Jamiatul Ulama South Africa

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The Jamiatul Ulama Transvaal now the Jamiatul Ulama South Africa (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. [1] It publishes a weekly online newsletter. [2]

Contents

Activities

It currently operates in the provinces that formerly made up the Transvaal, as well as in the Free State Province, and is one of a number of national Muslim organizations in South Africa.

The organization has been characterized as fundamentalist and Deobandi, [3] and it is widely perceived as having links with the Tablighi Jamaat.

Large number of Muslims subscribe to decisions regarding fiqh (Islamic law) in the region where the organization operates. It also has significant influence on the running of many mosques and madrassahs in the region.

Controversies

Apartheid-era

The Jamiatul Ulama South Africa has been criticised for its largely apolitical stance during the apartheid era. The organization, unlike its counterpart in KwaZulu-Natal, the Jamiatul Ulama KwaZulu-Natal was accused by more activist Islamic scholars at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of not speaking out against the tricameral system, which denied black South Africans political power, while giving limited rights to Coloureds and Indians.

Radio Islam

The Jamiatul Ulama South Africa owns and manages a community radio station called Radio Islam that broadcasts on the Witwatersrand. A complaint was made by an organization to the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa  in 1998 that the radio station was not allowing women to be heard on air. The station argued that Islam does not allow women's voices to be heard. The authority ruled against the station, and in response, the station collected a petition of 28,000 names from women who it claimed supported the decision to bar women from the airwaves.

Muhammad cartoons controversy

The organization again made headlines in 2006 when it obtained an interdict against several South African newspaper companies in the Johannesburg High Court against the republishing of cartoons depicting the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. See: Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy. This case raised important questions about the limits of freedom of expression in South Africa.

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deobandi movement in South Africa</span> History of Deobandi movement

Darul Uloom Deoband was established in 1866 in the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, India, as part of the anti-British movement. It gave rise to a traditional conservative Sunni movement known as the Deobandi movement. The Deobandi Movement has an international presence today, with its full-fledged manifestation in South Africa, a country where the movement was initiated through the Indian Gujarati merchant class. The Islamic education system of the Deobandi movement, as well as the necessary components of social and political organizations such as Tablighi Jamaat, Sufism and Jamiat, are fully functioning effectively in South Africa, as they do in India. Madrasas in South Africa provide Islamic higher education and are now centers for Islamic education for foreigners who are interested in receiving a Deobandi-style education. Many of their graduates, especially from Western countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States, are Western students. Some of South African madrasas are recognized globally, providing fatwa services. South Africa is now known for producing exceptional Islamic literature through translation and compilation. Similarly, the Tabligh Jamaat is a hub in South Africa that spreads throughout South and East Africa. Graduates of South African madrassas spend their time in the path of the Tabligh Jamaat. Through the work of several spiritual personalities of the Deobandis, the tradition of Deoband's Tasawwuf (Sufism) has taken root in South Africa. Among them are Zakariyya Kandhlawi, Masihullah Khan, Mahmood Hasan Gangohi and Asad Madani. South African Deobandi Muslims have many important and influential educational and socio-political organizations that educate the people and play an important role in religious and social activities. Among them are Jamiatul Ulama South Africa and the Muslim Judicial Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deobandi jihadism</span> Militant interpretation of Islam

Deobandi jihadism is a militant interpretation of Islam that draws upon the teachings of the Deobandi movement, which originated in the Indian subcontinent in the 19th century. The Deobandi movement underwent three waves of armed jihad. The first wave involved the establishment of an Islamic territory centered on Thana Bhawan by the movement's elders during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, before the founding of Darul Uloom Deoband. Imdadullah Muhajir Makki was the Amir al-Mu'minin of this Islamic territory. However, after the British defeated the Deobandi forces in the Battle of Shamli, the territory fell. Following the establishment of Darul Uloom Deoband, Mahmud Hasan Deobandi led the initiation of the second wave. He mobilized an armed resistance against the British through various initiatives, including the formation of the Samratut Tarbiat. When the British uncovered his Silk Letter Movement, they arrested him and held him captive in Malta. After his release, he and his disciples entered into mainstream politics and actively participated in the democratic process. In the late 1979, the Pakistan–Afghan border became the center of the Deobandi jihadist movement's third wave, which was fueled by the Soviet–Afghan War. Under the patronage of President Zia-ul-Haq, its expansion took place through various madrasas such as Darul Uloom Haqqania and Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia. Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (S) provided political support for it. Trained militants from the Pakistan–Afghan border participated in the Afghan jihad, and later went on to form various organizations, including the Taliban. The most successful example of Deobandi jihadism is the Taliban, who established Islamic rule in Afghanistan. The head of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (S), Sami-ul-Haq, is referred to as the "father of the Taliban."

References

  1. Haron, Muhammad (3 December 2020). "Reaching Out, Making Public:The Jamiat ul-Ulama South Africa and its Online Newsletter". BOLESWA Journal of Theology, Religion And Philosophy (BJTRP).
  2. "Reaching Out, Making Public:The Jamiat ul-Ulama South Africa and its Online Newsletter | BOLESWA".
  3. Abu Omar Abdul Hadi as-Shafi'i (30 November 2001). "Message from Shaykh Abu Omar Palazzi to the mufti Ebrahim Desai and to the sect of Deoband". Rome: Italian Muslim Assembly. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-06.