The Waterloo Road Mosque in Kenwyn.
Image: masjieds.co.za
A former moulana's arrest on charges of contempt of court after he was dismissed, has ignited outrage within a Muslim community in Cape Town.
Moulana Mogamat Farouk Rylands was arrested after he was alleged to have breached a court interdict. He was the Imam of the Waterloo Road Mosque in Kenwyn for approximately 20 years.
This dismissal of Rylands made headlines in 2023, when the Ashrafiah Trust, the group that oversees the mosque, took him to court after he refused to vacate his position.
Despite the surrounding community of the mosque signing a petition in favour of Rylands, on December 5, 2023, the Labour Court granted an interdict against Rylands.
The court order was outlined as follows:
This order was challenged in the Constitutional Court but was dismissed.
This week, Rylands was arrested for allegedly being in contempt of the order.
In court documents IOL has in its possession, the contempt of court order cited the reasons for the order as follows:
The court order further stated that, for contempt of court, Rylands was sentenced to six months imprisonment wholly suspended for a period of 12 months on condition he comply with the order from 2023 within seven days.
On Wednesday, residents in the Kenwyn area were notified of Rylands’ arrest and his move to Pollsmoor Prison.
Legal expert and Director of DKVG Attorneys, Igshaan Higgins, told IOL that a mosque cannot be owned. It is regarded as waqf.
A waqf is a perpetual Islamic endowment, where an asset — such as land, property, or cash — is dedicated to charity, with ownership transferred to Allah.
“The mosque belongs to the Muslim community. People who contribute financially feel they have authority, but technically, that is not correct. The community must govern the mosque. This needs to be remedied by the community,” Higgins said.
However, Higgins said it was revealed that Rylands, in fact, did not violate the court order.
“He didn’t disrespect the court order. He recited a prayer after salaah. That would not constitute leading a prayer. The court should get an Islamic scholar to review the issue. They cannot lawfully bar him from attending mosque or reciting a prayer, which is different from leading the prayer,” Higgins said.
He said it was very unfortunate that the Muslim community was fighting among each other and heading to the courts to get relief instead of talking to one another.
“In this incident, where a moulana or imaan is arrested and detained is highly embarrassing. My solution, the court sends this matter to mediation to correct the situation where a person who has performed a prayer has been incarcerated. We, as a community in Cape Town, need to be vigilant when people come to give money towards the building of a mosque. When people come to give money, it must be unconditional,” Higgins said.
He further expressed deep disappointment with how this matter played out.
“I am very disappointed in the way this matter was handled. They [trustees] should have approached the person, had a proper meeting through mediation, and this could have been resolved amicably,” Higgins said.
The Kenwyn Islamic Society (KIS) expressed its disappointment in the arrest of Rylands.
“An urgent ex parte (one-sided) application is being prepared to bring Moulana Rylands before the Labour Court for a factual enquiry. The application will also seek an order for his release from Pollsmoor Prison. Arrangements are being made to visit Moulana Rylands at Pollsmoor to ensure his well-being, confirm that his needs are met, and update him on the legal process. A community mashura is being planned for after Maghrib at Waterloo Road Masjied this evening to seek input on a community plan of action,” it said.
The KIS encourages community members to inform the broader Cape Town community, come prepared with constructive suggestions, and attend the mashura.
A mashura is the process of seeking input from others on matters of importance, public or private, to reach a sound decision, strongly encouraged by the Quran and Sunnah.