Cape Town - The ANC has reprimanded MPL Khalid Sayed for blasphemous remarks he made about Prophet Muhammad’s companions (disciples).
The remarks were made in a controversial one-minute clip from a 30-minute talk given last week at the Shia Ahlul Bait Mosque in Ottery.
The ANC afterwards reprimanded Sayed and said it had noted and condemned “the unfortunate and disparaging remarks attributed to Sayed, a member of the ANC’s Wynberg branch and MPL, which have correctly angered a large section of the Muslim community”.
ANC Western Cape spokesperson Sifiso Mtsweni said the Constitution compelled all citizens of different faiths to worship in such a manner that didn’t impugn on the rights and beliefs of others.
“As such, the ANC has reprimanded Sayed and further notes and welcomes his apology to the Muslim community which we insisted was made public and that the views were not only withdrawn but never repeated.”
In the video clip which circulated on social media Sayed allegedly accused the Sabahad or the Companions (disciples) of Prophet Muhammed of being hypocrites by pretending to be believers while concealing their disbelief.
Sayed, who has since apologised to the Muslim community, said on Twitter that the lecture focused on the philosophy of Imam Hussain’s sacrifice and the purpose of annual mourning ceremonies to mark it.
The video clip and the furore it raised has turned the spotlight on the theological split between Sunni and Shia Muslims.
Imam Hussain was a grandson of the prophet Muhammad and is revered by Shia Muslims as the third imam after Ali and Hussain’s elder brother, Hasan.
The lecture focused on the philosophy of Imam Hussain’s sacrifice and the purpose of these annual mourning ceremonies.
Sayed’s remarks drew the ire of the United Ulama Council of South Africa (UUCSA) whose members include the Darul Ihsan Humanitarian Centre, the Muslim Judicial Council and the Cape Town Ulama Board.
During a meeting with Sayed, from which a clip was posted on the Board’s Facebook page, Cape Town Ulama Board head Mufti Sayed Haroon Al Azhari said: “We are disgusted at the statement and condemn such statements against the Sahabah.”
He said the statement had hurt the hearts of many people and that such statements infuriated people and deserved an apology.
“People have been hurt and we don’t want people to be hurt in their belief systems. We want them to believe what they believe and if we believe as Sunnis that Allah is pleased with the Sahabah and they are pleased with Allah based on the Qur’an’s verses and they don’t want to be hurt from having that belief system.”
In a separate statement, the UUCSA said the Sahabah were among the most beloved and revered companions of the Prophet and this was a fact that Sayed must have been aware of when he made the comments.
Mufti Al Azhari said that the status and virtue of the Companions was a fundamental tenet of the Islamic faith and established from the Qur’an, prophetic statements and the consensus of the majority of the Muslim world.
“Audaciously attacking them in this manner, belying their deep-rooted faith so brazenly, undermines any and all efforts for peaceful coexistence.”
In his apology before the Mufti, Sayed agreed the comments were deeply offensive and withdrew them.
“I was insensitive. I was completely out of order. Indeed if you listen, it was a short clip from an entire 30-minute speech where there was a much broader context, but after profound thought and engagement, I want to apologise for any hurt that was caused.”
He said it had been wrong to insult figures who were sacred to his fellow brothers and sisters in the Islamic faith. He didn’t want the issue to be the basis for further divisions or to undo the positive work that the Cape Town Ulama Board, in particular, had been doing in reaching out within the broader Muslim community.
He thanked the board for speaking to him and for having called him out on his “blunder and misbehaviour.”