South Africa: Pagad, Islam and the challenge of the local

Abstract

This article examines representations of Islam in South African media through an analysis of images of Pagad in one particular South African newspaper, the Cape Times in one week of coverage from 5 to 12 August 1996. Reference is also made to the Cape Argus. Major patterns of visual and verbal images are considered that characterised the Pagad news-stories, showing that the fi gure of the “masked man” became a primary marker of the stories. The impact of the group's visibility on images of Islam in South Africa is discussed. The article situates this analysis within the context of a longer timetable of representations originating in the colonial era and argues that the legacy of such portrayals lingers in apartheid and post-apartheid representations of Islam. The article supplements its approach of discourse analysis and political economy by drawing on interviews with journalists.