“Where
there are ten Muslims, there will be a mosque or a madressa.”
Udayshanker
in “Conversation between Two Friends”, a twenty-one-part novel
reproduced in Indian Opinion, 1911
All Muslims observe the five basic
principles central to Islam. They recite Kalma to profess
faith in Allah, Prophet Mahomed, His angels, and the Koran;
they perform namaz (prayers) five times a day; they observe
roza (fast) during the holy month of Ramadan; they
give zakaat (alms); and undertake Haj (pilgrimage) to
Mecca in the twelfth month of the Hijri (Muslim) calendar.
These five principles guided the lives of Muslims in India, who were
predominantly Sunni.1 Majda Asad identified five
major Muslim festivals: Ramadan, the month of fasting;
Eid-ul-fitr which comes at the end of the fasting;
Eid-ul-Zuha or Bakri-id on the tenth day of the twelfth
month in the Muslim calendar to commemorate Prophet Ibrahim’s
willingness to sacrifice his own son to God; Milad-ul-Nabi
honoring Prophet Mahomed’s birthday; and Mohhuram
commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, grandson of Prophet
Mahomed, in 680 ACE.2
As M. Mujeeb points out, there was
great diversity of beliefs among Indian Muslims. In many parts of
India, Muslims retained some Hindu practices since the "vast
majority" were converts. The descendants of small groups of them
such as the Khojas, Bohras, and Memons came to South Africa. The
Gujarat region was “a melting-pot of races and beliefs.” Sufism
developed by the twelfth century, and “took root immediately in
the life of the people, and was more Indian in its character and
expression than orthodoxy could ever become.” It brought Hindus and
Muslims closer more than anything else.3
Muslim immigrants brought many of
these traditions to South Africa. The sufi order known as
Qadiri accepted the idea of Pir (Guide) who acts as the
preceptor between Allah and His followers, and one of its earliest
proponents was Shaikh Ahmed who came to Natal on the Truro in
1860, the first ship conveying indentured Indians. He became known
as Badsha Pir (King of Guides) and was popular among indentured
Indians. He was followed by Mahomed Ebrahim Soofie, also known as
Soofie Saheb, who arrived in 1895 as a missionary and propagated the
ideas associated with sufism until his death in 1910. Soofie
Saheb built a shrine in memory of Badsha Pir. Annually, Badsha Pir's
sainthood was commemorated with a recital of qawwali
(devotional songs), communal dinner, and a procession through the
city accompanied by raathie players doing bodily penitence
with spears and swords. In addition to propagating the faith, Soofie
Saheb built mosques, madressas, schools where children are
taught to read the Koran in Arabic, orphanages, and guest
houses all over southern Africa.
Yet another tradition emerged around
the Mohurram festival. All sections of the Muslim community
participated in this most popular event that lasted ten days. It was
broadly tolerant and allowed Hindu participation, and Hindus
themselves were drawn to it for its mystical quality. Indeed, in
India, sufi saints incorporated some of the culture and
imagery of Hindus. Mohurram ended on the tenth day with a
colorful procession that involved pulling several tajjias,
decorated miniature mausoleums made of wood, through the streets to
end up on the banks of the Umgeni river where the final ceremonies
took place. Those who participated engaged through music, dancing,
and singing. In some families, women recounted over nine days the
tragedy of Hussain's death. Annually, the Mohurram festivals
required permits from city and town authorities for their
processions. Invariably White residents complained bitterly about
the noise, especially the repeated beating of drums, and sought to
restrict them.4
At the Mohurram festival
described in Indian Opinion in October 1904, there were as
many as 3000 people some coming from as far as Johannesburg,
Charlestown, and Dundee. They were all greeted by Soofie Saheb. The
procession of people carried tajjias with the
accompaniment of music and dancing.5 In 1905, the
Raboobee tajjia
went along Victoria and Grey Streets before it joined others already
assembled in Umgeni Street.6 In 1907, 3000
individuals at the lower Umgeni River took part in the annual event
to honor the patron saint, Khajwa Saheb, on Saturday and Sunday.7
Such events also took place in Tongaat, Dannhauser, and
Hattingspruit. The Mohurram festival in the region attracted
many people from places like Ladysmith and Igogo.8
Muslims regularly honored Prophet
Mahomed’s birthday in Durban.9 During the
Bakri-id
festival in 1907, Indian Opinion alerted Mulsims about
local laws relating to kurbani, that is the slaughter
of goats that accompany this event. Muslim shops were closed in the
Grey Street area and elsewhere on that day.10
Indeed, there was pressure on Muslim shop owners in many parts of
South Africa to observe Eid-ul-fitr by closing their
businesses.11
In 1908, Bakri-id celebration included a performance by the
Star Dramatic company in Durban's Victoria Street Theater. Durban's
Point Mahomedan Society gave out prizes to its outstanding
madressa students on Eid-ul-fitr in 1911.12
When Estcourt and Dannhauser
celebrated Prophet Mahomed’s birthday, Muslims came to the function
from nearby towns like Newcastle, Dundee, and Hatingspruit.13
In Port Elizabeth, 250 Muslims, among them Malays, were present when
Akoob Saheb Barber Aliporwala celebrated molud sharif (holy
celebration) in honor of Prophet Mahomed, and ended with a
traditional fateha (prayers).14 At
Amerspoort, Dawjee Suliman Bomat's daughter, Hawabibi, completed
Koran sharif
(holy Koran). She read one chapter from the Koran.
Other children who read from the Holy Book were given silk
handkerchiefs as gifts.15 Another Islamic festival
was celebrated in Greytown, Volksrust, Standerton, and Durban.16
Mosques
and Madressas
For Muslims a mosque, referred to as
masjid in Gujarati, is the center of religious activity. In
the absence of one—as was the case of early Muslims who came mainly
from Malabar and Hyderabad as indentured immigrants—shrines served
the purpose. The first mosque was built in Grey Street in Durban in
1881. Another was constructed in 1885 in nearby West Street. The
mosques incorporated architectural features common to all such
structures. Additional features were introduced in the Durban
mosques that represented the traditions of Muslims who came from the
western parts of India with regional variations. The Grey Street
mosque served the needs mainly of Gujarati-speaking Sunni Vohras
from Surat, while the other in West Street was for Memons from
Kathiawad and Kutch, each showing ethnic distinctions of the Muslim
traders who built them. Soofie Saheb, referred to earlier, built
nine mosques all over South Africa from 1895 to the time of his
death in 1911, thanks to the generous help, among others, of Parsee
Rustomjee, a rich merchant in Durban.
Muslims considered it their sacred
duty to build mosques wherever they resided. A mosque was built in
Allendale near Pietermaritzburg in 1908 even though there were only
three Muslim shop owners in the area.17 Dannhauser
Muslims built a mosque in 1905, and a madressa was started in
September 1906. They had previously shared facilities in Ladysmith,
Dundee, and Newcastle.18 Cape Town's Hajee Suliman
Shahmahomed gave one-half of his land to a trust for the purpose of
building a mosque and madressa.19
Weddings were happy occasions at which
donations were showered on favored mosques, usually ones that had
personal or ancestral connection. Such was the case when a double
wedding took place in Pietermaritzburg. Hajee Hoosen Mahomed Badat's
two daughters were married to the son of Ebrahim Shah of Ladysmith
and the nephew of Ismail Dowjee Mia of Kearsney. Donations were
given to masjids in Pietermaritzburg, Newcastle (Kathor
Mehfil and Kathor Mehfil Zintol), and Ladysmith.20
Another such social event was marked by generous donations for
mosques. On the occasion of the marriage of Hajee Ahmed Mehter to
Kathor's Hajee Cassimjee Mahomed in the Umgeni's Habibia Jooma,
Amjee Sulliman Kadwa (Cassim Mahomed's brother) donated £1
each to Kathor Mehfil Ronkul Islam, Kathor Zintol Islam, Umgeni
Madressa Habibia, and a Verulam masjid; and £2 to
Durban's Madressa Anjuman Islam.21
Fund raising for building or improving
mosques and madressas was frequent. Most of the appeals came
through individuals. Moot Vali was entrusted, for example, with the
task of collecting funds for the Greytown mosque which had run out
of money.22 From Port Elizabeth, Shah Panday and
Ismail Ahmed Dhabelia set out for Kimberley, Mafeking, Vryberg, and
Winterton to collect funds for a masjid.23
Others also went out on similar collection drives.24
Muslim South Africans helped to
finance mosques and madressas in their ancestral villages in
India. Thus, various organizations regularly sponsored the building
of mosques and madressas in villages and towns like Kathor,
Kholvad, Ranavav, Rander, to name a few. Occasionally, the appeals
were made through paid announcements signed by the official British
administrator in the district. When the Panoli Shoktul Islam
madressa had its meeting at West Street in Durban in 1912,
seventy-five persons who represented villages like Diwa, Daddar,
Panoli, Kharach, Karod, Pirmani, Hathuman, and Kosamdi attended.25
Other funds, including the Ranavav Madressa Fund were created;26
and activities of Rander Anjuman Islam in India were reported.27
The Kholvad Mehfil Saiful Islam supported religious
activities in Kholvad. It published a long report detailing
contributions and expenses that suggest that those who had migrated
to South Africa still desired to contribute to the religious welfare
of the village from which they came.28
Similarly, Anjuman Islam from Bodania
in India gave a financial account of how South African donors' money
was spent on the mosque and madressa classes in quarterly,
annual, bi-annual, and even tri-annual reports.29
Kathor Anjuman Islam ran a boarding house for twenty
students, a library, and a masjid. Rs. 7889 were received and
Rs. 6494 were expended.30 Ranavav Anjuman
Islam gave a two-year account.31 Kadod's jamat
(Muslim congregation) wrote a letter signed by Osman Goolam
Rasool and fifty-four others appealing for funds to undertake
repairs to a mosque that was fifteen years old. The total amount
requested was Rs. 7000.32
Johannesburg's Ebrahim Suliman Mankada, himself a resident of
Dhabel, inquired into the financial affairs of the Dhabel
madressa. A report informed that Farsi, Arabic, Urdu, Gujarati,
and English were being taught at the madressa, and that there
were hostel facilities.33 The Kathor Madressa
Anjuman Islam, established in 1889, announced its school enrollment
at 204 pupils in 1911 up to standard six. Subject matter included
Gujarati, English, Arabic and Farsi.34
There are countless references to
Muslims in South Africa who were engaged in promoting the building
and maintenance of mosques and madressa or of bridges and
walls in villages in India. A former resident of Alipor writing from
Johannesburg argued that Muslims who lavished on weddings should cut
back so as to make donations for masjids and madressas.35
He was not the only one to suggest this. One who described himself
as “Kathor Sunni Vohra” wrote in a similar vein.36
A meeting was held on January 14, 1912, in Durban regarding a
masjid in Diwa, Kosamdi, and Datal in India.37
Alipor,
Bodana, Gandev, Panoli, Kantolia and many other Indian villages
similarly appear as places where Muslims wished to build or maintain
mosques and madressas for which funds were collected. Many
protest cables were sent in response to A.D. Vahed's request to
voice opposition to the Gaekwad state's announced intention of
taking over the management of the karbastan (cemetery) in
Kathor. A committee was established in October 1912, and in the end
the Gaekwad administrators backed down.38
Differences among mosque committees
arose from time to time over a variety of issues and showed how
vibrant the communities were. There was disagreement among members
in the Kranskop masjid.39 In Kimberley,
Imam Mahomed and others were forcibly ejected from the mosque by
Abraham Hoosen. The Court ruled that the ejection was legally
improper.40
Similar disagreements were in evidence among Muslims in Port
Elizabeth. Here the presence of a Malay mosque added to the
complications.41 Heidelberg's Cassim Suliman Kajee
complained that the masjid built seventy-eight years ago was
badly in need of repair;42 and Essop Moosajee, a
Durban resident from Kathor wanted to know what had happened to the
money raised ten years ago to build a masjid there.43
In Cape Town, the managing committee of the Loop Street Indian
masjid had not met in three years, hence a meeting was called to
return power to the trustees. Muslims met on July 3, 1910, about
paying off a debt on the masjid. Since it was built in 1892,
more Muslims, especially Kanemias and Pathans, had moved to Cape
Town. The members hoped to establish efficient management of mosque
affairs.44 To help resolve a conflict in the
Richmond
masjid, people came from Pietermaritzburg and Durban. Whatever
the source of the disagreement, the mediators determined
differentiated membership dues for shopkeepers and others.45
A man calling himself "Democrat" wrote several letters complaining
about the high-handed behavior of the Kathor Mehfil Ronkul Islam
officials.46 There are numerous instances of
people disagreeing about what should be taught, how the classes
should be run, and at what age children should start receiving
madressa
education. Standerton's Muslims argued that children should start
receiving ilm (Islamic knowledge) as early as seven or eight
years of age in Kholvad. They moved to recommend this change to the
Kholvad jamat in India, and also suggested a fine of Rs 50
for any student who stopped classes before the age of fifteen.47
S.I. Patel writing from Vereeninging talked about incorporating
untouchables in the educational program.48 From
Barkeley West, Ebrahim Asmal Bhamla argued for instruction in mother
tongue languages like Gujarati and Urdu.49
Muslim
Organizations
Hundreds of organizations catered for
Muslim religious needs. Each city or town usually had more than one
body with strong organizational and religious ties to the ancestral
homes of its members. Committees or trusts were put in place to
manage their activities on a day to day basis. On the whole, they
succeeded in their primary function of preserving and maintaining
Islamic values. Many of them were run by merchants who knew how to
turn profits from investments in buildings with rent-paying tenants.
Such was the case of Kathor Mehfil Ronkul Islam which bought its
third building in July 1911 for £350 in Durban’s Umbilo Road with a
monthly rental income of £4.50 They often combined
religious, educational, recreational, and sporting functions.
Among the bodies that called
themselves Anjuman (Association) Islam, a few were very
active. In Durban, Abdul Kadir managed the needs of Anjuman
Islam and its members, while at the same time supporting a
madressa
in Porbandar in India.51 The Durban Anjuman Islam
ran a
madressa school for 126 pupils in May 1909, and taught subjects
like English, Gujarati, Arabic, and Urdu. The school thought about
hiring a Gujarati teacher in May 1909.52 Its
school in Saville Street was established after Indian children over
age fourteen were barred from government schools. At its first
anniversary in 1910, some 400 adults were present to see awards made
to those among the 150 students who did well in English, Gujarati,
and Arabic. Among those present were Dawad Mahomed (NIC president),
Ismail Gora (vice president of the Durban Anjuman Islam and chairman
of the school committee), Ismail Moosa (Gujarati teacher), and
non-Muslim teachers like Michael Lazarus (English), H.L. Paul,
Vincent Lawrence, and R. Bughwan.53 The school was
planning to collect money from Muslims living on the north and south
coasts.54 It also addressed the issue of upkeep
and maintenance of its school building. At one of its meeting, the
discussion was about namaz, and the topic slated for the next
session was competition and rivalry.55 The school
had a sports day festival for its 200 pupils.56
Occasionally it met to honor community leaders. Such was the case in
January 1910, when M.C. Anglia who had just returned from England
where he was part of a delegation was recognized for his role as a
delegation member. Anglia’s message for the 300 who had gathered was
that Indians should rise above their parochialism.57
Pretoria’s Anjuman Islam looked
into anti-Muslim practices while Muslims satyagrahis were in
jail.58 But it was largely devoted to routine
community work. Its meeting on July 26, 1908, dealt with such
issues as appointing a new managing board, treasurer’s report, and
honoring members going to India.59 It publicized
examination results of eighteen students.60 This
body spoke about collecting funds for its English classes on January
5, 1910.61
Suliman Ismail Suj, chairman of Pretoria masjid, reported
that the imam's salary had been increased by ten shillings,
and the muezzin's by one shilling.62
Johannesburg’s Anjuman Fejeh, established in 1895, had
fifteen members in April 1910. It honored twelve persons who did
majlis molud sharif (gathering for holy celebration). Meals
served on this occasion were prepared by volunteer cooks.63
The Anjuman Esha-Etul Islam in
Depot Road, Durban, represented Muslims from Calcutta and its aim
was to help the children of the poor.64 In
Pietermaritzburg, the Anjuman Himayatul Islam met on May 1
with 150 in attendance to discuss changes in teaching at its
madressa school.65 Anjuman Islam in
Somerset Strand in the Cape was established in January 1910.66
In December 1910, it gave out prizes to students for Koran sharif
and ilm.67 The South African Janjira
Anjuman
reached out to befriend Louis Botha when this Boer leader
visited Durban in July 1910. Botha was not available, and so S.
Ismail Seepye of
Pietermaritzburg
sent an address to him in Pretoria.68
There were Muslim organizations that
had "mehfil" or “mehafil” (organization) in their names. The Kathor
Mehfil Zintol (or) Shintul Islam had a balance of £200
in May 1909.69 In June 1910, it issued a two-year
report of its activities. It had collected Rs 5828 and spent Rs
5237. Among the donors were Moossajee Ahmed Co., Hassen Mamoojee,
Cassim Essop Moolla, and Ebrahim Mahomed Timol.70
The Kholvad Mehfil Saiful Islam published a long report
detailing financial contributions for the religious welfare of the
village from which their South African members came. In 1913, it
suggested raising matching funds to help the Gaekwad government
provide compulsory education.71 Motavarachia
Mehfil Islam honored Ahmed Bhayat of Pietermaritzburg and E.M.
Haffejee of Estcourt who were going to Mecca for haj. Three
hundred were present at the meeting, among them Maulvi Fateh Mahomed
and M.C. Anglia. Sheik Mehtab recited poetry, and Bhyat and Haffejee
donated £15 and £5-10-0 respectively to the organization.72
Other organizations included the Kathor Mehfil Islam, Kathor Mehfil
Ronkul Islam, and the Surtee Mahomedan Mehfil Islam.
Hamidia Islamic Society (HIS)
was an important Johannesburg-based Muslim organization that played
a leading role in the first four years of the satyagraha
campaign. Its founding member was H.O. Ally, who together with his
fellow HIS members supported BIA initiatives. The famous mass
meeting of September 11, 1906, in the Empire Theater at which the
satyagraha resolution was taken, took place under its aegis.73
It played a dual role, however, that of serving the needs of Muslims
and of linking it with issues that were politically important to
them. For example, when Imam Abdul Kadar Bawazeer was arrested in
October 1908, HIS organized a protest meeting.74
At the HIS hall, madressa school awards were made to students
by M. P. Fancy, one of the officials.75 In a first
of its kind, HIS organized celebration for Imam Hoosain in
Johannesburg on January 30, 1910. The Hall was decorated, and many,
including Malays, took part in the festivities.76
HIS cabled £60 to the Muslim Educational Conference in Deobund,
Punjab which lasted for three days in April, and attracted as many
as 30,000 Muslims.77
Many South African maulvis had studied at Deobund.78
Hamidia Madressa's managing committee met to discuss the secretary's
report. It resolved to call a meeting on June 16 for those who
wanted to take imtihaan (examination).79 In
1910, HIS discussed the request for financial help by Al Islam,
a newspaper based in Cape Town.80 On
another occasion, the maulvi presented students with gifts.81
The Mahomedan Debating Society (MDS)
combined religious and secular issues. Its chairman, Mahomed Ahmed
Meer, who had links with the Hamidia Islamic Society in Johannesburg
and the Pan Islamic Society in the United Kingdom, played a leading
role.82 It was active in supporting Indians in
trade license appeals. M.A. Goga was congratulated on his successful
trade licence appeal and encouraged the NIC to take steps.83
The MDM ran a library and accepted donations of newspapers, books,
furniture, and the like.84 At one of its meetings
in 1907, Hindus were invited to discuss the Transvaal
satyagraha
struggle.85 At its meeting on May 31, 1910, the
group read passages from the Koran’s third kitab, and
from a historical novel (not named).86 The MDS met
on July 30 under chairman Ismail Allarakha to deal with routine
matters such as the acknowledgment of its letter of sympathy written
on the occasion of the emperor's death, new books in the library,
and “Unity” as the focus of discussion for its next meeting.87
Sayed Adbul Kadir read passages from Lord Chesterfield's Advice
to His Son
at another meeting.88 The group congratulated
Sir Carimbhai Ebrahim on his attaining the Baronet's title in
England. Members sent letters to Sir Carim from among those
submitted by members. They also made a decision about feeding a
destitute Muslim boy during Ramzan. Five shillings were
donated by Cassim Meer, and Osman Allarakha donated a bag of rice.89
Eid-ul-fitr prizes were distributed, and farewell was said to
Fakir Ismail Loonat who was going to India.90
In Durban, the Point Road Mahomedan
Society was established on May 15, 1910. Sheik Imam was the
chairman who worked with committee members like Sayed Chhaboo Mia,
Sheik Mahomed Ebrahim, Sheik Ismail, and Abdul Hakim. The aim was to
promote unity and peace among Muslims. It had at least one sitar and
qawwali recital. Its madressa had an enrollment of
sixteen pupils all of whom received ilm. At another of its
regular meetings, members resolved to meet twice a month and
thereafter read from Koran, and they retired after
cha-pani
(refreshments) at 7:30 p.m. At its monthly meeting, students
received prizes. At its October 30 meeting, Deobund and Mehfil
maddressas were cited as good examples to follow.91
Other Muslim organizations thrived.
The Haripura Gujamwadi Masjid Fund was established in
Ladysmith.92 The Ladysmith Islamic Society,
founded in 1907, honored maulanas (Islamic religious
scholars) from India and elsewhere.93 The
Mahomedan Club
in Marburg, the British Indian Mahomedan Association in
Mafeking, the Natal Memon Community, the Alipur Islamic
Committee
in Johannesburg, the Surtee Masjid School in Durban, the
Rander Jalse Habibia in Ladysmith, Cape Town's Habibia
Muslim Society, Mahomedan Charity Club in Simonstown were
regionally and locally active bodies that promoted Islam broadly.
Bloemhof established the Islamic Society in 1911.94
Some like the Union Mahomedan Society, which had prominent leaders
like Moulana Maulvi Ahmed Mukhtiar and Abdul Gani, were thinking
nationally about Muslim interests.95 In Stanger,
the Mehfil Islam was established in 1912 with 31 members. Moosa
Tootla was named the president. Durban Anjuman Islam's president,
Ismail Gora was happy to donate twenty-one shillings to the new
body.96
Some organizations focused on youth.
The Young Muslim Society (YMS) promoted Islam through membership
drives and by publishing articles.97 In Durban,
the YMS opened a library in Pine Street that was open from four p.m.
until nine in the evening.98 The Mahomedan Young
Men's Society was active in Pretoria,99 and in
Pietermaritzburg, a body with the same name met, and was attended by
some fifty individuals on December 10, 1910 to give speeches,
garland honored persons, and sing ghazals (lyric poems).100
Young South African Muslims were often
sent abroad for education. Some went to England, others to Aligarh
College in India. Greytown's Moosa Mamoojee Omarjee sent his son to
Aligarh to learn ilm. Omarjee was from Kathor, and the
writer (A.D. Vahed) said that in spite of his impoverished status,
Omarjee was the first and had thus made all Kathor residents feel
proud.101 Muslims were never slow to support good
causes. Thus, several bodies donated to the Muslim University and
the London Masjid Fund.102 Many attended a
conference on December 24, 1911, in Cape Town to talk about the
religious and general education for young Muslim boys and girls.
Dr Abdurahman was the guest speaker. A Muslim Education Committee
was created.103
Pietermaritzburg's Ahmed Bhayat pointed to the need for a boarding
school at which ilm should be taught. Four donors had already
come forward with £1500.104 Zeerust's Ebrahim Haji
Mahomed talked about the need for classes in industrial skills at
the Kholvad madressa.105 Even in general
educational matters, Muslims took great interest. Thus N.M. Kader of
the Durban Anjuman Islam donated £101 to the Natal Educational
Institute.106 Zakat (charity) was an
important Islamic tenet, and many Muslims took it seriously.
Durban's Anjuman Islam set up a committee to collect funds for needy
shop assistants and hawkers on an annual basis.107
At a function organized by the Durban Esha-Etul Islam, M.C. Anglia
provided two dozen readers for students, and Maulvi Bashir donated
1000 labels, and alphabetical charts in Arabic and Urdu.108
E.H.M. Moolla from Zeerust referred to a Penny Fund that had been
created in 1910 for madressa work.109
There were strong Pan-Islamic
sentiments among the Muslims. They rallied to the support of the
Turks during the Balkans wars, 1911-13. They boycotted goods from
Greece and Italy and made substantial cash donations to Turkey.
Members of the South African Moslem League, South African Moslem
Association, and Habibia Moslem Society were among those gathered at
a meeting of 3000 in Cape Town to show support for Turkey. The Red
Crescent fund was established.110 Durban's
Mahomedan Mastik Society was among the bodies that collected money.111
An earthquake in Turkey led Gardee in Johannesburg to create the
Hamadard (Sympathy) Islam Fund. Over £60 was collected. Washbank in
Natal also established a fund October 1912. The Mahomedan Theatrical
Group performed in 1912 on the night of Eid-ul-fitr in Durban
to raise money. Merchants contributed substantially, but workers
also joined in the endeavor.112 Newcastle cabled
nearly £271 to Constantinople. Ladysmith sent £425, and of this a
sum of £30 came from the Muslim Labour Association. Dundee District
gave £500. Durban donated £1000 bringing the total in January 1913
to £4000. Vryburg’s Muslims donated £34.113
Johannesburg's Red Crescent Fund, together with the Hamdard Islam
Fund, collected £2756. Hamdard Islam announced in April 1913 that
the total donation was £23,000 for all South Africa. Of this £11,000
was for the Tripoli War, and £12,000 for the Balkan War.114
The South African Muslims, like those
in India, were connected to the Middle East through regular
pilgrimages to Mecca. Some broadened their interests as they
traveled. Such was the case of NIC's Dawad Mahomed’s son, Hoosen,
who wrote about his travels to India, Mecca, and other places in the
Middle East. He talked about Khalifana (Caliphate), which, a
few years later from 1919-1923 was to become known in India as the
Khilafat, to which Gandhi would lend his support.115
Gandhi’s
relations with the Muslim Community
Muslims played an important role in
the experience of the South African Gandhi. From the time he came to
help sort out a legal dispute between two wealthy merchants in 1893,
he plunged himself into South African affairs substantially with
their help and encouragement. He was to learn much about the
Muslims, and came to trust them. His own moral and political
development was based on interfaith tolerance, which became the
hallmark of his stay in South Africa. Gandhi said in 1908, “I have
only one duty: to bring the Hindus and the Muslims together to serve
them as a single community."116 Indian Opinion
was an important tool in shaping Hindu-Muslim amity. When the Hindu
Shravan (a holy Hindu month dedicated to Lord Shiva) and Muslim
Ramzan months coincided in 1913, the newspaper was quick to
point to the unique opportunity for Hindus and Muslims in some form
mutually to cleanse themselves through their respective festivals.117
Gandhi was careful to work with Muslim
organizations like HIS. His religious and political world view
allowed him to treat Muslims with respect. Muslims themselves felt
pride in being able to come forward to support satyagraha. In
some instances, this pride took on narrow ethnic proportions. Thus
the Memons in Umsinga were proud that one of their numbers had gone
to jail. Yet Konkans and Kanemias often came to blows in 1908 about
their differences in spite of repeated calls for unity by Muslim
leaders.118
While Gandhi worked tirelessly to
create good relationship with the Muslims in South Africa, his
comments about aspects of the history of Muslims in a series of
speeches he gave in 1905 to the Theosophical Society in Johannesburg
created some uneasiness. Specifically the comments that upset many
Muslims related to Gandhi’s assertion that the Islamic tenet of
equality had made a such favorable impact on "lower classes" of
Hindus that hundred of thousands accepted Islam.119
There was nothing transparently offensive about Gandhi’s statement.
Indeed, he portrayed all religions, including Islam, in a favorable
light. He seemed to stress the common ancestry of Hindus and
Muslims, if only to unite them in their political struggle.
Muslims took offense, however, at his
implication that those Hindus who converted to Islam came primarily
from the lower classes and castes. The Indian Opinion
received many letters. All of them were likely not reproduced. Those
that were published presented their arguments in well-constructed
letters. A.E. Vawda pointed out that there were many converts who
came from high classes and castes.120 Gandhi did
not deny that this was so. In very conciliatory language, he
reassured his Muslim readers that he did not in any way seek to
degrade Islam. Indeed, he repeated the positive aspects of Islam and
argued that it was his intention to bring out the "special
excellences" of all the religions so as to make a favorable
impression on his White audience. But he remained firm in his
conclusion that the majority of the converts came from the
lower classes. It was a historical fact, and he did not therefore
think less of those who converted. On the contrary, it showed
“excellence." After all, he did not make a "distinction
between a Brahmin and a bhangi (scavenger)."121
"Muslim"122 and Mahomed Seedat123
continued to be critical about Gandhi's position, however. They did
not have much faith in the Encyclopedia Britannica and
Hunter's
Indian Empire from which Gandhi had drawn his information.124
Gandhi did not wish to prolong discussion on the subject although
the question continued to dog him.125
All of this must have been awkward for
Gandhi. He was mindful of the communal ill-feelings that were being
aroused by the British imperial government’s decision to partition
Bengal.126 Gandhi wished to make amends especially
as he needed Muslim support for the Indian Opinion, which was
then experiencing financial difficulties. The journal seemed to make
an extra effort to report on events relating to Muslims in Durban.
Thus there were regular reports of the Mahomedan Young Men's Society
(MYMS) recently established, and the Mahomedan Association.127
Gandhi was particularly encouraging to the Muslim youth
organization.128
Despite his conciliatory efforts, the
issue came up at a MYMS meeting towards the end of April 1906.
Goolam Ahmed Loharia referred to Gandhi’s controversial statement.
"We must not forget it," he advised. He seemed to imply that Muslims
were not getting fair coverage in the journal, suggesting perhaps
that all the correspondence on the subject had not been published by
Indian Opinion. There was a veiled suggestion that a separate
newspaper run by Muslims was necessary. Gandhi asked for forgiveness
without admitting to any wrong-doing, and appealed for amity between
Hindus and Muslims in the interests of the Indian community as a
whole.129
As for the newspaper’s financial
crisis, Gandhi met with a group of individuals at a meeting chaired
and hosted by Omar Hajee Amod Zaveri. Almost all of the people named
were Muslims. He reassured those present that it was "necessary for
every Indian to look upon the journal as belonging to him, not as
something mine." He apparently got the support of those present.130
Over a year later, Indian Opinion
translated in Gujarati parts from Washington Irvine’s Life of the
Prophet.131 Muslim readers were offended by
the part that dealt with idol worship and superstition in Arabia
before the Prophet’s time. Some readers were also pained to read
accounts of Mahomed’s marriage in chapter 5. They suggested that the
newspaper should stop serializing from the book. Indian Opinion
heeded the advice.132
The general feeling among Hindus and
Muslims was for cooperation. When, for example, Bhana
Jagjivana died in Dundee, Hindus and Muslims worked together
to deal with the local town officials to process quickly a death
certificate and crematorium arrangements.133 There
were, no doubt, many other similar instances when Hindus and Muslims
worked together. But there were also underlying tensions. The
colonial-born Hindus in Pietermaritzburg applied for licenses in
part because they resented Muslim traders in the city. Indian
Opinion deplored their action.134 As we
pointed out in chapter 3, the Indian Farmers’ Association in 1909
boycotted the Grey Street Mosque Indian market because it was
dominated by Muslim traders.
Gandhi’s second London trip played an
important role in crystalizing his views on Hindu-Muslim unity, and
found expression in Hind Swaraj. Gandhi embraced Syed Ali
Imam’s idea expressed at the Bihar branch of the All-India Muslim,
namely that where there were Muslim majorities in India, they should
work to protect the rights of the Hindu minority, and vice versa.
Gandhi said, "... it was in South Africa that the Indian nation was
being formed."135 In a letter to the Indian
Review
he said that the Hindu-Muslim problem was solved in South Africa. He
gave some indication of what "Indian nation" meant for him when he
spoke in London at the Dassera festival that celebrated the
victory of Rama over Ravana. He said that Rama should be honored by
all, Muslims and Hindus alike, because they all belonged to a
country that produced such a hero.136 He expected
Hindus and Muslims to accept each other to the point of embracing
each other's religious icons.137
The highest point of Hindu-Muslim
amity was reached around the time Gopak K. Gokhale visited South
Africa. Soon after the Indian nationalist leader’s visit to South
Africa was announced in January 1912, Gandhi wanted Hindus and
Muslims to unite to honor him. No one should raise differences
between the two groups.138 Yet there was a
tendency for groups to break up along religious and sectional lines.
For example, Hindus gathered on August 14, 1912, at Victoria Theater
to discuss how they should honor Gokhale.139 When
Gandhi spoke at the Kimberley banquet he wished people would work
together as well as the machinery he had seen do. "What a happy
family" they would be then.140
At the end of October, committees came
into place to welcome Gokhale. The Johannesburg committee had
thirty-six members. Imam Abdul Kader Bawazeer was the chairperson.
Except for Sonja Schlesin, Gandhi’s trusted assistant, all the
others were Muslims and Hindus who were about even in numbers. Such
committees came into being for Pietermaritzburg, Durban, and Cape
Town. The Durban Reception Committee consisted of ninety-six
members. Gokhale arrived in Cape Town on October 26 and left via
Johannesburg to Delagoa Bay on November 17. A special train took him
all over South Africa. He visited Cape Town, Kimberley,
Potchefstroom, Klerksdorp, Krugersdorp, Johannesburg, Pretoria,
Pietermaritzburg, and Durban.141
Imam Abdul Kader Bawazeer was perhaps
the only Muslim leader to join Gandhi in his experimentation of
communal harmony. He, his wife, and their two children came to stay
in Phoenix. As president of HIS, Imam Bawazeer took a leading part
in the political campaign. In addition, he led prayers at the Jumma
Masjid in Johannesburg. At Phoenix, he read from the Koran,
and sang Gandhi's favorite composition, "Vaishnava Jana," except in
place of "Vaishnava" he substituted "Muslim". The imam
followed Gandhi to India and stayed at the Sabarmati ashram
(commune).142 As Gandhi reported him
saying, “I have put my faith in God. You do not know Haji Sahiba
[his wife]. She will, of course, be ready to live where I live. She
will also be ready to share whatever is my life. I have, therefore,
decided to go to Phoenix. Nobody can say when the satyagraha
struggle will end. But I can no longer return to my old business or
any other. Like you, I have realized that a satyagrahi should
give up love of money and wealth ...”143
Some of the latent differences between
Hindus and Muslims, apparent since 1908, would resurface in
the last ten months of Gandhi’s South African stay when he effected
a settlement with Smuts. A group of his vocal critics insisted that
he had no the right to speak on behalf of Muslims.
It is not clear how many local Hindus
and Muslims shared the views expressed in Hind Swaraj that
Hindus and Muslims could make up one praja (nation).
He was drawing from his understanding of ancient India which had the
capacity to accommodate all people of different languages and
religions. As Parel points out, Gandhi recognized the differences
between Hindus and Muslims, but his "normative approach to them
disposed him to consider them to be not serious enough to prevent
the growth of a composite nationalism." Muslims did not oppose his
ecumenical approach. Hence, he was confident that Muslims in India
would make a "creative adaptation of Islam to the ethos of Indian
civilization."144 He expected no
less
from Hindus.
References
-
In 1921, there were 69 million
Muslims in India, who made up one-fifth of the population. In
Uttar Pradesh, Muslims are numerous in Lucknow, Amroha, Jaunpur,
Bilgram, Rampur, and Fyzabad. Western India was the home of
Bohras, majority of whom were of Hindu origin, Khojas, and
Memons, all trading communities. Mushirul Hasan, Nationalism
and Communal Politics in India, 1916-1928, Columbia, MO:
South Asia Books, 1979.
-
Majda Asad, Indian Muslim
Festivals and Customs, New Delhi: Publication Division,
Ministry of Information, Government of India, 1988. See also
Garcin de Tassy, Muslim Festivals in India and Other Essays,
translated and edited by M. Waseem. Delhi: Oxford University
Press, 1995.
-
Indian Muslims, McGill
University Press, 1967, pp. 21, 22, 15. 117,166.
-
Fatima Meer, Portraits of
Indian South Africans, Durban, 1969, pp. 181-99, 201-10; CSO
3467/1895, CSO 2903/1896, I 814/1896, I 814/1899, NAR,
Pietermaritzburg.
-
Indian Opinion (IO)
9/24/1904.
-
Ibid., 3/25/1905.
-
Ibid., 8/24/07, 7/23/1910.
-
Ibid., 3/2/1907, 3/23/1907,
8/6/1910, 8/13/1910.
-
Ibid., 12/2/1905, 2/3/1906,
2/17/1906, 5/19/1906.
-
Ibid.,1/19/1907, 2/2/1907.
-
Ibid., 1/8/1910.
-
Ibid.,12/26/1908, 9/9/1911.
-
Ibid., 5/4/1907.
-
Ibid., 6/4/1910.
-
Ibid., 7/2/1910.
-
Ibid., 9/28/1912.
-
Ibid., 6/13/1908.
-
Ibid., 2/23/1907.
-
Ibid., 12/10/1910.
-
Ibid., 12/31/1910.
-
Ibid., 8/6/1910.
-
Ibid., 2/15/1908.
-
Ibid., 7/4/1908.
-
Ibid., 12/4/1909.
-
Ibid., 10/26/1912.
-
Ibid., 3/28/1908.
-
Ibid., 9/18/1909.
-
Ibid.,1/1/1910, 3/26/1910.
-
Ibid., 8/6/1910.
-
Ibid., 10/29/1910.
-
Ibid., 12/30/1911.
-
Ibid., 9/17/1910.
-
Ibid., 7/ 2/1910,
8/27/1910.
-
Ibid., 11/4/1911.
-
Ibid., 3/16/1912.
-
Ibid., 9/7/1912.
-
Ibid., 1/27/1912.
-
Ibid., 3/16/1912,
6/29/1912, 5/11/1912, 7/18/1912, 9/7/1914, 6/14/1913, 10/8/1913,
2/25/1914, 3/16/1912, 4/6/1912, 6/22/1912, 6/29/1912, 9/21/1912,
10/19/1912.
-
Ibid., 2/22/1908.
-
Ibid., 3/7/1908, 5/2/1908.
-
Ibid., 5/30/1908,
6/13/1908.
-
Ibid., 1/22/1910.
-
Ibid., 2/5/1910.
-
Ibid. 2/12/1910, 7/16/1910.
-
Ibid., 11/5/1910.
-
Ibid., 9/23/1911,
10/7/1911, 7/27/1912, 9/7/1912, 9/14/1912.
-
Ibid., 11/4/1911.
-
Ibid., 10/19/1912.
-
Ibid., 10/26/1912.
-
Ibid., 7/29/1911.
-
Ibid., 2/22/1908.
-
Ibid., 5/15/1909.
-
Ibid., 2/5/1910.
-
Ibid., 3/12/1910.
-
Ibid.,
5/21/1910, 5/15/1910.
-
Ibid., 6/4/1910.
-
Ibid., 1/22/1910.
-
Ibid., 2/29/1908.
-
Ibid., 8/29/1908.
-
Ibid., 12/12/1908.
-
Ibid., 2/5/1910.
-
Ibid., 7/23/1910.
-
Ibid., 4/9/1910.
-
Ibid., 2/20/1909.
-
Ibid., 5/22/1909.
-
Ibid., 1/21/1910.
-
Ibid., 12/3/1910.
-
Ibid., 7/2/1910.
-
Ibid., 15/5/1909.
-
Ibid., 4/2/1910, 6/25/1910.
-
Ibid., 1/1/1910, 3/26/1910,
2/22/1913.
-
Ibid., 10/8/1910.
-
Ibid., 9/22/1906,
11/3/1906, 12/17/1906.
-
Ibid., 11/7//1908.
-
Ibid., 1/22/1910.
-
Ibid., 5/2/1910.
-
Ibid., 4/23/1910.
-
Ibid., 7/16/1910.
-
Ibid., 6/18/1910.
-
Ibid., 7/23/1910.
-
Ibid., 9/3/1910.
-
Ibid., 2/9/1907.
-
Ibid., 2/23/907, 3/2/1907.
-
Ibid., 3/16/1907, 5/2/1908.
-
Ibid., 10/12/1907.
-
Ibid., 6/4/1910.
-
Ibid., 8/6/1910.
-
Ibid., 8/13/1910.
-
Ibid., 9/3/1910, 9/10/1910.
-
Ibid., 9/17/1910.
-
Ibid., 7/9/1910, 5/21/1910,
8/13/1910, 9/10/1910, 10/15/1910, 11/12/1910.
-
Ibid., 10/20/1906.
-
Ibid., 9/7/1907, 4/25/1908.
-
Ibid., 11/3/1906,
12/8/1906, 12/15/1906, 12/22/,1906, 1/26/1907, 3/23/1907,
4/27/1907, 10/5/1907, 3/13/1909, 5/2/1908, 8/27/1910,
8/12/1911, 10/1/1911.
-
Ibid., 2/12/1910.
-
Ibid., 3/2/1912, 3/9/1912,
3/16/1912, 3/23/1912, 6/22/1912.
-
Ibid., 6/18/1910.
-
Ibid., 12/2/1911.
-
Ibid., 11/19/1910.
-
Ibid., 12/24/1910.
-
Ibid., 10/22/1910.
-
Ibid., 8/12/1911.
-
Ibid., 1/6/1912,
12/7/1912.
-
Ibid., 1/27/1912.
-
Ibid., 2/8/1913.
-
Ibid., 3/2/1912.
-
Ibid., 10/26/1912.
-
Ibid., 9/21/1912,
10/19/1912, 12/7/1912.
-
Ibid., 5/10/1913.
-
Ibid., 8/3/1912, 9/7/1912.
-
Ibid., 10/14/1911.
-
Ibid., 10/5/1912,
10/26/1912, 11/30/1912.
-
Ibid., 1/4/1913, 1/11/1913,
3/1/1913, 3/8/1913, 3/29/1913.
-
Ibid., 4/19/1913.
-
Ibid., 1/25/1913, 2/1/1913,
2/8/1913, 3/15/1913.
-
Ibid., 2/22/1908.
-
Ibid., 8/9/1913.
-
Ibid., 9/12/1908,
9/19/1908.
-
Collected Works of Mahatma
Gandhi (CWMG), vol. 4, p.407.
-
IO 5/9/1905.
-
Ibid., 5/20/1905; CWMG,
vol. 4, pp.430-31.
-
Ibid., 5/22/1905.
-
Ibid., 5/27/1905.
-
CWMG, vol. 4, p.454.
-
IO 5/22/1905, 6/17/1905.
-
Ibid., 11/4/1905.
-
Ibid.,3/24/1906, 3/31/1906,
4/7/1906, 4/14/1906, 4/28/1906, 6/23/1906, 7/14/1906, 7/21/1906.
-
Ibid., 4/28/1906, CWMG,
vol. 5, pp.295-96.
-
IO 4/28/1906; see also
CWMG, vol. 5, pp.299-300.
-
IO 4/28/1906, CWMG,
vol. 5, pp. 289-290.
-
IO 7/6/1907, 7/13/1907,
7/20/1907, 7/27/1907, 8/3/1907, 8/10/1907, 8/17/1907.
-
Ibid., 8/31/1907.
-
Ibid., 2/12/1910.
-
Ibid., 5/ 21/1910.
-
Ibid., 10/30/1909.
-
Ibid., 11/27/1909.
-
Ibid., 10/8/1909.
-
Ibid., 8/13/1912.
-
Ibid., 8/14/1912.
-
Ibid., 11/9/1912, CWMG,
vol.9, pp. 338-40.
-
IO 8/31/1912, 9/14/1912,
9/21/1912, 9/28/1912, 9/21/1912.
-
Raojibhai M. Patel, The Making
of the Mahatma, Ahmedabad, 1990, pp. 147-49.
-
Gandhi reported this in his weekly
letter from the Yeravda prison on March 21, 1932, by which time
Imam Abdul Kader Bawazeer had died. See Sushila Nayar,
Mahatma Gandhi: Satyagraha At Work, vol 4, Ahmedabad:
Navajivan Publishing House, 1989, p. 682.
-
Anthony J. Parel, "Gandhi’s Idea
of Nation in Hind Swaraj,” Gandhi Marg 13(1991):
267, 278.
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