Abdirahman Ateye removes his glasses and asks me to look into his eyes.
“I never once cared about the colour of my eyes before I came to South Africa,” he says, his deep hazel brown eyes looking back at mine.
Abdirahman, a Somali refugee and Wits Master’s student, moved here in 2002. It was then that he first became aware of the fragmented nature of the local Muslim community.
In Mayfair, where most Johannesburg-based Somalis live, Abdirahman describes the relationship between local Muslims and newcomers as “not hostile, but not highly friendly.”
He says he expected Somalis to intermarry with other Muslims, but is aware of only one such couple.
Abdirahman feels that Johannesburg’s Muslims are separated along ethnic lines. “Indians and Malays live totally apart,” he says. Indians specifically, he claims, have not been very receptive. He blames this on what he calls the “segregated mentality” caused by apartheid that has led to Indians trying to “protect their way of life”.
He also claims that Somalis have been “treated badly” in Johannesburg mosques, giving the example of high intolerance to minor incidents such as a Somali’s phone accidentally ringing in mosque. It’s these sorts of snubs that have led them to establish their own places of worship.
Some Somalis feel differently. Ahmed Dawlo, the national director for the Somali Association of South Africa, and Ibrahim Digale and Abdirashid Ibrahim, both shop-owners, insist they have been welcomed by South African Muslims, which has seen its community grow in great numbers thanks to recent Muslim immigrants from Pakistan and Somalia. “We definitely feel part of the community,” says Ibrahim. When I ask the men if the community is united, the answer is a resounding “yes.”
But only so far. The three admit that they and their countrymen felt the need to establish their own mosque: not because of xenophobia, but rather because the community is so diverse. “You try to fit in, but don’t know where, so you set up your own mosque,” says Ahmed.
The legacy of apartheid, he says, is to blame.
“Indians are rich and well-educated, while Malays are poorer. Issues of colour and class are still at play.”
Ahmed says that the Muslim community was at first, “surprised” by the Somalis’ arrival and attributes their reaction to outdated thinking, which made locals feel like “they were being invaded.”
Abdirashid feels that class issues also explain the small number of intermarriages. “Somalis are poor,” he says “and many do not speak English.” He admits that Algerian, Moroccan and Pakistani immigrants have married South Africans but attributes this to the fact that, unlike Somalis, they are not refugees.
Abdirahman believes that the arrival of Somalis has been a major wake-up call for South African Muslims. “It has made them look at different ways to ‘perform ibaadat’ (worship), their unwritten social rules and their thinking towards other Muslims,” he says.
Cassiem Khan, Country Director of Islamic Relief, says that Somalis are revered by local Muslims because of their “adherence to their faith.” He maintains that they are therefore seen as a welcome addition to the community.
But Khan also believes that much work needs to be done before Somalis are truly integrated and he admits that racism still exists among South African Muslims — as it does in other communities. “The real challenge is that the Muslim community needs to go beyond the rhetoric and do a lot more for Somali integration,” he says. “We still have to come to terms with our own humanity and lack thereof.”