Common ground should be sought between all Knysna citizens.

The Knysna Muslim Council (KMC) has reached its first goal of raising R600 000 to buy a property in Knysna with the intention of providing a mosque for our town’s Muslim community. This blog is taken from the Darul Ihsan Media Desk:

KMC chairperson, Umar Essa, reported that the target was reached by Sunday and that the committee was ‘left speechless’ by the wide support they received from the Muslim community and the media around the country over the last month.

“The money had come from Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg…all over. We even had people who just called to say they are making dua for our success. We continue to be deeply humbled by the exceptional generosity of the Muslim community of South Africa, which went way beyond our expectations,” said Essa.

Essa said they were confident that they would also be able to achieve their second goal – raising between R400,000 – R500,000 for the renovation and completion of the mosque.

“Once the property has been bought, it would require extensive renovation to the tune of R500,000. But that is the next phase and we hope to have that completed over the next six months so that the new masjid would be ready for use by the end of the year, insha Allah.”

There are an estimated 250 Muslims living in Knysna, 80% of whom are foreign nationals.

For more details, Brother Umar Essa can be reached at 083 413 6156.

You should also read Brother Essa’s letter to Look4It.

Positively, one of Knysna’s heritage buildings will finally have a chance at repair. On the flip-side, the public calls to prayer will likely receive lots of opposition. The Knysna Muslim Council will probably find the Municipality challenging so i don’t see it being set in stone yet. I repeat my call for public tolerance i.e. all religions deserve equal rights.