HOW AFOSA STARTED?

Islam was brought to South Africa by political exiles from South East Asia where they had been waging battles against European colonisation. Then the Muslim immigrants from India joined them. This established Muslim community who were predominantly Shafi or Hanafi, over the years became a very strong and influential part of broader South African society.

The Islamic Revolution in Iran planted the initial seed of shi'aism in this region. There were those Muslims and non-Muslims who identified themselves with the Islamic Revolution, not only within a political context but also with its ideological status. This started off with whatever material they could find on the subject from what ever sources. Shi'a institutes in East Africa, Pakistan, Iran and USA played an important role in re enforcing the belief in Ahlul Bait (a.s.), but more importantly provided the argument to convince others thereby slowly swelling the ranks of newborn shi'a community across the country.

This thirst had grown and there were requests for a Shi'a ‘Alim to come and lay a solid foundation of Shi'aism. This request was met, and a Shi'a ‘Alim ( Sayed Aftab Haider) came to settle in South Africa for this express purpose. This in itself served to bring together various scattered Shi'a groupings throughout the country under one umbrella, the Ahlul Bait (A.S) Foundation of South Africa (AFOSA).

More >>