Ramaphosa breaks fast with Muslims

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa was the guest of honour when he broke fast (iftar) with members of the Muslim community in Athlone.

Greater Athlone Parliamentary Constituency Office MP Faiez Jacobs and the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) hosted Ramaphosa at the Islamia College in Lansdowne last night.

The visit comes during the last 10 nights of Ramadaan, considered especially significant as acts of worship and charity are intensified.

“Our communities are ravaged by the economic impact of Covid-19, including business closures, difficult trading conditions, burgeoning unemployment, poverty and loss of breadwinners. Ramadaan trains us to live conscious of our duty to Allah and to care for our neighbours and those less fortunate. We are delighted to co-host the president of the Republic and to share the issues that confront Muslims, especially in the wake of Covid-19,” said Jacobs and the MJC in a joint statement.

“We also choose to use this occasion to express our appreciation and support for President Ramaphosa and his leadership and calm and reassuring demeanour through a very difficult time. There is hardly a family that has not lost loved ones, relatives, friends and colleagues during this global pandemic.”

In attendance was Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, former High Court Judge Siraj Desai, Mandla Mandela, Trevor Manuel, Islamic religious leaders and other dignitaries.

Desai and Jacobs paid special tribute to the founding fathers of Islam in South Africa and those who steadfastly fought against the apartheid regime.