Jamiatul Ulama KZN has apologised for a deleted Halloween post that described other religions as forms of Satan worship, after religious leaders accused it of fuelling intolerance.
A Jamiatul Ulama KwaZulu-Natal social media post describing Halloween as “devil worship” and making claims about other religions worshipping 'Shaytan' has drawn criticism from religious leaders, who say it risks deepening intolerance.
The post which claimed that Christians, Jews and Hindus worshipped ‘Shaytan’ (Satan), has sparked outrage among religious leaders, with some accusing the organisation of promoting religious intolerance and undermining social cohesion.
The post advised Muslims against participating in Halloween celebrations.
The backlash prompted the organisation's executive committee to issue a clarification and an unreserved apology.
In the now deleted post, the Jamiatul Ulama KZN stated: “Basically Halloween is simply devil worship, satanism, occult and opening the portals between us and the jinn world. Dressing our innocent children as ghouls and witches is inviting jinn, jadu, black magic, sorcery and witchcraft. It's not just harmless fun.
“Abstain from imitating the kuftaar customs whether Christian, Jewish, Hindu etc as they all worship Shaytan. Christianity follows the satanic concept of Trinity. Islam is the only True Religion and way of life i.e following Allah Taala, Nabi Pbuh and Quran and Sunnah. Any other way leads us to destruction,” said the post.
It also described Christianity's concept of the Trinity as satanic and stated that Islam was the only true religion.
The Jamiatul Ulama KZN's executive committee has distanced itself from the ‘additional wording’ in the post, claiming it had been inserted by an employee without authorisation.
The Jamiatul Ulama KZN's executive committee has distanced itself from the ‘additional wording’ in the post, claiming it had been inserted by an employee without authorisation.
“The Publications Department had prepared a poster on Halloween, intended to guide Muslims against participating in Halloween celebrations. However, additional wording was inserted by an employee when uploading the poster. This wording, which was subsequently amended and ultimately removed, was not authorised by the organisation and does not reflect the official position of the Jamiatul Ulama KZN,” the statement read.
The organisation maintained that its position against Muslims participating in Halloween celebrations remained unchanged but acknowledged that the message should have been communicated without insulting other faith communities.
“Our belief that Islam is the true religion revealed by Almighty Allah Ta'ala remains unequivocal. Similarly, our guidance that Muslims should refrain from participating in Halloween celebrations remains unchanged. However, such guidance must always be conveyed responsibly and without causing offence or insulting others.
“The Jamiatul Ulama KZN acknowledges the hurt and offence caused by the said post and offers its unreserved apology for the inappropriate remarks directed at other faith communities,” it said.
The executive committee also accepted responsibility for the incident and undertook to strengthen its internal oversight and public communication procedures.
“The Jamiatul Ulama KZN acknowledges the hurt and offence caused by the said post and offers its unreserved apology for the inappropriate remarks directed at other faith communities.
“We accept responsibility for addressing this lapse and undertake to strengthen our internal oversight and procedures governing public communications to prevent a recurrence.
“We remain committed to fostering good neighbourly relations, mutual respect and peaceful coexistence among the diverse communities of our country,” said Jamiatul Ulama KZN.
The apology sparked outrage among religious leaders
Professor Brij Maharaj, deputy president of the South African Hindu Maha Sabha (SAHMS), condemned the post, describing it as irresponsible, deeply offensive and incompatible with South Africa's constitutional values.
Maharaj said the assertion that Christians, Jews, Hindus and followers of other faiths worship Shaytan was an insult to millions of South Africans and risked fuelling religious divisions.
“The assertion that Christians, Jews, Hindus and followers of other faiths "all worship Shaytan" and that "any other way leads to destruction" is profoundly insulting to millions of South Africans. It is also fundamentally incompatible with the values of mutual respect, tolerance and coexistence upon which our South African constitutional democracy is built. South Africa is a proudly multicultural, multireligious and diverse nation.”
Maharaj said it is both reckless and irresponsible for any religious organisation, particularly one with significant influence and public reach as the Jamiatul Ulama KZN, to propagate messages that demean, demonise or vilify the sincerely held beliefs of other faiths.
“Such statements do not merely represent a theological disagreement. By characterising entire religious communities as followers of Satan, the post crosses the line into religious intolerance. It serves only to inflame division, undermine social cohesion, and damage decades of painstaking interfaith dialogue and understanding in South Africa
“At a time when communities should be building bridges of mutual respect and cooperation, this type of rhetoric drives wedges between people of different faiths and backgrounds. The overwhelming majority of South Africans, including many Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Jews and traditional African faiths, understand that peaceful coexistence is built upon respect rather than denigration,” he said.
He added that while religious organisations had the right to express their beliefs and guide their members, this should not come at the expense of other faith communities.
“The Jamiatul Ulama KZN has the right to voice its theological viewpoint on Halloween and to guide its members accordingly. However, that right does not extend to making disparaging and extremely offensive claims about Hinduism and other religions. Respectful religious commitment should not be confused with intolerance for the beliefs of other faiths,” Maharaj said.
He called on the organisation to apologise to the affected religious communities and recommit itself to interfaith respect.
Maharaj warned that should the matter not be adequately addressed, the SAHMS would escalate it to the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission), the South African Human Rights Commission and the Equality Court.
Meanwhile, Reverend Cyril Shunmugam Pillay of the KZN Pastors Association said the church rejected Halloween celebrations, but also strongly disagreed with the Jamiatul Ulama KZN's characterisation of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.
“The church rejects the Halloween festivities and our biblical perspective is that Halloween encourages collaboration with the dead, it represents a time of divination, it promotes fresh behaviours and carnal indulgences and it normalises association with evil,” Pillay said.
However, he rejected the organisation's description of the Trinity as satanic.
“We reject their statement concerning the Trinity with the contempt it deserves. The true biblical meaning of the Trinity is that there is only one God, who eternally exists as three distinct Persons, the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit, as revealed from Genesis to Revelation,” he said.
Offering a different historical perspective on Halloween, Dr Raymond Perrier, director of the Dennis Hurley Centre, said the celebration had Christian origins and was linked to important Christian feast days.
“Halloween is an ancient Christian tradition dating back hundreds of years, linked to the Feast of All Saints and the Feast of All Souls. There is nothing satanic about its origins,” Perrier said.
He added that the Dennis Hurley Centre celebrated the occasion and encouraged interfaith cooperation, pointing to Durban's history of people from different religious backgrounds working together.
“We have a history of all faiths working together, side by side in Durban, focusing on what we have in common and not what divides us,” he said.