As South Africa marks Youth Day on Tuesday 16th June, several Muslim organisations will provide a platform for community voices to speak out against xenophobia and racism at a conference at Islamia College. The conference is entitled A Special Forum on Personal Experiences and Reflections on Racism and Xenophobia in our Community. The event is being organised by the MRASA Refugee Centre, Islamic Relief South Africa, Kaaf Trust, Madina Institute and the Palestine Museum.

According MRASA’s Nurudean Ssempa, the event will attract a cross section of community leaders, religious leaders including Dr Fakhruddin Owaisi al-Madani, Head of the Sunni `Ulema Council of Cape Town, who was key in initiating the forum, US-based scholar Dr Hakim Quick, university academics, local and national leaders, representatives from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the South African Human Rights Commission, as well as government and city representatives.

“This open discussion among a diverse community is long overdue because these issues exist,” says Ishmael Madikane of Muslim Ieslamieya Ubuntu in Khayelitsha.

MRASA director Ramadhan Wagogo says the forum aims to to provide opportunity for inter-cultural engagement with a purpose of learning from each other.

“It’s about how we can come up with ideas that can create a harmonious relationship with foreigners and locals. The conference is about coming together and speaking about the reality in our community. We have to do something so that we can avoid the repetition of the last xenophobia attacks.”

Islamic Relief will deliver a paper on Islam and migration, while Dr Anwah Nagia from the Kaaf Trust and the Palestine Museum will deliver a paper on international racism and xenophobia.

The Conference will take place on 16th June 2015 at Islamia College Auditorium Hall, Cape Town from 9:00am-3:00pm. VOC