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ISS faces challenge to haul Willem Els over the coals for anti-Muslim fear mongering 

By Iqbal Jassat 

Does it appear that the Institute of Security Studies (ISS) including its board of trustees remain either aloof or unmoved by the uproar in the Muslim community of South Africa, following highly provocative Islamophobic and inflammatory claims made by one of its analysts Willem Els? 

That the ISS has thus far neither commented on the outrageous allegations by Els, nor indicated what steps, if any, will be taken against him, sends ominous signals that certainly will not sit well within the Muslim community. 

The allegations attributed to Els casts a huge shadow of suspicion upon Muslims and the thousands of institutions they manage across the country, from Mosques and Madressahs, to Islamic schools and universities. 

Take this classic Islamophobic trope he parroted that South African children as young as 11 are being indoctrinated and groomed to commit acts of terrorism. 

These untested and unproven allegations are attributed to Els in a News24 report by Amanda Khoza, where he is cited as an ISS “International relations expert”, and leaving no doubt that his alarmist warning has implicated unnamed Muslim organisations. 

To reinforce his questionable “research”, he emphasised: “We see that they have programmes where they are indoctrinating children from as young as 11 years old, and that programme has been sustained and is ongoing”.

The false alarm he raised was that unless (whoever the “we” is), does “… not deal with it in its early stages, it might get out of hand”. 

In the current climate of xenophobia sparked afresh due to the concerns raised about unregulated foreign-owned “spaza shops” and the tragic deaths of children arising from contaminated snacks etc., it is extremely disappointing that Els added fuel to fire. 

According to the report, he was addressing a Border Management Authority conference at the Council for Scientific Industrial Research. 

If indeed his presentation on the “threat of cross-border terrorism” in South Africa painted a “grim picture” according to Khoza’s report, surely it requires evidence-based research that can be placed under the microscope? 

Instead he ventured into a tirade on “indoctrination of children”, and “radical ideology”, without any disclaimers nor attempt to conceal his targeting of Muslims. 

The stereotyping of Muslims as terrorists is clearly evident in his biased view: “Children are the most susceptible when they are young… if they start to embed this type of radical ideology within these children, by the time they grow up, they will be fully radicalised, and they will be ready to become a terrorist or an operative for these radical organisations”. 

Bigoted rhetoric by Els paints a picture of danger posed by the “… Islam(ic) community…” and yet again without any proof, he claimed “… where we see radical elements within the community hijack some of our mosques”. 

Yet despite these wild allegations, he bizarrely admits lacking “… intelligence capacity within our Islam(ic) community…” but unashamedly and brazenly implicates mosques in Mayfair, Hillbrow, Soweto and the West Rand. 

It is thus no surprise that Na’eem Jeenah, a senior researcher at the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection, has rubbished Els and his ilk as fear mongers. 

“In effect, Els paints all Muslim children with a terrorist brush, suggesting pre-teen Muslim children should be viewed with fear and suspicion by other children their age and by South African society at large”, is Jeenah’s firm view. 

In addition, Jeenah warns that the views advanced by Els are not far removed from statements by Israeli politicians that Palestinian children are “snakes” and should be killed because they are already terrorists by virtue of being Palestinian. 

“For Els, it is the children’s religion that defines them, not their nationality” said Jeenah. 

There is no doubt that divisive rhetoric of the type Els indulges in stigmatizes Muslim children as terrorists. 

While anti-Muslim hate was inherent during the apartheid era, in South Africa today, such conduct should neither be allowed nor tolerated. 

Iqbal Jassat

Executive Member

Media Review Network

Johannesburg

South Africa

Iqbal Jassat
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