The Muslim Civil Society Conference (MCSC) held in Johannesburg over the weekend by the Auwal Socio-Economic Research Institute (ASRI) was conceived to bring the South African Muslim community to the table on matters of national policy. It was endorsed, supported and attended by an extensive list of Muslim organisations and individuals, many of whom would otherwise never have seen their interests align. It brought to its various panels experts, prominent media representatives, and perhaps most importantly, very high-ranking politicians.

In the context of a divided Muslim community, the aim of becoming re-established as a somewhat united Muslim political force in a deeply unequal and divided South African society struggling with its own pluralism was always going to be a challenge. The diversification of Islamic influences in the South African Muslim community – based on ideology, geography, culture, age and race – have in many cases resulted in the development of exclusionary and insular subcultures, even towards co-religionists.

Then there’s the global antagonism towards Muslims that some segments of South African society have embraced to varying degrees. ASRI had already climbed a hill by getting all these prominent role-players to the table. But as Nelson Mandela said: “After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.”

The opening dinner was neither elaborate nor pretentious, which set an appropriate tone for the evening and the following day’s proceedings. The opening speech immediately sought to tackle the perception that Muslims have been historically disinterested in matters concerning national politics and black oppression. Muslim individuals, living and deceased, prominent in the anti-Apartheid movement were named and lauded for their commitment to justice for all South Africans. The important point was stressed: Muslims have been an integral part of the history of this country, and have contributed much to the freedom we enjoy today.

The keynote speaker for the evening was the Deputy President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa. As he regally mounted the stage to deliver his address, a lone protester stood up and exclaimed loudly that Ramaphosa – through his actions on Marikana – was a murderer, and that justice must prevail. He was swiftly and forcefully removed from the hall, but the spirit of his emotional and desperate exclamations reverberated through the rest of the evening’s proceedings, and even into the next day.

The Deputy President continued calmly, and spoke of the development of the National Development Plan (NDP), the document that would form the basis for all the discussions during the conference. He spoke of the engagement processes that had been undertaken by various members of the National Planning Commission to gain input from South Africans across the board; from the highest levels to grassroots. He mentioned that this conference represented what the NDP was designed to do: to stimulate debate and dialogue among South Africans. His speech was effective and well-delivered; however, it did not diminish the call from the grassroots that had been heard earlier – a call for government accountability.

The conference proceedings started early the next morning, straight into parallel sessions on education – featuring Naledi Pandor, and a session on building safer communities. It was encouraging that Naledi Pandor acknowledged all the issues that one usually associates with the national education system. She bemoaned the lack of professionalism and quality among teachers, and was particularly distressed by the perceived preference of teachers to unionise, rather than professionalise.

In the parallel session, the culture of racial mistrust and subsequent racial (and economic) profiling in matters relating to community safety were scrutinised in depth. Firoz Cachalia, adjunct professor at Wits University, called for professionalization and demilitarisation of the police. The question then arises: what about the situation on the Cape Flats, where gangs are militarised, organised and criminal? Perhaps a similar regional conference would be able to tackle that topic at a later time.

The next two parallel sessions looked at promoting healthcare and fighting corruption. Dr Faisal Suliman facilitated that discussion looking at the dire state of health, especially in rural communities.

The panel on fighting corruption was perhaps the most entertaining of the panels – it saw former Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan share the stage with his ideological and political opponent, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Commissar Floyd Shivambu. The two exchanged some banter during discussions, specifically relating to Julius Malema’s penchant for expensive accessories, and Nkandla. Professor Farid Essack broadened the reference for corruption by stating that the current system of capitalism is ideologically corrupt, and would therefore continue to perpetuate corruption.

The penultimate two panels looked at transforming society and uniting the country, and creating employment. If there was an award for the panellist that riled up the floor the most, I have no doubt that award would go to a panellist speaking on transforming society: Andile Mngxitama.

The former Economic Freedom Fighter, staunch Africanist and proponent of the Black Consciousness Movement, inspired heated debate long after the panel was closed, specifically on the place of Indian Muslims in the framework of Black Consciousness in light of the attacks on Indians in Durban by members of the EFF. Moulana Abbas Mkhize bemoaned the lack of unity among the Ummah, not only based in sectarianism, but also on racism. In the panel on creating employment facilitated by Muslim Views editor Farid Sayed, the importance of entrepreneurship and skills development were discussed.

The final sessions centred on protecting the environment and implementing policy. The protection of the environment is mandated by religion, so there were questions asked about why Muslims seemed to be generally unconcerned about this matter. The panel on implementing policy saw a robust debate between Ebrahim Fakier of the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa, and Godwin Khoza of the National Education Collaboration Trust. Godwin Khoza was of the view that South Africans are expected to actively participate in the policy implementation process. Fakier sees it as the responsibility of government to enforce effective implementation of its policies, as this was its mandate as expressed through the electoral process.

On the impact and importance of the ASRI’s Muslim civil society conference in re-establishing Muslim participation in national public affairs, Professor Farid Essack said, “I think it’s great that ASRI has engaged in this fairly macro level of intervention bringing all these Muslim partners together, and engaging with government at a very senior level.”

He went on further: “What it has done, whether this was planned or not, is it also inserts itself in the imagination of government as a very serious community or civil society player inside South Africa.” So then it’s a case of mission accomplished for the ASRI, at least with regard to one stated aim of the conference.

Executive director of ASRI, Muhammad Cajee, said at the outset that the think-tank’s policy and mandate for the next twelve months would be informed by the discussions at the conference. There was certainly enough robust debate to power further research into public policy in all the key areas of the NDP, but still, that lone call for justice from the opening dinner continues to reverberate: how can civil society hold power to account?

If that protester had just waited one day, and engaged with the panel on corruption in a constructive manner, perhaps ASRI would have been on the case for the next year. So a note to grassroots organisations, protesters and civilians: come out to next year’s Muslim civil society conference ready to engage. Perhaps ASRI really can become the vehicle for change you’ve been waiting for. VOC (Kamal Salasa)