Sheikh Abuboki Najoar, a distinguished Islamic scholar and leader of Cope Town’s large Moslem community, has issued a call for Moslem-Jewish amity and urged both faiths to work together, and with Christians, to help solve the problems of South Africa and the world in general and to fight Communism.
Najoar, just returned from a visit to Cairo, spoke from a Zionist platform. He addressed a meeting sponsored by the Western Province Zionist Council, attended by several hundred local Moslems as well as Jewish leaders. It was the first Moslem-Jewish gathering in Cape Town’s 300-year history. The time has come for the Judaea-Moslem night-mare of the past 50 years to end so that cousins could come together in harmony, Najoar declared.
He praised Jewry and Israelis for carrying the torch of monotheism despite persecution. He recalled the Prophet Mohammed’s treaty with the Jews as a basis for a special relationship and alluded to the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty. “The peace process is better than war. We can only pray and give moral support that the forces of peace must go forward,” he said.
The Sheikh chose his words carefully so as not to embarrass those of his co-religionists who have doubts about President Anwar Sadat’s peace moves toward Israel. Nevertheless, he was criticized by more radical Moslem elements in Cape Town for his moderation and his appearance at a Zionist-sponsored meeting.
RABBI WELCOMES CALL
But Rabbi E. J. Duchinsky, head of the Cape Town Beth Din, described Najoar as a “prince among his people.” The Sheikh is a member of the Cape Town Council of Moslems, Christians and Jews, founded by Duchinsky. He heads Cape Town’s Moslem Judicial Council. The city’s Moslem community is mainly of Malay (Indonesian) origin but Najoar is believed to be of Arab ancestry. He studied at Egyptian and Saudi Arabian universities where he specialized in Islamic studies and has published scholarly works on the subject. He visited Cairo twice this year. There are over 500,000 Moslems in South Africa, mostly of Indo-Pakistani origin, compared to about 118,000 Jews.
Duchinsky welcomed Najoar’s remarks. “We should find that which unites us. There is one indivisible God, truth, humanity and justice,” he said. “Sheikh Najoar’s message strengthened us in South Africa and in the Middle East and will find its beautiful emergence in brothers who can sit down together in peace.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
