By Zubeida Jaffer
A new research institution, the Centre for Islamic Research – Africa (CIRA), launched recently in Johannesburg to deepen understanding of Islam across the continent among South Africa’s two million Muslims.
In a preface to its inaugural booklet, CIRA founder and former Member of Parliament, Dr Ismail Vadi notes that South African Muslims – just 0.4% of Africa’s estimated 500 million Muslims – know little about their co-religionists in the continent’s 54 nations.
“Continued ignorance of our diverse Islamic history, legacy, traditions, and traits is intolerable,” Vadi writes, urging a correction of this “intellectual and spiritual imbalance.”
South Africa’s Muslim community, tracing roots to Indian, Southeast Asian, and indigenous origins, has grown post-apartheid with arrivals from Somalia, Nigeria, Palestine, and beyond. Diverse across socio-economic lines, they form influential middle classes in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Western Cape.
CIRA will research political, economic, social, cultural, and religious trends through an Islamic lens, partnering with organisations continent-wide. The booklet, drawn from open sources, offers a “small step” toward awareness, acknowledging Africa’s predominantly Christian other half.
The initiative arrives amid globalisation and African conflicts, positioning South African Muslims to engage broader continental narratives.
According to the booklet, approximately 45-50 percent of Africa’s total population identified itself as Muslim in 2025 with the total population of Africa estimated at approximately 1.56 billion people. This represents about 18.8 percent of the total world population ranking Africa as the second-most populous continent second to Asia.
To read or download the booklet, please click on the cover
17 April 2026.
