Cape Town - Parliament should send a message to South Africans to exhibit tolerance at the highest level possible, Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor said on Tuesday.
Pandor was speaking in the National Assembly following various statements from political parties condemning the murder of 27-year-old Muhammad Fayaaz Kazi, allegedly by two Afrikaans-speaking men.
MPs described the murder as “brutal”.
“This kind of racial and religious intolerance is unacceptable,” said ANC MP Roy Ainsley.
Pandor said the entire house should express regret at the incident and take collective responsibility for urging South Africans to exercise tolerance.
“We really should encourage our nation to have regard to the social cohesion... and the need for us to reflect on the religious freedom that is part of our Constitution and the respect for human dignity, which was apparently infringed in this case,” she said.
The two men accused of the Kazi murder are expected back in court on August 21.
Kazi, from Ventersdorp, and his father's friend Anser Mahmood were attacked at a Chicken Licken outlet in Magaliesburg last Monday.
Mahmood said two white, Afrikaans-speaking men made fun of Kazi's beard and insulted them.
Kazi, who understood Afrikaans, confronted the two men and a fight broke out. Both Kazi and his friend were attacked and the two white men fled the scene. Kazi later died in hospital.
His alleged attackers were denied bail on Monday. - Sapa