However, on-the-ground reality in rural areas like Nquthu reveals peaceful coexistence and mutual respect, leading analysts to question whether digital hostility amplifies a marginal phenomenon.
Rural Realities Counter Digital Backlash in Nquthu
When Zwelibi Jack Ngubane passed away at the age of 105 in the northern KwaZulu-Natal region of Nquthu, his final request was clear. He wanted to be buried as a Muslim, a faith he embraced late in life after observing his young grandson. Hundreds gathered for the funeral, conducted according to Islamic rites. In a rural landscape where Christianity and traditional African beliefs dominate and Muslims represent a tiny minority, the service was a novelty, but it brought no controversy.
That peaceful community response stands in stark contrast to the digital landscape. In recent months, anti-Muslim rhetoric has climbed visibly online, intersecting with national debates over immigration and anti-migrant movements. Digital posts accuse Muslims of trying to take over the country, question their right to belong, and claim that Islamic organizations leverage poverty and charity to convert Black South Africans.
Yet local experiences in Nquthu tell a different story. Samukelisiwe Ngubane, a community activist, noted that her earliest positive encounters with Muslims came through Indian shopkeepers in a nearby town. We have never had a problem. Some people are curious about what they [Muslims] do, but there have been no problems,
she told Al Jazeera.
Tracing the Roots of South Africa’s Muslim Community
Islam is far from a recent arrival in South Africa. The community’s history stretches back centuries to the Dutch colonial era of the 17th century, when Muslims were brought to the Cape through enslavement and political exile from parts of Asia and the Indian Ocean world. Historical records show Muslims were present at the Cape even before the 1694 arrival of Shaykh Yusuf of Macassar, an exiled scholar.
Today, the diverse population includes descendants of those early enslaved individuals, South Africans of Indian ancestry whose families have lived in the country for generations, Black African Muslims, converts, and more recent migrants. According to the country’s 2022 census, Muslims account for less than one million people, or approximately 1.6 percent of the total population, though South African Muslim leaders offer higher estimates ranging from two million to five million.
Where Digital Hostility Concentrates
The disconnect between online hostility and village life raises an essential question: is Islamophobia genuinely surging nationwide, or is social media inflating a marginal fringe? Khethukuthula Dlame converted to Islam as a teenager in 2012. Now 26 and one of the few Muslims in his village, his Islamic clothing draws occasional teasing rather than hostility from neighbors.
In these communities, there’s harmony and respect. People really respect my religion,
Dlame said near his grandfather’s gravesite. He argues that orchestrated hate does not originate in rural areas.
“The move to orchestrated hate towards Muslims is not at a community level. If you’re looking at people when they’re mobilising, it’s not people from the villages. It is people in cities and in hostels.”
Khethukuthula Dlame, via Al Jazeera
Dlame added that orchestrators understand flash points, using tribal rhetoric to agitate individuals living in hostels where conditions remain difficult. South Africa has faced recurring outbreaks of xenophobic violence since the end of apartheid, frequently targeting migrants from elsewhere on the continent, prompting analysts to examine whether anti-migrant sentiment has shifted toward Muslims.
Expert Perspectives on Orchestrated Disinformation
South African political analyst and journalist Thembisa Fakude argued that fears of widespread hostility are overstated, stating that there is no widespread or orchestrated Islamophobia directed toward Muslims in the country.
During a stakeholder roundtable titled From Online Lies to Offline Harm: Mapping and Countering Anti-LGBTQI+ Disinformation in Southern Africa,
held at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Pretoria, diplomats and researchers examined how coordinated online narratives jump into physical spaces.
“Across Southern Africa and indeed across the world, we’re witnessing a growing power of disinformation that shapes public attitudes, influences political debate, deepening social divisions.”
Norwegian Ambassador Anne Beathe Kristiansen
Ambassador Kristiansen warned that such campaigns target contested rights and vulnerable communities, noting that online disinformation rarely remains online and can quickly manifest as harassment, discrimination, and violence in the physical world.
Tactics Behind Coordinated Influence Operations
Presentations from investigators at organizations like Code for Africa illustrate how coordinated digital campaigns exploit local sentiments. Anita Igbine, senior investigative analyst with the organization’s iLAB team, explained that bad actors actively seek out existing societal tensions to attack minority rights rather than merely spreading isolated falsehoods.
Amplification techniques rely heavily on clickbait, artificial intelligence-generated media, and “copypasta”—the repeated posting of identical text across multiple platforms. This repetitive exposure creates a false illusion of widespread consensus among casual observers.
Whether digital friction against minority groups will translate into sustained offline conflict or remain confined to urban and online echo chambers depends largely on how effectively civil society and fact-checking organizations can counter coordinated disinformation campaigns across Southern Africa.
