Cape Town - A delegation led by visiting regent of the Malaysian state of Perlis, Crown Prince Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra, on Sunday met with South African Muslim leaders in Cape Town to discuss promoting Islamic education.
The main aim of the meeting, which took place in the Bo-Kaap, was to foster closer ties between the two communities and to explore the challenges and opportunities in education, as well as spread the message of Islam to a wider audience.
The delegates discussed the need for greater investment in Islamic education at the tertiary level, as well as ways in which South Africa and Perlis could collaborate on various initiatives, including education, religious dialogue, and networking.
During the discussions, the delegates emphasised the importance of providing high-quality education that would enable students to contribute effectively to the development of their communities and the wider Islamic world.
The Cape Town Ulama Board secretary, Shaykh Sayed Ridhwaan, said: “This meeting has laid the groundwork for future collaborations between religious leaders from South Africa and Perlis.”
Among the organisations from South Africa at the meeting were the United Ulama Council of South Africa (UUCSA), the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC), Cape Town Ulama Board (CTUB), Sunni Ulama Council (SUC), and Jamiatul Ulama South Africa (Jusa), Sunni Jamiatul Ulama (SJU), Darul Ishsan (DIHC), Jamiatul Ulama KwaZulu Natal (JUKZN), Council of Ulema Eastern Cape (CUEC) and Northern Cape Ulema Council (NCUC).
Yesterday, provincial ANC education spokesperson Khalid Sayed had a separate meeting with the crown prince.
Sayed said: “Among the discussions that we had was promoting education, but particularly religious and Islamic education, because the prince is very, very passionate about education in Perlis.”
On the current state of Islamic education in Cape Town, Sayed said the majority of Islamic schools were privately funded. These were funded mainly by school fees and donations from Muslim business people.
Sayed, who wrote his UCT thesis on Islamic education, said he and Crown Prince Jamalullai spoke about Islamic tertiary education.
He said there were parents in the Muslim community who wanted education with a religious focus for their children, and that it was important that they had the choice and for the academic standards at such schools to be strong.
mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za