By Anees Teladia

Anti-apartheid activist Imam Abdullah Haron was posthumously bestowed with an IPSA Annual Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Peace College of South Africa (IPSA) at a graduation ceremony held on Friday. Imam Haron was – and is – widely regarded as a significant cultural icon from the anti-apartheid struggle, who was killed in police detention on the 27 September 1969.

The late imam’s son Muhammed Haron, a professor of religious studies at the University of Botswana, accepted the honorary award on stage. Speaking to VOC News at the event, Professor Haron said the award was momentous as this year marks 50 years since the tragic killing of the imam.

“The award means quite a bit to us as a family – partly because our father was somewhat forgotten for a long time, but now it’s being revived [his memory] through these particular events.”

“IPSA has brought delight into our hearts for honouring him this way,” said Prof Haron.

When asked about the relevance Imam Haron holds in South Africa’s current socio-political context, professor Haron mentioned the lack of justice in South African society and the need for integrity with a willingness to sacrifice.

“He was a man of integrity – a man who had social justice uppermost in his mind,” said Prof Haron.

“Having sacrificed his life…he stood for justice.”

He believes his father should be a source of inspiration to others and that in the contemporary South African context, such inspiration and understanding is needed.

“When we look at our current society, justice is somewhat absent at all levels – and here is one man from whom we can get the necessary understanding and inspiration, as to what it means for having sacrificed his life in one way and for the ideas he had. So we draw upon the ideas that we need to abide by, i.e. living justly in all senses of the word.”

During professor Haron’s keynote speech, he touched on issues surrounding education whilst focusing on the positive contributions that Islamic educational institutions such as IPSA make.

This year, the Haron family, supported by other community activists, will be marking 50 years since Imam Haron’s killing with a 123-day commemoration programme, to mark the 123 days he was held incommunicado.

“It’s significant partly because of what he [Imam Haron] had done during a very traumatic and trying period. It was difficult for somebody to lay his or her life down for justice…the system was very harsh against anyone who stood up.”

Professor Haron suggested that the campaign can provide insight into both what it meant to be a Muslim during the Apartheid regime and what it ought to mean to be a Muslim in the current South African and global context.

“Because of how he combined his understanding of Islam to the social realities of his time, it somewhat gives us a sense of what it means to be a Muslim at that time, and what it should mean to be a Muslim at this point in time.”

VOC