Al-Qalam 
By Nabeelah Shaikh
A Zulu princess – the daughter of the late King Goodwill Zwelithini KaBhekuzulu and his wife, Queen Thandi – has expressed an interest in learning more about Islam after she was hosted by an Islamic group in Durban recently.
Princess Mukelile Zibusiso Zenkosi KaZwelithini spoke about her interest in Islam when she addressed a gathering at the 45th Cutting Soofie Bhaijaan Darbaar Hall. She was invited as a guest speaker by the Moulana Dawood Fickrah Foundation, whose main objective was to promote Islam in the townships.
After the event, Princess Mukelile visited the Riverside Soofie Mosque.
“I’ve been surrounded by quite a number of Muslims over the past few years because my father, the late King, was always open to this and always promoted that you need to surround yourself with people who are different to yourself and see how you can collaborate with members who are different to your Kingdom. You need to open yourself to learning about different ways of life, of different people. And I am very keen to learn more about Islam,” said Princess Mukelile.
She said speaking at an Islamic event was a historical moment for her and for the community. She spoke at the event during the last week of September, to mark the significance of Heritage Month.
“In terms of the religion Islam, I’ve only been properly exposed to it recently. Yes, I know that Islam is there, but I’ve never really learnt much about it. It has been great to collaborate with Moulana Dawood Fickrah to actually learn more,” said Princess Mukelile.
After pictures surfaced of Princess Mukelile at the event, and inside the mosque, she said rumors had surfaced on social media that she had embraced Islam.
“While this is not true, I really would like to learn more. Going there was an opportunity for me to show that we as members of the Royal Family are always open to warming up and learning about other religions. We have a responsibility as a family to not exclude people, to include them and to warm up to them,” said Princess Mukelile.
Community
She said going forward she would love to work more with the Muslim community.
“I feel like I have the ability to gain entry with their guidance. The impact can be great and apparent. There are many organisations that I am open to working with. I’m a firm believer that it’s important to work together on collaborations that may bear so many fruits. I also believe that there are some similarities in the Zulu culture and Islam,” said Princess Mukelile.
She says it was her first experience visiting a mosque.
“It was my first time in a mosque. I would have loved to have learnt more about the Mosque, and the significance of who was buried there. I want to understand that so that I can value what I am supposed to. It’s important to open ourselves up to new learning. One thing I have noticed is that Muslims are very open to teaching,” said Princess Mukelile.
Moulana Dawood Fickrah, who hosted the Princess, said the vision of his foundation was to take Islam into places where nobody else is really taking it into.
“Our vision is to bring Islam to the Zulu royal family because they are one of the powerful families in the country. If they become part of Islam, then it will get the rest of the Zulu nation to show an interest in Islam and to respect Islam. That is the relationship that my foundation has with the royal family,” said Fickrah.
He said by strengthening this relationship with the Zulu royal family, they would also like to dispel misconceptions about Islam in townships.
“With townships, we are finding that there are a lot of people who have a hatred for Islam and they hate Indians in particular, because they think Islam is an Indian religion. So, when it comes to the townships, we need to promote that Islam is a rainbow religion. There can be African people, Chinese or any ethnicity that practices Islam. That’s why we are now seeing more people from townships accepting Islam. The perceptions are now changing,” he said.
Fickrah said he looks forward to doing more work with the Zulu royal family and educating them about Islam. He says the foundation will be planning an educational tour with the family to visit mosques around the province.
