Community members in Kenwyn are not convinced that a local teenage girl had been recruited by the Islamic State (ISIS). A report of a 15 year old girl from Kenwyn (identity is withheld for her protection) who attempted to leave South Africa and join ISIS has sparked the attention and concern from the Muslim community.
Community activist Hanief Loonat believes while ISIS recruitment campaigns are being run around the world, it is sensational reports that are perpetuating fear among communities.
Very little has been released regarding the case of the Kenwyn teenager who is currently at the centre of a probe by State Security. However, Loonat, who is well acquainted with the family of the teenager, says the girl’s attempt to join ISIS has come as a shock and does not believe all reports on the case are true.
On Tuesday, VOC News was alerted to unconfirmed reports of an increase in extremism among youth in Kenwyn. However, Loonat has slammed these reports and believes the local community has seen less instances of recruitment than other areas in South Africa.
“I know of a confirmed situation in Blikkiesdorp where Boko Haram insurgents were recruiting locals to join their radical group in Nigeria. They target these down trodden areas where individuals have very little access to information,” he said.
“In addition, many residents in Blikkiesdorp are in search of a different and often better life. I can assure you that recruitment is taking place in South Africa but not at the scale that is being portrayed.”
The imam of the Waterloo masjid in Kenwyn, Moulana Farouk Ryland responded to the claims of the masjid “propagating extremism” by denouncing ISIS. According to Ryland, if the reports of the brutal beheadings and murders as portrayed by mainstream media is true, they should not be regarded as Muslims.
“Nowhere in our beautiful religoin does it encourage Muslims to kill those of other beliefs,” Ryland said.
While Loonat refers to the most recent case in Kenwyn as isolated and somewhat exaggerated, he remains adamant that parents should become more aware of their children’s interaction on social media sites.
“I would like parents in our community to become more inquisitive. Your children are accountable to you. We need to start questioning our kids on their whereabouts, their associations and their discussions on social media. We are losing our youth to social media. While many are using these platforms discreetly and for good reasons, others abuse social media and make themselves vulnerable to recruiters who monitor their activities on these sites,” he added.
Loonat believes the truth of recruiters living in our midst and operating professionally should be a worrying fact to all. He encouraged community members to be aware and inform their children of the dangers that are potentially on their doorstep.
Ryland said this incident should be a wake up call to all parents.
“The case of the teenager in our community has come as a shock to us. We need to be aware of our children and their internet usage. In addition to this, I encourage our youth to approach their ulema, ask the necessary questions and then ascertain whether or not this is actually something that will help them be a better Muslim. We can not tell our children not to read up and do research of their own but they need to turn to others and become well informed before they make any rash decisions.” VOC (Ra’eesah Isaacs)
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3 comments
How about a unified khutbuah this Firday to denounce the ISIL, Boko Haram and all these extremists groups as terrorists and fundamentalists?
The internet itself is not dangerous. Its the people that use it for nefarious purposes that make it dangerous.
It is true that some imaams propagate extremism in their masaajid here in South Africa. This is especially true when their teachings are influenced by interpretations from the Indian subcontinent like Pakistan or Bangladesh.
Perhaps if we as Muslims on the ground stop referring to non-Muslims using derogatory terms such as nasaarah and kuffaar. I don’t think this will happen anytime soon.
Regardless of what the religion of Islam teaches, it is the mindset of Muslims and that which is within their hearts that will determine the outcome of their actions.
too many holes in this report, on the one hand blame is shifted to others, on the other hand some blame is laid at our own doors, for too long the ulema bodies have been duplicitous, many of their members preaching sectarianism and hate from the minmbars and mihrabs, openly and sometimes subtly, then some apparently verligte shuyookh are alsoon the bandwagon of hate because they dont want to be left out from the "popularity" of the ak hoosens sh erafaan abrahams dr imtiaz soolemans quraisha xx soolemans et al
they were the most ardent supporters of the precursors of isil, it doesnt take rocket science mentality to recognise where ultimately people will lead to and what theyll do when you know their roots
saudi wahabi salafi taliban al qaeda deobandi boko haram fsi isil isis al nusra "is"… no difference,
theyve preached the hate now when the repercussions are at hand they want to perform damage control
I’m not surprised that this teenage Islamic State (ISIS) recruit is from Kenwyn, as the pervading worldview at Masjid al-Barakah in Waterloo Road in Kenwyn is Wahhabi-Salafi.