Mosque attack meeting set

Public to hear about alleged disagreements that led to petrol-bombing

A PUBLIC meeting has been planned by the heads of the Durban mosque that was recently petrol-bombed. The purpose of the meeting next month is to give insight into why the attack happened.

A trustee of the Effingham Islamic Society Trust, the body that controls the Faizane Mariam Masjid in Effingham, spoke to the Sunday Tribune on condition of anonymity.

Two factions had emerged at the mosque in recent years, polarising Sunni and Tabligh Muslims, the trustee said. Their ritual ideologies differ. The confrontations between the groups turned violent at times, he said, and this could have resulted in the attack on February 25.

“A true Muslim will never burn a mosque. The division could be the reason the mosque was attacked. We’ve planned a meeting for early April because many of our worshippers are on a religious pilgrimage (Umrah) to Mecca presently.

“We want to tell the public what caused the division and damage to the mosque,” said the trustee. The cost of the damage is estimated to be more than R1 million.

The mosque, built in 1997 by the chairperson of the trust, Essop Hoosen, was run peacefully until 2014.

“That’s when a leader at the mosque was questioned about raising funds in the name of the mosque.” The leader allegedly purchased a property in the neighbourhood for R800 000.

“Since then, there have been clashes between the trustees and the leader over the issue.

“There is a group of Tablighs who support the mosque leader, and this | ZANELE ZULU African News Agency (ANA)

has led to clashes with us, the Sunnis. We charged his son on one occasion for vandalism.

“The problem between the groups got progressively worse with time and some of the issues were resolved in court.”

The trustee said the leader brought a protection order against another member of the trust in May, and after seven adjournments, the matter was dismissed.

In December he tried to have two members of the trust removed with a high court application but the matter was thrown out. “The court dismissed the matter because the leader did not first approach the trust about the removal,” he said. “In February, his matter which challenged the ownership of the mosque was also dismissed,” said the trustee.

The leader, who responded on condition of anonymity, denied any wrongdoing.

The leader said: “I was a voluntary imam at the mosque and my services have been terminated. I have accepted this as the decision of God.

“I believe a mosque is the house of God and that it deserves the greatest reverence and respect. Whatever happens in or to it is in God’s knowledge and by His will, and its final outcome is decided by Him alone.”

He added: “I hope and pray the community elders resolve the matter amicably in the interests of the community.”