Habibia Soofie Masjid, the oldest mosque on the Cape Flats and the largest masjid in Cape Town, will be commemorating the Islamic New Year (1432) by hosting its annual Muharram programme from December 15 to December 19, 2010.
With the Islamic New Year coinciding with the end-of-year festive season, Habibia Soofie Masjid aims to educate the community about the auspiciousness of Muharram by reflecting on the significant religious and historical events which took place during the month.
They will be presenting a five-day programme, where visitors can expect lectures, forum discussions, a main stage for entertainment, exhibition space and a 70-stall trade fair. The main guest speaker is Dr Shaykh Muhammad bin Yahya Al-Husayni Al-Ninowy, a Syrian scholar currently residing in the US. The line up also includes lectures by Moulana Dawood Samson, Hafiz Fuzail Soofie, Shaykha Rukayya Samsodien, as well as open forum panel discussions, which will be tackling contemporary issues. For entertainment, visitors can expect qasaaid, naat by prominent local and national artists, including Inayet Petker, a youth play and lots of activities for children.
The programme marks the city’s biggest Islamic New Year event, and the City of Cape Town has once again come aboard as a partner to provide logistical and event management support. The event sponsors are Jive (Quality Beverages), 1-Up Cash & Carry, Gattis Ice-Cream, Portlands Meat Hyper and Deli, Old Mutual, AlBaraka and Cii Finance.
Habibia Soofie Masjid will be joining Muslims around the world in observing the Islamic New Year in December. Muslims follow the Hijri calendar which is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 months in a year of 354 or 355 days. Muharram, considered a sacred month, is the first month of the year. The 10th of Muharram, or Day of Ashura, is the most significant day in the month. Muslims believe that many prophets (also recognised in Judaism and Christianity) were relieved from severe difficulties upon this day. The day is also marked by one of the saddest events in Islamic history: the martyrdom of the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, Imam Hussain, on the plains of Karbala (in Iraq).
For more information or programme details, visit www.habibiamosque.org.za or the mosque’s Facebook page.