Temples, mosques in South Africa welcome security guidelines by civil society group

We condemn the increasing number of instances of criminality, destruction and violent attacks on or in churches, mosques and other religious institutions in South Africa and abroad, and we call on the South African government to take steps to protect religious institutions, Suleman said.Sidney Govindsamy, the spokesperson for the Clairwood Shree Siva Soobramaniar Temple, said the temple recently had a few break-ins.We are situated in an industrial area that is surrounded by businesses and informal settlements.

Leaders of beleaguered Hindu temples and mosques across South Africa, where devotees are seen as soft targets by criminals, have welcomed a guide for security developed by a civil society group for Christian institutions.

AfriForum, a civil rights organisation started by mainly members of the former minority white Afrikaner ruling community in South Africa, shared the security assessment guide it had developed for churches, saying that its principles could also be useful for mosques and temples. It said the objective of the assessment questionnaire was to empower churches to act proactively by conducting an audit of the safety of both the church and its members and by implementing measures to improve the safety in churches.

"Any action or plan that is in place to help with security at places of worship, even if it is only for churches, should be supported. Temples, churches and mosques are the same. We can all learn from this," said AV Mohammed, the Chairman of the Grey Street Mosque, which was built by Indian settlers in 1930 and has become an international tourist attraction.

Mohammed told the weekly Post that security had been increased both inside and outside the mosque after several incidents, including armed robberies and theft of vehicles, occurred in recent years while devotees were at prayer.

Similar incidents at Hindu temples saw armed thugs stripping women devotees of even their sacred Mangal sutras (traditional wedding necklaces). Murthis (statues) of deities were also taken away in robberies, sometimes in broad daylight, by criminals in the face of a lack of adequate police services in the country.

Mohammed said that during the current Ramzan period, security had been heightened, as criminals target the many worshippers leaving the mosque to go to their cars after the evening prayers.

"It is unacceptable that anyone would be brutally attacked in this way, more so when it is religious leaders and within the confines of places of worship and prayer,'' Faisal Suleman, the Chairman of the South African Muslim Network, told the weekly. ''We condemn the increasing number of instances of criminality, destruction and violent attacks on or in churches, mosques and other religious institutions in South Africa and abroad, and we call on the South African government to take steps to protect religious institutions," Suleman said.

Sidney Govindsamy, the spokesperson for the Clairwood Shree Siva Soobramaniar Temple, said the temple recently had a few break-ins.

"We are situated in an industrial area that is surrounded by businesses and informal settlements. There are also a large number of vagrants in the area. Due to the break-ins, we had to install an electrical fence, barbed wire and CCTV cameras for the protection of our devotees," Govindsamy said, adding that the temple had many historical items as well as brassware and gold items.

"When we have a prayer, we have to hire additional security to patrol around the temple so that our devotees are safe. All of these increased safety measures have added to the expenses. There are some temples and churches that have stopped their evening services and prayers because of the criminal element. I believe the assessment from AfriForum will be beneficial to everyone," Govindsamy said.

Natasha Gunpath, from Foresthaven Hindu Dharma Sabha in the sprawling mainly Indian township of Phoenix, created in the apartheid era, also welcomed the AfriForum assessment.

"We are concerned about the crime in the community. We recently had an elderly man in the community become a victim at a church. We have asked our devotees to be vigilant at all times," Gunpath said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)