S African-Indian fighting to construct mosque on his farm

A white neighbour of Ismail Bhyat has formally objected to his plan to erect a mosque on his farm that will cater almost 100 Muslims in the region as well as scores of Islam followers who pass through the area which is the main route between the coastal city of Cape Town and the interior of the country.

The mosque would replace the prayer facilities currently provided in his farmhouse. The Breede River Municipality which administers the region assented to the mosque project, citing its benefit to locals and the possibility of attracting visitors to the town.

But an olive farmer Fred de Pauw has objected to the mosque construction, claiming the five-time daily prayers from the mosque would negate the "peace and quiet". Bhyat argued there were churches on many farms in the region, and De Pauw's allegations of Muslims undertaking their prayers with loud "sounds" being "unjustified."

The South African-Indian said he was even prepared to compromise on the short call to prayer. "Travelers through the region are currently using garages and the roadside to offer their five daily prayers in uncomfortable conditions. The mosque will make their religious duties much easier," Bhyat said.

The powerful Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) has come out in support of Bhyat's plan, suggesting that De Pauw's objection was a relic from "the apartheid past where the white minority could dictate such issues without recourse for the other communities in the country."

"We must embrace a spirit of South African nationalism, not black or white nationalism," MJC spokesman Shuaib Appleby said. De Pauw's objection will now be considered by the provincial Department of Developmental Planning for a final decision, which Bhyat has threatened to take to the Constitutional Court if it went against him.

The religious rights of all South Africans are seriously entrenched in the Constitution.