/ 1 March 1996

Seeing stars over moon sign

Justin Pearce

SOMEWHERE in the suburbs of Pretoria, religious prejudices have collided with a roadsign.

Last year, the directorate of roads erected signs on the N1 Eastern Bypass indicating a recommended speed limit for night driving. The signs show a crescent moon and a star together with the recommended speed.

Then suddenly, towards the end of the year, every one of the signs acquired the slogan “stop Islam”, in neatly stencilled red spraypaint – — a hostile reaction to the connotations of the combination of crescent and star. But just in time for Eid ul Fitr, another faction of painters hit back with silver spraycans, obliterating the word “stop”.

Chief director of roads Nazir Alli said his department had received no official complaints about the signs, either from Muslims or from anti-Islamists.

“I am extremely disappointed at the narrowmindedness of people who can do this,” he said. He pointed out that the crescent and star was not necessarily an Islamic symbol, though it appears on the flags of certain Muslim countries. “If people can show a better way to indicate a night speed limit, we might consider changing the signs. But why cater to narrowmindedness?”