioritized.
In democratic societies which fully recognise religious freedoms, participation in the political process is not only acceptable, but essential in order to safeguard Muslims’ wellbeing and ensure that the system remains fair and responsive to Muslims’ demands and interests. We must not forget our responsibility to the greater South African society, to which we belong.
MUSLIM REPRESENTATION ACROSS THE POLITICAL PARTIES
ANC
On the ANC candidate list for the May 7 Elections, out of a list of 200 candidates, 7 Muslim candidates feature prominently. The number in
brackets indicates the position of the candidate on the political party
candidate list.
1. Minister Naledi Pandor (No. 4)
2. Minister Carrim Yunus Ismail (No. 40)
3. Minister Ebrahim Patel (No. 55)
4. Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim (No. 75)
5. Minister Fatima Chohan (No. 90)
6. Minister Enver Surty (No. 99)
7. Sulaiman Ebrahim Mohamed
This constitutes about 3.5% of the ANC candidate list though the Muslim community comprises comprises only 3% of the population. Of the current 7 candidates on the ANC list, the first 6 candidates on the list are set to retain their ministerial posts – Muslims will occupy 10% of the seats in Cabinet and by extension 10% of the most powerful positions in the country.
This is undoubtedly a significant representation of the Muslims in the seat of power and the potential access to influence for our community. It will allow the concerns, interests and agenda of the
Muslim community to be addressed by the Muslims representing us in parliament and the cabinet and it will ensure our continued relevance
within the current context.
The DA
The Democratic Alliance has 4 Muslims listed as candidates on its list. The number in brackets indicates the position of the candidate on the
political party candidate list.
1.Mohammed Haniff Hoosen (No. 23)
2.Shahid Esau (No. 69)
3.Yusuf Cassim (No. 90)
4.Farhat Essack (No. 106)
DA has no Muslim women candidates.
In the 2014 election the DA is hoping to achieve its target of 20-25% of the National Vote. In the previous election the DA secured 16.66% of the
National Vote totaling 32 seats in Parliament. If the DA wins 25% of the vote in this election, that would result in a total of 50 seats. This would
mean that potentially only one of the Muslims on the DA’s candidate list will have a seat in parliament. This means an insignificant representation of Muslim interest by the DA in parliament. Consequently, Muslims will have no influence and be of no relevance to the decision making process, i.e., be powerless. In some DA-controlled local government areas such as Goodwood, Houghton and Sandton mosques are denied the right to give athaan. Athaans are piped through local radio channels.
In the Provincial government of the Western Cape, administered by the DA, not a single Muslim is represented in the Cabinet even though Muslims constitute over 30% of the Western Cape population.
COPE
1.Mahomed Farouk Cassim (No. 9)
2.Gul Mohammed Sabadia (No. 34)
3.Abdool Razak Jooma (No. 124)
POLITICAL PARTY POLICIES THAT AFFECT MUSLIMS
It is a historical fact that Muslims were denied religious freedom in South Africa by the colonial powers as well as by the apartheid government under the Group Areas Act and race classification. In our democratic dispensation, we have practically witnessed that certain political parties, which claim political equality openly stop the building of Masaajids, Islamic Centres and athaan. These instances have demonstrated the blatant Islamaphobic tendencies of these parties and hence we can determine the kind of discrimination that will be a hallmark of their administration.
Human rights are universal rights and we can determine the policies of parties based on their track record in relation to particularly the pronouncements on the freedom of the Palestinian people and their right to self determination. The structure of Islam supports the establishment of our duty and responsibility towards the greater Muslim community and all peoples who have been affected by oppression and subjugation.
As Muslims we need to be proudly South African, patriotic, and active citizens. The achievement of twenty years of democracy is a milestone of great pride for us and we should express this as patriots like our forbears did as an integral part of this great nation. We should actively participate in the political process by exercising our right to vote; moving forward. We need to emulate the activism of our forbears in contributing to the building of our nation to ensure that we contribute to the
prosperity of all the people of this county to fulfill the civil and human rights of all, as our deen dictates to us.
Courtesy MJC: Click here to download full MJC statement
