Skip to content

The American Government Should be in the Dock – Not Ziyadh Hoorzook 

By Iqbal Jassat

As millions of South Africans join the African National Congress (ANC) to commemorate its 113th birthday, it would be shortsighted to overlook decades of struggle and sacrifice by the liberation movement while having had to endure the slanderous stigma of being branded as a terrorist organisation.

Apartheid-era’s large number of unjust anti-terror laws – supported uncritically by the West – were used in the most draconian fashion to demonise and criminalise the freedom struggle.

Unless this historic context is introduced to analyse America’s perpetual “War On Terror” following 9/11, failure to comprehend the tragic devastation caused by it in large parts of the Muslim world, will be the result.

More importantly, the lens used to justify America’s conduct – whether it be invasion, occupation or regime change – will be tainted by hate and prejudice against Muslims and Islam.

An appropriate example is that of former President Nelson Mandela who in January 2002, a few months after 9/11, graciously apologised for his earlier sentiments expressing “unreserved support for the war in Afghanistan”.

Mandela’s misplaced unwavering support for America’s military aggression in Afghanistan was expressed at a Washington Press conference held after his meeting with US President George W Bush during November 2001.

However he had a rethink and to his credit Mandela’s about-turn on Bush’s war and Osama bin Laden was underpinned by his commitment to due process and the rule of law.

“The labelling of Osama bin Laden as a terrorist responsible for those acts (attacking US military and economic establishments) before he had been tried and convicted could also be seen as undermining some of the basic tenets of the rule of law,” Mandela said.

What has this got to do with the National Prosecuting Authority chief Shamila Batohi’s case against Ziyadh Hoorzook?

Everything. Simply because context is crucial to make sense of a futile investigation and misplaced charges of financing terrorism which appears to have the hallmarks of a witch-hunt.

The 35 year old Hoorzook is accused of funding a so-called “terrorist organisation” in Syria known as “Al Sadaqah”. While conceding that he had donated an amount of R11500 during 2017, it was to provide humanitarian support to Syrian families caught up in a civil war.

Nothing abnormal nor unusual for Muslims who are exhorted to dig into their pockets in aid of the needy. Zakaah is a mandatory religious obligation and is one of the five pillars of Islam. Sadaqah too is encouraged as a voluntary act of charity.

Ironically, Hoorzook gets nabbed for discharging his sadaqa to an institution known as Al Sadaqah.

Muslim social welfare and charity organisations such as Al Sadaqah and a host of others whether based in Occupied Palestine or elsewhere, have since 9/11 been casualties of America’s unilateral sanctions including being listed as “terrorist”.

Arbitrary demonisation, and criminalisation at the whim of Islamophobes almost all linked in one way or the other with Israel’s nefarious political agenda without due process.

If South Africa’s safety and security cluster including the Hawks has any regard for the principled position adopted by Mandela when he renounced his earlier defence of America’s “War on Terror”, the least expected of them is to question whether the US listing of Al Sadaqah organisation was subject to due process.

Surely our sovereignty as an independent state in full control of levers of power and adhering to our constitutional values particularly the rule of law, cannot and should not be contingent on unilateral rules  dictated by American imperialism.

The global security environment as reflected in Israel’s horrendous slaughter of Palestinians in the Gaza genocide, is a manifestation of pervasive lawlessness in respect of international humanitarian laws.

Yet the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) under the leadership of Shamila Batohi by targeting and charging Hoorzook for allegedly contravening the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities (POCDATARA),

has disregarded America’s denial of a fundamental legal obligation to due process in relation to its dictatorial listing of Muslim charity institutions as “terrorist” or “associated with terrorist activities”.

It is no secret that Israel and America’s counter-terrorism posture has spurred their allies into an aggressive campaign involving among other goals selective “regime-change”, which has a great deal to do with their national selfish interests and little to do with human rights protection, warned late Professor Kader Asmal at the time he served as chairman of parliament’s portfolio committee on defence.

Though his warning was issued 20 years ago it remains valid to this day.

By copying and pasting America’s faulty listing of Muslim NGOs as “terrorists”, the NPA would be providing authentication to a process that undermines rule of law.

Hoorzook should certainly not be facing jail time for discharging a virtuous act of Sadaqah (charity), but the American government that should be in the dock.

If not our criminal justice system will forever be tainted for lacking integrity due to blindly and absurdly aping biased unilateral decisions emanating from America’s flawed process on determining who is a “terrorist”.

Iqbal Jassat

Executive Member

Media Review Network

Johannesburg

South Africa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Iqbal Jassat
Latest posts by Iqbal Jassat (see all)