South Africa and the “Othering” of the “Non-Euro-Christian” Religions

Abstract

At the heart of Rabiat Akande's inspiring article, “An Imperial History of Race-Religion in International Law,” is the problematization of international law as an enabler of the othering of “non-Euro-Christian” religions.1 Akande employs “the imperial history of international law” to demonstrate that “racial and religious othering were mutually co-constitutive in the colonial encounter.”2 She rightly points out that “the legacy of that past survives in the continuing interplay of the racial and religious of the non-Euro-Christian other.”3 The focus of my essay is the post-colonial/settler colony4 and post-apartheid state that is South Africa. I argue that despite its highly acclaimed Constitution,5 which values international law and human rights, colonial and apartheid legacies still exist in South Africa, and come in the form of subjugating minority religions in favor of Christianity. In particular, I focus on the failure of the South African government in 2024 to pass legislation that would legally recognize Muslim marriages despite a constitutional obligation to do so.6 I argue that the government's non-recognition of Muslim marriages for almost three decades is a result of South Africa's colonial and apartheid legacies. South Africa's international and constitutional obligations law should be at the heart of the South African government's realization of fundamental rights when dealing with matters pertaining to religious freedom, especially as they relate to Muslim marriages.