Extremist Islamic party blocked after outcry

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has thrown out Durban businessman and alleged terror financier Farhad Hoomer’s bid to register a political party under the incendiary name Islamic State of Africa (ISA).

The decision brought relief to political leaders, security experts, and civil society alarmed by the prospect of extremist ideologies entering South Africa’s democratic space.

The IEC rejected the application on multiple grounds, including the party’s failure to meet procedural requirements, inadequate public notice of the application, and overwhelming public objections – more than 200 formal submissions – that pointed to the party’s dangerous ideological underpinnings rooted in Sharia law and extremist rhetoric.

The decision ends – for now – Hoomer’s attempt to enter South Africa’s political space under a name that evokes immediate associations with the global terror network ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), an organisation he has been allegedly accused of funding and supporting.

The IEC’s decision is final, but Hoomer, who applied in May, has 30 days to lodge an appeal against the rejection and is reportedly planning to appeal the decision.

Professor Hussein Solomon, of the Department of Political Studies and Governance at the University of the Free State, said the very name “Islamic State of Africa” conjured up images of a party promoting a radical Islamist and militant agenda fundamentally at odds with South Africa’s secular Constitution. Solomon warned that allowing such a party could “instil violence in the country’s democratic political process and thereby constitute a violation of Section 16 of the Electoral Commission Act”.

He noted that Hoomer had made his disdain for democracy abundantly clear, having previously labelled it “evil”, a “tyranny”, and a form of “enslavement”.

“Why would Hoomer, who holds such anti-democratic views, then partake in a democratic process? One would assume that his purpose would be to make use of electoral platforms and media attention to spread his pernicious ideology,” Solomon said.

The IEC confirmed that among the deluge of objections were submissions from religious organisations, political parties, academics, and security specialists. The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) lodged a comprehensive and scathing objection, detailing not only the constitutional violations embedded in the party’s ideology, but Hoomer’s troubling history, domestically and abroad.

The name of the party alone – Islamic State of Africa – is a direct invocation of ISIS, an entity synonymous with terror, violence, and the destruction of civil societies worldwide, said the Board. Coupled with Hoomer’s intention to impose Sharia law, and his documented rejection of democracy, this party posed an existential threat to South Africa’s constitutional values, it said.

The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), which also lodged a formal objection, welcomed the IEC’s move. “While we stand for freedom of religion, the specific choice of this name could indicate affiliation with the Islamic State [ISIS/ISIL] and its affiliates,” the party said. “Islamic State is designated a terrorist organisation by the United Nations and many countries around the world. The South African government has acknowledged the presence of ISIS sympathisers since 2016, and has expressed ongoing concern about the group’s potential threat.”

The ACDP argued that registering the Islamic State of Africa would amount to “the propagation or incitement of violence or hatred” and would cause “serious offence to any section of the population on grounds of … religion, conscience, and belief”, prohibited by section 16(1)(c) of the Electoral Commission Act 51 of 1996.

Security analyst Ryan Cummings, the director of Africa Focus Risk Management Consultancy at Signal Risk, said that though Hoomer’s association with ISIS had yet to be proven in court, the IEC clearly took heed of the concerns raised by South Africans.

“What’s clear is that the messaging Hoomer espouses doesn’t resonate with South Africans,” Cummings said, “particularly within the Muslim community, which hasn’t been swayed by his fundamentalist ideology.”

The IEC cited three primary reasons for rejecting Hoomer’s application. First, the party failed to submit the required 300 signatures of registered voters endorsing the formation of the party, and it didn’t meet the legally mandated format.

Second, the party’s notice of application was published in a newspaper with limited regional circulation, insufficient to inform the broader public in the eThekwini municipality – the geographical scope linked to the application.

Most critically, the IEC confirmed that it had received more than 200 objections, many of which challenged the party’s ideological stance. Objections raised concerns that ISA’s constitution, which proposes policies based on Sharia law, was fundamentally at odds with South Africa’s secular and inclusive constitutional framework.

The SAJBD’s objection laid out the constitutional incompatibilities of Sharia law, particularly its treatment of non-Muslims, women, and dissenters. The Board warned that enshrining such a legal system in any political framework in South Africa would reverse decades of progress in human rights, equality, and democracy.

The imposition of Sharia law, which includes corporal punishment, death penalties, and restrictions of religious freedom, cannot coexist with the Bill of Rights, which guarantees dignity, equality, and freedom of expression to all South Africans, said Wendy Kahn, the national director of the SAJBD.

Hoomer, who continues to deny all allegations, was sanctioned by the United States Treasury in 2022 as a specially designated global terrorist. The designation was based on intelligence linking him to an ISIS cell in Durban; operational support for ISIS affiliates in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and financial crimes including kidnapping for ransom and extortion.

His arrest in 2018 for allegedly masterminding the deadly attack on the Imam Hussain Mosque in Verulam, along with a string of attempted bombings in Durban, further entrenched his notoriety. Though charges were later dropped due to procedural failings, his name remains associated with terror finance networks that have plagued southern Africa.

Adding to the controversy was the party’s chosen logo: an upward-pointing index finger, a gesture widely co-opted by ISIS as a symbol of its strict monotheism and ideological purity. While rooted in Islamic tradition, its use in this context served to cement perceptions that Hoomer’s party wasn’t just inspired by ISIS, but was directly aligning with its narrative.

The case has reignited debate over South Africa’s political vetting systems. While the IEC can block party registrations that breach constitutional thresholds, individuals facing serious allegations but without convictions remain legally able to contest elections.

Political analysts have called for clear legislative mechanisms to prevent actors with terrorism links from entering formal politics even when prosecutions have failed.

Though this may be seen as a mini victory in the fight against the spread of ISIS in South Africa, Solomon said it was “only the tip of the iceberg” and “much more needs to be done, especially when it comes to terrorist funding”.