Leadership and Public Participation Among Young Muslim South

Africans : Exploring Contemporary Trends

Lubna Nadvi

UKZN

Outline

• Brief Profile of SA Muslim Community

• Role of Religious influences in SA Politics

• Muslim Youth Groups

• Emergence of New Social Forces, Structures and Opportunities for Participation

• Leadership and Participation by Muslim Youth

• Conclusions

Brief Profile of SA Muslim Community

• The Muslim community in South Africa is estimated to be approximately 1.5 % of the national population in SA (Vahed and Jeppie, 2005). More recent statistics indicate that this has shifted to almost 2% of the national population

• Despite being a minority community, Muslims play an influential role in various aspects of life in South Africa including political, economic, social, cultural, religious spheres of life. There are also since 1994, more diverse forms of cultural and religious expression within the community (Tayob, 2008)

• The demographics of the community has also changed in terms of race and geographical location. There has been a growth of Muslims within the indigenous African community and a more active presence of Islamic life within townships (Sitoto)

• There has also been a shift in the active presence of Islamic and influence thought in public life with the developments in Muslim Personal Law, (still contested) Shariah compliant banking, halaal lifestyle concepts in tourism, cuisine, entertainment, etc

• The increased linkages between South African Muslims and Muslim communities elsewhere has enabled greater sharing of ideas and solutions around common challenges such as Islamophobia and the lack of unity on core matters of faith

Role of Islamic Religious influences in South African Politics and Public Life

• Various South African Scholars have documented the presence and influence of Muslims in SA Society (Davids, Esack, Haron, Jeppie, Mahida, Moosa, Shaikh, Sitoto, Tayob, Vahed)

• Various Islamic Newspapers such as Al Qalam, Muslim Views, Al Ummah and Muslim radio and television media (CII, Voice of the Cape, Al Ansaar, iTV, etc) have also tracked the development of public discourse and current affairs

• Islamic Religious and Theological bodies such as the Jamiat Ulama (SA and provincial branches), Muslim Judicial Council, United Ulama Council of SA among others have also played a role in providing religious guidance to SA Muslims along Shariah principles

• Muslim civil society organisations that are tasked with discharging religious duties such as halaal certification, disbursement of Zakaah / other funds, Islamic education and training, Networking, Professional Associations, etc have also had a significant impact

• The general trends that emerge reflect a very active and engaged Muslim community, which despite having experienced several challenges (difference of opinion on participation in politics and public life, contestations around fiqh matters, etc) is still able to make its presence felt in various spheres of life

Muslim Youth Groups

• The role of Muslim youth groups such as the Muslim Youth Movement (MYM), Muslim Students Association (MSA), World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) among others in influencing and shaping the role of young Muslim South Africans over several decades has been well documented

• In particular, the changing demographic of the Muslim population in South Africa in terms of where the Islamic faith is being practised and who is shaping the discourse around participation, is significant

• In post – apartheid South Africa the current debates focus around socio economic development and transformation , race and class identity, among other issues and this has forced young Muslims to invest greater energies in engaging these debates instead of being distracted by religious disputes and differences of opinion

• These emerging issues have also enabled Muslim youth to have greater engagement with young people from other communities and connect on a variety of social platforms instead of simply religious ones

Emergence of New Social Forces, Structures and Opportunities for Participation

• Several new organisations have emerged within the South African Muslim community, since 2000, which have provided the impetus for new developments and growth

• In KZN these include Taking Islam to the People (TIP), ILMSA and nationally SAMNET, Islamic Network SA, AWQAF, House of Ummah etc. These spaces have enabled both religious and secular discussions to unfold and allowed new issues and items to be placed on the agenda

• In addition Islamic Universities such as the International Peace College of SA and academic departments at existing universities such as UJ have been set up to take academic study of Islam further, within both an Islamic and secular context

• Further academic study has also created various international linkages that have been beneficial in particular for students who have travelled abroad to be exposed to new ideas

• In addition various other existing Muslim organisations have grown in terms of capacity and have enabled greater participation by more diverse groups

• The Dawah organisations such as IPCI, IDM and As Salaam have also attempted to evolve in terms of their approaches and programmes and in this process, young Muslims who might otherwise not have had exposure to various opportunities are afforded these through the different structures that have been put in place

Leadership and Participation by Muslim Youth

• The emergence of new structures and opportunities have enabled greater numbers of younger Muslim SAns to participate in these spaces

• The forms of participation appear to include;

a) Islamic Tarbiyyah (Islamic education and training)

b) Involvement in Islamic Organisational Structures including youth chapters of Muslim Professional Associations

c) Political spaces (national, provincial and local government structures) including serving within political parties and civic bodies

d) Female only events (enabling young Muslimahs who were previously excluded from these spaces to participate)

e) Journalism and Social Media

f) Social Justice campaigns (Environmental, Palestine Solidarity, Social Welfare, Fees Must Fall, etc)

g) Think-tanks, civil society organisations, Development NGOs, CBOs, Inter-faith groups etc

Conclusions

• The Muslim community in South Africa has evolved in diverse ways since 1994

• The period between 2000 and 2015 appears to have been particularly significant and this can be attributed to the opening up of international linkages, technological developments and social media platforms

• While the overall shifts that have taken place are generally positive, there are several

challenges that remain

a) Ideological rifts within theological spaces which discourage youth from engaging religious issues

b) A lack of greater investment in creating new Muslim youth leaders (through study opportunities, internships, development programmes, social welfare programmes, etc)

c) A lack of mosque spaces which can be used be as multi – purpose centres which facilitate functions such as youth development, (skills training and mentorship), intellectual engagement, spiritual upliftment, etc

• New social formations such as SAMNET and House of Ummah are attempting to address these gaps and their progress should be monitored