Guest Writer

Cape Mawlid traditions turn listening into spiritual formation. Through stemme (voices), lāghoes, ṣalawāt and shared remembrance, communities cultivate Prophetic love, memory, resilience and a deeper capacity to respond to one another with care. By PROFESSOR ASLAM FATAAR The Cape Mawlid tradition is immediately recognisable through its sounds....

Following the G20 meeting in the US on August 31 and September 1, the writer argues that soaring US debt, AI investment and economic nationalism are deepening global imbalances, while Africa and the wider Global South confront exclusion, inflation and stalled reform. By ASHRAF PATEL Foreign ministers...

Politics needs more than office-bearers. Genuine political work requires organising, education, mobilisation and active citizenship that build community power, deepen participation and turn people from spectators into agents of change. By DR MPHUTLANE WA BOFELO As citizens from all walks of life, we often complain about the...

As Zionism faces deep global revulsion after Gaza, this analysis argues that Israel’s condemnation of violent West Bank settlers is a political attempt to isolate visible extremism from the wider structures of occupation and dispossession. By PROFESSOR JUNAID S AHMAD There is something almost obscene in watching...

Can Johannesburg fix roads, restore services and still stand for Palestine? This article rejects that false choice, linking people-centred local government with South Africa’s commitment to justice, human rights and solidarity with Gaza. BY HASSEN LORGAT The recent article by Kenneth Kgwadi in IOL makes a seemingly...

Amid war, racism, poverty, ecological crisis and rapid technological change, this article reflects on how the Prophetic legacy, iḥsān and adab can shape Muslim ethical agency grounded in justice, mercy, dignity and care today. This article draws on a webinar lecture delivered to BEd Honours students at...

Imran Khan’s imprisonment is framed as a test of Muslim moral consistency. The article calls on scholars, activists and public intellectuals to distinguish political disagreement from persecution and act now for justice and his release. By PROFESSOR JUNAID S AHMAD There are silences born of caution. Silences...

In Gaza, children flying simple kites amid the rubble face a disturbing new reality as toys are treated as military threats. The writer calls for global solidarity to defend Palestinian children’s right to play, safety and childhood. By IQBAL JASSAT Treating kites flown by children as military...

HASSEN LORGAT examines the South African Jewish Report’s coverage of Megan Choritz’s legal battle, arguing that its framing favours her opponent and raising wider questions about Zionism, anti-Zionism, free speech and media fairness. Talking, writing, or even thinking about the South African Jewish Report (SAJR) in many...

A conversation around Zaahied Sallie’s illustrated sīrah becomes a deeper reflection on Prophetic literacy: not merely knowing the story, but allowing its moral vision to shape Muslim homes, character, compassion and responsibility. By ADNAAN ADAMS On August 18, I had the honour of being in conversation with...