From a modest intake of just 14 students in 2004, to a sizeable 75 in 2010; the Certificate in Islamic Law course has proved its weight in gold. The course has had wide appeal across cultural, religious and racial lines. It gives non-Muslim students a better understanding of Islamic law in particular; and Islam in general. For Muslim students, a definite draw card has been the comparison of Islamic law to South African law in issues that affect them in their daily lives, like marriage, divorce, succession, Islamic banking, and medical science.

Twenty-seven students graduated with Certificates in Islamic Law at the Graduate School of Business, UKZN Westville Campus in April. Munirah Osman-Hyder welcomed the graduands and guests on behalf of Prof Managay Reddi, the Dean of the Faculty of Law at UKZN. She congratulated the course coordinators, Adv MA Vahed and Prof AFM Ebrahim on a job well done and wished them all the success in taking the course forward.

For the past seven years the Certificate in Islamic Law course was offered by the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). Due to a directive from the Department of Higher Education, certificate courses can no longer be offered at Universities. However, this does not mark the end of the course. Arrangements have been made with Regent Business School to continue the Certificate course under their auspices in the latter part of 2011. A Masters course in Islamic Law will be offered through UKZN in 2012.

The top student in the Durban centre was Moulana Zakariya Desai of the Darul Ihsan Islamic Centre. Coming in at a close second was Andaleeb Khan who is currently employed in the Legal Department at Al Baraka Bank, the corporate sponsors of the course.

Eight inmates of Westville Correctional Centre graduated with Certificates in Islamic Law through UKZN. 2010 marked the third year of the course being offered at the Westville Correctional Centre. A moving ceremony was held in the Medium B hall where over 70 inmates shared the immense joy of achievement with the graduands.

Guest speakers at the event called attention to the sacrifices made by the graduands in successfully completing the course. (As inmates they have limited access to study materials; they do not have computers and have no access to the internet.) The Muslim Prison Board plays a very vital role in ensuring the success of the course at the Westville Correctional Centre.

The top student was a non-Muslim, Collin Khulekani Mbanjwa. In his address he thanked the lecturers for going out of their way to conduct lectures in the Centre under very trying circumstances and also thanked Al Baraka Bank for financing their studies.

Separate graduation ceremonies took place in Gauteng and the Western Cape.

Students interested in enrolling for the 2011 Certificate in Islamic Law (CISL) course should contact Adv MA Vahed on +27 (0)83 640 9054 or Prof AFM Ebrahim on +27 (0)79 751 3718 ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).