MJC has stranglehold over SA Muslims who blindly follow them

THE horrific incident that resulted in the brutal killing of an innocent Shia worshipper, the injury of others and the burning of portions of the Imam Hussein Mosque in Verulam must be denounced unequivocally by Muslims. If this despicable crime is not nipped in the bud and the culprits are not brought to justice, it sets a dangerous precedent for South African Muslims.

It may then become the norm to resolve theological differences through intimidatory violence and indiscriminate murder, and not by peaceful debate or respectful interaction.

To date, South Africa has been spared the worst excesses of religious fundamentalism and ideological violence that has characterised the Middle East, South Asia and Africa where sectarian slaughter and denominational killings are rife. The gross inhumanity of Isis in Iraq, Syria and Libya, the rapacious vengeance of al-Qaeda in the Levant, the blood-soaked gore of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the ruthless cruelty of al-Shabaab in Somalia, and the insane criminality of Boko Haram are reflective of mindless fanaticism within contemporary Islam.

While violent doctrinal conflicts and bloody denominational conflicts are normative of populist Islam in much of the contemporary Muslim world, these raging battles have not yet reared their ugly head in any discernible degree locally.

What has occurred however, in the past several decades, has been the steady erosion of religious tolerance and denominational diversity. This religious intolerance and philosophical straitjacketing inside the South African Muslim community has been fostered by self-appointed clergy organisations that oversee a largely ill-informed and unthinking Muslim community.

By far the most recognisable of these groups is the self-styled Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) that prides itself as the self-anointed champion of Muslims in the Western Cape. Since its formation in 1945, this priesthood has imposed its control over pliant believers who have been conditioned not to question but to blindly follow the dictates of opportunist Muslim clergymen.

These priests have proven to be fixated in feathering their own nests through their monopolistic halaal certification racket, the profitable South African Hajj and Umrah Council and other commercial enterprises, rather than educating and uplifting the Muslim masses.

Alongside kindred clerical bodies in Gauteng, Eastern Province and KwaZulu Natal, the MJC exerts a stranglehold over South African Muslims, programming their thoughts and deeds to a degree unfathomable to outsiders. Not only is the MJC instrumental in creating a climate of controlled conformity in much of the Muslim community, it seeks to stamp out what it deems as heterodoxy and heresy. This unaccountable body has effectively brainwashed the Muslim population to uncritically accept its rulings (fatwahs) even when many are contrary to the indisputable Qur’anic teachings of inclusivity and pluralism (2:256; 18:29; 109:6 etc).

To maintain their unrelenting theological grip over the masses and to divert attention, the MJC has focused Muslim minds on combating “heresy” inside Islam. Within a decade following its inception, the MJC orchestrated a comprehensive boycott of the minority Ahmadi/Qadiani sect that reached it zenith in the 1960s with the total social isolation and economic emasculation of that embattled faction. Boosted by their success, the MJC then went after other free-thinkers and independent-minded Muslims who did not kow-tow to its authority. This is the prime reason why the MJC would eventually become obsessed in trying to close down the Open Mosque when it was established in 2014 as this represented a direct challenge to its theological monopoly.

By the end of apartheid tyranny in 1994, the MJC was the unrivalled clergy clique in the land. However, with the eclipse of institutionalised racism and the advent of democracy, the ANC opened the floodgates to unregulated immigration from Africa and Asia. This led, for the first time, to a distinct Shia presence in a land that was orthodox Sunni. Confronted by these heterodox newcomers and egged on by their Saudi backers who were eager to prevent Shia Iran from extending its sway in the Islamic world, the dictatorial MJC unleashed insidious propaganda through its affiliated mosques and educational centres that painted the Shia as the embodiment of demonic depravity that must be eliminated.

Emboldened by their victory over the minuscule Ahmadis, the MJC, supported by local and foreign Wahhabi paymasters and preachers, intends to contain growing Shia numbers. With the opening of their mosque in Ottery six months ago, the Shia became a permanent component of the Muslim landscape. The MJC, naturally, revived its old anti-Ahmadi campaign by conducting a relentless crusade of social intimidation, sectarian supremacy and economic boycott of all those who attend the Shia place of prayer.

In this febrile climate of Sunni religious intolerance and sectarian hegemony, is it surprising that theological thugs inspired by the irrational threats of the MJC and other associated bodies may have taken the law into their own hands? This, by the way, is not the first time that misguided Muslims have been encouraged to attain heavenly bliss by committing earthly crimes.

When the Open Mosque was launched three years ago the MJC circulated untruths against it that led to four fire bombings as well as a bungled assassination attempt. Then, there was no condemnation from the MJC against those who wanted to burn down a House of God. Now, most expediently, it wishes to distance itself from the Verulam assault by calling for the protection of all places of worship. Why did it not to do so when the Open Mosque was under attack? Why is the MJC persisting with its rigid brand of intolerant Wahhabi Islam at the expense of genuine Islamic pluralism as enunciated by the Holy Qur’an? z Dr Taj Hargey is president of the Open Mosque