Biographies of Muslim activists in South Africa

Abstract

This article analyses the life-trajectories of three Islamic activists in South Africa. It is focused on their journeys through activism over several decades, using life-story models from William James and al-Ghazali. These are stories of individuals who established or joined the Muslim Youth Movement (est. 1970) at one time or another and played some role in its long history. These stories include accounts of conversion, doubt and significant engagements in pursuit of an activist life. The biographies reveal a glimpse of the journeys that countless others, in South Africa and beyond, have taken in pursuit of an authentic Islamic life.