Mohammed Arai

Living my ordinary life around books and newspapers | Managing editor: Beonchat | Overuser of the Oxford Comma | Minimalist

[Mohammed Arai @arai_mohammed]

The amount of @muftimenk quotes I've saved on my phone, I think I'm ready to publish 'Motivational Moments 3' 😂😂

[News24 🇿🇦 @News24]

Jonathan Jansen | What the hate directed at deputy minister Yusuf Cassim reveals about us

https://t.co/7xVjqrdElw

[News24 🇿🇦 @News24]

Tomorrow in News24's Sunday edition:

Yusuf Cassim’s swearing-in as deputy minister of higher education was a proud moment for South Africa’s young democracy, until a torrent of Islamophobia and racist hatred revealed how much further we still have to go, writes Jonathan Jansen.

[Mufti Menk @muftimenk]

No one is more cherished in this world than someone who lightens the burden of another.

[Mohammed Arai @arai_mohammed]

I wrote a column (self-published on Substack – no judgements, please!) after a long time. Read it here:

https://t.co/ogfPhtV8NC

[Sunday Times @SundayTimesZA]

The state has failed the victims of xenophobia, so ordinary citizens must fill the vacuum. And we need to follow the money that is funding those who seek to destabilise society, writes Yeshelen Govender https://t.co/zZVdh9SmkY

[Mohammed Arai @arai_mohammed]

Decaying Fordsburg in danger of turning historic Oriental Plaza into ‘a dinosaur’

https://t.co/246nAjLOo4

Via @dailymaverick

[Mohammed Arai @arai_mohammed]

“But postponed pain does not disappear. It merely changes form.” #June16

[Sunday Times @SundayTimesZA]

Not all the consequences of the events of June 16 are apparent or understood. We have to rethink how we remember the episode, writes Tshepo Koka. https://t.co/KeyBtosyZt

[Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan]

Literally can’t watch Seinfeld anymore, once one of my fave shows. This man is a disgusting and proud racist who doesn’t support the genocide of a people but doesn’t even recognize their existence. He should be shunned from polite society, but, y’know, the ‘Palestine exception’.

[Al Jazeera English @AJEnglish]

US actor Jerry Seinfeld is facing backlash after saying Palestine ‘doesn’t exist’.

The remark has drawn criticism online and prompted a response from Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, adding to longstanding controversy over Seinfeld's outspoken support for Israel amid the war on Gaza.

[Mufti Menk @muftimenk]

Don't be overly sensitive and take things too personally. At times, people behave the way they do because of the burdens they’re carrying. Be kind. Try and put yourself in their shoes and empathize. If you can’t, be nice and don’t hurt them. You’ll have a more peaceful life.

[Redi Tlhabi @RediTlhabi]

You allowed this to happen for too long. From taxi drivers deciding that e-hailing drivers, friends and relatives could not transport people, to this. Videos of non-state actors "enforcing" their jungle law on South African streets have been circulating for so long. These actors were proud of their "law enforcement" and actually recorded it. You and your government were spectators. It is a sign that you were absent or too scared to face the backlash should you act against South Africans breaking the law. It doesn't matter how valid grievances are, NO STATE should quietly watch a parallel state emerge, with non-state actors deciding who belongs snd who doesn't, who must live or die. Your government, led by you, did that.

[Mohammed Arai @arai_mohammed]

South Africa's Colonial Hangover: Demonising Africans While Courting Western Parasites – By Professor Ziyad Motala

https://t.co/C04eH45B4p

[Mohammed Arai @arai_mohammed]

If you’re going to read one BRILLIANT column this weekend, it’s going to be this one:

[Sunday Times @SundayTimesZA]

The tension building ahead of the June 30 reckoning with foreigners recalls the pro-Zuma protests five years ago – in both cases, a caricature of Zulu masculinity is centre stage, writes Philile Ntuli

https://t.co/ENMjSQCbYs

[Yaqeen Institute @yaqeeninstitute]

Jahannam is not just a fire.

It sees. It hears. It speaks.

And on the Day of Judgment, it will call for its people.

Some reminders are not meant to comfort you. They’re meant to wake you up.

Watch “The Book of Heart Softeners” with Dr. Omar Suleiman and Sh. Ali Hammuda this Dhul Hijjah: https://t.co/OA1rm0lnNT

[Hopewell Chin’ono @daddyhope]

Dear @eNCA,

I am deeply ashamed by the type of journalism displayed in this clip. As a trained journalist, and as a former eNCA journalist myself, I must say this is dangerous and highly questionable conduct, especially when a media crew is no longer merely documenting events, but appears to be facilitating or legitimising harassment.

There is a major difference between reporting on an incident and becoming part of the theatre of intimidation.

If a legal migrant is being surrounded, threatened or humiliated by a vigilante group, the role of journalists should be to document what is happening accurately, safely and fairly, while remaining conscious that the vulnerable person may already be under pressure or fear.

Once a crew starts staging interactions, shoving microphones into faces in a way that amplifies intimidation, or giving a vigilante leader a platform without challenge or context, you cross from journalism into participation.

It becomes even more problematic in South Africa, where xenophobic violence has previously led to deaths, displacement and mob attacks against African migrants, including Nigerians, Zimbabweans, Somalis and others, many of whom were legally documented, just like this man appears to be.

Media coverage in such contexts requires extreme caution because images and narratives can inflame public hostility.

Journalists can and should interview all sides, including controversial or vigilante figures, because journalism often requires engaging difficult voices. But ethical reporting also requires balance, context and humanity. A migrant should not be turned into a spectacle while the aggressor is normalised as an authority figure.

Your crew should have avoided creating conditions where the victim felt cornered, exposed or endangered simply because cameras were present, with microphones repeatedly shoved between him and the aggressor.

I am deeply embarrassed by the conduct of this eNCA crew. You should be ashamed of this type of journalism.

This is precisely the kind of irresponsible media conduct that has historically inflamed violence in societies under tension. Journalists must never become participants in intimidation campaigns.

In this clip, you are no longer acting as observers. You become actors within the confrontation itself, helping create a public theatre where a man who is legally in your country is harassed by an ignorant vigilante who does not even understand the law governing immigration and business ownership.

A documented immigrant in South Africa has the legal right to start a business unless the conditions of their visa explicitly prohibit it. That is the law.
Journalism must expose intimidation, not become the microphone of xenophobic vigilantism.

[Mail & Guardian @mailandguardian]

WATCH | Calls to boycott pharmacy giant Dis-Chem are intensifying after majority shareholder Mark Saltzman publicly attacked journalist Redi Tlhabi over Gaza, turning a social media exchange into a wider argument about corporate identity, philanthropy, political speech and public accountability.

M&G Correspondent @hasinakathrada has the latest on this story.

Read full story here: https://t.co/YDO4ORI1Eu

[Redi Tlhabi @RediTlhabi]

Well, the founder of Dischem, Ivan Saltzman stepped down as CEO in 2023. He transferred billions worth of shares to his sons Mark and Dan. Mark is a major shareholder and is here basically taking me to task for not supporting Israel the way he wants. He also believes @Dischem Foundation's philanthropic work in South Africa, must come with gratitude and obedience towards the state he supports. There are other shareholders but the founders hold about 29/30%.

[Adriaan Basson @AdriaanBasson]

Dear @realDonaldTrump the “white genocide” didn’t reach Franschhoek. We had a wonderful discussion about non-racialism, the legacy of 1976 and the danger of nationalist projects. The Afrikaners are alive and well. @MaxduPreez @justicemalala @News24

[Redi Tlhabi @RediTlhabi]

For many of us, it is not Netanyahu's. It is Israel's supporters - those with whom we shared lives, ideas and hopes. Those who spoke out on every societal ill and purported to embrace fairness and justice. They shocked us with their callous indifference, victimhood, and name-calling. They are able to identify every injustice and take a firm stand against it. They just draw the line when Israel is on the wrong side. They are unable to put a mirror to the collective face and say "this is too much." Their malleable values did a disservice to Israel. We've had enough!