Even as we welcome the day of Eid, it is with great sadness that Muslims bid farewell to the blessed month of Ramadaan and the many rewards which it carries.
The maankykers are gearing up to look for the new moon on Thursday night, which will herald the month of Shawaal, and of course the day of Eid.
I am sure that many of us are saying, “ kan jy glo die pwasa is alweer klaar, it went so quickly.”
We wish that we could have done more ibaadat(acts of worship), that we put in more effort to do good deeds.
The sahaaba (companians of the Prophet Muhamad PBUH) used to pray for six months after Ramadaan that God must accept their fast and for the next six months they made du’ah that God must grant them another Ramadaan. Amazing.
Ramadaan in Cape Town was very eventful this year, amid all the politics, the land grabs, the renaming of the airport, and yes, the mass boekas.
The first one started in Bo-Kaap and was supposed to be a protest action against gentrification of the historically Muslim area, but this mass iftar inspired a whole array of others.
Soon we saw the communities of Manenberg, Bonteheuwel and Kensington following suit, each boeka with a different purpose.
It was a beautiful thing to witness, and it is something that might end up becoming part of Cape Malay culture forever, and rightfully so.
The mass boekas have resulted in these communities reaching out and feeding more people than they would have been able to had they all just decided to eat at home.
DUTY: Many mouths were fed during the month of Ramadaan. Photo: Jack Lestrade
It has added a new dynamic to Cape Town pwasa and I’m just glad to be alive when it all started.
I felt immensely proud to see my community uniting and eating in the streets and I also felt a sense of hope that, yes, it is possible for us to stand together and do good if we put our minds to it.
It has sent a clear message to politicians, that we are a people who can stand up and work towards change for ourselves, with or without them; and this in itself is a great achievement.
New political opposition also appeared during Ramadaan in the form coloured activist group G@tvol Capetonian.
The group made national headlines when, during a meeting on the renaming of Cape Town International Airport last week, they demanded it be named after Khoi princess Krotoa, “or there will be war”.
As Capetonians we are not confined to their narrative of us, after all, it is never a good idea to side with anything unless you know the entire (his)story.
Don’t just blindly follow the trend because it sounds like a good idea on Facebook.
Many people, while supporting the “Krotoa International Airport”, had no idea who this lady was, some even think Crystal Donna is Krotoa, when she was the actress who portrayed her in a movie.
In my opinion, there is absolutely no need to change our airport’s name, after all, ons is almal kinders van die Kaap.
Why fix something that’s not broken?
Let us not waste tax money on new signage, brochures, adverts, designers and all that goes with renaming an airport just to score votes or to prove a point. That money could have been put to better use.
I think if this debate continues, we may end up with an unpronounceable airport name, in which case we will still refer to it as Cape Town airport anyway.
It’s like those mense who give their children kwaai name, but they themselves cannot pronounce it properly and then the laaitie ends up with a nickname like “Oegies” or “Koppe”.
PROUD: Mass iftars held across the Cape Flats united people behind causes
Back to Eid and Ramadaan, all of us Muslims had our faith tested in some way over this month and many of us failed.
But to that I say, wie is dan nou perfect? That is why Allah created repentance.
We all have our faults, but at least we can rest assured that we gave this month our best, and hopefully, God willing, next year we will try even harder.
With that said, let us enjoy Eid.
Take out your ghrênd salaah-toppe en Labarangklere, apply a bietjie attar (oil-based scent), en maak jou maag reg vir tong, boud en soutvleis.
From my family and me, we bid every Muslim Eid Mubarak, of soos ons in die Kaap sê, slamat vir die Labarang!