URGENT APPEAL FOR HUMANITARIAN AID FOR DISPLACED ROHINGYA

The United Nations (UN) has called the Rohingya of Myanmar one of the world’s most persecuted ethnic minorities. Gross human rights violations of the Rohingya have been recorded since 1978.

The state sanctioned violence against them is symptomatic of a long and oppressive history of discrimination by the Myanmar government which has labelled the Rohingya illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. They are thus rendered stateless despite their presence in Myanmar going back many generations.

They are despised by most of the Buddhist majority and are denied basic rights such as citizenship, education, the freedom of movement, employment, the right to own property and marry without state permission. They are also subjected to forced sterilisation and forced labour.

The brutal persecution in Myanmar has forced the Rohingya to flee in droves as “boat people”, risking their lives on rickety boats on the open seas in order to seek a better life making them easy prey for human traffickers.

The discrimination against the Rohingya has been further reinforced by the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) governments who have, for the most part, remained silent about their fate. Neighbouring countries have blatantly participated in push-backs of Rohingya boats which was a contributing factor to the current humanitarian catastrophe. In the past three months, alone, more than 25,000 Rohingya have left Burma by sea, more than double the amount during the same period last year.

Despite the efforts by various countries over the past week to find solutions to the Rohingya crisis which left 8000 Rohingya adrift on the Andaman seas, humanitarian aid is urgently required.

The following organizations have joined the appeal to protect the Rohingya:
Palestine Solidarity Alliance (PSA),
Media Review Network (MRN),Muslim Students Association (MSA),
Cage Africa
Ogaden Community
Makopa Foundation
BDS South Africa

We appeal to all South Africans to open their hearts and to contribute towards this worthy cause.

All contributions and donations are welcome and can be made into the following account.
Bank Details –

Name:     Palestine Solidarity Alliance

Bank:      ABSA

Branch:   Lenasia

Acc. Number:   4070101666

Reference:   “Rohingya Relief”           

Issued By:

Protect the Rohingya

Advocate SE Mayet  

0721786102

@ProtectRohingya

Endorsed by:

1. The Palestine Solidarity Alliance (PSA)
     Naazim Adam
     www.palestinesa.co.za
2. The Media Review Network (MRN)
     Ibrahim Vawda
     www.mediareviewnet.com
3. Cage Africa
    Karen Jayes
    www.cageuk.org
4. Ogaden Community SA
    Mohammed Dahir
    Email: ogadenscsa@gmail.com
5. MSA Union of SA
    Nadeem Mahomed
    Email: n.mahomed10@gmail.com
6. Makopa Foundation
    Haroon Mahomed
    www.makopa.co.za
7. Boycott Divestment and Sanctions South Africa (BDS)
    Kwara Kekana
    www.bdssouthafrica.com

For more information from MSA Union:

Email: union@msa.org.za

Nadeem Mahomed

President 

071 891 8722 | union.president@msa.org.za

Ayesha-Bibi Khan 

Secretary General

076 867 4755 | union.secretary@msa.org.za

Media Release: South Africans warn against ISIS

Issued: 28 May 2015

Various Muslim organisations (See list below) and scholars from across South Africa met recently to discuss the problem posed by the attraction of the Islamic State group among some South African Muslims. The representatives expressed concern about information gleaned from within the Muslim community about growing sympathy for ISIS among some South African Muslims, and reports received that more South Africans have left for Syria since news of the 16-old Cape Town girl broke early April.

The meeting discussed a number of steps that Muslim community leadership are taking and will take in order to address this attraction and engage with the spurious discourse of ISIS which it claims is based on Islam.

This Friday, 29 May, imams in mosques across the country will deliver a ‘national unified’ khutbah (sermon) about ISIS, that will encourage Muslims to be wary of recruitment activities of the group in South Africa.

Recounting the history of Islam in South Africa, the sacrifices that Muslims made to ensure that Islam and Muslims become part of the South African social fabric, the role of Muslims in the anti-apartheid struggle, and ‘the South African culture of peaceful coexistence’, the khutbah says South African Muslims ‘have much to be grateful for and for which to celebrate the praises of God’. However, it warns, this gratitude is meaningless if ‘some individuals within our community affiliate themselves with such groups or persons that would jeopardise the freedoms that South Africans enjoy’.

While the khutbah acknowledges that ‘millions of Muslims across the globe are experiencing occupation and other kinds of oppression’, and expresses support for the ‘continuous struggle and jihad against unjust occupation’ by the Palestinian and other people, it calls for a response that is consistent with the spirit and values of Islam. The sermon calls for ‘aggression [against Muslims] to cease’, and suggests that ‘the chances for justice are better when there is peace, not war’.

The khutbah informs the Muslim community that there have recently been ‘individuals from our community who have joined or attempted to join ISIS’. However, it asserts, ‘The vast majority of Muslim scholars around the world have clearly condemned ISIS and have categorically stated that it does not represent Islam or the Shariah.’

From an Islamic perspective, the khutbah argues, ‘it is unlawful for anyone to join [ISIS]’, saying the group engages in ‘criminal activities’ and ‘sheds people’s blood’ unlawfully, ‘labels Muslims as disbelievers, violates people’s honour and usurps their properties... and creates corruption on earth’. Islam, it says, ‘calls for mercy, love, and rejection of terrorism and extremism, which represent envy, rancour, and hatred.’ On behalf of the organisations that issued the khutbah, it ‘advise[s] people not to be deceived by false slogans and calls of such groups’.

A spokesperson for the group of organisations and scholars said that there was serious concern within the community, and that there are families ‘whose lives have been made miserable, whose elders have become haggard and distressed’ because of the intention of family members to join ISIS. Some South African Muslims that have gone to Iraq and Syria went to fight with ISIS, while others emigrated to live in territory controlled by the group, he said. He added that there was much legitimate anger in the Muslim community about the actions of the United States and other western powers in the region, in their support of Israel, supporting the Egyptian coup government, the occupation of Iraq, and generally supporting dictators in the region.

‘As South Africans, we will work with other institutions within South African society – such as government, the media and community organisations – to stem any attraction of South Africans for this group, or any similar group such as Boko Haram or Al-Shabab. We must be uncompromising in our rejection of their ideologies and their actions,’ he concluded.

For more information, contact:

Ebrahim Patel – 082 442 6959

Suleman Dangor – 031 260-7488

Ihsaan Taliep – 083 447 8608

Thandile Kona – 084 422 9336

Issued by:

Call of Islam

Faithworks Network

Jamiatul Ulama South Africa

Masjidul Islam, Brixton

Muslim Judicial Council

Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa

South African Muslim Network

Sunni Ulama Council

Union of Muslim Students Associations

United Ulama Council of South Africa

For more information from MSA Union:

Email: union@msa.org.za

Nadeem Mahomed

President 

071 891 8722 | union.president@msa.org.za

Aaisha Dadi Patel 

Head of Politics and South African & International Affairs

071 358 5104 | union.politics@msa.org.za