Muslim and Jewish leaders are united in their interpretation of this week’s petrol bombing in the Cape, report Rehana Rossouw and Gustav Thiel
THE petrol-bomb attack on a Cape Jewish centre succeeded this week in uniting local Muslim and Jewish leaders in the belief that the culprits used a bizarre incident in Israel as a pretext to further their political agenda.
Leaders from both communities are mystified about how a poster circulated in Hebron depicting the Prophet Mohammed as a pig could ignite such a violent response in Cape Town.
Though reaction on the troubled West Bank has been violent, the poster failed to ignite much excitement in the international Islamic community.
Yet, last Saturday, more than 2 000 Cape Town Muslims, marching under the banner of an organisation called Muslims Against Global Oppression, descended on the Israeli consulate. Marchers, who included Aslam Toefy, chief commander of People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (Pagad), chanted slogans like “One Zionist, one bullet” and “One Jew, one bullet”.
And early on Monday morning, the home of the owner of the Jewish Book Centre, Ivan Maron, was petrol bombed. Shortly after the attack, police received an anonymous call threatening to bomb a Jewish old-age home. A poster depicting Adolf Hitler was pasted on a synagogue in Wynberg.
The Israeli embassy in Pretoria has offered the South African government the benefit of Israel’s years of experience in combating terrorism.
South Africa’s Chief Rabbi, Cyril Harris, is seeking talks with Muslim leaders in a bid to appease what he terms “radical factions in the Muslim community”.
Muslims Against Global Oppression, active in Cape Town for about three years, has previously marched on the Israeli consulate – in protest against the bombing of Lebanon last year, and against brutality suffered by Bosnian Muslims in the former Yugoslavia. Little is known of the extent of its support, or its policies, and police have so far failed to establish any link to Pagad.
Observers, however, said they share similar tactics. “Pagad is controlled by the Islamic Unity Convention and Qibla,” said a Muslim cleric, who declined to be named. “Qibla’s strategy is to create dozens of organisations to spearhead various causes and to distance themselves from the consequences.
“The way [Muslims Against Global Oppression] operate is very revealing of the link with Qibla. They marched to the consulate on a Saturday, when everybody knows it will be closed. The intention isn’t to confront the Israelis, but to clash with the police. This is similar to Pagad’s agenda.”
The group’s ability to pull together a crowd so quickly and to whip up their feelings also surprised many in the Muslim community. There was no support for the action from Cape mosques.
“There is a particular group of Cape Muslims which is looking to international events for issues around which to mobilise people locally,” said one mosque sheikh, who declined to be named. “They are saying Islam is under attack globally, and a response is warranted in Cape Town. There are no local issues for them to take up.
“The question begging for an answer is whether ordinary Muslims in the Cape believe such a radical response is necessary to one woman depicting the Prophet Mohammed as a pig thousands of kilometres away. Without detracting from the honour of the prophet, I think not.”
Some Muslim leaders have criticised the Muslim Judicial Council for failing to act decisively against radicalism in the community. The council’s only authorised representative, Sheikh Ebrahim Gabriels, was not available for comment.
Reaction among the Jewish community ranged from local shock to international outrage. The Israeli embassy said the petrol-bombing was the action of “a radical faction of Muslims who wield great political power within their community”.
The charge d’affaires, Ze-ev Luria, said: “The marchers used the poster as a pretext to further their own political agenda. Pagad members are part of this radical faction and they have larger political aims in the Western Cape.
“We call on the government to eradicate this kind of radicalism since it represents a big threat to Jews and all other people in South Africa. The security of the Jewish people in South Africa is the responsibility of the government.”