{"id":3048,"date":"2026-04-30T08:52:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T08:52:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/?p=3048"},"modified":"2026-04-30T10:14:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T10:14:18","slug":"rising-islamophobia-in-sa-part-of-bigger-campaign-by-zionists-to-influence-perceptions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/30\/rising-islamophobia-in-sa-part-of-bigger-campaign-by-zionists-to-influence-perceptions\/","title":{"rendered":"Rising Islamophobia in SA part of &#8216;bigger campaign&#8217; by Zionists to influence perceptions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Seemingly isolated incidents of Islamophobia in South Africa may point to a far broader and more deliberate effort to shape public perception<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking to One Nation Media, Moulana Ebrahim Moosa, Researcher at the Palestine Information Network, warned against dismissing inflammatory symbols, online rhetoric, and public demonstrations as insignificant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think one can easily dismiss this as something marginal or fringe,\u201d he said, referring to stickers, social media posts, and small pro-Israel gatherings. However, he urged a shift in perspective, arguing that society should \u201clook at the bigger picture and actually realise that there could be something bigger at play,\u201d adding that communities should remain \u201ccognisant\u201d and \u201cvigilant\u201d in recognising warning signs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a recent incident that adds to the unease, a bakkie spotted in Cape Town was seen carrying stickers reading \u201cdeath to Islam\u201d &#8211; a message that is difficult to dismiss as insignificant. The image, shared by a mayoral candidate, has since circulated online, raising questions about how such openly hostile messaging is appearing in everyday public spaces, and what it may signal in the broader context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Is this hate speech <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cVsS0n7LW1\">pic.twitter.com\/cVsS0n7LW1<\/a><\/p>&mdash; MEHMET VEFA DAG -Cape Town Mayor Candidate (@AFRICANDEMOC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AFRICANDEMOC\/status\/2048711544666472490?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 27, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>ML Moosa pointed to what he described as three key factors underpinning these concerns. The first is a significant increase in Israel\u2019s global messaging budget. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Israelis have greatly expanded their Hasbara budget,\u201d he said, noting that billions have been allocated to \u201cpublic diplomacy and overseas influence operations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Secondly, he identified South Africa as a likely focal point for such efforts. According to ML Moosa, the country\u2019s stance on Israel, particularly \u201cits championing of the genocide case at the ICJ,\u201d has placed it firmly in the spotlight. He added that external narratives, including claims of \u201cfake white genocide in South Africa,\u201d further contribute to pressure on the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The third factor relates to messaging tactics. ML Moosa explained that research into effective communication strategies found that \u201cthe best tactic is to foment the fear of a mythical quote-unquote radical Islam\u201d. He said such narratives resonate due to \u201cuncertainty about Islam, ignorance about Islam, or sometimes innate biases that already exist&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This approach, he argued, is reflected in the convergence of pro-Israel messaging with anti-Muslim rhetoric, aiming \u201cto be able to create a fear of Islam, create hatred for Islam, paint Muslims as the other.\u201d He warned that normalising hostility locally can have wider consequences, noting that \u201cif there is hostility of Muslims locally, then it&#8217;s also easier to create hostility for Muslims abroad,\u201d including Palestinians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A stark warning from Moulana Ebrahim Moosa about an anti-Muslim campaign in South Africa:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Rising Islamophobia in SA part of &#039;bigger campaign&#039; by Zionists to influence perceptions.\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/De7GnTmcA7w?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In a related development, ML Moosa also criticised recent remarks by South Africa\u2019s Chief Rabbi, Warren Goldstein, questioning their consistency. He noted that while the Rabbi has positioned himself as a defender of Christians, his comments directed at the Pope reflected \u201csuch a great degree of hate and disrespect for a senior Christian figure\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ML Moosa questioned whether such rhetoric aligns with claims of religious solidarity, asking whether these \u201csound like the words of a defender and a friend of Christianity\u201d. He described the remarks as \u201can unhinged outburst\u201d and suggested they reveal \u201cextremely opportunistic\u201d positioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He further rejected praise for Israeli military actions, stating, \u201cThese are not brave soldiers,\u201d and describing conduct he said involved the killing of civilians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ML Moosa concluded by warning of the moral implications of such narratives, stating that \u201cto lack the moral insight to see a difference between good and evil is to disqualify yourself from religious leadership\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Seemingly isolated incidents of Islamophobia in South Africa may point to a far broader and more deliberate effort to shape public perception Speaking to One Nation Media, Moulana Ebrahim Moosa, Researcher at the Palestine Information Network, warned against dismissing inflammatory symbols, online rhetoric, and public demonstrations as insignificant. \u201cI think one can easily dismiss this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":3097,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,13,204],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3048","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-africa","8":"category-south-africa","9":"category-top-story"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3048"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3085,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3048\/revisions\/3085"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}