Court bid to stop man burning bibles in Jo'burg

A court interdict was on Friday being sought to stop a local man from burning bibles at the Library Gardens in Johannesburg, in protest against a plan by a US pastor to burn copies of the Qur’an.

Attorney Zehir Omar, representing the Gauteng-based Scholars of the Truth, said he was seeking an interdict in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Friday afternoon to halt the burning of the bibles.

“This will be action taken by South Africans in South Africa to stop this man from disrupting peaceful religious relations in the country,” Omar said.

Mohammed Vawda planned to burn the bibles in the Johannesburg CBD on Saturday afternoon and declare September 11 “Bible-burning day” in South Africa.

Omar said he planned to argue Vawda would be inciting violence through his action, which constituted blasphemy.

Vawda refused to comment when contacted on Friday, saying the matter was sub judice and he would be able to talk after the hearing.

Vawda appeared in court earlier this year when a colleague, Willem Harmse, tried to interdict him from using the words “shoot the boer” on posters in a planned crime march.

The interdict was granted and the words “shoot the boer” were banned.

Omar represented Vawda’s opposition, Harmse, in that case.

Pastor Terry Jones in Florida in the US drew widespread condemnation for his now-suspended plans to burn the Qur’an to commemorate the September 11 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.

‘Leave him to God’
The Muslim Judicial Council in South Africa meanwhile called on Jones to get to know the Qur’an a bit better before burning it.

Spokesperson Nabeweya Mallick said despite it being called off, the threat to burn the Qur’an was a concern as it showed “extreme views” still persisted.

“We hope that they realise their actions do nothing good for mankind ... right now if you look at the world, at natural disasters for instance, if we are faced with any challenge we stand together.”

She added that the bid to burn the Bible in South Africa was contrary to Islamic teachings and the Qur’an.

Imtiaz Suliman, of the prominent Islamic relief organisation Gift of the Givers, appealed for calm heads over Jones’ plans.

He urged South Africans to “ignore this man and not give him attention”.

“Leave him to God,” he said.

“Real people of religion don’t carry out acts that create conflict ... real people of religion bring about compassion, understanding and patience.” - Sapa