3 August 2008
A meeting was held in Johannesburg today, Sunday 3 August 2008, between the ANC and leading Muslim clerics.
ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe led the ANC delegation and its UUCSA President Sheik Ebrahim Gabriels led UUCSA delegation.
Representatives from the Jamtul Ulama Gauteng, KwaZulu Natal Jamiat, Sunni Ulama Council, the Muslim Judicial Council, Sunni Jamiatal Ulama (SJU). The UUCSA delegation represented Muslim communities from Gauteng, KwaZulu Natal and Western Cape under the umbrella of UUCSA.
The ANC acknowledged the positive role played by the Muslim community since 1620 in the liberation struggle and recalled that the first Robben Island prisoner was from the Western Cape. The ANC acknowledged the numerous people who practiced Islam who had joined the armed struggle and played a vital role in the mobilisation of the masses of South Africa’s people towards freedom from the 1950s to the 1990s. The ANC also acknowledged the important role still played by Muslim people in advancing our country towards a developmental state.
The discussions focused on several matters pertaining to the Eastern Cape and Western Cape and the change in ANC leadership at provincial government level. The two sides agreed to continue to complement the work of each organisation, especially in the fight to eradicate poverty. Both sides agreed that they would work together on nation building programmes with particular emphasis on social cohesion in the Western Cape.
Both sides committed to engage in a common fight against crime and programmes that would advance social development, particularly in education and health.
The Muslim clerics under the umbrella of UUCSA and the ANC agreed to meet periodically to discuss matters of mutual interest and concern.
ISSUED BY THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS AND THE UNITED ULAMA COUNCIL OF SOUTH AFRICA (UUCSA)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
UUCSA SECRETARY GENERAL YUSUF PATEL : 0825778311 OR 031 2432428
ANC SPOKESPERSON JESSIE DUARTE 079 506 6756