Cape Town – The public has until July 30 to comment on the proposal for the grave of Imam Haron in Mowbray and the Al-Jamia Mosque in Stegman Road, Claremont to be declared heritage sites.
Haron was killed after interrogation and torture by the apartheid security branch on September 27, 1969 following 123 days in solitary confinement. He was the co-founder and editor of the anti-apartheid Muslim News.
The Imam Haron 50th year Commemoration Committee embarked on a 123-day campaign to pay tribute to the martyr this year.
Imam Haron Foundation co-ordinator Cassiem Khan said discussions on the sites of the Imam were held earlier in the year. “We were recommended to engage Heritage Western Cape (HWC). A call was put out by HWC to private entities to table proposals and we have been approached by an independent heritage consultancy firm, Vida Memoria to aid in submitting a full proposal. The process now entails research and codifying all relevant information, which we welcome as this documents historically significant events and people for future generations,” said Khan.
Imam Haron’s youngest daughter Fatima Haron-Masoet said: “As a family, we are encouraged and inspired by the proposals. From the mosque perspective, this was where our father from the period of 1955 to 1969, spoke out against apartheid atrocities.
“His grave not only brings recognition to a person who was martyred for his beliefs but becomes a reminder of those who perished for the same ideals, whose bodies were never recovered.”
Vida Memoria heritage consultant Quahnita Samie said the 60-day commenting process has begun and notifications and information were provided at the Claremont Museum, the Claremont mosque.
Submissions on the proposals can be e-mailed to [email protected]