Chairman’s Report

Farouk Kerbelker

Presented by

The Secretary, Asmudien Jaffer

I am sincerely grateful to Allāh Almighty for granting me the health and opportunity to be part of the rich spiritual history of the Muslim Assembly. I express my gratitude to all our family members, members of the Muslim Assembly, donors, executive members and community leaders for your support during the past fifty years. Jazākallāh for supporting my appointment as chairman and showing confidence in my ability to drive the Muslim Assembly forward during these exciting but challenging times.

Our Golden Jubilee is definitely a time for celebration. It is also a time to reflect on those difficult, tedious and challenging fifty-year journey and to map the way forward to meet the challenges of the next fifty years, and beyond.  Inshā Allāh

So today we pay homage to the founding fathers and the sacrifice made by so many families and individuals.

1. Doctor Kotwal and his family
2. Achmat Davids

And so many more

We need to continuously reflect on our commitment to their vision, mission and ideals. While ensuring that we act within the boundaries of Shariah. Our personal goal must always be to please Allāh Almighty for the benefit of our Muslim community and the much broader community.

Those who knew Doctor Mohamad Hossain Kotwal personally, will know that to establish the Muslim Assembly was not easy. During the nineteen sixties the Muslim community experienced many challenges and hardships. While Doctor Hossain Kotwal recognised the evils of Apartheid and supported organisations calling for political change, he at the same time, recognised the spiritual and practical needs of the Muslim community during and post-apartheid.

He recognized.

1. The need for Muslims to understand the fundamentals of Islam, the concept and processes of Tawheed together with the vital Quranic sunnah
2. For local madressas to follow a syllabus
3. To introduce a hearse for the very first time. As Muslims were forcibly removed from district six into the Cape Flats. It was no longer practical to walk the mayat from the townships to Mowbray or to the Johnston road cemetery. I am sure you will remember the resistance and controversy it caused
4. The need to establish a Muslim Prison board to ensure their spiritual transformation, Islamic education, ensuring they receive halaal food and treated with fairness and justice
5. The need to establish an indepenant organisation to ensure that our Hujjaj is not exploited and receive the best service from all the service providers
6. The need to educate our women on their Divine duties and responsibilities towards their husbands and family and the Divine duty and responsibilities of the husband towards their wives.
7. The need to establish a structured judiciary so that the rights of women were not compromised during the talaaq process.

Because of his tenacity, and ignoring narrow minded critics, Doctor and a small band of men and women established the Muslim Assembly in 1967

A modest but massive contribution in the History of the Muslim Community and the broader community.

Many people have been critical on this Organisation. But Alhumdulillah, the same critics later supported these structures, improved the services and introduced these vital concepts in different other organisations.

As the need of our community increased exponentially, inflation, political restriction and economic factors restricted our acquisition of both financial and human resources.,

But the aspirations and hope for a better community, purely in the obedience of Allāh Almighty, increased the determination and resilience of this small band of men and women.

So, as we look back as to whether we have been true and faithful to the dreams of our founding fathers, we can say with truthfulness that we have played our part.

The Muslim Assembly remains a dynamic institution in a fast-changing environment. For dynamic flexibility and for future growth some decisions will always be controversial.

Those watershed decisions have served our community well and in many ways the benefits are realised today.

Our network of Organisation, Corporates, donors, members and ordinary well wishes grew over the years and is still growing. Alḥamdulillāh. In fact, we now have a few donors in the United Kingdom,
and Inshã Allāh the list will grow.

As an Islamic N.P.O. we must change our business model. From a process driven model to a result driven organisation. We must strive to do so while ensuring financial soundness. Especially in the most turbulent times ahead.

Our next five-year plan need to include the redesign of our Accounting and Administration systems. Processes must comply to General accepted practices and conform to all legal requirements and tax incentives. We need to constantly think and rethink how we respond and seize opportunities which will avail themselves once only in a competitive environment.  We can no longer be comfortable in providing old answers to new problems but remember fundamentals will always apply.

Above all, we must continue to provide the best Islamic education, social, support and youth development, in the creation of fair and inclusive society that provide equal opportunities for all….

…for men and women, for everyone, irrespective of a means test.

It is sad to note that as our middle class expand, unemployment, poverty, the inequalities in our society, divorce, juvenile delinquency, crime and substance abuse increases.  These are old problems which need new answers. New solutions and a new band of men and women to take up the challenge.

Education is the core of our activities. It is even more sad to note that right on our doorstep are innocent children from ‘Pooke se bos’ informal settlement who are deprived to the right to Islamic and pre-school education simply because they cannot afford the fees. It is imperative that we find the financial resources to build extra classes, employ specialised teachers and subsidise their fees. Failing to provide this vital service, these children will drop out of school as early as grade one and two. It is vital that these children be prepared for formal schooling. I humbly appeal to all present to come onboard and enrich us with your expertise, experience, time and resources to provide these children with an opportunity to integrate themselves into mainstream society and overtime improve their destiny. Insha Allāh. Allāh knows best.

Today I want to pay tribute to one of my predecessors, my teacher, my mentor, the ex-Chairman and Senior Director of the Muslim Assembly, the illustrious Hadji Moosa Vallie Ismail. Uncle Moosa has served the Muslim Assembly with unconditional love and loyalty for the past 40 years. 

Much of the achievements realised by the Muslim Assembly, after the resignation of Doctor, due to age and ill health, must be attributed to Uncle Moosa’s leadership together with a hardworking executive and dedicated staff. Uncle Moosa unselfishly sacrificed his career as an Educationist and principalship to serve the goals and aspirations of the Muslim Assembly. Seeking no recognition or financial reward.

He was instrumental in:

Drafting syllabi for:
The pre school
Pre-school Teachers training programme
Afternoon Madressa
Madressa teachers training programme
The evening adult classes and
The training of evening Madressa teachers programme.

Subsequently many external organisations have benefitted from his initiative

• Ensuring sound administration and fiscal discipline.
• Recruiting suitable staff and volunteers to ensure all departments are sustainable, running optimally and meeting the challenges of the time
• The Muslim Assembly maintains a very high standard of integrity, transparency and reminding all staff and members that our mission must be to please Allāh Almighty and will be held Accountable by Allāh Almighty and by our community.
• Both facilitating, managing and teaching

His hallmark is his dedication to Islām, His love for Allāh and His Rasūl and his unwavering admiration and love for Dr Kotwal.

We make du’ā Allāh Almighty grant Hadji Moosa Vallie Ismail a long life filled with goodness and beauty Inshā Allāh .

                             Wal Ḥamdulillāhi Rabbil ‘Ālamīn