Gentrification and the athaan in District Six

Very few people know who made the complaint. The call to prayer still rings defiantly from the Zeenatul Islam mosque in District Six, but everyone knows there is one person near this community who thinks of the invitation as “noise”. Residents in District Six and across Cape Town have not been told who this person is, but they feel they already know the identity – it can only be a gentrifier, they say.

On 10 May, during traditional Friday prayers, Sheikh Moeghammad Moerat, the leader at Zeenatul Islam, shocked congregants when he told them that a complaint had been laid against the athaan. The complaint was made in terms of municipal by-laws, which regulate noise in public areas. In the outrage that followed, among Muslims and non-Muslims, rumours spread about the “people who move into” communities without understanding cultural norms.

Fairuz Achmat-Basardin remembers her childhood in the area as one where children in the neighbourhood frequented mosques, regardless of which religion they followed. Despite the discrimination of apartheid, the community was tolerant of all the religions and cultures of the people that lived in District Six.

“We can only think maybe the complaint was from someone who moved into the area that has had no connection with the culture of Cape Town,” said Achmat-Basardin.

The call to prayer has reverberated from this mosque since 1919. The mosque is 100 years old and among the few buildings left in the community after the apartheid regime demolished District Six from 1968 onwards. Everyone who has lived in District Six has a memory of the sound of the athaan as a child. And everyone who has returned to District Six post-1994 has come home to the call to prayer that was once only a memory.

But like the famed communities of Woodstock and Bo-Kaap who find themselves battling gentrification, the residents of District Six in Cape Town’s inner city are fearful they are next in line for major developments of towering apartment blocks that will increase their property taxes.

In Bo-Kaap, residents have risen up against gentrification because of the risk that irresponsible development poses to heritage in the area. In Woodstock, families who have lived all their lives in the historically working-class neighbourhood fear that their memories and the culture of community spirit they have cultivated will be lost.

In District Six, the complaint about the athaan is seen as an offence by Muslims who pray at the mosque in Muir Street. But it is also seen as another sign of what residents fear: the gentrifiers are coming.

The call to prayer

God is Great. God is Great. God is Great. God is Great.
I bear witness that there is no god except the One God.
I bear witness that there is no god except the One God.
I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God.
I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God.
Hurry to the prayer. Hurry to the prayer.
Hurry to success. Hurry to success.
God is Great. God is Great.
There is no god except the One God. — The athaan

There is a tradition in many areas of Cape Town where lots of Muslims live. As the sun begins to sink and the day is in between darkness and light, the athaan sounds from nearby mosques and children, gleeful in their play, stop what they’re doing and scatter home.

“I have memories of the athaan especially during Ramadan. All these children would play in the road. I was always in the road with them and when the athaan would go off, everyone would just run home because it’s time to eat. They were Muslim and Christian alike,” Achmat-Basardin said.

“But with the gentrification in the city centre, like for example in Bo-Kaap, you get people moving in and they complain about the athaan and the klopse [minstrels], which is all part of our culture and the make-up of Cape Town,” she added.

Her memories are echoed by Gasant Abarder, a former editor at Independent Newspapers, whose tweets about the mosque complaint led to viral outrage. Abarder’s father and grandfather worshipped at the Muir Street mosque.

The 41-year-old has few memories of Muir Street, because he often frequented mosques in his home neighbourhood of Salt River, which has also experienced a wave of gentrification because of its proximity to the city centre. While Abarder acknowledges that change is necessary and people should be allowed to live where they choose, he also said there should be more tolerance.

“I was offended when the athaan was called noise. A nightclub that moves into a residential area and plays music until four in the morning is a noise complaint. But a call for prayer, especially in Muir Street, where it’s happened since 1919, how can that be considered noise?” he said.

Religious diversity

The City of Cape Town has opted to shelve the complaint until after the fasting month of Ramadan.

Initially, an affidavit had been filed with the police about the athaan. The police, identifying it as a noise complaint, transferred it to the City to investigate. The City is obliged by law to investigate complaints, but they have also made a call for understanding in this matter.

Zahid Baderoodien, the member of the mayoral committee for community services and health, has hinted at the City’s stance on the affair. “District Six is a diverse community and the City respects the right to practice any religion,” he said.

In his statement, Baderoodien confirmed that the complainant is “a resident” and suggested that residents are correct in thinking that the complaint was made by a newcomer to District Six. “Residents moving into the area are reminded of the rich cultural heritage that the area is synonymous for,” he said.

Abarder does not mind leaving the identity of the complainant a mystery. The focus, he said, should be to ensure that each religion is free to be heard. The mosque has released a statement expressing solidarity and support not only for other mosques, but also other churches.

Following the culture and nostalgic memory of District Six, the mosque reiterated that mosques and churches alike are the “social fabric” of Cape Town and fought together against apartheid.

“The masjid thus has come to the conclusion and the position that the athaan, the ringing of church bells or any other call to worship can never be regarded as noise,” the mosque said.

Church bells stopped

Communities in Cape Town aren’t the only people battling to find common ground on questions of religious freedom, by-laws and gentrification, however. In the town of Paarl, in the Drakenstein Municipality 57km from Cape Town, residents have already experienced a similar saga that led to an unexpected outcome for the community.

The historic Toringkerk, which was completed in 1877 and is one of the oldest churches in South Africa, has stopped tolling its bell. Lauren Waring, the executive director of planning and development in the municipality, confirmed that a noise complaint led to an investigation by the municipality. A noise assessment was undertaken, “which indicated that the noise levels exceeded the permissible decibels”, Waring said.

The municipality is still confirming when the complaint was made, but in Paarl resident Leandri Jacobs’ memory, it has been three years since the bell has rung. Jacobs has expressed solidarity and support for the Zeenatul Islam mosque, sharing the view that irresponsible gentrification is the cause for these complaints.

“People who move into our towns, cities and neighbourhoods, who don’t know the history and who are outsiders, want to complain about and stop things that they’ve found [here] and which is an institution,” she said.

Abarder, Achmat-Basardin and the mosque have shared their gratitude for the support the mosque has received from sympathisers in Cape Town and across South Africa. Their hope now is that the by-laws will change to echo the sentiment that is being shared.

The by-laws

The mosque, which the City served with the complaint, has confirmed that it was made by an individual. In its 100 years of existence, only one person has laid a complaint against the athaan at the Muir Street mosque. It has raised further concerns with interested parties in the city.

The City of Cape Town By-law Relating to Streets, Public Places and the Prevention of Noise Nuisances states: “No person shall in a public place – cause or permit to be caused a disturbance by shouting, screaming or making any other loud or persistent noise or sound, including amplified noise or sound.” The by-law does not exempt religious institutions.

Amendments have already been suggested to exclude religious organisations from the rules.

Mzwakhe Nqavashe, the chairperson of the safety and security portfolio committee in the City, confirmed that the proposed amendments are being studied. Once the committee has finished its work, it will then be passed on to policy makers to determine if it is in line with constitutional and provincial legislation.

Nqavashe predicts that the 60-day public participation process could begin in February 2020 and the amendments could pass in June 2020. He said the process would include workshops to address tensions that may exist within areas, such as in the District Six saga.

For the elderly residents who have watched the complaint unfold, the changes in District Six have become tangible. Sherine Hassan used to live in District Six at a time when religion was practised without complaint.

“At the time we were living there, there were people of other races and people of other religions. It never bothered them that the athaan was going off and it never bothered us that the church bells must go off. It was a norm for us,” she said.

Achmat-Basardin is working with residents in District Six to return the fractured community to its glory days. But many claimants are still waiting to return to the area and the government has admitted that the process of restitution could take another 20 years to complete.

For Achmat-Basardin, the changes in her community without its returned claimants have already begun to cast fear. “To even have this conversation is painful,” she said.

Ra’eesa Pather

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