The Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) released a statement citing that the body is not at liberty to discuss the contents of a leaked court order doing the rounds on social media.

According to the document penned at the Cape High Court earlier this month, MJC president Shaykh Irfaan Abrahams is calling for an interdict against an early Annual General Meeting (AGM) set to be held on Saturday 23 September, with the intention of allegedly electing a new executive council which includes its current president.

Speaking on VOC’s Drive Time, MJC representative Shaykh Muhammad West, said there are four primary organs of the MJC that governs the body.

• The senior council (Imarah)
• The supreme council (Majlis al-A’la)
• The executive council (Exco)
– President
– First Deputy President
– Second Deputy President
– Secretary General
– Treasurer
• The general council (General Majlis)

According to the court documents, seen by VOC, Abrahams has been elected as president in April 2021 as part of the exco team who oversees the administration of the organization. An election is held in April every five years, thus indicating that Abrahams term would conclude in May 2026.

On who gets to appoint members within the body, West stated the decision comes from within its structures.

“The people that get to vote would be its members. So you have to be a member of the MJC before you get the chance to elect the office bearers but ultimately the members of the MJC are Imams who represent a community. So we encourage the community to speak with their Imam if they aware that an election is upcoming, and thus the decision taken will be of benefit to the community,” explained West.

Last year, saw the release of a document related to funds to the tune of R 900,000 that was meant to be spent by the MJC on cushioning the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on indigent imams. However, an internal Commission of Inquiry (COI) proved that nearly R500 000 could not be accounted for.

“This is an extraordinary election. It has never happened in the history of the MJC but I wouldn’t necessarily link the issue of financial matters to the call for an early AGM because this is the election of the entire exco not just the position of president,” explained West.

However, there is a clause in the MJC’s constitution that allows for the exception.

“We do have a clause (4.8) within the constitution that allows for the general majlis (200+ members) to invoke this clause. It could be they’re not happy with the direction or for any other reason. For example, we don’t have a Treasurer or a Secretary General. The General Majlis has deemed that they would like to have a change in executive,” added West.

Finally, West said this is not the ideal situation to resolve its matters.

“This is a very sad day for the MJC and we are quite disappointed that we are in this situation. But we also acknowledge that everybody has the right to approach the court if they feel aggrieved in any way and you do have the right to a judicial process and all the MJC is doing now is defending itself,” ended West.

The outcome of the court order is set to be heard in the Cape High Court at 10h00 on Thursday 21 September. However, currently, the elections are still set to proceed on Saturday.

Stay tuned to VOC news on this developing story.

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