Programme Director,

Our Muslim compatriots,

Distinguished Guests,

Assalaamu Alaikum! (Peace be upon you!)

It is a great honour for me to be with you on the special occasion of the breaking of the holy fast.

I have joined you to say – with humility and encouragement – Eid Mubarak!

Thank you to Brother Goolam Mohideen, the Chairperson of the Eidgah Committee, Moulana Imran and Moulana Hafs for allowing me to be present today.

Today, our Muslim brothers and sisters across the globe are marking the end of Ramadan 2016 and celebrating Eid al-Fitr.

You have a reason to celebrate this joyous occasion with your families, friends and communities after having successfully completed the observance of your religious obligations during the month of Ramadan, which is the fourth pillar of Islam.

Ramadan commemorates the revelation of God’s word in the holy Quran and it is from the Holy Quran that we receive our instruction that humankind has an obligation for the wellbeing of the poor, the needy and the oppressed.

For it is written,

“[The righteous are those] who feed the poor, the orphan and the captive for the love of God, saying: ‘We feed you for the sake of God Alone; we seek from you neither reward nor thanks.'”

The month-long fasting during Ramadan engenders self-restraint, promotes charity and cultivates generosity.

It promotes greater awareness of our purpose on earth and our responsibility towards humankind.

This is the restraint, discipline and self-sacrifice that we need to exemplify in our day-to day conduct to create a more humane world.

As we gather here today as South Africans, we are reminded of the great diversity of our nation – of the many faiths, languages, cultures and creeds.

We are also reminded of the universal values that bind us together as one people.

We are reminded of the important contribution that Muslims have made, and continue to make, throughout our society.

Islam is part of our African heritage, our history and our future.

In South Africa, the spread of Islam evokes the name of Shaykh Yusuf, a freedom fighter from Indonesia who was brought to the Cape as a political exile in the 17th century.

It also evokes the memory of indentured labourers in the Natal sugar fields who were brought from India and Zanzibar.

It brings to mind the inspiration that Nelson Mandela drew from the shrine and memory of Shaykh Abdurhman Matura on Robben Island.

Addressing the intercultural Eid celebration in January 1998, President Mandela said of Ramadan and Eid:

“It begins to explain the make-up of people like Shaykh Matura, from whose karamat on Robben Island, as prisoners we drew deep inspiration and spiritual strength when our country was going through its darkest times.”

We recall the involvement of the Muslim community in the struggle against apartheid – whether it was through the leadership of people like Dr Yusuf Dadoo, Ahmed Kathrada and Imam Haroon or through organisations such as the Islamic Medical Association, Muslim Youth Movement, The Call of Islam and other such groups.

We remember the contribution of the Muslim community of Pretoria to our struggle.

This is the community that gave South Africa its first black Chief Justice, Justice Ismail Mohamed.

This is a community that continues to play a vital role in the renewal, reconstruction and transformation of our nation.

This is a community that reminds us of the work we must continue to do to improve the lives of our people, the people of this country and the people of this continent.

As we mark the end of the holy fast, let us affirm our commitment to work together to end poverty, inequality, injustice and tyranny.

Let us work together to end racism, sexism and religious intolerance.

Let us stand up for the oppressed and the dispossessed, for those whose lands have been occupied and whose livelihoods have been destroyed.

Let us stand together to oppose the wars, civil conflicts and acts of terror that continue to claim the lives of so many innocents.

Let us build a peaceful, just and prosperous world.

We meet here today just weeks before South Africans go to the polls to elect their representatives to local government.

Let us undertake to ensure that those elections are peaceful, free, fair and inclusive.

Let us elect representatives that are honourable, dedicated, hard-working and selfless.

Let us work with each other to build the South Africa of our dreams, the South Africa described in the National Development Plan, the South Africa envisaged in our Constitution.

Let us build a South Africa that belongs to all who live in it.

Once again, in the name of Allah the Beneficent, the Merciful, I wish you all a Blessed Eid.

I thank you.

Source: The Presidency Republic of South Africa