Al-Qalam 
By Al-Qalam Reporter
The South African Muslim Network (SAMNET) has issued an open letter to the Government warning of increasing anti-Muslim hatred in our country – and to take urgent action.
Dr Faisal Suliman, head of the South African Muslim Network (SAMNET), told Al-Qalam that in the past three years, explosive devices have been thrown onto the grounds of a Durban mosque, a worshipper in Tzaneen was attacked with a corrosive device after evening prayers, and walls in Durban were painted with messages telling Muslims to “Go”.
And on social media and forums, a deluge of hateful content links Muslims and Muslim migrants to terrorism, crime and conspiracy, he said.
“Each incident is distressing on its own. Together they form a pattern that international experience tells us will grow if it is not confronted early,” he added.
SAMNET has produced a paper, following extensive research, that sets out what Islamophobia is; how it is showing up in South Africa; the effects it has on people and on society; and what they are asking of government, institutions and our fellow citizens.
In summary:
■ The threat is real and escalating. South African mosques and worshippers have been targeted with desecration, attempted bombing, corrosive attacks and hate graffiti, increasingly blended with xenophobia towards migrant traders.
■ The harm extends well beyond direct victims. Research consistently links Islamophobia to anxiety, depression and avoidance of health care, and every attack sends a message of fear to an entire community.
■ Visible Muslims bear the heaviest burden. Women who wear the headscarf and bearded men face the most street abuse and measurable penalties when applying for jobs.
■ Left unchecked, prejudice becomes policy. Overseas, everyday hostility has hardened into hiring discrimination, dress-code exclusions and lost trust in public institutions within a few years.
■ The legal tools exist but are incomplete. The Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Act was signed in May 2024 but has still not come into force. We call for its urgent proclamation, proper hate-crime data, and clear religious-accommodation rules in workplaces and public institutions.
In the document, SAMNET also warned that Islamophobia in South Africa was becoming a worrying trend.
“If the tide is not turned in South Africa, the country could face entrenched economic disadvantages passed between generations; residential and social separation; eroded trust in police and the State; weaker social cohesion that extremists of every kind can exploit, including damage to South Africa’s standing as a human rights democracy.
SAMNET also called on the National Government – among other things – to proclaim the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Act without further delay, and fund its implementation.
“We call on the SAPS to flag suspected religious motive when cases are opened, and publish annual hate-crime statistics broken down by targeted group.
“We want Government to Issue clear national guidance on religious dress, beards and prayer in the public service, and finalise a nurses’ uniform policy that accommodates the headscarf, as the SANDF has done.
“It must prioritise complaints of religious hate speech, including online, and publicise outcomes so that the public sees consequences.
Newly elected municipal councils and political parties
“Following the 4 November 2026 local elections, government must commit publicly to rejecting anti-migrant and anti-Muslim scapegoating, remove hate graffiti promptly, and handle applications for mosques and community facilities fairly
“It must adopt written accommodation policies covering headscarves, beards, Friday prayer, Eid leave and exam scheduling; protect existing prayer facilities; and provide accessible procedures for reporting harassment.
“It must avoid attaching religion to crime or terrorism stories where it is irrelevant, give Muslim voices a fair hearing, and act promptly on South African complaints about hate content”, it said.
