Gadija Ahjum

For many Muslim South African antiapartheid activists, a renewed understanding of religion in the form of Islamist ideology provided purpose, perseverance, and direction. Becoming part of a collective shaped and informed their public engagement with religion. This paper shows how they used religious discourse to navigate the complexities and ambiguities within their private domains while embarking on an Islamist journey. By suggesting that South African Islamism can best be viewed as the sum of a multitude of journeys of everyday political Islam, this paper argues for an approach that examines a long-term narrative, takes heed of perfectionist ideals, and remains cognizant of everyday realities.

Introduction In analysing Muslim discourses in the anti-apartheid movement of the 1980s, Farid Esack (1988) identifi es three South African Muslim ‘strands of justice,’ with each one presenting particular forms of political opposition to the state. Scholarship on Qibla has largely focused on its ‘militancy’ and on the charismatic personality and role of Achmad Cassiem, leader and main ideologue of Qibla,2 with little or no research conducted on other individuals active in this movement. In this paper, the writer considers the experiences of some of the female members of the Qibla movement who were, and continue to be, ignored in scholarship.3 After providing a brief background on the Qibla movement, the writer draws from an interview conducted with Mariam (fi ctitious name), a female member of this movement. Hans Mol’s identity model of religion (Mol 1979) is used as a framework through which to interpret the data. This theory is used to show how political activism is intertwined wi...

Exploring the lives of women Islamists through the lens of biographies reveals elements of their experiences which tend to be overlooked if the focus is only on moments of explicit activism. Existing studies of Islamists often focus on leading voices within movements, while studies which focus on piety and self-cultivation obscure ambiguities encountered within the lives of Muslim women. There is an implied denial of their agency as ordinary but active participants within both the private and public space. This paper argues that women made choices based on their deepening understanding of Islam (in general) and Islamist discourse (in particular). Furthermore, their capacity as agents cannot be viewed outside of their social, political and cultural context. Taking seriously the multiple forces within which they exist, and which operate on them, allows a more nuanced image of the actions of Muslim women activists to emerge.

Exploring the lives of women Islamists through the lens of biographies reveals elements of their experiences which tend to be overlooked if the focus is only on moments of explicit activism. Existing studies of Islamists often focus on leading voices within movements, while studies which focus on piety and self-cultivation obscure ambiguities encountered within the lives of Muslim women. There is an implied denial of their agency as ordinary but active participants within both the private and public space. This paper argues that women made choices based on their deepening understanding of Islam (in general) and Islamist discourse (in particular). Furthermore, their capacity as agents cannot be viewed outside of their social, political and cultural context. Taking seriously the multiple forces within which they exist, and which operate on them, allows a more nuanced image of the actions of Muslim women activists to emerge.

This thesis explores the biographies of Muslim activists who were involved in the South African Islamist movement from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s - tracking their trajectories up till the present. These Islamist biographies can be likened to journeys which include moments of fulfilment, doubt, ambivalence and a grappling to make sense of the self and society. A close examination of Islamist journeys reveal accounts of conversion, a deep commitment to religion and the reconstruction of both public and private identities. Conversion signalled both an arrival – at a new meaning system – and a departure – on a journey informed by this new meaning system. For Islamists, their renewed understanding of religion provided purpose, perseverance and direction. They turned to Islamism to reconstruct their public identities by becoming part of a chosen collective. Simultaneously, they also used religious ideology to reconstruct their identities within the private sphere. This study places emphasis on the everyday lives of Islamists. By suggesting that South African Islamism can best be viewed as the sum of a multitude of journeys of everyday political Islam, this study recognizes that such a life is located within a particular idealized world-view. However, interrogating this life trajectory necessitates an in-depth approach which takes heed of Islamists’ perfectionist ideals while remaining cognizant of personal realities. In doing so, this study reveals not only their firm resolve to be ‘good’ Islamists, but also their aspirations to be ‘good’ women within their personal domains. I thus contend that, included in an investigation on Islamist journeys, should be the ambiguities and personal challenges they encountered in private spaces. This study aligns itself with others who have challenged notions of a monolithic Islamism; rather Islamism has proven itself to continuously transform – even within local contexts like South Africa. Moreover, this thesis addresses a lacuna in scholarship on Islamism and highlights key perceptions that Islamists have about themselves, an idealized worldview and the challenges in everyday life. In this way, this study offers an alternate line of enquiry into religious activism as a lived experience. Doing so leads to a better understanding of not just individuals’ ideals and objectives, but also the everyday consequences this had.