“WHY are you wearing the veil?”   There is a shocked silence in the class-room.   “The niqab (the face-veil) is a cultural tradition. It has nothing to do with Islam,” continues the speaker, an old man with an imposing demeanour.   A teacher tries to explain something, but[…]

As I neared the Church of The Holy Sepulchre’s crumbling portals, I noticed a wooden cross leaning against the door of a side chapel. Crucifixion had been used by the Persians as a deterrent as early as 700 BC. And what an effective means of public persuasion it must have[…]

ONE of the modern era’s most prominent scholars, Shaikh Yusuf al-Qaradhawi, has been visiting South African shores. Now 84 years-old, the Shaikh has been a bastion of independent, but moderate thought in an age pockmarked with the legacy of Salafi-Wahhabi extremism and post-colonialism.   As a faqih, a master of[…]

 “JUZ? You wanna juz now?” asked the shopkeeper with a knowing smile. Outside the Hashimi Hotel across the narrow street was a small cafe that squeezed oranges. I had discovered that it also juiced carrots. Fresh, sweet carrot juice had become my staple. Carrot juice, which is full of beta-carotene,[…]

The murder of the 69 year-old Afrikaner Weerstandsbewiging Leader Eugene Ney Terre’blanche asks the very real question: will right-wing “Boeredom” ever be the same again? A larger than life figure, for some a public buffoon and for others a racist bully, Terre’blanche strode the South African stage with a combination[…]

IT has to be supremely ironic that Creation’s most significant event is recognised as being one of the most controversial issues in Islam today.   This event was the birth, the mawlud, of Adam (as) when a God-fearing jinn called Iblis suddenly  became resentful. Space does not allow me to[…]

WHEN YOU ENTER THE AL-AQSA SANCTUARY, you are spoilt for a choice of where to go’, said my diary. It was certainly true; for commemorative domes, moulded outdoor mimbars, ceremonial ablution fountains, ancient schools, mausoleums and musty reception rooms dotted its precincts. An un-named pilgrim had noted centuries ago that[…]

Julius Malema, ANC Youth League President, part-time millionaire, Presidential poodle and populist lap-dog, has yet again defied his party bosses. And yet again, they will cough into their expensive shirts and look the other way, saying that Julius is only a young man – and shame – young men say[…]

If you’re a budding student of surrealism, I would recommend Israel. It will prove to be your greatest project. I can assure you that Israel’s bizarre political landscape will provide you with material beyond your wildest dreams. Described by the Oxford dictionary as an “expression of the sub-conscious mind through[…]

    Habib Umar ibn Hafidh, one of the Hadramaut’s most celebrated spiritual leaders, conducted a successful tour of South Africa recently, lecturing in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.   As a 39th generation descendent of the Prophet Muhammad (s) through the lineage of Sayyidina Hussain (ra), he hails from[…]