By Zahid Jadwat
He was always very passionate about doing things for the community from a young age. – Amina Jamal
The renowned late journalist Riaz Jamal was always passionate about community work and was involved in good work ever since he was a teenager, according to his wife Amina Jamal.
“He was just a teenager when he started the Islamic library in Sparks Road Masjid,” she said. “He was always very passionate about doing things for the community from a young age.”
While Jamal was the founding director and station manager at Durban-based Radio Al-Ansaar, he is best known for his community work and dedication. Jamal was also very involved in anti-Apartheid activism during his university years through the Muslim Students Association (MSA).
Amina Jamal says: “I was fortunate that Allah chose me to be his wife because the things he did for his people were very surprising. He was kind-hearted and would never see ill in anybody.”
“Because of his commitment to the community, I had a grouse against him that he never spend time with me and the children. So, that was a big bump between us, but he was a guide to me and his loss is a great loss to me.”
Remembering Jamal as an active thinker, Amina laughs and says: “He would sit in a coffee shop and redesign the whole coffee shop. I would say it’s just an evening out.”
When the idea of an Islamic station arose, Amina Jamal says that there was trepidation “but Jamal would never dismiss any idea”. She recalls an atmosphere of elation when Durban’s first Islamic radio station, Radio Al-Ansaar, was launched.
Unfortunately, Jamal passed on in 2013 after a two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer.
The #TributeToMuslimBroadcastersSA is an exclusive Ramadan broadcast on our platform, inspired by the late Ebrahim Gangat who was well known for his broadcasting talent.
Watch the full interview here:
