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Burial practices, African women, and Islam in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa

Early in 2003, African Muslims in Uitenhage’s township, Kwa-Nobuhle, learnt that Muslim women, led by Sheikh Nceba Salamntu, in South Africa’s Port Elizabeth New Brighton township, were allowed, contrary to previous practice, to follow a funeral procession right up to the graveyard. The resultant discomfort on the one hand, and excitement on the other caused by this event among Muslims in the township, forms the basis of this research. It gives focus to Muslim women, the ones most affected by their customary restriction from the gravesites. The researchi exposes the basis for women’s exclusion from funeral processions in the Muslim community. It was established that many of these Muslim women who challenged the practice were converts from Christianity to Islam. One of the bases for their action was that they were passive recipients of Islam. Furthermore, it was found that the exclusion of women from the funeral procession has no basis in Islamic writings.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:10998
Date January 2004
CreatorsSesanti, Simphiwe Olicius
PublisherUniversity of Port Elizabeth, Faculty of Arts
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis, Masters, MA
Format159 pages, pdf
RightsNelson Mandela Metropolitan University

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