DOCSLIB.ORG

Yusuf Mohamed Dadoo

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Yusuf Mohamed Dadoo YUSUF MOHAMED DADOO SOUTH AFRICA'S FREEDOM STRUGGLE Statements, Speeches and Articles including Correspondence with Mahatma Gandhi Compiled and edited by E. S. Reddy With a foreword by Shri R. Venkataraman President of India Namedia Foundation STERLING PUBLISHERS PRIVATE LIMITED New Delhi, 1990 [NOTE: A revised and expanded edition of this book was published in South Africa in 1991 jointly by Madiba Publishers, Durban, and UWC Historical and Cultural Centre, Bellville. The South African edition was edited by Prof. Fatima Meer. The present version includes items additional to that in the two printed editions.] FOREWORD TO THE INDIAN EDITION The South African struggle against apartheid occupies a cherished place in our hearts. This is not just because the Father of our Nation commenced his political career in South Africa and forged the instrument of Satyagraha in that country but because successive generations of Indians settled in South Africa have continued the resistance to racial oppression. Hailing from different parts of the Indian sub- continent and professing the different faiths of India, they have offered consistent solidarity and participation in the heroic fight of the people of South Africa for liberation. Among these brave Indians, the name of Dr. Yusuf Mohamed Dadoo is specially remembered for his remarkable achievements in bringing together the Indian community of South Africa with the African majority, in the latter's struggle against racism. Dr. Dadoo met Gandhiji in India and was in correspondence with him during a decisive phase of the struggle in South Africa. And Dr. Dadoo later became an esteemed colleague of the outstanding South African leader, Nelson Mandela. Thereby Dr. Dadoo not only bridged India and South Africa but also Gandhi and Mandela. The reference to Dr. Dadoo made by Nelson Mandela in his very first public statement following his release from prison last year was a touching tribute to this leader. But it was also a great deal more. It was an affirmation of the vision of a multi-racial and just South Africa which was dear to the Father of our Nation and is Nelson Mandela's goal. I am glad Shri E.S. Reddy has brought together a selection of Dr. Dadoo's writings which are bound to increase awareness in both the countries of their revolutionary mutuality. New Delhi R. Venkataraman August 10,1990 (President of India) FOREWORD TO THE SOUTH AFRICAN EDITION Dr Yusuf Dadoo was my compatriot and soul mate - nothing divided us in our commitment to the cause of South Africa's freedom - not religion, nor ideology and not ethnicity. He was one of the most outstanding leaders in our movement remembered by all, in our country and by many beyond. He inspired us. He was bafa begiya.1 His contribution to the people's struggle was so highly valued that he remains today one of only three South Africans to be honoured with the Isitwalandwe which was bestowed at the Congress of the People in 1955. The two other recipients were Chief Albert Luthuli and Father Trevor Huddleston. Yusuf Dadoo's contribution to the struggle began in 1938 with the founding of the Non-European United Front in Johannesburg. Right from the outset, his vision took in the common degradation of disenfranchised South Africans and he focussed his attention on uniting all democrats into a single cohesive force against racism. As early as 1940, a square in Orlando was referred to as Dadoo Square, in recognition of his tough approach to colour discrimination. Yusuf worked closely with Dr Xuma against the Pass Laws, and with Chief Luthuli in the Defiance of Unjust Laws Campaign; and he was a tower of strength to Oliver Tambo during all those years of exile. At the time of his death, he headed the South African Communist Party, a party he joined in 1939. His prolific speeches and writings brought together in this volume, record his leadership on all fronts. We miss his leadership today as we plan to move South Africa into non-racial, non-sexist democracy. Nelson Mandela September 1991 1 A person who dies dancing DEDICATED TO NELSON ROLIHLAHLA MANDELA INTRODUCTION Dr. Yusuf Mohamed Dadoo played an outstanding role in the South African liberation movement for over half a century - in persuading the Indian community to link its destiny with that of the African majority, in building the unity of all the oppressed people and democratic whites of that country in a common struggle against racism, in promoting fearless and militant resistance to the oppressors, and in developing the international outlook of the movement and international solidarity with it. He led the non-violent Indian passive resistance movement - uniting Gandhians, Marxists and others. He was a founder and leader of the Non- European United Front, and of the Communist Party when it was revived as a clandestine organisation. And since going into exile in 1960, he played a key role in promoting underground and armed struggle in South Africa and a world-wide anti-apartheid movement. His contribution was recognised by the national Indian organisation and by the Communist Party which elected him chairman. It was acknowledged by the African National Congress which awarded him its highest honour, Isitwalandwe- Seaparankoe in 1955, and elected him the Vice-Chairman of its Revolutionary Council and later of its Politico-Military Council. It was also recognised by the racist regime which imprisoned and restricted him on numerous occasions. Dr. Dadoo began his political activities as a young pupil in South Africa in his teens. Inspired by the spirit of defiance of injustice that Mahatma Gandhi tried to impart in the Indian community in South Africa, he took part in demonstrations against anti-Indian measures by the racist regime and organised a meeting of students to hear Mrs. Sarojini Naidu, the Indian poet and national leader, who saw, already in 1924, that the struggle of the Indian community is linked with that of the African and Coloured people. Though he came from a prosperous Indian family, he developed a sense of solidarity with the African people suffering inhuman exploitation, and took an interest in the African trade union movement (ICU). He even helped African workers in his father's business in their strike for better conditions. In later years, during his sojourn in India and in Britain as a student, he not only identified with the Indian national movement and the anti-fascist and anti- colonial movements in Europe but actively participated in them. He was first arrested in 1929 in London in a demonstration for Indian freedom. The unity of the oppressed people and democratic whites, advocated by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and the League against Imperialism, and the united front against fascism which was espoused by progressive leaders in Europe, were an inspiration to him. He saw clearly that such unity was essential in the struggle against racism in South Africa. Returning to South Africa in 1936, he soon began to confront the authorities, as well as the rich traders in the leadership of the Indian Congresses who saw the future of the community in an accommodation with the racist regime and kept aloof from the struggle of the Africans. He began to organise the community for resistance and at the same time pressed for unity with the Africans and the Coloured people in a common struggle. In 1938-39 he became the founder and secretary of the Transvaal Non-European United Front and leader of the Nationalist Group of the Transvaal Indian Congress. Above all, he fully dedicated himself to the struggle for freedom and equality for all the people of South Africa. His first two trials in South Africa were, in fact, not in the struggle of the Indian community but for his work as a leader of Non-European United Front. From the dock of the racist courts, he denounced the oppression and exploitation of all the black people in South Africa. In 1944-45 he was associated with Dr. A. B. Xuma, President of the African National Congress, in a campaign against the humiliating pass laws imposed upon the African people, and was again arrested for leading a procession. In 1946-48, he led the Indian passive resistance movement in which over two thousand people courted imprisonment, and served two terms of imprisonment with hard labour. Even during that difficult struggle, which was to have a great impact on the liberation movement, he and his colleagues helped the great African mineworkers` strike of August 1946. A number of Africans, Coloured people and whites went to prison in solidarity with the Indian people. Out of that experience came the Xuma-Naicker-Dadoo pact for cooperation between the African and Indian Congresses. His determined efforts to promote cooperation in struggle, despite all difficulties, contributed greatly to the joint action of African and Indian Congresses in the stay-at-home on June 26, 1950, in protest against apartheid, and then to the historic Campaign of Defiance of Unjust Laws in 1952 in which he was the first, together with Nelson Mandela, to court imprisonment. Banned and restricted, he continued clandestine activities to strengthen the Congress Alliance of the 1950`s and helped the formation of the underground South African Communist Party. The Sharpeville massacre, the outlawing of the African National Congress and the State of Emergency in 1960, created a new situation. Going abroad at the insistence of the liberation movement, he made a great contribution, in cooperation with the leaders of the African National Congress, to the organisation of armed struggle and to the building of a world-wide anti-apartheid movement. Oliver Tambo, President of the African National Congress, pointed out at his funeral in 1983: "...it would be wrong to conceive of Comrade Dadoo only as a leader of the Indian community of our population.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 135 Newcontree the Birth of Umkhonto We Sizwe: Old And
    NEWCONTREE 135 THE BIRTH OF UMKHONTO WE SIZWE: OLD AND NEW SOURCES Vladimir Shubin (Institute for African Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences) The history of the South African liberation movement is still to be written. Academic books and articles published so far left too many of its pages blank or contain information which can't withstand a scrutiny. Among the bibliographies on the anti-apartheid struggle Peter Limb's "The ANC and the Black Workers in South Africa, 1912-1992" should be singled out as well as books by Thomas Karis and Gail Gerhart. However, no special bibliography on "Umkhonto we Sizwe" (MK) has been compiled so far except for an introductory bibliography prepared by Sandi Ie Schalk and the author for the Conference on the Beginnings of the Armed Struggle in South Africa convened in December 1995 by the Mayibuye Centre for History and Culture at the University of the Western Cape. Who took a decision and when? The early history of MK is a subject to controversy. The question of when and how the decision was taken is a subject of debate among academics. Naturally nobody knew this better that the participants themselves but even the evidence of those who participated in the events directly is somewhat contradictory. The possibility of using an armed form of struggle was discussed in Congress Alliance and communist circles immediately after the Sharpeville massacre in March 1960 if not before. The mood was growing that under repressive conditions a position of non- violence was becoming more and more irrelevant. Some people even called it treacherous.
    [Show full text]
  • 2013 Annual Report
    Our evolution 1990 Mr Nelson Mandela is released after over 27 years in prison. 1994 Mr Mandela becomes South Africa’s first democratically elected president. 1999 Mr Mandela steps down as president. The Nelson Mandela Foundation is established and houses Mr Mandela’s personal office. It implements a wide range of development projects, including education and health infrastructure. 2002 The Nelson Mandela Foundation moves to its current premises. 2004 Mr Mandela retires and famously says, “Don’t call me, I’ll call you.” He inaugurates the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory project. The Nelson Mandela Foundation begins process of consolidation from project implementer to enabler and facilitator. 2008 Mr Mandela says at his 90th birthday concert in London, “It is time for new hands to lift the burdens. It is in your hands now.’’ 2009 The first Nelson Mandela Day is launched. The United Nations General Assembly declares, by unanimous resolution, 18 July as Nelson Mandela International Day. 2011 The Nelson Mandela Foundation enters the final phase of its transition; the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory becomes the Foundation’s physical home. Our vision Our core work Our spiral A society which remembers its pasts, listens The Nelson Mandela Foundation delivers The spiral, which in many ancient to all its voices, and pursues social justice. to the world an integrated and dynamic societies symbolised constant renewal, information resource on the life and times simultaneously represents the centring of of Nelson Mandela, and promotes the memory, disseminating of information and Our mission finding of sustainable solutions to critical widening impact in the world, which is at To contribute to the making of a just society social problems through memory-based the heart of our work.
    [Show full text]
  • Non-Racialism, Non-Collaboration and Communism in South Africa
    Non-racialism, non-collaboration and Communism in South Africa: The contribution of Yusuf Dadoo during his exile years (1960-1983) Paper presented at the Conference on ‘Yusuf Dadoo, 1909-2009: Marxism, non-racialism and the shaping of the South African liberation struggle’ University of Johannesburg, 4-5 September 2009 Allison Drew Department of Politics University of York, UK It has often been argued by our opponents that Communism was brought to our country by whites and foreigners, that it is an alien importation unacceptable to the indigenous majority. Our reply to this is that the concept of the brotherhood of man, of the sharing of the fruits of the earth, is common to all humanity, black and white, east and west, and has been formulated in one form or another throughout history (Yusuf Dadoo, 1981).1 This paper examines Yusuf Dadoo’s contribution to the thinking and practice of non- racialism during his years in exile. Non-racialism refers to the rejection of racial ideology − the belief that human beings belong to different races. Instead, it stresses the idea of one human race. Organizationally, it implies the recruitment of individual members without regards to colour, ethnic or racial criteria. Non-racialism has long been a subject of debate on the South African left as socialists struggled with the problems of how to organize political movements in a manner that did not reinforce state-imposed racial and ethnic divisions and promote non-racialism in conditions of extremes racial inequality. The South African Communist Party (SACP) was formed in 1953 as a clandestine body that prioritized alliance politics over the development of an independent profile.
    [Show full text]
  • Download This Report
    Military bases and camps of the liberation movement, 1961- 1990 Report Gregory F. Houston Democracy, Governance, and Service Delivery (DGSD) Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) 1 August 2013 Military bases and camps of the liberation movements, 1961-1990 PREPARED FOR AMATHOLE DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY: FUNDED BY: NATIONAL HERITAGE COUNCI Table of Contents Acronyms and Abbreviations ..................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... iii Chapter 1: Introduction ...............................................................................................................1 Chapter 2: Literature review ........................................................................................................4 Chapter 3: ANC and PAC internal camps/bases, 1960-1963 ........................................................7 Chapter 4: Freedom routes during the 1960s.............................................................................. 12 Chapter 5: ANC and PAC camps and training abroad in the 1960s ............................................ 21 Chapter 6: Freedom routes during the 1970s and 1980s ............................................................. 45 Chapter 7: ANC and PAC camps and training abroad in the 1970s and 1980s ........................... 57 Chapter 8: The ANC’s prison camps ........................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Apartheid Kills, Apartheid Maims
    June 1990 S The newspaper of the 3 Movement / 0p Apartheid kills, apartheid maims WUth FORZr ee%cpe I South Africa and Chile 0 Talks continue S Bantustans collapse * Black solidaity in ritain • Police action n IN =-DE: in arms cover-up page3 page 5 page6 aparthed page 2 page p 2 AIm-APARIJD man J= Im • ARMS EMBARGO South African G6 promoted as 'made in Chile' [ 4 Theatome of Be ll's 'vitory ton' of Europepresents a TheUnited Nations imposeda cleg dangorto the prospectsof freedom In South Africa. It is mandatory armsembargo on the prospect of the dinsmntlingof esting sanctions. SouthAfrica in 1977 outlaw Theantl-apartbeid movementsof te EuropeanCommunity ing allarms trading with the wereat one in oppasingBe Kirk's visit to Europe becauseIt apartheid regime.The arms cHf a a unacceptable degreeof respectabilityonthe head embargois theonly mandatory of sate of the apartheidregilo, andbecam, byreducing the embargo internationally pressure on the apartbeldregim, it couldunderlne the applied against SouthAfrica, [IT prospectsof achievinga pelitical settlent is Soth Africa. and aas wonafter manyyears" Boapartheid leader has prevlouslybeen ableto meetthe campaigning byanti-apartheid (socialist) presidentsar prim miaistors of France,Italy and organisationaroundthewor. Spain, the kings of Belgi and Spain, the presdnt ofthe EuropeanConmnity (socialist), andthe (conserative) heads of At the biennial FIDA arms 25 March by the new presi gosernmentof Brene, Portugaland Britia, withSwitzerland exhbitin inSantiago in March dent of Chile, the l55nsm thrownIn becauseof its Influence in banking andfinancial 21990, the Armscor G6 self weapons systems of South circles. Membersof the Socialist Groupin the European propelled 155mm howitzer African origin were brought Palament failed even to agrneon a remsolion mildly chiding was promoted asthe Cardoen into the exhibition-apparently acqnsDolors for mneting Be Kerk.
    [Show full text]
  • Author Accepted Manuscript
    University of Dundee Campaigning against apartheid Graham, Matthew Published in: Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History DOI: 10.1080/03086534.2018.1506871 Publication date: 2018 Document Version Peer reviewed version Link to publication in Discovery Research Portal Citation for published version (APA): Graham, M. (2018). Campaigning against apartheid: The rise, fall and legacies of the South Africa United Front 1960-1962. Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, 46(6), 1148-1170. https://doi.org/10.1080/03086534.2018.1506871 General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in Discovery Research Portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from Discovery Research Portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain. • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal. Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 27. Sep. 2021 Campaigning against apartheid: The rise, fall and legacies of the South Africa United Front 1960- 1962 Matthew Graham University of Dundee Research Associate at the International Studies Group, University of the Free State, South Africa Correspondence: School of Humanities, University of Dundee, Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN. [email protected] 01382 388628 Acknowledgements I’d like to thank the anonymous peer-reviewers for offering helpful and constructive comments and guidance on this article.
    [Show full text]
  • CELEBRATING MANDELA It Was on 11Th June 1964
    CELEBRATING MANDELA It was on 11th June 1964 that Nelson Mandela and his co-accused were “found guilty” of plotting to overthrow the apartheid Regime and from then Mandela became the world’s most famous prisoner who paradoxically has come to epitomize “the struggle” and “freedom” inspite of the fetters of Robben Island before Polsmoor. His co-accused were Walter Sisulu, Andrew Mlangeni, Elias Motsoaledi, Raymond, Mhlaba, Rustry Bernsterni (acquitted) Denis Godberg (released on 28th February, 1985 and now living in Britain) and Govan Mbeki (released on 5th November, 1987 and living under strict, harsh and inhuman restrictions in Port Elizabeth, South Africa), all the others are still serving life sentences. One interesting aspect of these prisoners is that inspite of the torment, torture and agony of prison life none of them have died even though their average age is about 68 infact Walter Sisulu is now 76. When Govan Mbeki a septuagenanian was released in 1987, the world expected to see a “sobered maybe cowered older man who should be retired from the struggle, but alas an articulate, stout proponent for armed struggle who restated, no regrets nor recantation for the actions sequel to their incanceration more than two decades earlier thus the clampdown on him by the Apartheid authorities in South African. Some people have attributed the longevity of these prisoners to an insurmantable will to survive prison and ultimately to witness a free South- Africa. On 18th July 1988, Nelson Mandela will celebrate his 70th Birthday. The British Anti- apartheid Movement (BAAM) is organizing “the Nelson Mandela Freedom at 70 Campaign”, An All star concert in collaboration with the BBC at Wembly stadium to galvanize action for the release of Mandela before the 18th of July.
    [Show full text]
  • Nelson Mandela and His Colleagues in the Rivonia Trial
    South Africa: The Prisoners, The Banned and the Banished: Nelson Mandela and his colleagues in the Rivonia trial http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.SFF.DOCUMENT.nuun1969_08 Use of the Aluka digital library is subject to Aluka’s Terms and Conditions, available at http://www.aluka.org/page/about/termsConditions.jsp. By using Aluka, you agree that you have read and will abide by the Terms and Conditions. Among other things, the Terms and Conditions provide that the content in the Aluka digital library is only for personal, non-commercial use by authorized users of Aluka in connection with research, scholarship, and education. The content in the Aluka digital library is subject to copyright, with the exception of certain governmental works and very old materials that may be in the public domain under applicable law. Permission must be sought from Aluka and/or the applicable copyright holder in connection with any duplication or distribution of these materials where required by applicable law. Aluka is a not-for-profit initiative dedicated to creating and preserving a digital archive of materials about and from the developing world. For more information about Aluka, please see http://www.aluka.org South Africa: The Prisoners, The Banned and the Banished: Nelson Mandela and his colleagues in the Rivonia trial Alternative title Notes and Documents - United Nations Centre Against ApartheidNo. 13/69 Author/Creator United Nations Centre against Apartheid Publisher Department of Political and Security Council Affairs Date 1969-10-00 Resource type Reports Language English Subject Coverage (spatial) South Africa Coverage (temporal) 1969 Source Northwestern University Libraries Description Note.
    [Show full text]
  • KEEP the PRESSURE ON! What's Going on in South Africa? Laws, and Discrediting the All-White Sentation
    Published by the New York Labor Committee Against Apartheid co CWA Local 1180, 6 Harrison St ., New York 10013 KEEP THE PRESSURE ON! What's going on in South Africa? laws, and discrediting the all-white sentation. The "stay-away" shut down This September, we watched 50,000 elections held this September. factories, schools, shops and transport. protestors march legally and peaceful- The Defiance Campaign has re-ig- ly through Cape Town, without a hint nited the democratic opposition. looking Abroad of police repression . Then newly- Through non-violent direct action, elected president F.W. DeKlerk thousands have participated in in- As the Defiance Campaign con- declares that the door is open for the tegrating hospitals, beaches, parks, tinues, the government has been reform of the apartheid system. In Oc- and workplace canteens. Workers pushed into more visible concessions. tober, eight national heroes of the anti- have held meetings and sing-ins on the It has allowed several municipalities to apartheid struggle are released from trains during their long commutes to repeal "petty apartheid" rules, like long imprisonment, including ANC work. School children and teachers segregated parks. leader Walter Sisulu. staged marches, college students set On October 4, in its most dramatic Are apartheid's rulers giving up at up barricades, and unions called a con- gesture, Pretoria released the country's last? sumer boycott. Banned organizations leading political prisoners, with the Hardly. At the same time the held public rallies to "unban" them- significant exception of Nelson Man- government was making highly selves. dela. publicized concessions, it was also kill- On September 6, three million DeKlerk's gestures are directed at ing 27 election protestors, putting joined a national strike to protest the international as well as internal hundreds more in detention, raiding elections, which exclude blacks from audiences.
    [Show full text]
  • Mayor of Joburg, India's Republic Day Celebration
    SPEECH BY CLR MPHO PARKS TAU, EXECUTIVE MAYOR OF JOHANNESBURG, INDIA’S REPUBLIC DAY CELEBRATION, HOUGHTON, JOHANNESBURG, 26 JANUARY, 2014 Your Excellency, Honourable High Commissioner of India, Ms. Ruchi Ghanashyam Consul General Mr. Randhir Jaiswal High Commissioners, Ambassadors, and other Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Officials from the City of Johannesburg Ladies and gentlemen Good Evening As the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg I would like to thank the Indian government, through you, your Excellency the High Commissioner of India, Ms. Ruchi Ghanashyam, for inviting us to this important function, commemorating the day in which the Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950. This is an important day in India’s political calendar. On this day, the people of India finally freed themselves from the clutches of colonialism, following independence in 1947. As South Africans we identify with your struggle for freedom and draw our own parallels with the course of events in India. For us, your 26 January is the symbolic equivalent of our April 27, the day on which we liberated ourselves from neo- colonialism, following almost 300 years of racial oppression. The day is also equivalent to May 28, 1996 when as South Africa we adopted what 1 came to be known as the most liberal constitution in the world. Indian independence was undoubtedly one of the most crucial events in the past several generations: world-wide, there were many struggles against imperialism thereafter, but with India a free nation, the writing was on the wall for empire in the post-war world.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Rivonia Trial
    On the Rivonia Trial On the Rivonia Trial (The following statement was issued by Chief Lutuli on June 12, 1964, when Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and six other leaders were sentenced to life imprisonment in the "Rivonia trial". It was read at the Security Council meeting on the same day by the representative of Morocco.) Sentences of life imprisonment have been pronounced on Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Ahmed Kathrada, Govan Mbeki, Dennis Goldberg, Raymond Mhlaba, Elias Motsoaledi and Andrew Mlangeni in the "Rivonia trial" in Pretoria. Over the long years these leaders advocated a policy of racial cooperation, of goodwill, and of peaceful struggle that made the South African liberation movement one of the most ethical and responsible of our time. In the face of the most bitter racial persecution, they resolutely set themselves against racialism; in the face of continued provocation, they consistently chose the path of reason. The African National Congress, with allied organizations representing all racial sections, sought every possible means of redress for intolerable conditions, and held consistently to a policy of using militant, non- violent means of struggle. Their common aim was to create a South Africa in which all South Africans would live and work together as fellow-citizens, enjoying equal rights without discrimination on grounds of race, colour or creed. To this end, they used every accepted method: propaganda, public meetings and rallies, petitions, stay-at- home-strikes, appeals, boycotts. So carefully did they educate the people that in the four-yearlong Treason Trial, one police witness after another voluntarily testified to this emphasis on non-violent methods of struggle in all aspects of their activities.
    [Show full text]
  • Islamic Liberation Theology in South Africa: Farid Esack’S Religio-Political Thought
    ISLAMIC LIBERATION THEOLOGY IN SOUTH AFRICA: FARID ESACK’S RELIGIO-POLITICAL THOUGHT Yusuf Enes Sezgin A thesis submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of History. Chapel Hill 2020 Approved by: Cemil Aydin Susan Dabney Pennybacker Juliane Hammer ã2020 Yusuf Enes Sezgin ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Yusuf Enes Sezgin: Islamic Liberation Theology in South Africa: Farid Esack’s Religio-Political Thought (Under the direction of Cemil Aydin) In this thesis, through analyzing the religiopolitical ideas of Farid Esack, I explore the local and global historical factors that made possible the emergence of Islamic liberation theology in South Africa. The study reveals how Esack defined and improved Islamic liberation theology in the South African context, how he converged with and diverged from the mainstream transnational Muslim political thought of the time, and how he engaged with Christian liberation theology. I argue that locating Islamic liberation theology within the debate on transnational Islamism of the 1970s onwards helps to explore the often-overlooked internal diversity of contemporary Muslim political thought. Moreover, it might provide important insights into the possible continuities between the emancipatory Muslim thought of the pre-1980s and Islamic liberation theology. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to many wonderful people who have helped me to move forward on my academic journey and provided generous support along the way. I would like to thank my teachers at Boğaziçi University from whom I learned so much. I was very lucky to take two great courses from Zeynep Kadirbeyoğlu whose classrooms and mentorship profoundly improved my research skills and made possible to discover my interests at an early stage.
    [Show full text]