Image Source: Engineering News
Local –Executive Mayor of Cape Town Geordin Hill-Lewis has condemned the District Six mosque bomb threat and reassured the Muslim community that they have nothing to fear.
He further affirmed that the Cape Town government is committed to ensuring that every person in the city, regardless of religious background, can practice their faith safely and without intimidation.
Earlier this week, a bomb threat targeting the Al-Azhar Mosque in District Six sparked widespread concern across Cape Town about the safety and security of places of worship.
Mayor Hill-Lewis responded swiftly, condemning the threat as an attack on Cape Town’s core values of tolerance, peace, and unity. He urged all Capetonians to stand together against extremism and reaffirmed the city’s commitment to upholding its tradition of religious freedom and interfaith harmony.
“We should all join hands, link arms, and stand up for those values together. Certainly, from the city and government sides, we won’t compromise on those values of peacefulness, tolerance, unity, and care for one another in a plural, very diverse city,” he said.
The City of Cape Town is working closely with the South African Police Service (SAPS), supported by the City’s Safety and Security Investigative Unit (SSIU) and K9 teams. Due to the nature of the threat, the investigation is focused on digital forensics.
SMread| Al Azhar Mosque: Bomb Threat Sparks Outrage in Cape Town
Safer Places of Worship Project
To further safeguard religious sites, Mayor Hill-Lewis highlighted the Safer Places of Worship Project, an initiative that has been running for over two years.
The project offers training to faith leaders and congregants in mosques, churches, synagogues, and temples across the city. It teaches how to identify early signs of extremism, respond effectively in emergencies, and ensure the safety of worshippers.
“There are 5 million Capetonians of every kind of religion that you can think of—many, many Christians, many Muslims, many Jews—and they have the longest tradition, literally centuries, and generations of living together in this city side by side as neighbours, showing generosity and kindness to one another.”
“We must all double down on those values and make sure that we protect them and defend them, and do not allow extremism and zealotry to undermine those things and make this an unsafe place for people to worship as they see fit,” he said.
