Islam in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives - Islamic Books ...

R ace, Ideology, and Islam in Contemporary South Africa 2 6 9Rights in the constitution declares that “everyone has the right to freedom ofconscience, religion, thought, belief and opinion” (Article 15.1) and “personsbelonging to a cultural, religious, or linguistic community may not be deniedthe right, with other members of that community to enjoy their culture, practicetheir religion and use their languages” (Article 31.1). Through these provisions,the new constitution reversed more than 300 years of institutional privilegingof Christianity in South Africa.Since 1994, Muslims have begun to enjoy some tangible benefits of thisrecognition and acceptance. Muslim leaders have been recognized by the stateand have often been invited to open important state functions, such as presidentialinaugurations. The relationship between the state and Muslim religiousleadership has improved steadily since the end of apartheid. National televisionhas provided proportional time for Muslim programming, and when radiowavelengths were made available for community radio stations, a number ofcommunities in South Africa applied for and received licenses to broadcast Islamicprograms. Muslim community radio stations in Cape Town, Johannesburg,and Durban have become extremely popular. Two such stations share afrequency in Cape Town, where Radio 786 (http://www.radio786.co.za) representsthe views of Achmat Cassiem, and the Voice of the Cape, that of theMoslem Judicial Council. The Voice of the Cape in Johannesburg representsthe Muslim Youth Movement and is the most progressive Islamic voice in SouthAfrican radio. In contrast, The Islamic Voice, from the outskirts of Johannesburg,presents the most traditional face of Islam. In 1998, a small group of Muslimscomplained that this particular radio station was violating its license agreementby refusing to allow women announcers (Haffajee 1998). Also from thesame township, Channel Islam (http://www.channelislam.com) broadcasts anIslamic message via satellite to a large part of Africa and Asia. Radio al Ansaarcontinues the tradition of guarded modernism and political conservatism of itspredecessors in Durban.The opening of South Africa’s borders has seen an increasing number ofMuslim immigrants from Asia and other parts of Africa. Somali refugees, Senagalesetraders, and Pakistani store assistants have joined the mosaic of Muslimcommunity life in South Africa. This new surge in Muslim immigration hasbeen complemented by a greater contact with the global village through pilgrimage,travel, telecommunications, and media. As a result, Muslims in SouthAfrica are increasingly exposed in myriad ways to the flow of goods, ideas, andimages called globalization. These global contacts have added more nuancesto Islamic religious and cultural life in South Africa than was possible duringapartheid. In these contexts, the legislation on Muslim personal matters promisesto have an impact on how Muslims see themselves in relation to a secularstate, and a democracy.The recognition of Islam by the constitution has translated into a number