By Ala Alhourani
CAPE TOWN, South Africa
The diversity of South Africa’s Muslims is on display in Cape Town this weekend where a Ramadan fair is aiming to introduce the wider community to Islamic culture.
The range of food, spices, clothes and art displayed at the expo indicates the wide background of South Africa’s roughly 750,000 Muslims, who are largely of Indian, Cape Malay, African, Western and Middle Eastern heritage.
The Ramadan Expo includes participants from India, Somali, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Spain and Ireland, among other nations.
“The expo’s aim is to inform, educate and uplift the entire Western Cape community, not only Muslims,” organizer Salaama Davids told Anadolu Agency. “The expo introduces the beauty of being Muslim and of Islam to the larger multicultural community of Cape Town, against ongoing Islamaphobia and misrepresentation of Islam.
“It empowers small emerging businesses by offering them a platform to display their goods and services. Lastly, the expo aims to evoke Muslims’ religious-self and to remind them to position themselves in the holy spirit of Ramadan.”
Imam Abdul Samad Abdul Kader described the event as “bringing unity among Muslims - bringing Muslims together under one roof to interact and learn about each other”.
