Islam in South Africa probably predates the colonial period, and consisted of isolated contact with Arab and East African traders. Many South African Muslims are described as Coloureds, notably in the Western Cape, including those whose ancestors came as slaves from the Indonesian archipelago (the Cape Malays). Others are described as Indians, notably in Kwazulu-Natal, including those whose ancestors came as traders from South Asia; they have been joined by others from other parts of Africa as well as white or black South African converts. However, the current Muslim tradition in the country dates from the arrival of Sheikh Abdurahman Matebe Shah, a Malay sheikh from Sumatra, in 1668. [3] The Arabs (Arabic: عرب) are a heterogeneous ethnic group who are predominantly speakers of the Arabic language, mainly found throughout the Middle East and North Africa. ...  Eastern Africa (UN subregion)  East African Community  Central African Federation (defunct)  geographic, including above East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easternmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. ... In the South African and Namibian context, the term Coloured (also known as Bruinmense, Kleurlinge or Bruine Afrikaners) refers to a rather heterogeneous group of people of mixed Khoisan, white European descent, Malay, Malagasy, Black (Bantu), and South Indian ancestry, especially in the Western Cape. ... Capital Cape Town Largest city Cape Town Premier Ebrahim Rasool Area - Total Ranked 4th 129,370 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 5th 4,524,335 35/km² Elevation Highest point: Seweweekspoort Peak at 2325 meters (7628 feet) Lowest point: sea level Languages Afrikaans (55. ... The Cape Malay community is an ethnic group or community in South Africa, taking its name from what is now known as the Western Cape of South Africa and the Malay people who started this community in South Africa. ... KwaZulu-Natal (often referred to as KZN) is a province of South Africa. ... Map of South Asia (see note on Kashmir). ... A world map showing the continent of Africa. ... Malays (Dutch, Maleiërs, ultimately from Malay: Melayu) are a diverse group of Austronesian peoples inhabiting the Malay archipelago and Malay peninsula in Southeast Asia. ... For other uses, see Sheikh (disambiguation). ... Sumatra (also spelled Sumatera) is the sixth largest island of the world (approximately 470,000 km²) and is the largest island entirely in Indonesia (two larger islands, Borneo and New Guinea, are partially in Indonesia). ... 1668 (MDCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ...

History

Sheikh Abdurahman Matebe Shah was the last Sultan of Malacca, and was exiled to Constantia, Cape Town in the Cape by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) following his resistance to the Dutch occupation of the East Indies. The sheikh used his exile to consolidate the teaching of Islam among slaves in the Cape, many of whom came from Muslim backgrounds in Malaysia and Bengal. [4] Sultan (Arabic: سلطان) is an Islamic title, with several historical meanings. ... State motto: Bersatu Teguh State anthem: Melaka Maju Jaya Capital Malacca Ruling party Barisan Nasional  - Yang di-Pertua Negeri Mohd Khalil Yaakob  - Ketua Menteri Mohd Ali Mohd Rustam History    - Malacca Sultanate 13th century   - Portuguese control 24 August 1511   - Dutch control 1641   - British control 17 March 1824   - Japanese Occupation 1942-1946... Constantia is a district in Cape Town, South Africa. ... The Cape of Good Hope; looking towards the west, from the coastal cliffs above Cape Point. ... Dutch colonial possessions, with the Dutch East India Company possessions marked in a paler green, surrounding the Indian Ocean plus Saint Helena in the mid-Atlantic. ... The Indies, on the display globe of the Field Museum, Chicago The Indies or East Indies (or East India) is a term used to describe lands of South and South-East Asia, occupying all of the former British India, the present Indian Union, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the Quran, its principal scripture, whose followers, known as Muslims (مسلم), believe God (Arabic: الله ) sent through revelations to Muhammad. ... Bengal, known as Bôngo (Bengali: বঙ্গ), Bangla (বাংলা), Bôngodesh (বঙ্গদেশ), or Bangladesh (বাংলাদেশ) in the Bengali language, is a region in the northeast of South Asia. ...

The VOC period

During the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century the Dutch continued to exile Muslim leaders from Batavia to the Cape: they included Sheikh Yusuf of Bantam, who lived at Faure in Cape Town. Probably the first imam to live in Cape Town was Said Alochie of Mocha in Yemen, who was sentenced to work on Robben Island for ten years in 1747. Said Alochie later moved to Cape Town where he worked as a police constable - an occupation which gave him ample opportunities for visiting slave quarters at night to teach. In 1767 Prince Abdullah Kadi Abu Salaam of Tidore was exiled to the Cape. He wrote a copy of the Koran from memory, and the volume is still preserved in Cape Town; Abdullah assumed leadership of the community in Cape Town and became known as "Tuan Guru". Look up Batavia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The city of Bantam near the western end of Java was a strategically important site and formerly a major trading city, with a secure harbor on the Malacca Strait through which all ocean-going traffic passed, at the mouth of a river (Cibantam River) that provided a navigable passage for... Imam (Arabic: إمام ,Persian: امام ) is an Arabic word meaning leader. ... City motto: Spes Bona (Latin: Good Hope) Location of the City of Cape Town in Western Cape Province Province Western Cape Mayor Helen Zille Area  - % water 2,499 km² N/A Population  - Total (2004)  - Density Not ranked 2,893,251 1,158/km² Established 1652 Time zone SAST (UTC+2... Mocha (Arabic Al-Mukah) is a port city on the Red Sea coast of Yemen. ... Prison buildings on Robben Island. ... // Events January 31 - The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Dock Hospital April 9 - The Scottish Jacobite Lord Lovat was beheaded by axe on Tower Hill, London, for high treason; he was the last man to be executed in this way in Britain May 14 - First battle of Cape... City motto: Spes Bona (Latin: Good Hope) Location of the City of Cape Town in Western Cape Province Province Western Cape Mayor Helen Zille Area  - % water 2,499 km² N/A Population  - Total (2004)  - Density Not ranked 2,893,251 1,158/km² Established 1652 Time zone SAST (UTC+2... 1767 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Tidore is an island and town in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia, just west of the larger island of Halmahera. ... The Quran (Arabic al-qurʾān أَلْقُرآن; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ...

In 1799 the growth of the community encouraged Cape Town's Muslims to petition the VOC for permission to build a mosque. Islam was a popular religion among the slaves - its tradition of teaching enabled literate slaves to gain better positions in their masters' households, and the religion taught its followers to treat their own slaves well. [5]

Islam in South Africa after apartheid

Since South Africa became a democracy in 1994, there has been a growing number of Muslim migrants from South Asia and North Africa; however, their numbers are fairly low. Most of the Muslims are urban dwellers and thus live in or near Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, East London, Kimberley, Pretoria or Johannesburg. 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... Map of South Asia (see note on Kashmir). ...  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent. ... City motto: Spes Bona (Latin: Good Hope) Location of the City of Cape Town in Western Cape Province Province Western Cape Mayor Helen Zille Area  - % water 2,499 km² N/A Population  - Total (2004)  - Density Not ranked 2,893,251 1,158/km² Established 1652 Time zone SAST (UTC+2... Durban (Zulu: eThekwini (IPA: ) is the second most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. ... Port Elizabeth is a city in South Africa, situated in the Eastern Cape Province, at 33°58′ S 25°36′ E. The city is located on Algoa Bay, and is one of the major seaports in South Africa. ... East London (Afrikaans: Oos-Londen, Xhosa: Imonti) is a city in southeast South Africa, situated in the Eastern Cape Province at 32. ... Kimberley is a town in South Africa, and the capital of the Northern Cape. ... City motto: Praestantia Praevaleat Pretoria (May Pretoria Be Pre-eminent In Excellence) Province Gauteng Area  - % water 1,644 km² 0. ... City motto: Unity in Development Province Gauteng Mayor Amos Masondo Area  - % water 1,644 km² 0. ...

1994 elections

When the first democratic elections took place in April 1994 two Muslim parties emerged; namely the Africa Muslim Party (AMP) and the Islamic Party. The outcome of the 1994 elections resulted in AMP having received 47,690 votes, which was less than 1 percent of the total vote of the nationwide elections. Many Muslims voted for the Nationalist Party and for the African National Congress. The Africa Muslim Party is a South African Muslim political party. ... The National Party (Afrikaans: Nasionale Party) (with its members sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats) was the governing party of South Africa from June 4th 1948 until May 9th 1994, and was disbanded in 2005. ... The African National Congress (ANC) is a Communist political party, and has been South Africas governing party supported by a tripartite alliance between itself, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the South African Communist Party (SACP) since the establishment of majority rule in May 1994. ...

2004 elections

In the 2004 election the Africa Muslim Party tried again to attract voters but only succeeded in obtaining 34,446 votes, which is around 0.20 percent of the total vote count. By then the Islamic Party was non-existent and some of it ardent members decided to join the Peace and Justice Party, a predominantly Muslim party, which failed to gain a substantial amount of votes. Their failure could be due to the fact that Muslim theologians that were members of the Jamiat ul-Ulama (Association of Muslim Theologians) and the Muslim Judicial Council supported the idea of voting for the African National Congress. Jamiat ul-Ulama meaning Council of Theologians in Arabic could refer to: Jamiatul Ulama Transvaal, a Muslim organization that operates in the Transvaal region of South Africa. ...

Prominent South African Muslims

Following the 2004 elections, two Muslims were appointed to the Cabinet - Ms. Naledi Pandor, the Minister of Education and her deputy, Mr. Enver Surty. It might also be argued that the Minister without portfolio in the President's office, namely Dr. Essop Pahad, as well as his brother, Aziz Pahad - the deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, thus bring the total to 4 and not 2 cabinet ministers as mentioned earlier; however, this is because they have been viewed as secularist who have not fully identified themselves with Islam and the Muslims. Kader Asmal, former minister of education takes the tally from 4 to 5 muslim cabinet ministers. Apart from these individuals, there is also a fair number of Muslim Parliamentarians and a sizeable number of councillors in the respective provinces. The only province that has a Muslim premier is the Western Cape, namely Mr. Ebrahim Rasool. Perhaps it is also appropriate to mention that when Nelson Mandela became president of the democratic state in 1994, he appointed Mr. Dullah Omar as his Minister of Justice and when Thabo Mbeki took over as president he became the Minister of Transport until his death in early 2004. Their appointments demonstrated in a concrete way that Muslims have been active within the socio-political arena. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ms Naledi Pandor the South African Minister of Education was appointed to the cabinet following the 2004 South African general elections. ... Aziz Pahad, South African Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad (born December 25, 1940) is deputy minister of foreign affairs in South Africa. ... Ebrahim Rasool is the Premier of the Western Cape Province in South Africa. ... Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (IPA ) (born July 18, 1918) was the first President of South Africa to be elected in fully-representative democratic elections. ... Abdullah Mohamed Omar (May 26, 1934 - March 13, 2004), better known as Dullah Omar was a South African anti-Apartheid activist, lawyer, and a minister in the South African cabinet from 1994 till his death. ... Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki (born June 18, 1942) is the President of the Republic of South Africa. ...

South African schools of Islam

Most South African Muslims are members of the Sunni branch of Islam; there are however a small number of individuals who had converted to the Shi'a school. Although they were vocal in the late 1980s and early 1990s, they seemed to have become part of the silent Muslim minority at the turn of the 21st century. This could be attributed to the fact that South Africa's large Sunni oriented community have not adopted a favourable and accommodating attitude towards the Shi'is and that Iran's influence had dwindled in the 1990s. Organizations such as the Jamiat ul-Ulama of the Transvaal (est. 1923), The Muslim Judicial Council (est. 1945) and Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa (est. 1970) enjoyed a fair amount of moral and financial support from the Muslim community for their social welfare activities. The once strong Muslim Student Association of South Africa (est. 1974), which had branches on many tertiary campuses, became less vocal and thus lost its grip on student activities; the MSA was thus replaced by Islamic societies that were either independent or affiliates of other Muslim organizations outside these institutions. The MSA has recently been very active once again. The first National MSA Conference (first in the last 10 years) was held in Durban in January 2004. MSA representatives from all over the country met here. This was hoped to be a new future of student work in the country. Sunni Islam (Arabic سنّة) is the largest denomination of Islam. ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the Quran, its principal scripture, whose followers, known as Muslims (مسلم), believe God (Arabic: الله ) sent through revelations to Muhammad. ... Shia Islam ( Arabic شيعى follower; English has traditionally used Shiite or Shiite) is the second largest Islamic denomination; some 20-25% of all Muslims are said to follow a Shia tradition. ... Germans dancing on the Berlin Wall in late 1989, the symbol of the cold war divide falls down as the world unites in the 1990s. ... The Jamiatul Ulama Transvaal (Council of Muslim Theologians), headquartered in Fordsburg, Johannesburg, was founded in 1923 to serve the Muslim community of the (now defunct) Transvaal Province of South Africa. ... The Muslim Student Association (MSA) is a group dedicated, by its own description, to Islamic societies on college campuses in Canada and the United States for the good of Muslim students. ...

The South African Muslim community

The South African Muslims have generally been responsible for building a healthy infrastructure that has contributed towards the well being of South African society as a whole. For example, there is the Mustadafin Foundation in the Cape, which has been active in welfare work in most of the lower income communities, and there is the Gift of the Givers - known by its Arabic name Waqf al-Waqifin - that has been praised by the South African government for its sterling social welfare work not only in South Africa but also in other part of Africa such as Somalia and Mozambique. There are, however, a plethora of Muslim organizations in different parts of the country that have been doing welfare work. They have moreover been supported by the Muslim diplomatic community that has political ties with South Africa. Arabic can mean: From or related to Arabia From or related to the Arabs The Arabic language; see also Arabic grammar The Arabic alphabet, used for expressing the languages of Arabic, Persian, Malay ( Jawi), Kurdish, Panjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and Urdu, among others. ...

This community as well as visitors from their countries; for example, Iranians, Pakistanis, Malaysians, Indonesians, Kuwaytis and Saudi Arabians - to name but a few - have been making their financial contributions towards the South African society at large and the South African Muslim community in particular. The governments of Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait have contributed to the building of mosques and other efforts to promote Islam. Quite a few Arab states such as the United Arab Emirates have ploughed in a substantial amount of funds into the coffers of Ahmed Deedat's Islamic Propagation Centre International. The Masjid al-Haram in Mecca as it exists today A mosque is a place of worship for followers of the Islamic faith. ...

New Rise in Conversions

The biggest reason given for the dramatic rise in Islam is that the religion is a refuge from sex, AIDS, alcoholism, and domestic violence that is rampant in the black townships, where the greatest rates of conversions are seen. It is estimated that Islam is the largest religion of conversion in South Africa.^[1] Islam grew by six fold in thirteen years, during the time from 1991 to 2004. ^[2]Even though organizations such as IPCI, the Islamic Dawah Movement of South Africa, and the Africa Muslim Agency have been eager to proselytize in the region, there have been other civic organizations such as the MYMSA and the Call of Islam who considered other approaches to weave Islam into the social fabric of South Africa as a more significant way of making the Muslims' presence conspicuous.

According Michael Mumisa, a researcher and writer on African Islam, there has been an increase in the number of black South Africans converting to Islam particularly among the women and the youth. He believes that for some of the youth and women who were schooled in the politics of South African resistance and confrontation with the security forces of the former Apartheid state, the acceptance of Islam has become part of a radical rejection of a society based on Christian principles which are seen as having been responsible for establishing and promoting the Apartheid doctrine through the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa. The influence of the radical ideas espoused by Malcolm X is very evident among South African Muslims of all races. Branches of the Nation of Islam are already established in South Africa. Louis Farrakhan paid a visit to South Africa and was received by President Mandela and African Muslim communities. A segregated beach in South Africa, 1982. ... The Dutch Reformed village church of St. ... Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little, also known as Detroit Red and Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Omaha, Nebraska, May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965 in New York City) was a Muslim Minister and National Spokesman for the Nation of Islam. ... Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, (born 18 July 1918) is a former President of South Africa, was one of its chief anti-apartheid activists, and was also an anti-apartheid saboteur and guerrilla leader. ...

Theology

The historical context of the region of Southern Africa has given birth to a new group of Muslim theologians and thinkers who have been advocating a radical reinterpretation of Islam. This has led to serious and in some cases violent conflict between the traditionalist or ultra conservative Muslims and the young scholars branded as "modernists". The term "modernist" is used in South African Islamic discourse by the traditional Muslim establishment against anyone calling for the re-interpretation of Islam. The influences of Latin American Liberation theology, Pluralism, Postmodernism, and Postcolonial theory are clearly evident in the writings and theories of this new group of Muslim theorists. The following African scholars are among the leading theorists on contemporary South African Islam: Professor Ebrahim Moosa at Duke University, Professor Abdulkader Tayob Chair at Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands, Farid Esack Chair of Ethics, Religion and Society at Xavier University in Cincinnati, and Michael Mumisa doing research at the Graduate Institute for Theology and Religion at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. In music, especially Schenkerian analysis, an elision, overlap, or rather reinterpretation (Umdeutung), is the perception, after the fact, of a metrically weak final chord (of a chord progression) as being in a strong position as the initial chord of the next progression. ... // Overview In essence, liberation theology explores the relationship between Christian theology (usually Roman Catholic) and political activism, particularly in areas of social justice, poverty, and human rights. ... It has been suggested that Pluralistic perspective be merged into this article or section. ... Andy Warhols iconic Marilyn Monroe Postmodernism is an idea that has been extremely controversial and difficult to define among scholars, intellectuals, and historians, because the term implies to many that the modern historical period has passed. ... Postcolonial theory is a literary theory or critical approach that deals with literature produced in countries that were once, or are now, colonies of other countries. ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the Quran, its principal scripture, whose followers, known as Muslims (مسلم), believe God (Arabic: الله ) sent through revelations to Muhammad. ... Ebrahim E.I. Moosa is Associate Professor of Islamic Studies in the Department of Religion and Director of the Center for Study of Muslim Networks at Duke University. ... Duke University is a private coeducational research university located in Durham, North Carolina, USA. The school, which officially became Duke University in 1924, traces its institutional roots to 1838. ... The Radboud University Nijmegen, formerly called University of Nijmegen is the university of the Dutch city of Nijmegen. ... Farid Esack is a South African Progressive Muslim writer and scholar. ... Ethics (from the Ancient Greek ethikos, meaning arising from habit), a major branch of philosophy, is the study of value or quality. ... Xavier University is a name common to several education institutions found around the world. ... Website http://www. ...

See also

• Islam by country
• PAGAD

Distribution of Islam per country. ... People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD) was formed in 1996 as a community anticrime group fighting drugs and violence in the Cape Flats section of Cape Town, South Africa, but by early 1998 had also become antigovernment and anti-Western. ...

External links

• Radio 786
• South African Muslims

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ [2]

• This article contains material from the Library of Congress Country Studies, which are United States government publications in the public domain.
• Giliomee, H., 1979. The Shaping of South African Society 1652-1820, Longman. ISBN 0-582-64687-1