‘I reject notion that I serve a Zionist-funded party’, says Ml. Rafeek Shah

Head of Special Projects of ActionSA, Moulana Rafeek Shah says the country needs to be fixed now – ‘We cannot wait until Palestine is free,’ Ismail Suder reports.

Veteran Durban politician Moulana Muhammed Rafeek Shah – an executive member of ActionSA – has denied that his political party receives funding from Israel or any other Zionist entity.

In an interview with Al-Qalam, Moulana Shah said if ActionSA had tons of money, he wouldn’t be funding promotional campaigns from his own pocket, such as transporting “activists” by taxi to different venues or paying for posters to be put up across the city.

“I can assure you that we certainly did not receive funds from Israel. I am unaware of it and have not seen any evidence of it,” he pointed out.

Shah has come under severe criticism from some Muslims in South Africa for his participation in ActionSA, which they view as a Zionist-funded political party.

On the question of Palestinian freedom, Moulana Shah reiterated that he believed that there should be a negotiated settlement of the Palestinian question by an honest broker – and that there should be a State of Palestine on the pre-1967 border with East Jerusalem as its capital.

In an interview on Radio Al Ansaar on Wednesday night, several listeners castigated Moulana Shah for sticking with ActionSA, which they labelled as a “Zionist party”.

One man called to say that it was haraam for Muslims to vote for ActionSA because of its Zionist links – and links with the DA – while another caller accused Moulana Shah of sticking with the party at all costs “for the money.”  Moulana Shah rejected all the allegations thrown at him.

One irate caller suggested that if Moulana Shah says he is unaware that any funding for the party was channelled from Israel, he should simply ask his boss, Herman Mashaba, for confirmation – and he would receive it.

Asked if he condemned Israel’s genocide in Gaza, Moulana Shah said his party condemns all human rights violations and genocide wherever it happens, including in Gaza.

But one caller told the station that – like a typical politician – Moulana Shah was “tiptoeing” around the question of whether he condemned Israel outright for its genocide in Gaza.

However, Moulana Shah said that while the injustices in Gaza were painful to see, ActionSA was primarily focused on making a difference in the lives of ordinary people here in South Africa.

“I urge everyone to reflect on the state of our country. Poor political leadership has robbed SA and its people of their true economic potential. Corruption and political patronage have compromised all state-led development programmes, which only enrich the political elite class and the tenderpreneurs.

“No country can progress without the rule of law. Crime has reached epidemic levels. Who is going to fix the criminal justice system? Who is going to fix the dysfunctional health and education system? Who is going to fix the ailing state institutions which are seemingly captured?” he asked.

Moulana Shah explained to Al-Qalam that it was for this reason that ActionSA was directing its attention to these critical questions. 

“To my detractors I ask, ‘what about the freedom of the poverty stricken, the unemployed, the homeless people of this country. When will we liberate them from the bondage of this government which is less a government but more a criminal enterprise. So NO! The current government does not deserve to be forgiven simply by hiding behind our popular sentiments for the Palestinian people. Don’t use the Palestine issue to escape accountability.” he warned the government.

Shah said it was a duty on all of us to sort out the wrongs in South Africa for the “future of our children.”

“We need to do this now. We cannot wait until Palestine is free,” Moulana Shah added.