Browsing by Author "Karodia, Mahomed Sayeed."
Item Islam and the environment within the context of globalisation and South Africa.(2004) Karodia, Mahomed Sayeed.; Dangor, Suleman Essop.This thesis titled Islam and the Environment within the context of globalisation and South Africa asserts the integral role that religion and culture place on social transformation. It also dispels any myths about the unscientific nature of religion. Religion, in its very tenets, advocates the total respect of all living and non-living things. An analysis of the verses found within the divine book of Muslims, the Quran shows the role of humans in conserving, preserving and caring for the natural environment. The environment is given to humans as a gift. Humans are the custodians and the care-takers of the environment. Planet Earth is in grave danger. Globalisation has placed unreasonable demands on (unnatural resources. Overproduction, the result of mass consumption has led to large scale industrialisation. Pollution, depletion of the ozone layer, global warming, climatic changes are some of the concomitant results of globalisation. South Africa is no exception to the rule. The Muslims of South Africa, via a closer link with the environment can achieve social transformation through the process of Environmental Education and taking greater care of the environment. It is critical that Muslims in South Africa begin to define their relationship with the environment. Muslim schools and institutions formed part of this empirical investigation to ascertain what efforts are being made to develop a sustainable Muslim community in South Africa. The research is both qualitative and quantitative in nature with an exploratory modality. Proposals are made to implement environmentallyfriendly programmes with a view to build capacity amongst Muslims in South Africa through the two fundamentally important stakeholders in South African Muslim society: Islamic schools and the Body of Theologians. The "return to basics" call is further resonated within the context of a textual analysis of verses of the Quran, with a view to ascertain the ordained role of Muslims vis-a-vis their purpose on this earth with reference to the natural environment. This theoretical, conceptual framework provides the bedrock for assumptions that protecting the natural environment is incumbent upon all Muslims. There is an urgent need for South African Muslims to galvanise around environmental issues within the parameters of Islamic schools and Islamic institutions (the Jamiats). These milieus form the pivotal points in this praxiological approach. Programmes for communities and educational institutions are suggested for maximum optimisation in a systemic way of promoting and sustaining environmental education de Nuevo. Socially responsive models and other pragmatic proposals are suggested in a bid to conscientise and empower South African Muslims concerning ways and means of protecting the environment. This thesis highlights the unquestioned assumptions which underlie growing calls for social transformation and considers the significance of a socially critical orientation to environmental education in relation to divine doctrines.Item Upgrading? : a realistic option for the Ntchaweni squatter settlement.(1992) Karodia, Mahomed Sayeed.; Robinson, Jennifer.This thesis recognises that quantitative research distances the researcher from the people who form part and parcel of squatter settlements. Therefore, in the course of analysing whether upgrading is a realistic option for the Ntchaweni squatter settlement, this qualitative study has not concerned itself with the activities of the inhabitants alone, or only with the buildings which house squatters, but investigates those units of experience within which physical form, activities and the degree of attachment that squatters have for the settlement of Ntchaweni are amalgamated to form place. A contention of this thesis if we are to plan successfully for squatter areas, it is necessary to understand that squatters have the potential to think and plan ahead for themselves. Squatter settlements are not necessarily the domain of criminals and unemployed people. The Ntchaweni squatter settlement is a complex place in which the inhabitants exhibit a strong attachment to the place.This validates the methodological emphasis on a people-place study of the squatter settlement, as does the acknowledged importance of community participation in upgrading schemes. In contrast, the "top-down" re-organising of squatter settlements into idealistic settlements conforming rigidly to some grand theory developed by technocrats cannot possibly help to alleviate the severe physical and social problems experienced in squatter areas. It is therefore necessary to arrive at a realistic option for the improvement of the Ntchaweni squatter settlement by analysing what the squatters perceive to be a suitable living environment. Any upgrading option for the Ntchaweni squatter settlement must also take into account the system which perpetrated the poor conditions evident in the study area. Within this context, the areal expansion of the Ntchaweni squatter settlement into its present size qualifies the notion that this place has an important function from a social, cultural and economic perspective. The historical development and the present political situation in the study area are both important considerations in a study which aims at investigating the betterment options for the area, be it site and service schemes or in situ upgrading. In order to gain a better understanding of squatter settlements, we must record both objective and subjective aspects of place. Together, these investigations put us into a position to discuss the possibilities for generating realistic options for designing and producing places suitable for human habitation in Ntchaweni.