Men versus Moulana
|Published
Faiez Jacobs and Dawood Sampson
A group of prominent Muslim men in Cape Town have called for the suspension of a popular Cape Flats Moulana in the wake of his controversial marriage videos and apology.
In an open letter to the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC), signed by various lawyers, doctors, imams and political leaders such as Judge Siraj Desai and ANC provincial secretary, Faiez Jacobs, the group called for Moulana Dawood Sampson of Parkwood to be suspended from the mosque.
This follows a viral video posted by Sampson on social media on Friday in which he refers to himself and Muslim men as “cocks” who must “get those hens”.
A seemingly gloating Sampson announces his upcoming marriage to his second wife and says: “My dear friends in Islam, as I told the men, if there is men that still got it, go and propose and get yourself a lovebird. Like a cock has two or three hens, come on men, we are cocks my broers, and get those hens inshallah. (sic)”
While Sampson has issued an apology and announced that he has taken a sabbatical from public engagements, the group of more than 20 professionals say they condemn the ongoing use of polygamy to assert male dominance and power over women.
Under the banner, Men Against Misogyny in the Muslim Community, the group also condemned the “indecent and vile misogynistic language” used by Sampson, saying it is not befitting of an Islamic scholar and imam.
“We accept Moulana Dawood’s maaf at face value as a necessary first step to undoing the hurt that his statement caused, especially the insulting of women and their treatment as vassals or as lesser human beings,” the letter states.
“Dawood’s description of the response to his statement as a ‘distortion’ of his intentions clearly indicates that he does not fully appreciate the extent to which the contents of his statement and language were offensive, regardless of his intentions.
“There is thus a need for understanding exactly what the Moulana’s language meant in the context of gender violence and ongoing abuse, in other words, how his words affirmed the worst stereotypes of women in Muslim communities.”
The group called for Sampson to be suspended from his position as imam at the mosque until he has been part of a re-education process that involves speaking to women rights advocates.
MJC deputy president Sheikh Riaad Fataar told the Daily Voice on Wednesday night they were still busy discussing the matter and would be issuing a statement today.