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SANAA PETERSEN

A shocking incident in which an Egyptian womanwas stabbed to death in a German courtroom hasprovoked outrage in her home country. The youngmother, pregnant with her second child, was killedby the very man she was bearing witness against,himself in court for making Islamophobic insults.Thirty-two-year-old Marwa Sherbini was four

months pregnant when she was attacked in theDresden court, Germany on 1 July 2009. She wasstabbed 18 times, in full view of the attendees,including her three-year-old son. Her husband,Aloui Ali Oukaz, who tried to come to her aid, wasalso stabbed and then shot down by a policemanwho thought him to be an attacker, leaving himhospitalised.The story began in August 2008, when Ms Sherbinibrought charges against 28-year-old Axel W.,unemployed and of Russian origin, for having hadcalled her a terrorist because she was wearing aheadscarf. The right-wing extremist was charged780 euros, but appealed the ruling. It was at theappeal that the incident took place.The man, who has only been identi-fied as 28-year-old Alex W., remainsin detention and prosecutors have

opened an investigation on suspicionof murder.Christian Avenarius, the prosecutorin Dresden where the incident tookplace, described the killer as drivenby a deep hatred of Muslims. "It wasvery clearly a xenophobic attack of afanatical lone wolf."He added that the attacker was aRussian of German descent who hadimmigrated to Germany in 2003 andhad expressed his contempt forMuslims at the start of the trial.Egyptian commentators said theincident was an example of how hatecrimes against Muslims are over-

looked in comparison to those committed byMuslims against Westerners. Many commen-tators pointed to the uproar that followed the2004 murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh bya Dutch-born Islamic fundamentalist angryover one of his films criticizing the treatmentof Muslim women.Abdel Azeem Hamad, chief editor of the inde-pendent Egyptian daily el-Shorouk, said that

if the victim had been a Jew, there would havebeen an uproar."What we demand is just some attention to begiven to the killing of a young innocent moth-er on the hands of fanatic extremist," hewrote in his column.Officials from a German Muslim group andthe country's main Jewish group made a jointvisit Monday to the Dresden hospital wherethe victim's husband is being treated."You don't have to be a Muslim to act againstanti-Muslim behaviour, and you don't have tobe a Jew to act against anti-Semitism," saidStephan Kramer, the general secretary of theCentral Council of Jews.

HAPPIER TIMES: Marwa, her husband Aloui Ali Oukaz and theirthree year old son Mustafa

Keeping you in contact with your community

25thEDITION JULY2009 SHABAN1430

Killedforwearingaheadscarf

STAFF REPORTER

The Council of EducationMinisters has approvedJanuary 7 as the officialrelease date of the 2009National SeniorCertificate (NSC) examresults. Matriculants willnow have to wait till nextyear to discover theirfates, as apposed to the

traditional release date oflate December.The Department of BasicEducation said that the2008 NSC exams hadshown that if exams fin-ished in December, thelimited timeframe allocat-ed for the marking, cap-turing, processing andrelease of the results inthe same month, places

the national and provincialeducation departmentsunder severe pressure.Earlier in the year,Umalusi, the body respon-sible for monitoring, mod-eration and standardisa-tion of the NSC, askedformer education ministerNaledi Pandor to considerreleasing the final matricresults in January, in order

to guarantee the accuracyand reliability of theresults. Universities in theWestern Cape have how-ever, stated that therelease date could have anegative impact on stu-dent registration and uni-versity planning.

Matric results set tobereleasedin January

PICTURES: Sourced

What's New:TheCommunityNews(CNEWS)hastrans-formedintoaWomen,girlsandyouthengen-deredread.TheCNEWShasdedicatedpageswrittenbyyoungMuslimsforyoungMuslims.The'juniorreporters'havebeenselectedthroughtheYouthEngineeringtheFuture(YEF)Trust.The CNEWS iscommittedto thejournalisticdevelopment ofyoungMuslims.Eachreporterundergoesaten-monthMediaandCommunicationscoursecapacitatingthemwithskillsintheprint,radio,televisionanddigitalmedia.Watchthemgrow!PLEASE SUPPORT OUR YOUTH MEDIA

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Emily Mabou, a 29 yearold Ghanaian woman,has married her dogbecause she believesthat it has qualities shehad seen only in herlate father. The DailyDose reported thatMabou married the 18-month-old dog in a cer-emony attended by atraditional priest andlocal villagers. Mabou'syounger brother DavidMabou said her familyboycotted the weddingwhich they felt was "astupid step to combather loneliness".But Ms Mabou said:"For so long, I've beenpraying for a life part-ner who will have allthe qualities of my dad.

My dad was kind, faith-ful, and loyal to mymum, and he never lether down. "I've been inrelationships with somany men here in Togo,and they are all thesame - skirt-chasersand cheaters. My dog iskind and loyal to meand he treats me with somuch respect."In the ceremony, thepriest warned villagersnot to mock the wed-ding, but to "rejoicewith her as she hasfound happiness atlast". Asked how sheintends to raise childrenwith her new husband,Ms Mabou simply said:"We will adopt."

WomanmarriesdogSHEER TERROR DEPICTED: As Marwa Shebini is fatallyattacked in a courtroom

In MOURNING: Thousands gathered in Cairo to mourn Marwa'ssenseless death

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KAUTHAR LANGRY

On May 1st, the YouthEngineering the FutureTrust (YEF), set out toHawequas Scout

Adventure Park inWellington, to film amini documentary and todiscover more about themedia industry. I wentmostly out of curiosityand didn't know what toexpect. But I was pleas-antly surprised at thehard work and dedicationrequired to shoot a minidocumentary from con-ception to end product.We learnt how to worktogether as a team andwe really burnt the mid-night oil. Being the onlygirl present, I felt really

awkward and uncomfort-able at first, but it wasnot for long. But in theend, I felt like I had ninebig brothers.We learnt how to rough itup and make use of any-thing and everything thatwe could get our handson. I felt like a contestanton the TV showSurvivor. I discoveredthat camp food couldactually taste good, con-sidering the fact that weonly had one piece ofcutlery, namely BoetaKhali's pocket knife andmy mom's handy sconescontainer.The facilitators of theMedia TV Bootcampprepped us on the funda-

mentals of shooting adocumentary. Theyemphasised the impor-tance and effectiveness ofgood brainstorming ses-sions. We learnt that "pre

planning" was essentialas it makes shooting easi-er. Our documentary wasbased on the YEF. Wewere therefore split intodifferent teams and eachteam had a specific seg-ment to produce. Afterfinding the perfect loca-tion, we began shooting.I loved calling out "quieton set", "roll camera","action", and then yelling"cut". It was difficultcontaining the giggles onset. I've learnt that shoot-ing is one of the most tir-ing and frustrating jobs,

when it comes to being adirector you really needto be patient with yourcrew.Filming "vox shots" wasa great experience. I dis-covered how it felt to beplaced under the spot-light and in front of acamera. You can't helpbut laugh when you seethat red light go on.Immediately your mindgoes blank.We wereexposed to the variousprocesses of film making.The experience was trulyamazing. The teamwork

was inspiring and it wasa weekend that I willnever forget. And I washonoured to be a part ofit.

2 July 2009 - Shaban 1430

FIRDOWS BADROODIEN

The Youth Engineering the Future Trust(YEF) facilitated the first Media-Television Bootcamp at Hawequas ScoutRanch in Wellington from the 1st to 3rdMay for grade 11 - 12 learners from theindependent Muslim schools and hifdhacademies. The Media-TV Bootcamp

was sponsored by the South AfricanNational Zakaah Fund, Channel 4Productions and the Islamic MediaAgency.The objectives of the Media TVBootcamp were to equip young personsto responsibly engage and consumemedia and its products, specificallyvisual and digital media, namely socialnetworking, television and print. And tocreate a critical awareness of the role ofmedia, its landscape and the impact it

has on their development.Learners were equipped with the basicunderstanding of the three phases in pro-ducing documentaries namely, Pre pro-duction, Production and Post production.However, the three day week-end provedtoo short a time to complete all the pro-posed modules. Learners therefore need-

ed to attend additional sessions to com-plete the post production modules.The final product, a mini documentaryon the young Muslims' Achievementswere viewed by learners, parents andother guests at the YEF 1st birthday cel-ebration held on Youth Day (16 June).MEC of Education, Donald Grant attend-ed the celebration and stated that he wastruly impressed by the quality of workand dedication shown by the learners.He said, 'it's clear that a lot of hard work

was done.'Raadiyah Abrahams, who holds a BA(hons) in Film and Media, was the prin-cipal facilitator of the bootcamp sup-ported by Khalil Amod from Channel 4Productions and Sanaa Petersen from theIslamic Media Agency.

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The Telegraph reported inNovember 2008 that the singerMichael Jackson has converted toIslam and changed his name toMikaeel.The report stated that MichaelJackson who was raised as aJehovah's Witness, converted toIslam in a ceremony at a friend'shouse in Los Angeles.He is said to have sat on the floorand worn a small hat while animam officiated.And according to The Sun, theceremony took place whileJackson, 50, was recording analbum at the home of StevePorcaro, a keyboard player whocomposed music on his Thrilleralbum.The former Jackson 5 star wascounselled by David Wharnsby, aCanadian songwriter, and Phillip

Bubal, a producer, who have bothconverted.A source sai d Jackson hadappeared a "bit down" and added:"They began talking to him abouttheir beliefs, and how they thoughtthey had become better peopleafter they converted. Michael soonbegan warming to the idea."An imam was summoned fromthe mosque and Michael wentthrough the shahada, which is theMuslim declaration of belief."The previous year his brother,Jermaine Friday, suggestedJackson would convert havingtaken an interest in Islam sinceFriday's conversion in 1989.

"When I came back from Mecca Igot him a lot of books and heasked me lots of things about myreligion and I told him that it'speaceful and beautiful," saidFriday."He read everything and he wasproud of me that I found some-thing that would give me innerstrength and peace."I think it is most probable thatMichael will convert to Islam."He could do so much, just like Iam trying to do. Michael and I andthe word of God, we could do somuch."Today, Michael was laid to rest atthe Forest Lawn cemetery, which

is also home to the graves of sev-eral Hollywood stars includingHumphrey Bogart, Clark Gable,Bette Davis and Jean Harlow, andthe singer Marvin Gaye.

BelharYouthPromotingEntrepreneurshipSTEPS hosted its youth entrepre-neurial program on Saturday, 25July at the Owwal Masjid inBelhar. Their objectives were toenable young persons to overcometheir various socio-economic chal-lenges. We decided to host this

type of event so that the youth ofBelhar may become self sustain-able, said Junaid Mullajee -STEPS team leader.The first guest speaker, AchmatPatience assistant to SheikhShahid Esau, Speaker ofParliament, addressed the youngcrowd on business and studyopportunities accessible to them.The next speaker was Belhar busi-nesswoman, Layla Haggeland whoshared her successes in making thecorrect choices, You can chooseto succeed or you can choose notto said Haggeland.Young participants were dividedinto groups to compete in creating

a winning strategy to sell a PoolNoodle. Hilarious examples werepresented, but in the end the entre-preneurial skills were honed.

SETTING THE SCENE: Kauthar Langry, ImraanJappie and Yaseen Ebrahiem

According to www.sport24.com, United StatesPresident Barack Obama has accepted an invitation toattend the opening ceremony of the 2010 SoccerWorld Cup in Johannesburg. The final will be takingplace on June 11, 2010. The announcement was madeby FIFApresident Sepp Baltter during a special roundtable discussion in Johannesburg. He stated: "ThePresident of the United States has been invited to theopening ceremony of the 2010 World Cup. He hasaccepted our invitation. But you know that heads of

state are extremely busy and hopefully his schedulewill allow him to attend." The opening ceremony willtake place at the new ultra modern 100 000 capacitySoccer City, featuring either hosts Bafana Bafana ordefending world champions Italy.

Lights, Camera, Action!

Obama to Visit South Africa in 2010

NEWSBITESFarewell MJ

MARKETING: Young participantsat the YEF-STEPS Entrepreneurshipday marketing the Pool Noodle -l-r, Raees Ismail , Nasreen Sayedand Uzair Ramjam

THE VEIL: The King of Pop inAbaya during his visit to Bahrainin 2006"

YOUTHLINEIjustwan2say! SMS YEF followed byyour comment to 3390

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STAFF REPORTER

According to thePalestinian News Network,violations of media free-doms have risen in occupied

Palestinian territories dur-ing June.The Israeli district court inJerusalem sentenced Al-Alalam TV correspondent,Khader Shahin, and produc-er, Mohammed Sarhan, totwo months imprisonment.The occupation soldiershave also attacked the pho-tographer journalists NayefAl-Hashlamoun and hisbrothers, Najeh and Abd Al-Hafiz, Hazem Bader, IyadHamad, Yosri Al- Jamal andhis assistant Maa'mounWazwaz.The Palestinian security

forces in the West Bankhave arrested the journal-ists: Awad Rjoub, Dr. FaridAbu Dhair, and Alaa' Altiti,Qays Abu Samrah, YounisHasasneh and the journalistwriter Seri Sammour. Theyhave also stopped Al-Jazeera Television staff(Wael Shioukhi, Zeiad Al-Aqrat and MohammadSalameh) and deleted the

footage from their camera.The security forces in Gazahave also arrested SeriQudwah and attackedMohammad Mashharawi.The Palestinian Center for

Development and MediaFreedoms (MADA)expressed its deep concernfor the ongoing arrests of

journalists and writers bythe Palestinian securityforces in the West Bank andGaza Strip, as well as thecontinued detention of anumber of other journalistsin their prisons who werearrested in the past monthsnamely, Iyad Srour, MustafaSabri and Murad Abu Al-Bahaa'. MADA alsodenounce the rejection bythe Preventive Securityforce to release the journal-

ist Mustafa Sabri, despitethe decision issued by theSupreme Court of Justice torelease him.MADA also condemned allviolations committed byIsraeli occupation forcesand the Palestinian securityforces against thePalestinian journalists,which is a violation of thefreedom of opinion and

expression.MA DA h asalso calledfor an endto the

a t t a c k sa g a i n s t

journalistsas well asthe releaseo fdetainees.Details ofviolations:(1 June) -A l j a z e e r aNet corre-s p o n d e n t

Awad Rjoub was arrested bythe Palestinian MilitaryIntelligence Force. Rajoubsaid that he received aphone call from the men-

tioned force asking him tocome to their headquartersin Hebron. He went there ataround 12:00 pm, wherethey asked him to hand overhis personal possessionsand to sign an arrest war-rant, and then they startedto investigate him for aninterview he made with oneof Hamas leaders to beincluded in a report to Al-Jazeera Net. He wasreleased at 4:00pm of thesame day. Rajoub wasarrested by the PreventiveSecurity Force on 29 July2008 and released a monthlater.(2 June) - Iqra's TV corre-

spondent, Younes IbrahimHasasneh (31 years old),was arrested by thePalestinian PreventiveSecurity Force (PPSF). Hiswife reported that the PPSFraided their house in thetown of AlShioukh(Hebron) at about 3:30 pmand asked him to accompa-

ny them to their headquar-ters in Hebron to be asked afew questions and thenreturn home the same day.Twenty six days after arrest,

his wife has visited himwhereas he told her that hewas tortured the first fivedays of his arrest and thentransferred to regularrooms, and he was ques-tioned about the nature ofhis journalistic work , butwith no charges. Hasasnehwas arrested by thePalestinian IntelligenceForce on 3 November 2008and released six days later.(10 June) - Quds Televisioncorrespondent MohamedZuhdi Mashharawi (23years old) was attacked, bythe Palestinian police in the

Gaza city. Mashharawi saidthat he was covering thevisit of a Qatari delegationto Alshifa Hospital in Gazacity at about 12:00 pm whenhe was informed by the hos-pital administration that thecoverage of the visit is lim-ited to one television chan-nel. There was a discussionbetween him and the hospi-tal administration on thisissue and then the police ofthe hospital security inter-vened and told him thatphotographing is prohibit-ed. There was a debate withthem since this is not theircompetence. They attackedhim by beating and detainedhim for one hour at the hos-pital security room. Laterhe protested to the PoliceDepartment, which haspromised to investigate theincident. At night, theyapologized to him andstressed that the attack wasa personal decision.

3July 2009 - Shaban 1430

Violence againstPalestinianMedia Rises

FIRDOWS BADROODIEN

The Islamic Media Agency (IMA) inpartnership with the YouthEngineering the Future Trust (YEF)honoured top matriculants from theIndependent Muslim Schools (IMS) at

the IMA Academic Awards of Excellence. This was only the secondawards ceremony in South Africa,which recognized the academicachievements of students from faithbased education institutions.The awards ceremony took place onYouth Day and was attended byEducation MEC Donald Grant. TheMEC handed over the awards to thetop achievers and presented the IMAAcademic Awards of ExcellenceTrophy to the first place student. MECDonald Grant emphasized the signifi-cance of commemorating Youth Day inSouth Africa; he also highlighted theimportance of faith based schools andthe impact it has on the economy and

society as a whole.School principals, parents and rela-tives gathered at Darul Islam HighSchool in Surrey Estate to congratu-late learners on their success.Participating schools were Darul IslamHigh, Al Azhar High in Athlone,Islamia College in Lansdowne,Madrasatul Rajaa in Strand, DarulArqam Institute in Mitchell's Plain,Iqra Academy in Belhar and Oracle

Academy in Ottery.The top academic achiever is RaeesMahmood from Islamia College. Heachieved the highest overall aggregateof 93%. He also achieved 98% formathematics, the highest among alllearners. He is currently in his first

year, studying Actuarial Science at theUniversity of Cape Town. When askedhow he felt when he received theaward for the top student, he said "itwas a proud moment for me and I felthonored to receive it. However, it wasonly with the help of my parents andschool that made it all possible. Raeesalso stated that his parents were veryproud of his achievements their sup-port was invaluable to him throughouthis matric year. Raees had someadvice for current matriculants, "Ithink it is important to work continu-ously throughout the year, it is key tofind a balance between time spent onwork and time spent on doing thingsyou enjoy. Matric is a memorable year,

enjoy every moment of it".The other top achievers were FatimaMowzer also from Islamia College,who achieved 96% for PhysicalScience and earned the HighestAchiever Award for Physical Science.As well as Gadija Taliep from DarulArqam in Mitchell's Plain, whoachieved 86% for Arabic, earning herthe Highest Achieving Award forArabic among all learners. Rushda

Salie from Al Azhar High Schoolreceived the award for OutstandingContribution to CommunityDevelopment.Partners of the 2008 IMA AcademicAwards of Excellence is the AlbarakaBank, the Muslim Judicial Counciland Hospital Welfare and MuslimEducational Movement.

Top Muslim High School Learners Honoured

INSPIRING: Raees Mahmood from Islamia

College

PICTURES: Zakareeyah Panday

The Youth Engineering theFuture invited the perform-ance of poeTree a play writtenand directed by YEF trusteeLauren Bates and performed byCharis Anna Mostert andMatthew Patrick Baldwin.

The play is ideal for young per-sons growing up in a diverseand pluralistic environmentdealing with diffences, espe-cially with difference in peeropinions and views. The twotalented and young actors aredrawn together by their lovefor poetry and share theirthoughts on religion, xenopho-

bia, drugs and friendship.

Peer Reviews:

Powerful and moving play- Raees Ismail

Amazing performance- UzairRamjam

That was soo real- IsrahAriefdien

Theartre and poeTREEat Iqra Academy,Belhar

Proudsponsorsof the'IMAAcademicAwardsofExcellence'IslamicMedia

Agency

Hospital

Welfare &

Muslim

Educational

Movement

PERFORMING: Charis AnnaMostert and Matthew PatrickBaldwin

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UZAIR RAMJAM

Youth Day in South Africa is the daywe commemorate and celebrate thestruggles and achievements of stu-dents and youth during apartheid. OnJune 16th, The Youth Engineering theFuture Trust (YEF) also celebratedtheir first birthday.The birthday celebration togetherwith the Islamic Media Agency -Academic Awards of Excellence forindependent Muslim high schoolswas held at Darul Islam High School,and was supported by over 400guests. Guests included parents,friends, school principals, teachersand past matriculants of variousschools as well as respected Ulemasuch as the deputy president of theMuslim Judicial Council, SheikhAchmat Sedick and the MEC forEducation, Donald Grant.This celebration of Muslim youth's

achievements and milestones wasentirely co-ordinated and managed byyoung Muslims between the ages of14-20years. The YEF has eight youthbranches in the Western Cape andeach branch had individual tasks tocelebrate the successes of Muslimyouth.Zubair Rushdien from STEPS deliv-ered the opening du'ah, which wasfollowed by a qiraah performed byRaees Ismail from the 'Helpinghands, Connecting Hearts' branch ofthe YEF. Then the various branches

of the YEF had a2minute opportunity toaddress the audience onthe aims and objectivesof the YEF and theirvision.

This was followed bythe Islamic MediaAgency's AcademicAwards of Excellence.These are awards givento top academic stu-dents from the inde-pendent Muslim highschools. MEC DonaldGrant addressed theaudience on the impor-tance of Youth Day andhow the youth of thepast struggled andfought for a better lifefor today's youth. Healso explained the

importance of realizingour capabilities and potential as it isthe youth who has the ability to makeSouth Africa flourish. The award forthe top matriculant of 2008 went toRaees Mahmood from IslamiaCollege, he scored an overall 93%.Sheikh Achmat Sedick spoke aboutthe importance of Youth Day butfrom an Islamic perspective. He high-lighted the role Muslim youth playedin the struggle against apartheid andthe role Muslim youth can play in ournew democracy.

We then had a hijabi fashion show inorder to raise awareness and high-light the fact that Muslims are able tolook fashionable and still retain theirIslamic identity. The fashion showwas coordinated by Sakinah Dalwai,from Darul Islam High School andthe clothes were sponsored by LAJeans, Hypermarket - Ottery.The programme ended off with a playperformed by the junior Ibn JazariyAcademy students. This play cen-tered on the importance of strength-

ening the community regardless oftheir background, race or religion.It was a very fun yet stres sful day, thefirst event of this kind co-ordinatedby young Muslims. I'm certain wemade lots of mistakes but I'm alsocertain that we tried our best and willuse this event to create an even betterYEF 2nd birthday in celebrating theachievements, accolades and mile-stones of Muslim Youth.

Youth Celebrating Youth Achievements

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Congratulations to the YEF for their dedication and commitment towards a betterfuture. (cake sponsored by Something Nice Bakery, Victoria road, Woodstock)

Youth on The MOVE

LAUNCH:Youth creating the banner at the launch of the YEF,June 2008 at the Greenshed

Our FLASHBACKS

Zakareeyah Panday

LEADERS: Can celebrities be rolemodels? YEF Leadershipworkshop, Park road masjid, Wynberg, March 2009

SHARING: Parents sharing their success in love, happiness andfamily at the Husami Friendship Festival, February 2009

DEMOCRACY: YEF executives engaging with theConstitution and SA Democracy during June holidays

MOTIVATION: Riad Moosa shares his (hilarious) success

PICTURES:

Sanaa Petersen

YEFBIRTHDAYIncomeandExpenditureINCOME AmountDonations R 600.00TicketSales R9200.OOTotalIncome R9800.00Decor R 205.00FashionRamp R1000.00Food R2771.00GiftBags R 376.71Hiring&Hallcost R1088.00Lunches R 691.00PrintingFlyers R 270.00PrintingTickets R 600.00(Envelopes/ candles/paper)TransportandPetrol R1500.00TotalExpenses R8502.62Surplus R1297.38

Sponsors of the YEFBirthday Party

Something Nice Bakery0214480471 Victoria Rd

WoodstockL.A Jean Ottery

Hypermarket 021 7033610Parveen's Henna Creations

021 6918349Design a Curtain 021

633707115th Ave Lodge, Rondebosch

Israh Ariefdien

Irfaan BadroodienDenson's 021 6962110,Belgravia Rd Rylands

R&S Wholesales, College rdRylands

Pickers Butchery, Lake Road021 7050786

YEF Parents and family

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STAFF REPORTER

On the 15 July the

Constitutional Court decid-ed that women who areparty to a polygynousMuslim marriage concludedunder Muslim personal laware spouses for the purposeof inheriting or claimingfrom estates where thedeceased died without leav-ing a will. The judgmentarises from an applicationfor confirmation of a decla-ration of constitutionalinvalidity made by theWestern Cape High Court,Cape Town (High Court)The case concerns the pro-prietary consequences of apolygynous Muslim mar-riage within the context ofintestate succession.The applicant, Mrs FatimaGabie Hassam, was a partyto a polygynous Muslimmarriage. Her husband (thedeceased) died intestate.She unsuccessfully lodgedclaims with the executor ofthe deceased's estate. Theexecutor refused her claims

on the basis that polygy-nous Muslim marriages arenot legally recognized. She

applied to the High Courtchallenging the validity ofcertain provisions of theIntestate Succession Act 81of 1987 (the Act) and theMaintenance of SurvivingSpouses Act 27 of 1990 (theMSSA) on the grounds thatthey unfairly exclude wid-ows in polygynous Muslimmarriages from protectionsprovided for in thosestatutes by excluding themfrom the concepts of'spouse' and 'survivor'The High Court declaredsection 1(4)(f) of the Act tobe inconsistent with the

Constitution to the extentthat it makes provision foronly one spouse in aMuslim marriage to be anheir. It held that the termspouse in the Act should beinterpreted to includespouses in polygynousMuslim marriages. TheHigh Court further declaredthat the word survivor inthe MSSA should be read to

include surviving partnersof polygynous Muslim mar-riages. The declaration of

invalidity was referred tothis Court for confirmationin terms of the ConstitutionIn the confirmation pro-ceedings before this Courtthe applicant contended thatthe exclusion of widows inpolygynous Muslim mar-riages from the benefitsprovided for in the Actinfringes their constitution-al rights to equality, reli-gion and culture. None ofthe respondents opposed theapplication. The MuslimYouth Movement and theWomen's Legal Centre Trustwere admitted as amici

curiae and generally alignedthemselves with the submis-sions of the applicant.Nkabinde J writing for aunanimous Court confirmedthe declaration of constitu-tional invalidity made bythe High Court albeit in aslightly different manner.She held that the objectiveof the Act, which is tolessen the dependence of

widows on family benevo-lence, would be frustrated ifthe continued exclusion of

widows in polygynousMuslim marriages were topersist. Nkabinde J heldfurther that the Act violatesthe applicant's right toequality. The exclusion ofwomen in the position ofapplicant from the protec-tion of the Act unfairly dis-criminates against them onthe grounds of religion,marital status and gender.This exclusion is not justifi-able in a society guided bythe principles of equality,fairness, equity, socialprogress, justice, humandignity and freedom. In

concluding, Nkabinde Jheld that the word 'spouse'in the Act is not reasonablycapable of being understoodto include more than onespouse in the context of apolygynous marriage. Toremedy the defect, thewords 'or spouses' are to beread-in after each use of theword "spouse" in the Act.

SpousesinPolygynousMuslimmarriageshasrighttoinheritanceandmaintenance

STAFF REPORTER

The Muslim pupil who took secondplace on the list of the Western

Cape's top ten Matriculants has nowbeen named as the top achiever in theprovince. Haroon Moolla fromWalmer Estate, who matriculatedfrom Rondebosch Boys High schoollast year, was recognized as the toplearner. Education DepartmentDirector general Duncan Hindle saidthere had been a recalculation ofHaroon's mathematics mark, whichdoes not take the third mathematicspaper into account.Adiel Ismail, a lecturer at theUniversity of the Western Cape, whopursued the matter on behalf of theMoolla family, said he suspected thatsome candidates could have been dis-advantaged because of this. Ismail,

whose daughter was a Matric pupil atWesterford High School last year,inspected the matric results at theschool and noticed that the order ofthe second and third learner did notmatch the order on the WCED's top20 achievers list. Upon closer inspec-tion, Ismail realized that the marks ofthe Maths paper 3, which was anoptional subject, had been included.Ismail said following up on the issuehad been a 'difficult task' as theWCED had not been open to his con-cerns. However, he expressed satis-faction that justice had been served.Ismail added, 'He (Haroon) is thefirst Muslim learner that hasachieved this in our new democracyand under the standardized matricexams. This is a great achievementand I believe he needs to take the tophonour.'This accolade comes on top of manyother successes at school, including

his participation in numerousMathematics and ComputerOlympiads, both at home and abroad.He has participated in NationalOlympiads in Mathematics, Scienceand Informatics. In 2008 Haroon wasselected to represent South Africa atboth the International MathematicsOlympiad in Spain and the 49thInternational Olympiad onInformatics in Egypt (IOI).Apart from his academic skills,Moolla is also fully haafith. Whilstat Rondebosch Boys PreparatorySchool, instead of doing grade 6 hecommitted the 30 chapters of theHoly Quran to memory in one year.He then went on to grade 7 and wasthe Top Academic Achiever at theschool. Moolla has also represented

Western Province at chess and was amember of his school's CommunityService Society. Moolla is currentlystudying Actuarial science atUniversity of Cape Town.

HARDWORK: Western Cape's TopMatriculant, Haroon Moolla receiving hiswell deserved recognition

Hafidh Haroon top Achieverin Western Cape

Youth on The MOVE

Name: Amir Patel, 22yearsJob Title: Control Systems

Engineer

What I studied: I studied BSc

Eng (Mechatronics) at theUniversity of Cape Town. HUH?!

Well, firstly to clear things up,

Mechatronics is an interdiscipli-

nary branch of Engineering. I t

sits somewhere between

Mechan ica l, E lec t ron ic s and

Computer Engineering. (You can

see where the name comes

from). Almost all modern techno-logical systems employ the

methodology in someway. Eg.

Cars, A ir craf t, spacecraf t, B io -

medical systems, even washing

machines and gaming consoles.

Basically, anything that involves

a form of motion and electricity.A field of particular interest is

Robotics, which is my specializa-

tion.

Where I work: I am currently

employed by Tellumat (Pty) Ltd.

Our head-offices are situated

Retreat with engineers on vari-ous projects all over the country.

I , mys elf, a m s tat ion ed in

Stellenbosch at present.Tellumat is involved primarily in

the Telecommunications and

Defence industries. They also do

some consumer work as well.

What do I actually do : I work in

the Technology Division of

Tellumat: which is responsible

for the development of new

technologies. The project I am

currently working on is the

development of an autopi lot

system for a UAV (UnmannedAerial Vehicle). A UAV is essen-

tially an aircraft that fl ies

autonomously. So my current

task is designing a control sys-

tem for the autopilot of the UAVto keep it flying in the air.

Advice for those interested: Ifyou're keen on studying

Mechatronics, you should have a

love for mathematics and

physics . Serious ly, mathemat ics

governs all Engineering disci-

plines. If the thought of Calculus

gives you shiversthis is not for

you, my friend! That being said,you should also be good at

problem solving and have an

aptitude for lateral thinking. In

addition you should be hard

working and dedicated. Let me

stress that some moreyou

should be hardworking. Thoughbalance is pretty importanttoo I play guitar and sing in a

band in my free time!

So if you fancy yourself RobertDowney Jr. in Iron Man and can

see your se lf p layi ng w it h

expensive toys like flying robots

and missile guidance systems;

Mechatronics Engineering is for

you.

Alhamdulillah, on 13 July, all 3South Africans of the MuslimHands team have succeeded insummiting Kilimanjaro. Atapproximately 7:00 AM, Nadim

Mahomed ascended upon UhuruPeak to mark an epic moment inour Kilimanjaro Fund-raisingexpedition - and that was reach-ing the top of Africa! An hour anda half later, Muhammad Taher &Muhammad Ridwaan Khan sum-mited at approximately 8:30 AM.Five other member of the 37-manteam managed to summit.With our fund-raising target sur-passed and our Kilimanjaro climbsuccessfully completed, we thankAllah (SWA) for all His help inallowing our campaign to be suc-cessful, for keeping us healthy,providing us with the physicaland mental strength to summit,

and for bringing us home safely.The children of Palestine were aconstant inspiration and motiva-tion for us, reminding us that thefleeting struggles of the mountainwere nothing compared to theperpetual suffering that theyendure on a daily basis.Insha'Allah we make dua that allour little contributions makesome difference in their lives.

TotheChildren&FutureofPalestinePICTURE: Sourced

CAREERS

FancystudyingRobotics

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ROSHAN DAVIDS

Blind cricket is a version ofcricket adapted for blind and par-tially sighted players. The rulesof blind cricket are based on thestandard laws of cricket withsome essential modifications.In terms of playing equipment,the major adaptation is the ball,which is significantly larger thana standard cricket ball and whichis filled with ball bearings. Thesize allows partially sighted play-ers to see the ball and the con-tents allow blind players to hearit.Players are divided into threeclasses, namely Totally Blind,Partially Blind and PartiallySighted.The stumps are also larger, toallow partially sighted players tosee and blind players to touch itin order to correctly orient them-selves when batting or bowling.

Other modifications include ver-bal signals are widely used bothby umpires and players. Forexample, the bowler must shout'Play!' as he releases the ball.The delivery is required to pitchat least twice when bowled to acompletely blind batsman (oncewhen bowled to apartially sightedbatsman), but mustnot be rolling. Totallyblind batsmen cannotbe out, and must befound to be LBWtwice before goingout. Totally blindfielders are allowed

to take a catch on thebounce.The South AfricanNational Zakah Fundwill be hosting aBlind Cricket Day onApril at the SilverStar MowbrayGrounds, oppositethe HartleyvaleStadium from 9am to12.45pm.

The purpose of this event for theblind and the children is two-fold: to support the blind and toencourage children to do the sameby means of a sport like cricket.The initiative will directly benefitblind people by providing anopportunity for them to partici-pate in a sport that can be enjoyedby themselves and by sightedpeople.The children, on the other hand,are both beneficiaries and bene-factors in that they can enjoytheir passion cricket for cricket ata tender age while also learninghow to empathise with blind andpartially people. The event isdesigned to inculcate an apprecia-tion in the child for physical chal-lenges faced by others through asocial activity like sport.Furthermore, SANZAF is creat-ing an awareness of Zakah in thegrowing child by connecting thispillar of Islam to the needs of the

visually impaired. Cricket is themeans, but the ultimate aim is tobuild a generation of adults dedi-cated to the balance of true givingand receiving. The young child atplay for the benefit of the blind isa supremely exemplary case inpoint.


SANZAF reaches out to the blind

UZAIR RAMJAM

Media plays an influ-ential role in shapingand determining theperceptions of socie-ty. It is a powerfulcommunicative tool

that is capable of cut-ting across cultural,racial, gender andgenerational divides.Despite the physicaldistances, mediacommunication sys-tems disseminateinformation globallyand rally peoplesaround the worldtowards a singlecommon cause.Thus, the commoncause of 'YouthEngineering the Future' (YEF) was toproduce a documentary. The youthgroup embarked on a Media TV

Bootcamp at Hawequas Scout Ranchin Wellington from 1-3 May. TheBootcamp was funded by the SouthAfrican National Zakaah Fund,Islamic Media Agency and Channel 4Productions.Of the seventy YEF executives, onlyten were selected to attend the MediaTV Bootcamp. YEF executives wererequired to submit a 100-word motiva-tion letter, as to why they should par-ticipate in the workshop.I was one of the ten executives repre-senting the Al-Shams youth fromWynberg. Other YEF branches repre-senting their respective mosques werethe S.T.E.P.S. team from Belhar,Helping Hands, Connecting Hearts

team from Kromboom and the HusamiGo-Getters from Cravenby.Through the exposure we obtained inproducing our very own documentary,we were allowed to engage responsi-bly with media; made aware of theimpact media has on our lives andgained practical work experience inthe field of media.We learnt a lot from each other too. Atthe end of the weekend, I was actuallystunned at the realization that I didn't

really know my YEF members. Onceyou actually live with different indi-viduals you discover a deeper aspectto their personality. And being a first-time camper, I was stunned at what Ilearnt about myself.Raadiyah Abrahams, who holds a BA(hons) in Film and Media, was theprincipal facilitator of the Boot Campand she was supported by KhalilAmod, from Channel 4 Productionsand Sanaa Petersen from the IslamicMedia Agency.Our documentary was based on theYEF itself and was so much more per-sonal. We spent our nights brainstorm-ing and trying to come up with cre-ative ideas in which to portray theYEF story. In the end, we produced thescripts, directed the short inserts andacted in them too. And I have to admitthat we coped pretty well.

The documentary debuted on June16th, South Africa's Youth Day. Thiswas appropriate not only because itwas a day to celebrate youth and theirmany achievements, but because itwas the first birthday of the YouthEngineering the Future Trust. It wasamazing seeing the end product devel-oped from team work and dedicatedindividuals.

YouthTakingontheMediaIndustry

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK: Facilitator of the Media BootcampRaadiyah Abrahams and Junaid Mullajee of YEF - STEPS

PICTURE: Zakareeyah Panday

Durban-based Al Baraka BankLimited, South Africa's only fully-fledged Islamic bank, has beentransformed, greatly strengthen-ing its financial sector position inthis country and boosting its pro-fessional image as a business unitoperating within a newly unifiedinternational brand.Al Baraka Bank Limited in SouthAfrica is one of 12 subsidiariesworld-wide which form part of theinternationally-acclaimed Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking GroupB.S.C. (ABG). ABG, employing some5 500 staff and with assets ofmore than US$11,0 billion and netprofits of US$201,0 mil lion in

2008, is widely regarded as theworld's leading Islamic bankinggroup.Until now the subsidiaries - oper-ating in 12 countries, includingSouth Africa - have conducted theirbanking business under differentbrands, but now come togetherunder a single global and totallyunified ABG brand.Commenting on this significant

brand transformation, whichcomes in the wake of the widely-felt credit crunch and financialmeltdown, Al Baraka BankL imi ted's Chief Exe cut ive, MrShabir Chohan, said: "In view ofits strict adherence to Islamic busi-ness principles, ABG and its sub-sidiaries around the world havebeen spared many of the effects ofthe banking sector turmoil andnow with its single, unified brand,the group in its entirety, may bere-positioned in a strong and high-ly favourable space within interna-tional banking."Mr Chohan added: "The new-lookAl Baraka Bank underpins our

ability now to refresh our positionwithin this country and stronglyreinforces our influence, as a sig-nificant financial institution withan international pedigree, on theSouth African market. This is alsoabsolutely in line with the need toportray the image of the bank as aprofessional business entity capa-ble of providing banking facilitiesto our clients, conducive to their

expectations, as an integral partof one of the largest Islamic bank-ing groups in the world."He said the bank's transformationheralded 'the dawn of a new era inIslamic banking in South Africa'and stressed that, through its newbrand, Al Baraka Bank reaffirmedits commitment to the partnershipwhich exists between the bank andthe customers and niche communi-ties it serves in this country." In te rms o f Is lamic banking ,partnership between client andbank is an absolute imperative.This new beginning sees us posi-tioning ourselves as 'your partnerbank,' further underlining just

how greatly we value and seek tonurture long-term business rela-tionships with our clients through-out South Africa as we continue inour role of providing a viablealternative to conventional bank-ing in this country and in line withthe international strategic objec-tives of ABG. Our internationalbrand is a symbol of partnershipwith our customers."

Mr Adnan Ahmed Yousif, Presidenta nd Chi ef Exe cu ti ve o f A BG i nBahrain and Chai rman of A lBaraka Bank Limited in SouthAfrica, said of the group's trans-formation: "Even though ABG isconsidered to be one of the pio-neering Islamic banks in the worldand carries a prestigious name inthe different markets in which itoperates, it is at the stage nowwhen it is witnessing significantgrowth and expansion, positioningi tse l f as a major internationalbank that is on the move. What,then, could be more appropriate atthis juncture than for us to re-brand ourselves to accentuate our

strengths and share our successwith our customers, who are ourpartners."He described the unified identityfor ABG's subsidiaries as "success-fully uniting the whole group".

FUNFILLED DAY: Children enjoying the cricket at theSANZAF Blind Cricket day.

PICTURE: Miekaeel Adams

THEDAWNOFANEW ERAINISLAMICBANKING

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FADWA THORN &

IGHSAAN SOLOMONS

Al Shabaab, a branch ofthe Youth Engineeringthe Future Trust (YEF),hosted an InterfaithFestival inKalksteenfontein onSaturday 30 May 2009.When Saturday morningdawned, the masjid ofKalksteenfontein wassurrounded by anticipa-tion and excitement.Mesmerizing the audi-ence with with his voice,Ighsaan Sedick openedup the festival with arecitation of the Holy

Quraan and a duah.The crowd was enter-tained through the vari-

ous religious presenta-tions co-ordinated by theYEF members. Variousstudents from Muslimschools in theKalksteenfontein areachanted Malay poems.Festival goers wereamazed by the talentedyouth found within thearea. Exhibition standsat the Festival weredecked with tantalizingMalay cuisines as wellas traditional Jewish,Christian and Hindudishes.

The Interfaith Festivalproved to be a success asit highlighted the diverse

faiths practiced in SouthAfrica. Students attend-ing the festival weregiven a rare opportunityto discover the uniquetraditions practiced andfollowed by people liv-ing in the country. Thefestival was also a greatway to draw people intothe community ofKalksteenfontein.

Instanbul, some 200 key Muslimleaders, scholars, civil society mem-bers and government ministries fromIslamic civil society, made theunprecedented by joining together toendorse a long term plan for actionon the environment The leaders, whogathered in Istanbul for a historicmeeting from 5-7 July 2009, haveagreed to spend the next seven years

making and planning serious com-mitments to protecting the naturalenvironment, and combating climatechange.The plan, drawn up by Earth MatesDialogue Centre, an NGO based inthe UK, and supported by theAlliance of Religions andConservation (ARC) as part of theUN/ARC Seven Year Plan Initiative,proposes investigating every level ofMuslim activity from daily life to

annual pilgrimages, from greeningholy cities to helping Islamic busi-nesses be more environmentally sen-sitive, to the future training ofImams.The proposals included developingthe major Muslim cities as green citymodels for other Islamic urban areas;developing an Islamic label for envi-ronmentally friendly goods and serv-

ices and creating a best practiceenvironmental guide for Islamicbusinesses.The proposals will be managedthrough the establishment of a newumbrella organisation , MACCA, theMuslim Association for ClimateChange Action.The plan initiated by a group of envi-ronmental experts in Kuwait lastyear, with the cooperation of theKuwait Ministry of Awqaf and

Islamic Affairs, will now be devel-oped in Muslim countries worldwideand presented to the SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations BanKi Moon at a special meeting hostedby ARC and sponsored by UNDP,which will be held at Winsor Castlein November.The meeting will bring together thelong term plans of the 11 major glob-

al faiths, showing how they plan tocare for the environment and addressclimate change in preparation for theinternational climate gathering inCopenhagen in December.The Muslim plan is part what OlavKjorven, the Assistant GeneralSecretary of the UN, has called "thebiggest civil society movement onclimate change in history." The roleof Islam he says "could be one of thedecisive factors tipping the planet

towards a sustainable future. Thiscommitment in Istanbul to a low car-bon future can be of historic signifi-cance in the path to resolving climatechange and other pressing environ-mental issues."'it is the biggest mobilization of peo-ple and communities that we haveever seen on this issue. You are exer-cising real leadership, so sorely

missed for so long in the negotia-tions, and bringing a "we can do it",or dare I say "yes we can" mentalityto the global scene. We in the UN aredeeply impressed and delighted thatthis is happening. It is "just in time"because there is so little time to lose.The planet needs strong action andfast." Alliance of Religions and Conservation


WorldMuslim leaderspledgetomakeIslamaGreenReligionineveryway

Youth on The MOVE

KalksteenfonteinhostsInterfaithFestival

GAINING INSIGHT: Imraan Jappie of YEF enlightening festival goers

PICTURES: Miekaeel Adams

YEFAl-ShamsLeadershipWorkshopIncomeandExpenditureITEM COST SPONSOREntranceFee R 375.00TuckshopSales R1535.00TotalIncome R1910.00Rolls R 00.00 Thoeraya LakayDrinks R 392.00Boerewors&ChickenFillets R 403.00PackagingforBoereworsRolls R 00.00 Kulsum Van Der SchyffSnackShop(chips,sweets) R 200.00 Kismet Supply StoreSamoosas R 00.00 Fatima AdamsDoughnuts R 00.00 Thoeraya LakaySauces R 00.00 Imaam Moegammat NurIce R 50.00Lunch - team/volunteers R 140.85PrintingofTickets R 15.00TotalExpenses R1200.85Surplus R 709.15

The Al-Shams youth from Parkroad masjid hosted a Leadershipworkshop on the 27 March 2009 tolook at past role models and lead-ers qualities that could assistthem in the future. They also

explored whether celebrities couldbe termed as role models andwhat criterion could be used toview them as role models andleaders.

YEF AL-Shams Leadership Workshop

InterfaithFestivalIncomeandExpenditureINCOMEDATE DETAILS AMOUNT

EntranceFee R 740.00Cake Sales R 640.00

Akini Sales R1410.00

Boeber Sales R 140.00

TotalIncome R2930.00EXPENSES

Pavo Foods-Akni+Cutlery R1290.00

Elite-Ingredients&Breakfast R 335.00

Plati-Pack-Packaging R 140.00

Sound R 350.00Chairs R 40.00

Dawood Butcher R 114.45

Cake R 150.00

Marquee R1500.00

Water & Electricity R 370.00

Total Expenses R4289.45Deficit R1359.45

381 Lower Main Road, Salt River Tel: 021 447 0297 e-mail:www.sanzaf.org.za

SANZAF Western Cape Head Office and Centre for Education

& Skills Development

TheSouthAfricanNationalZakaahFund(SANZAF)ProudSupporteroftheYEFprojectSHAREYOURVIEWS

SMS CNEWS followed byyour comment to 33903(sms charged at R1.50, no free

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