Dr. Lubna Nadvi delivered her presentation titled "Leadership and Public Participation Among Young Muslim South Africans: Exploring Contemporary Trends" at the 2nd International Congress on Islamic Civilisation in Southern Africa.

1. Leadership and Public Participation
Among Young Muslim South
Africans :
Exploring Contemporary Trends
Lubna Nadvi
UKZN

2. Outline
• Brief Profile of SA Muslim Community
• Role of Religious influences in SA Politics
• Muslim Youth Groups
• Emergence of New Social Forces, Structures and
Opportunities for Participation
• Leadership and Participation by Muslim Youth
• Conclusions

3. Brief Profile of SA Muslim Community
• The Muslim community in South Africa is estimated to be approximately 1.5 % of the national
population in SA (Vahed and Jeppie, 2005). More recent statistics indicate that this has
shifted to almost 2% of the national population
• Despite being a minority community, Muslims play an influential role in various aspects of
life in South Africa including political, economic, social, cultural, religious spheres of life.
There are also since 1994, more diverse forms of cultural and religious expression within the
community (Tayob, 2008)
• The demographics of the community has also changed in terms of race and geographical
location. There has been a growth of Muslims within the indigenous African community and
a more active presence of Islamic life within townships (Sitoto)
• There has also been a shift in the active presence of Islamic and influence thought in public
life with the developments in Muslim Personal Law, (still contested) Shariah compliant
banking, halaal lifestyle concepts in tourism, cuisine, entertainment, etc
• The increased linkages between South African Muslims and Muslim communities elsewhere
has enabled greater sharing of ideas and solutions around common challenges such as
Islamophobia and the lack of unity on core matters of faith

4. Role of Islamic Religious influences in South African Politics and Public Life
• Various South African Scholars have documented the presence and influence of Muslims in
SA Society (Davids, Esack, Haron, Jeppie, Mahida, Moosa, Shaikh, Sitoto, Tayob, Vahed)
• Various Islamic Newspapers such as Al Qalam, Muslim Views, Al Ummah and Muslim radio
and television media (CII, Voice of the Cape, Al Ansaar, iTV, etc) have also tracked the
development of public discourse and current affairs
• Islamic Religious and Theological bodies such as the Jamiat Ulama (SA and provincial
branches), Muslim Judicial Council, United Ulama Council of SA among others have also
played a role in providing religious guidance to SA Muslims along Shariah principles
• Muslim civil society organisations that are tasked with discharging religious duties such as
halaal certification, disbursement of Zakaah / other funds, Islamic education and training,
Networking, Professional Associations, etc have also had a significant impact
• The general trends that emerge reflect a very active and engaged Muslim community, which
despite having experienced several challenges (difference of opinion on participation in
politics and public life, contestations around fiqh matters, etc) is still able to make its
presence felt in various spheres of life

5. Muslim Youth Groups
• The role of Muslim youth groups such as the Muslim Youth Movement (MYM),
Muslim Students Association (MSA), World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY)
among others in influencing and shaping the role of young Muslim South Africans
over several decades has been well documented
• In particular, the changing demographic of the Muslim population in South Africa in
terms of where the Islamic faith is being practised and who is shaping the discourse
around participation, is significant
• In post – apartheid South Africa the current debates focus around socio economic
development and transformation , race and class identity, among other issues and
this has forced young Muslims to invest greater energies in engaging these debates
instead of being distracted by religious disputes and differences of opinion
• These emerging issues have also enabled Muslim youth to have greater
engagement with young people from other communities and connect on a variety
of social platforms instead of simply religious ones

6. Emergence of New Social Forces, Structures and Opportunities for Participation
• Several new organisations have emerged within the South African Muslim community, since
2000, which have provided the impetus for new developments and growth
• In KZN these include Taking Islam to the People (TIP), ILMSA and nationally SAMNET, Islamic
Network SA, AWQAF, House of Ummah etc. These spaces have enabled both religious and
secular discussions to unfold and allowed new issues and items to be placed on the agenda
• In addition Islamic Universities such as the International Peace College of SA and academic
departments at existing universities such as UJ have been set up to take academic study of
Islam further, within both an Islamic and secular context
• Further academic study has also created various international linkages that have been
beneficial in particular for students who have travelled abroad to be exposed to new ideas
• In addition various other existing Muslim organisations have grown in terms of capacity and
have enabled greater participation by more diverse groups
• The Dawah organisations such as IPCI, IDM and As Salaam have also attempted to evolve in
terms of their approaches and programmes and in this process, young Muslims who might
otherwise not have had exposure to various opportunities are afforded these through the
different structures that have been put in place

7. Leadership and Participation by Muslim Youth
• The emergence of new structures and opportunities have enabled greater numbers of
younger Muslim SAns to participate in these spaces
• The forms of participation appear to include;
a) Islamic Tarbiyyah (Islamic education and training)
b) Involvement in Islamic Organisational Structures including youth chapters of Muslim
Professional Associations
c) Political spaces (national, provincial and local government structures) including serving within
political parties and civic bodies
d) Female only events (enabling young Muslimahs who were previously excluded from these
spaces to participate)
e) Journalism and Social Media
f) Social Justice campaigns (Environmental, Palestine Solidarity, Social Welfare, Fees Must Fall,
etc)
g) Think-tanks, civil society organisations, Development NGOs, CBOs, Inter-faith groups etc

8. Conclusions
• The Muslim community in South Africa has evolved in diverse ways since 1994
• The period between 2000 and 2015 appears to have been particularly significant and this can
be attributed to the opening up of international linkages, technological developments and
social media platforms
• While the overall shifts that have taken place are generally positive, there are several
challenges that remain
a) Ideological rifts within theological spaces which discourage youth from engaging religious
issues
b) A lack of greater investment in creating new Muslim youth leaders (through study
opportunities, internships, development programmes, social welfare programmes, etc)
c) A lack of mosque spaces which can be used be as multi – purpose centres which facilitate
functions such as youth development, (skills training and mentorship), intellectual engagement,
spiritual upliftment, etc
• New social formations such as SAMNET and House of Ummah are attempting to address
these gaps and their progress should be monitored