Al Jama-ah

History

Until 2019, the party had no elected representatives nationally or provincially although it came close in both the 2009 and 2014 elections, and won nine seats at the local level in the 2016 municipal elections.

It made a breakthrough in 2019, winning its first national representative (becoming the first Islam-affiliated party to do so), as well as one seat in the Western Cape legislature.

In October 2019, its member of parliament for the Western Cape, Izgak De Jager, was replaced by Galil Brinkhuis after De Jager was accused of not complying with an agreement to pay 50% of his gross salary to the party. De Jager in turn stated that the agreement was to pay 50% of the net, not gross salary, and accused the party of failing to disclose its debt to its members.

In January 2023, Al Jama-ah's Thapelo Amad was chosen as Mayor of Johannesburg with the support of the African National Congress. He resigned in April and was replaced by fellow party member Kabelo Gwamanda.

In 2024, the party retained its single seat in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament and gained an additional seat in the National Assembly, but claims that it turned down an offer from the African National Congress to participate in a Government of National Unity as it did not wish to be part of any coalition with the Democratic Alliance. However, Al Jama-ah ultimately decided to join the Government of National Unity (GNU). The leader of Al Jama-ah, Mogamad Ganief Ebrahim Hendricks, became Deputy Minister of Social Development in the coalition.

Ideology and principles

Al Jama-ah is a social democratic party with a focus on food and water security, education, and economic equality.

Economic policy

The party aims to eliminate value-added tax on essential food items such as bread, milk, and eggs. Further, it believes in legislation promoting land reform and the equitable distribution of the means of production. It also aims to implement "non-discriminatory socioeconomic policies" and encourage entrepreneurship.

Education

The main educational aims of the party are to provide free textbooks and stationery at all education levels. It also wants to improve the quality of public schooling to dismantle the legacy of unequal access to education left by Apartheid. Further, it believes in an adult basic education program to improve national literacy.

Health care

Al Jama-ah supports a high quality public health care system. It wants to implement national health insurance and improve the management of hospitals and health centers. Further, it aims to set up mobile clinics in areas with poor health care access.

Muslim marriages

Al Jama-ah introduced two private member's bills regarding Muslim marriages. The Registration of Muslim Marriages bill, and the second bill aimed to reform the Divorce Act of 1997 to comply with the proposed marriage legislation.

Opposition to LGBTQ+ Rights

Al Jama-ah has attempted to exclude proposals by the LGBTIQ+ community from the revised White Paper on Family Life. Al Jama-ah stated that they support the revision of the White Paper on Family Life provided that the revisions respected “traditional” family structures “based on a divine system” that does not recognise LGBTIQ+ families. Al Jama-ah has previously criticized a Woolworths Pride month display stating that “instead of perpetuating normal descent practices,” the retailer “deliberately chose to make this ‘abnormality’ normal and socially acceptable.” Al Jama-ah has criticised the DA-run Western Cape Education Department and the DA for having “readily embraced the LGBTQI+ agenda without critically thinking about its consequences. The party said it was “alarmed at the increasing campaigns both in the business sectors and educational institutions to enforce questionable behavior patterns under the notion of ‘normalising’ the LGBTQ+ agenda.”

Controversies

City of Johannesburg corruption

Thapelo Amad, an Al Jama-ah councillor in the City of Johannesburg, served as the city's Mayor for less than three months in 2023, and was forced to resign ahead of a motion of no confidence in his fitness for office. Amad came under fire for referring to a R9.5 billion loan offer to the City from a private company. Amad was replaced as Mayor by one of only three Al Jama-ah councillors in the City of Johannesburg, Kabelo Gwamanda, who was elected with the support of the ANC and the EFF. Gwamanda also survived a motion of no confidence after he was accused of running an illegal funeral scheme. He is alleged to have deserted investors in his funeral insurance scheme after they claimed funeral benefits. Gwamanda is under investigation by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority.

Fugitive prophet

Party leader Hendricks admitted to having travelled to Malawi to meet fugitive prophet Shepherd Bushiri, a wanted man who fled South Africa following charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to over R100 million as well as charges of rape and sexual assault. Hendricks returned from Malawi with a prophetic prediction from Bushiri, indicating the party's electoral support would increase. Hendricks told Newzroom Afrika that the party expected one million votes after Bushiri advised his three million congregants to vote for Al Jama-ah. The party went on to only receive about 39,000 votes on the national ballot.

Prayer for the ANC

Galil Brinkhuis, a religious leader who represents Al Jama-ah in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament made a prayer for the African National Congress during a sitting of the legislature on the eve of the 2024 elections, adding that he hoped the party would take the lead in province. Al Jama-ah distanced itself from Brinkhuis's prayer, saying that it was out of line with party interests. Brinkhuis later apologised and said that it was a mistake to pray for another party's success.

Electricity surcharge fee

Under Al Jama-ah's Gwamanda administration, the City of Johannesburg introduced a R200 surcharge fee for prepaid electricity meters in July 2024 in addition to a 12.7 electricity tariff fee. Residents criticised the City of Johannesburg for implementing the surcharge fee without public participation, however, Gwamanda denied this and instead defended the fee and said that it was there to stay. The R200 fee targeted poor households and was criticised for the consequences it would have.

Election results

National Assembly elections

|- ! Election ! Party leader ! Total votes ! Share of vote ! Seats ! +/– ! Government |- ! 2009 | 25,947 | 0.15 | | New | |- ! 2014 | 25,976 | 0.14 | | 0 | |- ! 2019 | 31,468 | 0.18 | | 1 | |- | 39,067 | 0.24 | | 1 | |}

Provincial elections

! rowspan=2 | Election ! colspan=2 | Eastern Cape ! colspan=2 | Free State ! colspan=2 | Gauteng ! colspan=2 | Kwazulu-Natal ! colspan=2 | Limpopo ! colspan=2 | Mpumalanga ! colspan=2 | North-West ! colspan=2 | Northern Cape ! colspan=2 | Western Cape |- ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats |- ! 2014 |- ! 2019 |}

Municipal elections

In a by-election in November 2020, Al Jama-ah won a ward in the City of Johannesburg from the Democratic Alliance. |- ! Election ! Votes ! % ! +/– |- ! 2011 | 13,227 | 0.04%

References

References

1. (31 January 2019). "Al Jama-ah Party: We'll Tackle Inequality With Islam And Ubuntu".
2. (19 November 2020). "Al Jama-ah: The small Islamic political party with a narrow vision and big ambitions".
3. (2 February 2023). "New Johannesburg mayor is from openly queerphobic party".
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26. "Joburg mayor Gwamanda ran illegal funeral scheme: FSCA".
27. Ramushwana, Alpha. "Al Jama-ah leader reveals party received a prophecy from Bushiri on its poll performance".
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