The Muslim community in Manenberg have been hindered in their efforts to gain the most out of the sacred month of Ramadan as a gang turf wars continues to rage on. A musallee from the area reported a large decrease in the number of Muslims attending the Taraweeh salah in the evening at the local masjid.

Manenberg Safety Forum spokesperson Rughsanda Pascoe says despite the holy month, young gangsters are still shooting at each other. An innocent boy was caught in the cross fire just as the taraweeh salaah concluded at around 10pm on Thursday. Tension had then become the order of the day for the rest of the weekend.

“You can’t walk to mosque here. After 6pm it is lights out in the area. No one will step a foot out their doors as this is usually the time that gangs begin shooting at each other,” Pascoe says.

Pascoe says the religious obligations of Christian residents have too been affected. Last week, Christian residents were seen running home after church on a Sunday morning as gangsters randomly opened fire.

“We have seen the shootings as people were entering and exiting church services. If you can’t make special arrangements by organising a lift or something, no one will leave their homes anymore,” Pascoe continued.

However, the masajid in the surrounding areas are a far stretch for residents of Manenberg to trek but Pascoe explained that these are the safest. The safest at the moment include Sherwood Park masjid, Primrose Park and Jordan Street. But the central most easily accessible masjid is in Shane Walk, located in the middle of the turf by rivals gangs, the Americans and Hard Livings.

At the same time, the long-standing traditions of Ramadan have been left at the front door of many families this year. Pascoe attributes this to the fact that Muslim families are often spread out in different parts of the community and have to walk into neighbouring sections to deliver “boeka” treats.

“When you live in one area where say, the Hard Living gangsters are in charge, you can’t just walk into the territory of the American gangsters. You’ll immediately become a target. That feeling of Ramadan and the way we celebrated it in the past has since come to an end. Everyone keeps to themselves in the safety of their homes. It is really sad.” VOC (Ra’eesah Isaacs)