Will HRC Step In to Hold Perpetrator to Account?
By Iqbal Jassat
Racist venom captured on camera in the precinct of a prominent restaurant in Pretoria, has once again placed the spotlight on Islamophobia in South Africa.
As expected, the hateful incident has not only sparked widespread outrage, but has also gone viral across social media platforms.
It involved a white female spewing racist and Islamophobic comments directed at two Muslim women wearing a niqab (face covering) at a Tasha’s restaurant.
From what we gather, the Muslim women remained calm during the confrontation whilst being harshly addressed and insulted by the perpetrator.
Eyewitness account of the episode was documented by Abigail Nhlabati and Tsephagalo Gumede, as reported by News24.
They expressed complete shock at what they witnessed. “The fact that this grown woman even had the guts to attack another woman’s religion is honestly so shameful, disrespectful and quite honestly a bold, racist move,” Nhlabati is quoted in News24.
Though South Africa as a country prides itself on diversity and constitutional protection for religious freedom, it does not imply that prejudice, intolerance and hate speech against Muslims has vanished.
While it is acknowledged that Islamophobia in South Africa, is less widespread than in other countries across Europe, America and in particular the genocidal regime in Occupied Palestine, it requires constant monitoring.
From our experience at Media Review Network, we are aware that a number of factors have contributed to Islamophobia.
Chief among them has been stereotypical media portrayals.
Reports in the aftermath of 9/11 adopted unprecedented harshness through negative and biased accounts against Muslims portrayed unjustly as “extremists, radicals, fundamentalists” and
“terror supporters”.
So-called “think tanks” and “research institutions” – many Israeli-allied and funded, not only fed untested fabricated information to media platforms under the guise of unnamed “reliable sources”, but in turn used media reports to bolster their malicious agenda.
A vicious cycle indeed that perpetrates misinformation built around racist stereotypes if ignored, uncontested and not challenged.
External influences driven by hostile anti-Muslim rightwing movements have also impacted on the rise of Islamophobia, and the potential harm to social justice activism and Palestinian solidarity movements.
Five years ago, in an article published by IOL, I warned that Islamophobia, a world-wide phenomenon, has become increasingly menacing in parts of Europe and in the US.
Linked to white supremacists, neoconservatives, Likudniks and fascists, Islamophobia has increasingly become weaponised by Israel.
Used as a political tool to discredit Palestine’s freedom struggle, the settler-colonial regime has spared no effort in funding and spearheading Islamophobes.
And many who naively believe that South Africa is immune from deliberate and calculated fuelling of hate, suspicion and mistrust by Israeli-funded agents, would be wrong.
At the time I pointed out that of particular relevance for South Africa is a Christian-Zionist group known as PJTN – “Proclaiming Justice to the Nations” headed by an ardent supporter of Israel, Laurie Cardoza-Moore known for her incendiary Islamophobic rhetoric, establishing a footprint here.
More recently we learned of an American think tank calling for the US to pressure South Africa into punishing organisations and individuals who advocate for Palestinian rights.
From a study conducted by attorney Sozarn Barday published in M&G, shocking details emerged about the Foundation for Defence of Democracies (FDD) urging the US government to impose “diplomatic pressure and targeted sanctions that would restrict the operations of key Hamas supporters in South Africa” and to lobby the Financial Action Task Force to keep South Africa on its grey list.
In a classic case of Islamophobia given that Israel and its American ally has demonised and proscribed Hamas as a “radical Islamist terrorist organisation”,
the Washington-based Zionist think tank, claimed that the ANC maintains close ties with the “terrorist group” Hamas, accusing the party of providing political and diplomatic cover.
It further alleges — without evidence — that this relationship allows Hamas “to raise funds and advance its ideology in Africa and beyond”, linking it to the “systemic corruption plaguing South Africa”.
What we learn from the various manifestations of Islamophobia – from plain ignorance to sophisticated political bigotry – to ignore it is not a choice.
In applauding the sharp-eyed vigilance of the witnesses at Tasha’s restaurant, it is essential that appropriate action by the relevant authorities, including the Human Rights Commission (HRC), be taken against the perpetrator.
Iqbal Jassat
Executive Member
Media Review Network
Johannesburg
South Africa