Is it time for the Muslim community to confront anti-black racism?

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The past week has been an emotional trigger for many South Africans as we witnessed mass protests in the wake of the murder of an unarmed black man George Floyd, pinned on the ground by a white police officer in Minneapolis who forced his knee on his neck for more than eight minutes before he suffocated to death. The phrase "I can't breathe" – which was George Floyd’s last few words – has become the slogan of these mass protests.

George Floyd’s death is just another senseless murder of black citizens, who are victims of systemic racism and police brutality. For this reason, the Black Lives Matter movement galvanized together for solidarity protests around the world – even in South Africa- highlighting the global fight against anti-black racism, discrimination and oppression.

But if we look closer to home, we had a similar case right here on our doorstep. Collins Khosa, a 40-year-old resident of Alexandra township, was killed by the SANDF at the start of the lockdown.

Why was there was no real outrage? Do black lives not matter in South Africa? And what is the role of the Muslim community in all of this? Is it time we confront anti-black racism from within the Muslim community?

These are some of the questions we're asking in Burning Issue tonight.

In tonight’s show:

-We chat to two activists on the concept of Black Lives Matter and the issue of racism from within the Muslim community
-We unpack the Islamic perspective with two local scholars – and hear how the Prophet SAW navigated issues of race and oppression
-And later on, we connect with a Black Muslim American lawyer, who will speak about Black Lives Matter and racism in the American context
9 Jun 2020 English South Africa News

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