Imam Gassan Solomon will be sorely missed, a statement by Archbishop Desmond Tutu – 29 October 2009

There was a time not so long ago when South Africans were forced to live separate lives. This institutionalised separation extended into every facet of our existence. Even our places of worship were divided.

In the mid-1980s, after my appointment as Archbishop of Cape Town, a group of us, religious leaders from the different faith groups, recognising that we had more in common than the apartheid rulers dared to concede, established an Interfaith Movement to challenge the iniquitous system.

One of our leaders was a Muslim cleric from the Claremont Main Road Mosque, an Imam who preached stridently for equal rights, justice and a more compassionate society. He was responsible for mobilising a new generation of young people to act against apartheid.

We marched together, worked together in the UDF, overcame many anxieties and shared many disappointments.

Imam Gassan Solomon was a highly principled and an inspirational human being. When he appeared at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, representing the Muslim Judicial Council, he concluded his input by quoting from the Koran: “And say truth has arrived and falsehood has perished for indeed falsehood is by its nature perishing.”

Imam Solomon understood the value of truth. One of the jewels of the Western Cape has left us for a higher place. He will be sorely missed,

May his soul rest in peace.