The Jamiatul Ulama Transvaal now the Jamiatul Ulama South Africa (''Council of

Muslim Theologians This is a list of notable Muslim theologians. Traditional Theologians and Philosophers Ash'aris and Maturidis * Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari * Abu Mansur al-Maturidi * Abu al-Yusr al-Bazdawi * Abu al-Mu'in al-Nasafi * Shahab_al-Din_Abu_Hafs_Uma ...

''), headquartered in

Fordsburg Fordsburg is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is located in Region 8. Fordsburg is a residential suburb, although housing numerous shops and factories. Today, Fordsburg is a major centre of Indian and Pakistani culture, with a larg ...

, Johannesburg, was founded in 1923 to serve the

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

community of the (now defunct) Transvaal Province of South Africa.

Activities

It currently operates in the provinces that formerly made up the Transvaal, as well as in the Free State Province, and is one of a number of national

organizations in South Africa. The organization has been characterized as conservative and

Deobandi Deobandi is a revivalist movement within Sunni Islam, adhering to the Hanafi school of law, formed in the late 19th century around the Darul Uloom Madrassa in Deoband, India, from which the name derives, by Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi, R ...

, and it is widely perceived as having links to the Tablighi Jamaat. Large number of Muslims subscribe to decisions regarding fiqh (Islamic law) in the region where the organization operates. It also has significant influence on the running of many mosques and madrassahs in that region.

Controversies

Apartheid-era

The Jamiatul Ulama Transvaal has been criticised for its largely apolitical stance during the apartheid era. The organization, unlike its counterpart in

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

, the Jamiatul Ulama KwaZulu-Natal was accused by more activist ''ulema'' at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of not speaking out against the tricameral system, which denied black South Africans political power, while giving limited rights to Coloureds and

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

Post-apartheid

Radio Islam

The organization owns and manages a community radio station called ''Radio Islam'' that broadcasts on the Witwatersrand. A complaint was made by a progressive Muslim organization to the Independent Broadcasting Authority in 1998 that the radio station was not allowing women to be heard on air. The station argued that Islam does not allow women's voices to be heard. The authority ruled against the station, and in response, the station collected a petition of 28 000 names from women, who it claimed, supported the decision to bar women from the airwaves. The station has since changed its policy and now has substantial participation from women.

Muhammad cartoons controversy

The organization again made headlines in 2006 when it obtained an interdict against several South African newspaper companies in the

Johannesburg High Court The Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law which has general jurisdiction over the South African province of Gauteng and the eastern part of North West province. The main seat of the division is at Pretoria, ...

against the republishing of cartoons depicting the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. See: Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy. This case raised important questions about the limits of freedom of expression in South Africa.

References

{{Authority control Islamic organisations based in South Africa Religion in Johannesburg