For the fourth consecutive month, Islamic places of worship in SA have been targeted with violence
Three months since the deadly attack on a mosque in KwaZulu-Natal, no arrests have yet been made and no updates are available from the Hawks. In the last three weeks, meanwhile, there have been three further incidents at places of Islamic worship in South Africa: two apparent arson attacks and the placement of one hoax bomb. Add to this the possible link between the original mosque attack and the explosive devices found in Durban stores in July, and you have an ongoing mystery that authorities seem at a loss to explain.
Shortly after morning prayer on 25 July at the Musjid-E-Moin, the entrance to the Chatsworth mosque was deliberately set on fire.
Local KwaZulu-Natal newspaper the Rising Sun Chatsworthreported that worshippers ran to grab a hosepipe in order to douse the flames – only to realise that the hosepipe had been removed. With the aid of buckets of water, they were able to extinguish the fire and limit the damage.
A witness claimed to have seen three men fleeing from the back of the mosque, but no arrests have yet been reported by police.
The motive is officially not known, though the mosque’s moulana Yusuf Matola appeared to have some theories of his own.
