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The Documentary: The imam and the artist

Haroon Gunn-Salie - artist

24/09/2019 GMT

The imam and the artist

BBC World Service - The Documentary, The imam and the artist

Searching for justice for South Africa’s Imam Abdullah Haron who spoke against apartheid

Searching for justice for South Africa’s Imam Abdullah Haron who spoke out against apartheid policies and laws.

On 27 September 1969, Imam Abdullah Haron – an outspoken Muslim cleric in South Africa – died in police detention.
Abdullah Haron was the only Muslim cleric in Cape Town who used his sermons to speak out against apartheid policies and laws.
 
His family do not accept the official conclusion that he fell down the stairs. And, to mark 50 years of his death, they want the government to commission a new inquest, which they say will uncover torture and murder.
 
At the centre of the family’s renewed push for justice will be a series of artworks by visual artist Haroon Gunn-Salie. The artist is a close family friend and was named in honour of the imam – because his father promised to avenge his brutal death when, at 13, he attended the Imam’s funeral. Haroon has made several art pieces – in collaboration with members of the family – that memorialise the impact and legacy of Imam Haron.
 
Gunn-Salie has an interesting history himself. His mother – part of the ANC armed struggle – was arrested and tortured in the late 1980s in the dying days of apartheid. And, because she refused to give him up, he went to jail with her.
 
The BBC’s Audrey Brown speaks to artist Haroon Gunn-Salie about how he makes his art and what he has in mind for the 50th anniversary of Imam Abdullah Haron’s death. And she explores with the Imam’s friends and family – including his daughter Fatiema Haron-Masoet – who the Imam was, what happened during his 123 days in detention, and why it's still important for us to remember him.

Producer: Penny Dale

(Photo: Haroon Gunn-Salie. Credit: Goodman Gallery)

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