On Wednesday 23rd April 2025 a group of South Africans from Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town flew to Maputo, Mozambique and returned to Johannesburg on Saturday 27th. The program was organised by the Turquoise Harmony Institute, a South African organisation headed by Ayhan Cetin. THI have extensive contacts in Mozambique, and their sister organisation, Ilhas de Paz (Islands of Peace) is headed by Mehmet Baslik in Maputo.
Both movements belong to Hizmet (“Service”), a global Islamic movement founded on the teachings of Fethullah Gülen in the 1950’s. Gülen was exiled from Turkey in 1999 and lived in the United States, and Hizmet is institutionalized in 180 countries, deeply involved in education, social cohesion, interfaith dialogue and many other activities.
The Cape Town Interfaith Initiative were fortunate to be included through Aydin Inal (Turquoise Harmony Institute Cape Town), Rev. Riaan de Villers (NGK Groote Kerk), Pastor Veliswa Ntsume (Fullness of His Grace Mission), Cecil Plaatjies, Thandi Mayekiso and Nic Paton. Dawn Robertson, director of Jozi My Jozi in Johannesburg, and Yasmin Rajah of Refugees Social Services in Durban completed the group.
Ayhan was most unfortunately not able to come, despite his tremendous work behind the scenes with visas and flight arrangements, but we did reconnect with him upon our return to Johannesburg.
The Pen and the Song
Initial travel chaos over, we arrived after midnight to be taken by Mehmet and other Ilhas de Paz members to our hotel in downtown Maputo. Our first meeting was with the Mozambique Writers Association, who gifted us with books of poetry and prose, words in Portuguese of costly liberation and vibrant celebration. We met writers including Alex Dau and Aurelio Furdela and wonderful singer Sizaquel (or Ella).
One of the most challenging and recurring themes in everything Mozambican, is communication. While Portuguese is a uniting factor, it is only spoken by 16%, mostly in the South, and the country’s 18 languages and 43 dialects make this a major issue. Additionally, Mozambique is surrounded by Anglophone (English speaking) countries, so cultural local contact is very limited.
Business opportunities
Lunch was provided by Said and Yusef, who run an architectural business. They gave us insight into how business is done in their context. It became apparent how the Turkish expatriate/exiles added value to the economies and societies where they find themselves.
The Faith connection
We then met with the Christian Council of Mozambique headed by Dom Dinis Sengulane. This is a mostly Methodist organisation and we were warmly welcomed with typical African openness and respect. We got the sense that interfaith is not a special category bur rather part and parcel of Faith communities. Mozambique is officially 56% Christian, 18% Muslim, and 26% African Traditional (although the general opinion was that it was “50-50 Christian-Muslim”).
On the whole, especially in the South, there is tolerance with a constitution guaranteeing freedom of religion. However, there are major abuses of religion in the Cabo Delgado region with an insurgency, perceived to be Islamic. As often happens, a political or criminal element skews our perceptions of faiths.
In another meeting, we were hosted by the Direcção Nacional de Assuntos Religiosos, under whom religious affairs are co-ordinated. We visited the department that registered churches, mosques and other organisations. It was very orderly and friendly.
Dominant issues that are monitored include gender and tradition (e.g. child marriage) and there is ongoing work to foster trust between local and traditional leaders and central government.
That evening we were treated to an amazing Turkish spread by an the Ihla de Paz family of Halim.
Vibrant History, Culture and Memory
We visited the Centro de Estudos Africanos (Centre for African Studies) at the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane. We were hosted by Chapane Mutiua and Carlos Fernandes, dynamic and innovative researchers who spoke passionately of liberation struggles and entangled histories. We gained real insight in to the Mozambican struggle against their colonisation and its relation to the South African story.
A poignant strand of our connected past was that Ruth First, wife of Joe Slovo, while working with the Centre, was assassinated by a parcel bomb sent by the South African Apartheid forces, in 1982. It happened just down the corridor from where we were meeting in Room 62, kept empty as a memorial. South African Exile, Justice Albie Sachs, lost his arm in a similar situation in Maputo, in 1988, but lived on to build a democratic South Africa, especially with its constitution.
Both Carlos and Chapane truly embodied their stories; Chapane having spent much time in the North studying the insurgency to find that its source is not rooted in genuine religion but is rather political with connections to ISIS and also based on superstitions such as with hunts.
Following this theme, we visited the anti-Apartheid museum in Matola, south of Maputo. This was at the site of a raid on South African MK resistance fighters in 1982 in which Mduduzi Guma and Krishna Rabilal died.
Educating – drawing out the best in us
Perhaps the most crucial dimension to our visit was that of education. Ilhas de Paz and Hizmet run 3 schools in Matola and Maputo, from pre-primary to high. We visited on a Saturday but even then, there were extra classes being run by volunteers for local schools’ children who were not enrolled.
The Schools are clean, colourful, interesting, and radiate a sense of respect, enthusiasm and professionalism. Pupils consistently score good grades, including with the international Cambridge system.
The power of consistent and dedicated pedagogy cannot be underestimated. In addition to this there is a sense of learning in order to serve, and of a deep respect for human development. This same spirit imbues the THI Star Schools in South Africa.
We met and lunched with a large group of educators from many countries including Pakistan, and found them to be engaged and curious.
Mzansi again, this time with feeling
We returned to Johannesburg, reunited with Ayhan and were once again taken into the home of young family Nurettin and Cansu Erbalci for an incredible home-cooked Turkish meal.
We were accommodated in Midrand at the spectacular Nizamiye Centre, including the largest (if not most beautiful!) mosque in the Southern Hemisphere, a school, a clinic, sports areas and shopping precinct. We attend morning prayers and toured the building quite awestruck by the space, modelled on the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, Turkey. It was built by Ali Katırcıoğlu, a Turkish businessman and philanthropist, and whose grave is adjacent.
The Last Breakfast
Galata Bakery & Restaurant in Greenside, Johannesburg, is owned by Savas Daskan, a Turkish entrepreneur. He treated the group to a most outstanding breakfast, comprising over 20 dishes. It was an act of beauty and generosity that was a fitting finishing meal for a most auspicious adventure spanning Mozambique, Turkey and South Africa.
We were joined also by Rabbi Sa’ar Shaked, an Israeli interfaith friend now based at Ha Phororo Youth Retreat Centre in Hartbeespoort. Sa’ar is passionate about being part of true peace building and repair of our world.
Constitution Hill
Our co-traveller Dawn Robertson is an ex-director of Constitution Hill and took us on an enthralling tour of its 5 prisons and the court itself. It’s an amazing achievement of memorialisation where one can get a view on the worst of our South African past in order to gain perspective on our incredible democratic privileges.
A time to scatter
As we said our goodbyes to Yasmin and Dawn and headed back to Cape Town, our minds challenged and our hearts filled with gratitude. We had met so many amazing people in such a short space of time, traversing government, church and mosque, food and culture, history and education.
Above all things, we have heard the call to service, trust and friendship. When we give to our world, we receive from it. While media floods us with images of war and demagoguery, the real news on the ground is that people are getting on with life, with teaching, with respecting and hosting one another.
We cannot enough thank our organisers Mehmet, Aydin and Ayhan, and their wider circles of connection, for an event that far exceeds mere tourism, fact finding, diplomacy or mission.
We salute the Mozambican people in their aspiration to build a just society. We remember our South African compatriots who have given their lives for our freedom. We deeply thank our Turkish-Mozambican and Turkish-South African friends for life lessons and exemplifying the sort of service and hospitality that is needed to make this world great again.
Teşekkürler! Obrigado! Thank you!
