Media bills threatening to restrict press freedom will only stifle the grassroots where media diversity, much needed in South Africa, will have to take root. I THINK it was Aristotle who said that republics become democracies, and that democracies can become dictatorships. As a South African I’d hate to be[…]

I’VE just finished reading a book by the BBC journalist, Jeremy Bowen. Entitled “War Stories”, it deals with his career in hotspots such as Sarajevo, Salvador, Grozny, Lebanon and Iraq. Bowen has enjoyed an exciting career, and his book details his experiences as one of the BBC’s front-men. Like his[…]

I SHOOK my head in amazement at Isma’il’s antics. Street savvy and outgoing with a rough-edged charm, Israelis seemed to instinctively like him. Israel is a brash country anyway, and my extrovert Memen friend never seemed to offend the Israelis – even when bargaining for an Orthodox Jew’s hat at[…]

IT comes as a surprise to discover that Ebrahim Rasool, former Western Cape Premier and next ambassador to Washington, is only 48 years old. It seems as if he’s survived a hundred years in politics. A Young Turk from the UDF, a key member of the Call of Islam, one[…]

THE appalling news that a young Mitchells plain cleric, Maulana Sharief Hendricks, and Fazlin Isaacs (whom he was counselling) had been shot by her estranged husband, Igshaan “Gaddafi” Isaacs, distressed and angered me greatly. Here was a man who had two outstanding charges of domestic violence against him. The magistrate[…]

“HISTORY is more or less bunk,” said Henry Ford, the larger-than-life American car-maker who made history with his mass-produced Model-T. Apart from his take on history – which I will get back to later – Mr Ford confronted the world with a street-wise swagger. Failure, he said, was an opportunity[…]

THE Qur’an says that Jesus Christ was not crucified1. The Gospel of Barnabus suggests that Judas Iscariot, who resembled Jesus, was placed on the cross instead. In the Islamic motif Jesus doesn’t die, but is taken ‘unto God’ where he will await the Final Days. In other words, a crucifixion[…]

WHEN I saw the shaky images of Israeli naval commandoes rappelling on to the decks of the Mavi Marmara in international Mediterranean waters, my first thought was: I could have been there. A combination of financial restraints (the humanitarian relief flotilla was no junket) and a conflicting commitment had seen[…]

  WHEN Jonathan Shapiro, aka Zapiro, drew a cartoon in the Mail and Guardian of the beloved Prophet (s) on a therapist’s couch complaining that his ummah didn’t have a sense of humour, I winced – or as I wrote – “dug myself a trench”. As a journalist and talk-show[…]

  When I saw Zapiro’s cartoon in the Mail and Guardian depicting an image of the noble Prophet Muhammad, I started digging myself a trench.   Zapiro’s drawing was a response to calls on Facebook for people to celebrate, of all bizarre things, a “draw Muhammad day” in response to[…]