July 18th marked the 100 year legacy of Nelson Mandela – a village boy that grew up to be a predominantly black criminal defense lawyer, South African nationalist political warrior, Nobel peace prize holder. On 18 July South Africa will release new bank notes with a larger and more detailed drawing of Nelson Mandela in his traditional Xhosa attire – one of the key figures to abolish Apartheid in South Africa, first black president in South Africa, main ideologist behind the concept of embracing diversity and inclusivity as a ‘rainbow nation.’

Madiba, as South Africans usually refer to him, father of the nation, we continue to celebrate his life and his legacy, especially on his birthday; on 18 July. Nelson Mandela International Day has been appropriately themed “Renewing the Mandela Legacy and Promoting Active Citizenship in a Changing World.” Usually, this day would outline charity work as he used to encourage South Africans to help and lift each other and that the generosity of charity never goes unnoticed. Madiba has many non-profit and marginalized-targeted organizations that aim to contribute locally and internationally. But this year the anticipation has been increased with international guest speakers and communities going above and beyond in projects – it’s his hundred year legacy – and yet he is so watered down in our history textbooks and commonly mistaken as Morgan Freeman. Madiba was, or rather still is, a revolutionary figure that continues to impact South Africa, let alone the world. His story and hardships deserve to be told other than the main facts.

As a history major and a child that grew up in South African public schools, Mandela’s history and biography are not trivial to me, it is engraved in my brain. And as more confidential aspects of his past are revealed – like recently his letters during his imprisonment had been released to the public – my interest in Madiba never fails. As a law major, I am continued to trace back current news and law amendments to his ideological concept of the ‘Rainbow Nation’ and how he tried to fulfill this in the most honest attempt.

I think what surprised me most when initially researching the iconic figure was his close
admiration of faith in politics – particularly Islam. Today its very hard to introduce faith in
politics because faith has become political – it is an identity and a key aspect in immorality in the most subtle sense of influence; it is a topic that has somehow become universally sensitive when addressing and callously handled when trying to educate others.

I am a young Muslim, hijab-wearing woman and my faith is my most visible characteristic, which is sometimes a good attempt in representation but in other instances, especially in the global West, dangerous and life-threatening for my Muslim brothers and sisters.

Islam is an ever-increasing religion in South Africa, let alone the world, but during the time of the early 1960s, 70s, and 80s – when there were no ‘Muslim terrorists’ to combat and stereotype against – it is enlightening to know that some people saw Islam simply for what it is. A religion of peace. Sure this is spearheaded by the equally influential Malcolm X, but today being Internal Mandela Day, I have to spotlight this great man on his 100-year legacy. It wasn’t until Mandela’s 27 years of imprisonment on Robben Island that he learned of the fold of Islam.

Now let’s rewind history to when the Dutch had occupied Cape Town, during the peak of colonialism, and saw this country as a ‘rest stop’ for other colonial ships. Later on, the Dutch also saw South Africa as a place to dump their convicts from the colonies in Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, which are predominantly Muslim populated countries. The Dutch had transferred Muslim indigenous members of royal families to Cape Town as their exile after the Dutch conquered and colonized their regions.

In 1677, Abdul Basi Sultania, the Rajah of Tambora, was transferred to Cape Town to spend his imprisonment in isolation, wherein he handwrote the first Quraan in colonized southern Africa by memory. The Quraan is the most memorized book in the world. After Abdul Basi’s tortured death, this copy of the Quraan was shared among the Muslim slaves who were able to produce more copies and teach other slaves with this transcript, increasing the Muslim slave population through education and conversion.

But how does this relate to Mandela?

The arrival of the pious Imam Tuan Nuruman, a preaching, and political Muslim convict was imprisoned on Robben Island in 1781. His teachings of Islam and the Quraan were so sought out from the other slaves and prisoners of Robben Island that they were able to build one of the first mosques in South Africa, just a little distance from the prison grounds.

It is this small mosque that allowed Islam, its teachings, and its practice to grow in South Africa. And it is this small mosque that Mandela had frequently visited during his imprisonment on Robben Island. It could have been the influence of Indian Muslim anti-
Apartheid activist, Ahmed Kathrada that was a close friend and imprisoned alongside Mandela. It could have been the dire need for some sort of spiritual connection as his imprisonment conditions worsened and treatments from the white guards became
torturous. It could have been his education and study of Islam during his imprisonment. It could have been all of these things – but the most important thing is that Mandela makes use of these moments as a source of light in many of his post-Apartheid speeches.

After his release, Mandela duly recognized and credited the Muslim communities that helped try to bring change and acted as a safe haven for anti-Apartheid political activists. And it’s not like South African Muslims didn’t reciprocate the support of Mandela’s release or be involved in anti-Apartheid initiatives and protests. Nelson Mandela has spoken to many Muslim congregations after his release in order to further unite the marginalized groups in South Africa against the heavily segregated Apartheid laws.

“The Muslims community is an important section of our population, its leaders too numerous to be mentioned, have for decades been in the forefront of the freedom struggle the combination of the spirit of patriotism and religion had made their contribution to the progress of their country almost peerless. Millions of South Africans of different backgrounds and languages hold the community in high esteem.”

After the long-awaited abolishment of Apartheid, spearheaded by him and welcoming his official term of President of South Africa; Mandela’s first order of international politics was to address the human rights violations of Israel occupying Palestine. Israel similarly adopted Apartheid laws in Palestine and continues to restrict the mobilization and voices of Palestinians and Palestinian-supporters alike.

Nelson Mandela’s international tour as Nobel Peace prize holder and the first black and democratic President of South Africa saw him touch on the issue of the Israeli occupation. Of course he spoke of his long walk to freedom, of course he defied the myth that he died in prison (this became known as the eerie concept of the Mandela Effect) – but he was just as vocal as the occupation and human rights violation of Palestine, so similar to the struggle he and other South Africans faced in the heavily segregated laws of the Apartheid regime. Mandela was critical of the international community’s ironic support for his freedom and
ignoring Palestine’s cry for help.

“The temptation in our situation is to speak in muffled tones about an issue such as the right of the people of Palestine…we can easily be enticed to read reconciliation and fairness as meaning parity between justice and injustice. Having achieved our own freedom, we can fall into the trap of washing our hands of difficulties that others face…yet we would be less than human if we did so…it behooves all South Africans, themselves erstwhile beneficiaries of generous international support, to stand up and be counted among those contributing actively to the cause of freedom and justice.”

Palestine’s occupation is not a Muslim issue, as most people believe, and Mandela had surely emphasized that; “We identify with them [the Palestinians] because we do not believe it is right for the Israeli government to suppress basic human rights [of the Palestinians.”

However, Mandela’s visible and vocal support of a predominantly Muslim country throughout the years – long after his presidency, long after 9/11, long after the stereotypes and persecuted profiling of Muslims everywhere – is fully cemented alongside his iconic name. And that is one of the reasons why Muslims in the world, especially in South Africa, continue to spread his messages of peace alongside their fight for people to believe that our religion is of peace. Because his legacy is so important in a world full of hate and repeated historical oppression that echoes in different forms.

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

Happy Birthday, Madiba… I’m trying so hard to live your legacy of peace, patience, and justice.

 

Author’s note:

I can reiterate Mandela’s life without even a mere Wikipedia check-up and his long walk to freedom may be too many words to summarize. But did you know that in 1941 when Mandela had arrived in Johannesburg, the capital city of South Africa and the central source of gold mining at the time, a recent Bachelor of Arts graduate eager to further his studies in law and politics, like myself? He worked as a mine security officer and coincidentally met Walter Sisulu, an estate agent – who would later become one of the leading anti-Apartheid activists and played a vital role alongside Mandela in their political career. Mandela extended his studies to pursue a law degree and completed his law articles at one of the very few and very small black firms. At the firm, Mandela befriended members of the Communist Party, that rivaled and threatened the Apartheid government, and had also faced arrests many times because of this reason. Mandela attended Communist Party gatherings, where he was impressed that the main races in South Africa – Europeans, Africans, Indians and Coloureds (people with mixed heritages that can be traced to slaves during colonialism) – treated each other equally with dignity and respect, not through the ranking superiority/inferiority complex that Apartheid laws had instilled between them. He admired the idea that all man were equal and race was a dismissed
characteristic when addressing each other with dignity and respect – as the Bible prescribes.