Cape Town - The Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) said it was saddened by the death of its life president, Sheikh Abdul Hamiet Gabier.
The MJC described him as “a colossal figure and striver for Islamic knowledge”.
Sheikh Gabier, 86, died during the early hours of of Monday morning after suffering from poor health.
The janaza started at his home in Schaapkraal and moved on to the Wynberg Mosque. He was buried in the Mowbray Muslim Cemetery.
Gabier was the former imam at the Hidayatul Islam Mosque in Kensington and also served as the South African ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
MJC secretary-general Sheikh Zaid Dantie referred to the sheikh as a charismatic leader, one who stood firm for justice and freedom. Sheikh Gabier played a pivotal role in the establishment of the United Democratic Front in 1984 and was a stalwart of the ANC.
“During his time as imam in Kensington, he was at the forefront of the struggle against apartheid. His sacrifice was tremendous and as a result he had to live in exile in Canada. There he continued his activism and imam duties,” Dantie said.
Sheikh Gabier served as the MJC chairperson and would later go on to serve on the MJC Senior Council (Imaarah), and as life president until his death.
“Cape Town has indeed lost one of its most dedicated sons. A man who dedicated his life to Islam and humanity. He was a father figure to all in the MJC.
“Sheikh Gabier has indeed made an indelible impact on the lives of the Muslim community in South Africa and abroad and has indeed represented his country and community well,” Dantie said.
MJC’s second deputy president, Sheikh Riad Fataar said Gabier was instrumental in the establishment of the Al-Azhar Institute of Cape Town, making up the Al-Azhar primary and high schools.
“We have lost a giant in the name of Sheikh Abdul Hamiet Gabier. A sad loss for all of those who had studied at the Al-Azhar in Cairo.
“Sheikh is the person who initiated that the Al-Azhar schools in Cape Town and that the MJC have an agreement with the Al-Azhar University in Cairo.
“Sheikh went to Cairo to sign the agreement between the Al-Azhar University and the MJC,” Fataar said.
In his tribute to Gabier, former ambassador to the US Ebrahim Rasool said: “Today we are grateful to our Lord who has loaned South Africa a rare human being, a rare Muslim, a rare imam, and a rare comrade. I speak of Sheikh Abdul Gamiet Gabier.”
Rasool said Gabier returned from studies in Cairo after South Africa was rocked by the Sharpeville massacre, the jailing of Struggle icons such as the late Nelson Mandela and his generation and the killing in custody of activist greats Imam Abdulah Haron and Steve Biko.
It was a time when apartheid’s security branch was most ruthless.
“My first encounter with Sheikh Abdul Gamiet Gabier was when my grandfather lay on his death bed and the last he heard was the melodious recital from the Qur’an by a young Sheikh in Salt River.
“My next encounter was that young Sheikh becoming the imam at my mosque in Primrose Park and my madrassah teacher.
“That was the experience that inspired my heart towards justice because Sheikh Gabier shed tears on that mimbar (pulpit) for the suffering of black people under apartheid. He taught me the recitation of the Qur’an, but more crucially, how to live the Qur’an. No wonder Primrose Park Mosque became the headquarters of the Muslim struggle against apartheid, particularly of the Call of Islam,” Rasool said.
Following the launch of the United Democratic Front in 1983 and while some debated whether the MJC should affiliate to the UDF, Gabier took a stand alongside UDF stalwarts such as Allan Boesak, Archie Gumede, Rita Ndzanga and other icons of the Struggle, he said.
“He never abandoned or condemned the MJC. His job was to guide them to the right, to inspire them to their better selves, to open the mosques for those with more courage than the serving imam, and to show the best face of Islam and Muslims to the millions of oppressed South Africans, ” Rasool said.
