Al-Qalam 
Gerrie Desmond Olifant is not only a revert, he is an accomplished imam and a da’ee in one of the most notorious informal settlements near Durban, writes Ismail Suder
In a dusty township church outside Koffiefontein (Free State), Gerrie Desmond Olifant (16) did the unthinkable – he told his pastor he was leaving Christianity to become a Muslim. Today, 20 years later, he serves as an aalim in the crime-ridden township of Malagazi, north of Durban.
During the last day of his bible studies class, his pastor at the local Lutheran Church told him: “Son, the devil got you!”
Gerrie, now 36, who officially changed his name to Ali Akbar Olifant, runs a small dawah centre and madrassa in the heart of Malagazi, under the auspices of the Africa Muslim Peace Organisation.
Imam Ali Akbar’s journey to Islam was fraught with obstacles. When he informed his mother about his decision, she was upset and told him that he had chosen a religion of “the foreigners” – but she eventually gave her blessings before her passing.
What was your turning point? Al-Qalam asked.
“It was when my pastor told me that humankind was paying for the ‘sins of Adam and Eve’ that didn’t make sense to me. The more I investigated about Christian teachings, the more convinced I became that I was being led down the wrong path,” he added.
He once asked his Somali employer why they were praying five times a day. The answers he got, including mentions about the oneness of God, convinced him that Islam was the true religion.
When they handed him a copy of the Quran in Afrikaans, he turned to Surah Al-Baqarah and was taken aback by its messages. “I was excited because these were the answers I was looking for, and I knew instantly that Islam was the true religion. Upon reading further, I was also amazed that the Quran revered Jesus and Mary.
“By the Will of God, I met Moulana Irshad Siddiqi in Koffiefontein. Moulana was also involved in dawah and I badgered him with many questions about Islam, and everything he said resonated with my soul, “Imam Ali Akbar said.
When he informed his pastor that he had found the true religion in Islam and that he was leaving, the pastor was clearly upset and told him that “the Devil got you!”
When word spread that he was abandoning the religion of his ancestors, his family and friends shunned him. “It was hurtful, but I knew in my heart I was doing the right thing,” he said,
Moulana Irshad Siddiqi took him under his wing and tutored him for a while at his home, and thereafter arranged for him to study at Darul Uloom in Pretoria, where he spent over two years doing an aalim course. On his return, he contacted Shaykh Rafeek Hassen, founder and director of iiFri (Islamic Interfaith Research Institute), who further molded him to become a Da’ee of Islam.
Malagazi, north of Durban, is a dangerous place to live amidst random shootings, alcoholism, prostitution and drug peddling, but Imam Ali Akbar pushes on knowing that this was his calling. Since establishing himself there, Imam Ali Akbar says over a dozen people have reverted to Islam and more are expected to follow.
Meanwhile, Shaykh Rafeek Hassen told Al-Qalam that Allah had guided Ali Akbar Olifant to the deen.
“His first mentor was Sheik Irshad Siddiqi, who dedicated his life to doing dawah in the poor rural areas of Eastern Transvaal (the son of Marhoom Shaffi Siddiqi). He referred Imam Ali to me at iiFRi to teach him Comparative Religion, Dawah and Islam. Imam Ali was a very passionate, sincere and dedicated Muslim. Keen to learn and ready to make all the sacrifices for the Deen.
“In Imam Ali I see the verse of the Quran which says: “there are people who the desires of this world does not distract them from Allah and His Rasool [PBUH]”.
“Imam Ali, having reverted to Islam by choice – has really dedicated himself to the service of the Deen, and being a South African, he brings out another verse of the Quráan for the Muslims to take note of wherein Allah says: “if we (born Muslims) do not do the work, Allah will raise other people to do it”. Imam Ali is a real inspiration and example. May Allah grant his success in the world and the next.”
For Imam Ali Akbar, his family, who once cut ties with him over his reversion to Islam, have bonded again. “It makes me so happy that over 30 members of my extended family have taken the shahadah, Alhamdulillah.”
