FEATURES

Fifty years after the Soweto Uprising, Adli Yacubi reflects on how June 16 shaped a generation of Muslim activists, the emergence of the Call of Islam, and the enduring struggle for justice and human dignity. By ADLI YACUBI We grew up in the aftermath By the time...

In Part Two of Reclaiming Agency, DR ISMAIL ADAM PATEL argues that coloniality confined Islam to the private sphere and transformed a faith of justice into one of passivity. He outlines how Muslims can restore Islam’s public role through institutions, language and collective action. Part Two The...

DR ISMAIL ADAM PATEL asks the searing question: in light of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, how does the Ummah convert grief into organised action? In this first of a three-part series he sketches the ‘landscape’ and names the challenge. Part One Opening — The Two Prayers...

Goolam Hoosain Abed (August 11, 1934 – June 20, 2026), former rugby fly-half and cricket all-rounder, leaves behind a remarkable sporting legacy spanning South Africa and England. By MOGAMAD ALLIE After a well-played innings of 91, Goolam Abed finally became the last wicket to fall in his...

From District Six to global stages, Abdullah Ibrahim transformed South African jazz and created a powerful cultural legacy rooted in spirituality and resistance. By HENNING MELBER Adolph Johannes Brand was born on October 9, 1934, in Cape Town. He would become better known as Dollar Brand and...

The story of Ebrahim Ismail, who lived as ‘Abraham Davis’ under apartheid, reveals the complex intersections of war, race, identity and belonging in South Africa. By ANWAR OMAR Recently, I stumbled upon a fragile handwritten version of The Ballad of the D-Day Dodgers by my paternal uncle,...

Thirteen Commonwealth soldiers from South Africa, West Africa and the Indian subcontinent lie buried at Mowbray Muslim Cemetery, revealing a little-known chapter of Cape Muslim and wartime history. By ANWAR OMAR I was born and raised in Salt River, less than a kilometre from the Mowbray Muslim...

The South African chess community mourns the passing of Dr Shabier ‘Dr Shabs’ Bhawoodien Mahatey, a champion, mentor and lifelong ambassador for the game. By ADNAAN ADAMS The passing of Dr Shabier Hussain ‘Dr Shabs’ Bhawoodien Mahatey, on Wednesday May 27, marks the end of an era...

Mowbray Muslim Cemetery is a sacred archive of Cape Muslim history, housing heritage sites linked to scholars, activists, saints and anti-apartheid leaders. On this basis, the writer argues, the cemetery – in its entirety – deserves formal nomination and declaration as a National Heritage Site. By ANWAR...

From Olof Palme to Norwegian solidarity campaigns, a travelling exhibition launched at University of the Western Cape earlier this month brings the often overlooked Nordic role in South Africa’s liberation history to the fore. By SAALIEGAH ZARDAD On February 28, 1986, a week after standing at a...