SPECIAL VISIT OF PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA TO IMAM HUSAYN (A.S) MOSQUE -

VERULAM, DURBAN 7 JULY 2018

In a very kind gesture to personally follow up the developments at the Imam Husayn (a.s) Mosque in Verulam, Durban after the terrorist attack of 10 May 2018, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the mosque today, 7 July 2018 to meet the family of Martyr Abbas Essop, the survivor of the attack, Sheikh Ali Nchinyane, the National Leader of AFOSA, leaders of the broader community and the community at large.

President Ramaphosa was accompanied by senior government officials and senior members of the ANC National Executive Committee.

The program commenced with an opening Dua (prayer) by Sheikh Ali Nchinyane.

The Master of Ceremonies, Hajj Azad Seedat who is also the chairperson of the mosque provided background to the institution and its deep connection with the anti apartheid struggle and being a shelter for the comrades of the struggle. The parents of brother Azad, namely Dawood and Fatima Seedat were veterans of the struggle.

The delegation accompanying the President was introduced by MEC Ravi Pillay.

In welcoming the President, Mowlana Haider of AFOSA introduced who the Shia Muslim community of South Africa are.  In so doing, emphasis was laid on us being law abiding citizens and strong believers  of intra and inter faith harmony.

Furthermore, Mowlana Haider expressed appreciation for the support received from government, civil society and religious leaders across the spectrum including the leaders of the Sunni Muslim community.

While sharing the view of Imam Ali (a.s) regarding who are truly Shia, reference was made to the famous letter of Imam Ali (a.s) to his governor Malik Ashtar regarding how to respect the humanity of the people he governs.

However, Mowlana Haider also noted that after the event of 10 May 2018, the dissemination of hate speech continued and Shia remained the primary targets thereof which continues until this very day - the issue of Extremism thus remains a serious challenge in our country.

In his address to a full and diverse gathering, President Ramaphosa made the following key points:

1. He expressed his sincere condolences to the family of the victims, the survivors and the community.

2. He expressed his strongest condemnation of Verulam attack as well as the attack on the Malmesbury Mosque on the last day of Ramadaan this year.

3. He emphasized that the freedom provided by our constitution in South Africa included religious freedom

4. We are South Africans first and that is our identity that protects us

5. He takes exception to the term "minority" as our constitutional negotiations did not accept this term but insisted that we are all equal

6. He recognized that Islam in our country always played a positive rule

7. Shia Islam also has the same right and position that all Muslims enjoy in our country and your constitution is your shield in this regard.

8. A further commitment to follow up with the investigation team on the progress to bring the perpetrators of the heinous crimes to justice.

9. In closing he thanked the leadership of Shi’a Muslims and of the masjid for hosting him.

The program concluded with a beautiful interaction between the President and the the victims family, especially with the orphan daughters of the deceased. 
AFOSA hereby extends its sincere gratitude to President Ramaphosa for his visit and to all those who made this event possible.

And All Praise and Thanks is to Almighty Allah.

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