South Africa Muslim Judicial Council delegation visits Shia mosque, condemns attack

A high-level delegation from South Africa’s Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) visited the Imam Hussein Mosque in Verulam, near Durban, on Monday night to call for calm after Thursday’s fatal attack there, the MJC said on Tuesday.

A high-level delegation from South Africa’s Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) visited the Imam Hussein Mosque in Verulam, near Durban, on Monday night to call for calm after Thursday’s fatal attack there, the MJC said on Tuesday.

“The leaders expressed the absolute necessity for tolerance and peace in all our communities, and that incitement to violence, hate and intolerance, due to our different ideological and religious viewpoints, [is] unacceptable in Islam,” said MJC secretary general Shaykh Isgaak Taliep. 

The majority of Muslims in South Africa are Sunni but there is a growing Shia community. 

MJC president Shaykh Irafaan Abrahams, and his deputy, Maulana Abdul Khaliq Ebrahim Allie, led the delegation and condemned the attack “in the strongest possible terms”. 

On Thursday, Abbas Essop was stabbed to death, and Imam Ali Nchiyane, was stabbed three times, but survived. 

The attackers also burnt the Quran and Islamic literature when the mosque was set alight after the stabbing. 

Caretaker Mohamed Ali was also injured in the attack, which was followed by the discovery of a bomb in the mosque a few days later. 

The incident happened days before Muslims worldwide begin fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.