Searching for Islamic Ethical Agency in Post-Apartheid Cape Town

How do we live contemporaneously as Muslims - not accidentally or reluctantly, but consciously, critically, courageously and faithfully? This anthology by Professor Aslam Fataar is an extraordinary response to this challenge. His work is an invigorating contribution to the discourse of an Islam that is simultaneously local and global, that speaks movingly to our inner spiritual selves as well as our critical senses, an Islam that may be located inside the minority condition but refuses to be on the margins of broader social and political debates. While the backdrop of Fataar's anthology is South African, the lessons, reflections and inspiration - particularly in societies where Muslims are struggling with questions of identity, marginality, and belonging - are utterly universal. Prof Farid Esack, University of Johannesburg This anthology provides a rich account of the complex challenges faced by Cape Town Muslims in the post-apartheid era. Aslam is dedicated to critical engagement with the social, political and religious dimensions of life. He forces us to examine a range of issues confronted by Muslim South Africans such as politics, the environment and the spiritual dimensions of living a productive life. Each chapter represents important milestones, interwoven with the global, local and familial. The book is vital to all young and old, offering conceptual and intellectual accounts of searching for an ethical way of life in South Africa. Dr Najwa Norodien-Fataar, Cape Peninsula University of Technology For a quarter of a century, Aslam Fataar has penned a set of essays, now collated here, that provides a fascinating insight into the dynamics and challenges of a Cape Muslim community rooted at the tip of Africa. In microcosm it demonstrates how the rapid changes in South Africa and across the world have impacted on the thinking and practice of Muslims in this corner of the globe. It strips away the pretence that there are simple answers to life's challenges. Instead, it will force the reader to put aside old solutions and consider the need for new conversations to make sense of the complexity of our lives in a fast-changing world. This book is an essential read for anyone grappling with both the social and spiritual demands of our times. Zubeida Jaffer, Journalist, author and activist