By Humairaa Mayet
There has been a dire need for Muslim media houses in South African Muslim Communities. – Hafiz Husayn Wadi
With over 20 years of experience at various stations, including at Al Ansaar, Radio Islam, Channel Islam International, and Markaz Sahaba, one can certainly be described as a veteran broadcaster. Hafiz Husayn Wadi has hosted an array of programs across these four stations and is presently the administrator of the Al Huda Educational Institute.
Hafiz Wadi was speaking on the #TributeToMuslimBroadcastersSA segment on Wednesday morning.
Beginning on the 27th night of Ramadan 22 years ago, Wadi’s career in Muslim media has come a long way. Al Ansaar was an incredibly young station at the time, thus he was granted entrance with ease. He recalled how his mentor, Marhoom Cassim Riaz Jamal, urged him to join the industry, first by getting him to turn the cassette tape from side A to side B during the recording process, and then by advising him to speak on air.
Many of the programs hosted by Wadi were, and still are, very different in nature. On the various radio stations, he discusses a wide range of topics, specific to each program and this encourages versatility. Wadi explained how diverse each of the shows he has worked on was; from the Al Ansaar Suhoor program to the Qira’at program on Radio Islam, to weekend mornings and Iftar Drives.
He reflected upon the establishment of the first Muslim radio station in KwaZulu-Natal all those years ago as he stressed the importance of Muslim media in the world today. Stations that broadcast Islamic content allow for Deen to enter the home, benefitting all who live within.
Moreover, Muslim media tends to give a voice to the oppressed and can often bring to the fore positive stories which may be side-lined or neglected in the mainstream media. One example of this is the great work Turkey is doing for its own citizens and citizens of other countries in the face of the pandemic, something which has been ignored by the mainstream media, which tends to focus on the more negative aspects.
Presenters must be attuned to their audiences and must “always focus on what has brought about unity”, said Wadi. It is incredibly important for broadcasters to remain neutral regardless of their personal backgrounds.
The #TributeToMuslimBroadcastersSA segment on Salaamedia 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: