Online anti-Muslim backlash collides with different reality in South Africa

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that online anti-Muslim rhetoric has become more visible in South Africa, especially in discussions tied to immigration and anti-migrant politics, but interviews in rural KwaZulu-Natal suggest a more nuanced reality on the ground. The article focuses on Nquthu, where a 105-year-old man, Zwelibi Jack Ngubane, was buried according to Muslim rites after converting late in life, and where family members say his choice was respected rather than resisted.

The report says Muslims remain a small minority in South Africa, though the faith has deep historical roots in the country through enslaved people, political exiles and later communities of Indian ancestry, Black South African converts and migrants. In Nquthu, residents and local Muslim converts described ordinary relations with neighbours, with religious difference often met with curiosity or light teasing rather than hostility.

Al Jazeera presents differing interpretations of the online backlash. Some Muslim voices argue that anti-Muslim narratives are being amplified by city-based agitators and broader anti-migrant sentiment. Other commentators quoted in the piece said there is not evidence of a widespread, coordinated Islamophobic campaign nationally, even if prejudice and hostile posts do exist. One religious leader warned, however, that repeated online messaging can shape attitudes over time if left unchecked.

The story suggests South Africa may be facing a gap between digital discourse and everyday community life, with the online environment potentially exaggerating the scale of hostility while also carrying the risk of normalising it over time.