Imam Mogamat Isma-eel Davids, from Crawford, has written a new book, Framed in Time, which was launched at Al-Ikhlaas Academia Library and Resource Centre, in Lansdowne, on Saturday.
Imam Davids is also the author of There’s a Hero Before #123: Stories of Imam Abdullah Haron. Released in November 2020, it is about the people and friends who played a role in the anti-apartheid cleric’s life before his death in police detention in 1969.
Imam Davids’s latest book is a 50-page fictional work set in Crawford in the 1980s. He describes it as a “coming of age story” about a young boy who befriends a craftsman who becomes a mentor and father figure to him.
Imam Davids grew up in Crawford, and his late father, Imam Ebrahim Sep Davids, established a mosque, the Ibaadur-raghmann Masjied, there in 1994.
Imam Davids, who is a teacher at Habibia Primary school in Rylands, took over the running of the mosque following his father’s death in 1998, and the mosque later moved to Eden Road, Observatory.
He said his latest book recalled the experience of schooling during the 1980s and the atrocities of apartheid. And it was a tribute to many unsung community heroes who made an impact in small but important ways, like teaching children new skills or taking them to sports games. “In the book, the craftsman who crafts wood is crafting the life of this young boy.”
The chairman of the board of trustees of the Al-Ikhlaas Academia Library, Dr Elias Parker, said they wanted to promote local authors. “Imam Davids has a legacy in the community and if the library can help in his emancipation as an author, we are privileged to do so.”
The book costs R100 and can be bought on Takealot.com or by calling Imam Davids at 083 340 1433.
