No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1993.

M.A. (Semitic Languages) / The history of Muslims in Pretoria began two decades after the arrival of the first Muslims to Natal from India and over two centuries after those in the Cape. Historians and researchers have undertaken the study of the Cape Muslims and pioneers of Natal. There is no book written on the Muslims in the Transvaal region. The two main centres in the Transvaal are Pretoria and Johannesburg. The village of Pretoria was founded in 1858, two and a half decades before Johannesburg. The first Muslims came to the vicinity in the 1880's, when it was still a small village consisting of 12 shops. The pioneer Muslims witnessed the growth and development of this village into a city. It is from the Pretoria region that the Muslims moved into the interior of Transvaal. The problems of the Muslims began in this city, and later spread to other town areas. This city was the centre of trade and business links to the other towns. As a Muslim citizen of Pretoria, it was considered best to undertake the study of the Muslims in this area. It was assumed that there would be no difficulty in obtaining basic source material on the historical aspect of the Muslims of Pretoria from the first arrival to the end of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (Z.A.R.) Government. At one stage the exercise of collecting data on this subject proved futile. However, it was after referring to a few books on the history of Indians in general, that it gave me some direction of the situation in the Z.A.R.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how a ruling-class actor attempted to reinvent and reconstitute an ethnic subject. Dr I.D. Du Plessis was, among other things, an Afrikaner litterateur and Commissioner of Coloured Affairs between 1930 and 1962, the period covered by this thesis. In Cape Town he applied himself to "preserve" what was known as "the malays". Although having an historical presence in Cape Town, defining the "malays" was always a problem as their very basis was in the process of being eroded as industrialisation forced social and communal changes. But the specificity of the "malays" was not an ethnic specificity with a rigid system of control and leadership, and staunchly cast against other sets of "identities" (such as Indians or "coloureds"). As chapter one shows, Du Plessis initiated the project at a conjuncture when the existence of ethnic units was presumed and the efforts to "preserve" them were profoundly political. A background to his ideological location is also discussed. From his particular location he journeyed amongst the "malays" and attempted to reinvent them as a specific ethnic unit fixed in space and time. Chapter two presents Du Plessis' model of "malay ethnicity" and its roots in history.

Includes bibliography. / One of the most significant and yet least studied developments of late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Cape Town is the emergence and growth of a muslim community. So dramatic was this process, that by the end of the period of slavery, well over two thirds of the town's non-European population were considered to be members of this community. Yet this process has largely been regarded, in such studies as do exist, as one of only marginal significance to the unfolding pattern of struggles that characterise this turbulent and brutal period of Cape Town's history. This lack of serious research stems largely from the nature of prevailing conceptions, which have tended to characterise both Islam and the muslim community as ostensibly cultural phenomena; culture being defined in its narrowest sense. Denied its political and ideological significance, the process of Islamisation is reduced to the point where it is regarded only as a quaint and colourful anachronism, adding a touch of spice to the cosmopolitan nature of the town. This thesis, however, takes as its point of departure the rejection of the notion that the development of Islam in Cape Town can be meaningfully understood in these terms.

This thesis titled Islam and the Environment within the context of globalisation and South Africa asserts the integral role that religion and culture place on social transformation. It also dispels any myths about the unscientific nature of religion. Religion, in its very tenets, advocates the total respect of all living and non-living things. An analysis of the verses found within the divine book of Muslims, the Quran shows the role of humans in conserving, preserving and caring for the natural environment. The environment is given to humans as a gift. Humans are the custodians and the care-takers of the environment. Planet Earth is in grave danger. Globalisation has placed unreasonable demands on (unnatural resources. Overproduction, the result of mass consumption has led to large scale industrialisation. Pollution, depletion of the ozone layer, global warming, climatic changes are some of the concomitant results of globalisation. South Africa is no exception to the rule. The Muslims of South Africa, via a closer link with the environment can achieve social transformation through the process of Environmental Education and taking greater care of the environment. It is critical that Muslims in South Africa begin to define their relationship with the environment. Muslim schools and institutions formed part of this empirical investigation to ascertain what efforts are being made to develop a sustainable Muslim community in South Africa. The research is both qualitative and quantitative in nature with an exploratory modality. Proposals are made to implement environmentallyfriendly programmes with a view to build capacity amongst Muslims in South Africa through the two fundamentally important stakeholders in South African Muslim society: Islamic schools and the Body of Theologians. The "return to basics" call is further resonated within the context of a textual analysis of verses of the Quran, with a view to ascertain the ordained role of Muslims vis-a-vis their purpose on this earth with reference to the natural environment. This theoretical, conceptual framework provides the bedrock for assumptions that protecting the natural environment is incumbent upon all Muslims. There is an urgent need for South African Muslims to galvanise around environmental issues within the parameters of Islamic schools and Islamic institutions (the Jamiats). These milieus form the pivotal points in this praxiological approach. Programmes for communities and educational institutions are suggested for maximum optimisation in a systemic way of promoting and sustaining environmental education de Nuevo. Socially responsive models and other pragmatic proposals are suggested in a bid to conscientise and empower South African Muslims concerning ways and means of protecting the environment. This thesis highlights the unquestioned assumptions which underlie growing calls for social transformation and considers the significance of a socially critical orientation to environmental education in relation to divine doctrines. / Thesis (Ph.D)-University of Durban-Westville, 2004.

This study examines the unique pre-and post hajj traditions of the Cape Muslims in the 19th and 20th centuries. It explores the origin and historical development of these traditions and describes the changes in the mode of transport used to travel to Arabia for the performance of hajj and in the financial aspect of hajj since the 19th century. The study identifies the difficulties that hajjis experienced in the 19th and 20th centuries and explains the special status accorded to hajjis at the Cape, including its use as a status symbol. Much attention is given to the management of the hajj enterprise, including the role of hajj agents and operators. The study analyses the difference between the earlier and current system of managing the hajj, and provides an overview of the regulating body appointed by the South African government to oversee the hajj industry. Finally, it investigates the problems that the pilgrims have been experiencing over the many years. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.

The political events that unfolded on September 11 200 I, marked a turning point in world history. The attacks on the United States brought into sharp focus, the very complex issue of political violence being perpetrated by elements from within the Muslim world, and the project of what is commonly referred to as Political Islam. These events have subsequently led to an intensification of scrutiny of Muslims globally, by the Western world, as well as the establishment of heightened security measures by many governments, with Muslims being subjected to increasing levels of suspicion and the curtailment of civil liberties. Accompanying this scrutiny of Muslims, has been the United States led "War on Terror," which has further fuelled anger and resentment within the Muslim world, and inspired the carrying out of further attacks of political violence against Western targets such as Britain and Spain, by Muslim militants. This thesis attempts to locate the unfolding of these acts of political violence, within the broad framework of an examination of what constitutes the arena of Political Islam (which is seen as the interface between the Islamic faith and political activity by Muslims), and to interrogate two streams of political expression within Political Islam. These are Militant Islam and Progressive Islam. This interrogation will attempt to take into account the historical development of political thought and action within the Muslim world, and Islam's encounter with the projects of colonialism, empire and orientalism, in order to understand and offer some analysis around the possible reasons for the phenomenon of contemporary political violence emanating from the Muslim world. The study will also argue that progressive expressions of Islam are more representative of the essence of Quranic teachings and that militancy, while sometimes necessary, is not an ideal way for Muslims to engage politics. The case study within which the broader theoretical argument unfolds, is the post-apartheid South African Muslim context. This case study examines how SA Muslims are expressing themselves politically in a democratic dispensation, and whether they are inclined towards militant or progressive expressions, as a faith based community engaging politics. The thesis concludes by offering suggestions for how SA Muslims can advance a peaceful progressive political agenda, which acts as a model for Muslim communities elsewhere. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

This thesis primarily deals with the nature and ori gins of Cape Muslim identity. The purpose of this study is to (1) define the nature of Cape M uslim identity (2) explore the origins of Cape Muslim identity (3) identify the factors impacting on Cape Muslim identity (4) and assess the response of Cape Muslims to the challenges to their identity. The hypothesis underlying this study is that Cape M uslim identity is unique and distinguishes itself through adherence to certain r ites and ceremonies, primarily derived from a Malay/Indonesian type of Islam, as established by r eligious leaders who came from those regions. This study explores this assumption and at tempts to determine the extent of Malay/Indonesian Islam on Cape Muslim rites and cer emonies. The study also identifies the contemporary ideologi cal and theological formations that challenge Cape Muslim identity. / Theses (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

Bibliography: pages 79-84. / This essay examines how the Cape government thought and felt about certain prominent Muslims, exiled from present day Indonesia to that colony, in the period 1652 to 1806. It has both descriptive and analytic functions. Descriptively, it seeks to find out what these thoughts and feelings were. Analytically, it seeks to explain why they came about. The essay contends that the way in which the exiles were perceived can only be understood by locating them in the wider Cape social, economic and political context. Accordingly, it describes elements of this context such as the Dutch colonial rationale, the Cape social structure, its culture and pertinent legal practices. Against this background, it then describes these perceptions. The description is general and specific. It examines perceptions of exiles in general by a study of the social class to which they belonged, namely the free blacks. It particularly focuses on the demography, the legal status and the economic position of this class. The final chapter of the essay is ties empirical backbone, being a specific and detailed examination of what the Cape government thought and felt about prominent individual exiles. As far as possible, it elicits all the evidence concerning these exiles, pertinent to the topic at hand, that is available in the prevailing historical literature. This essay's central thesis is that the exiles were peripheral to the concerns of the Cape government. Perceptions of individual exiles were nuanced and encompassed various attitudes, but at the core the exiles were not seen as important to their vital interests. The class to which the exiles belonged, the free blacks, were always at the demographic, legal, and economic margins of Cape society. The essay contends that the reason the exiles were peripheral in government perceptions was because of the general marginality of Muslims in the Cape context. They lacked numbers, and their role as a religious constituency was undermined by a society that subsumed such a constituency under various other concerns. The thesis is a departure from other studies on Cape Muslim history which this essay contends, tend to emphasise the "differentness" and centrality of the Muslim contribution.

The primary focus of this dissertation is to establish the extent to which ta§awwuf, commonly referred to as Islamic Spirituality, impacted on Cape Muslim culture. The study spans the time period between the arrival of the first significant political exiles at the Cape in 1667 to the founding of the Muslim Judicial Council in 1945. To this end a short historical review of ta§awwuf as it unfolded since its inception in the Muslim world is given in order to provide the necessary background against which any study of ta§awwuf at the Cape must be measured. This, in the authorÕs opinion, has not been attempted before in local studies in any systematic way. To further augment this study, a review of the nature and character of ta§awwuf as it emerged in the geographical areas from whence the political exiles and slaves were brought to the Cape is also engaged. As part of the conclusion to this dissertation an ÒafterwordÓ is provided that briefly sketches the post-1945 theological milieu that increasingly witnessed the emergence of new anti-ta§awwuf pressures within the Muslim community. / Religious Studies and Arabic / MA (Arabic)