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Dr Imtiaz Sooliman’s honorary doctorate from UCT ignited objections from some quarters, but overwhelming public support reaffirmed his legacy as a humanitarian leader.
By SAYED RIDHWAAN MOHAMED
The conferral of an honorary Doctorate of Philosophy upon Dr Imtiaz Sooliman by the University of Cape Town (UCT) on Monday March 30 should have been a moment of unalloyed national pride. Instead, it was preceded by a calculated, behind-the-scenes campaign of formal objections from a small segment of the university’s own community with ‘Concerned Citizens of SA’. To the conscious global community, this orchestrated ‘scandal’ reveals a troubling reality: a desperate attempt to penalise humanitarian leaders who refuse to remain ‘neutral’ in the face of documented genocide.
Conflating truth with prejudice
The primary thrust of the opposition rested on a tired and dangerous trope: the claim that Dr Sooliman’s vocal support for Palestinian liberation is synonymous with ‘antisemitism’. Detractors pointed to his defiant stance against Zionism as evidence of racial hatred.
But let us be clear: Dr Sooliman is anti-Zionist, not anti-Jewish. His widely criticised remark — that if standing against Zionists makes one ‘antisemitic’, then he is ‘5 000% antisemitic’ — was never an admission of prejudice. It was a scathing critique of how that label is weaponised to shield a political ideology from accountability.
The most powerful rebuttal to this narrative did not come from a press release, but from the graduation hall itself. On the day of the ceremony, the ‘safety’ concerns raised by objectors evaporated. Pictures captured South African Jews standing beside Dr Sooliman, congratulating him and celebrating his life’s work. These individuals recognise what the critics refuse to admit: that one can be deeply committed to Jewish identity while simultaneously rejecting the atrocities committed in the name of Zionism.
The mandate of the standing ovation
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The ultimate verdict on Dr Sooliman’s character was delivered not by the ‘concerned’ faculty, but by the graduates and their families. When his name was called, the hall erupted in a thunderous standing ovation that eclipsed the technical arguments of the minority. This spontaneous display of respect from a diverse UCT community served as a grassroots confirmation of his 30-year record of humanitarian leadership. It proved that the public recognises integrity when they see it, even if a few academics do not.
A higher law of conscience
The most disingenuous objection involved a deliberate misconstruction of Dr Sooliman’s religious convictions. Critics seized on his statement that he follows ‘Quranic law’, framing it as a rejection of the South African Constitution.
This ignores the context of his interview entirely. Dr Sooliman was speaking to the abject failure of ‘international law’ to protect the innocent. When the structures of ‘human law’ fail to stop the slaughter of children, a person of faith turns to a higher mandate. For Dr Sooliman, Quranic law is the ultimate framework for justice that forbids neutrality in the face of oppression. He does not ‘worry’ about the selective application of international law; he adheres to a divine instruction to stand against injustice wherever it manifests. To frame this as ‘unethical’ is a desperate reach by those who prefer a compliant, silent humanitarian.
The real conflict
Finally, the attempt to stain the award with allegations of ‘conflicts of interest’ regarding university donors is a transparent smokescreen. It is a strange day when supporting South Africa’s most effective disaster relief organisation — an entity that serves all people regardless of race or creed — is treated as a governance scandal.
The truth is that these objections were never about UCT’s values of ‘dignity and equality’. If they were, these same voices would be the loudest condemning the destruction of hospitals and universities in Gaza. Instead, they chose to target a man whose only ‘crime’ is a conscience that refuses to be bought or bullied.
Dr Imtiaz Sooliman earned his doctorate through decades of tireless service to the marginalised. UCT’s leadership should be commended for standing firm. The ‘distress’ felt by his detractors is simply the discomfort of those who realise they can no longer control the narrative of what it means to be a hero in the Global South.
Ultimately, the attempts to pull Dr Sooliman down through selective ‘vetting’ failed because they could not account for the sheer scale of his moral authority. As the Secretary of the Cape Town Ulama Board, I wish to extend our warmest congratulations to Dr Imtiaz Sooliman on this well-deserved recognition. We celebrate not just the title, but the unwavering Quranic principles of justice and service that he embodies. His triumph at UCT is a triumph for every South African who believes that true humanitarianism requires a spine of steel and a heart for the oppressed.
Sayyed Ridhwaan is a researcher and Honours graduate in Islamic Studies. A steadfast advocate for humanitarian rights and global justice, he lends his expertise to numerous committees specialising in interfaith advocacy and the advocacy of human rights in Palestine and beyond. He currently serves on the exco of the Cape Town Ulama Board, an Executive Member of the Sunni Ulama Council (Cape), and is a co-founder of the Ahlus Sunnah Media Network.
