{"id":100277,"date":"2025-09-04T10:34:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T08:34:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=100277"},"modified":"2025-09-04T10:50:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T08:50:00","slug":"irshaad-ahmed-chotia-south-african-voice-on-the-sumud-flotillas-journey-to-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/irshaad-ahmed-chotia-south-african-voice-on-the-sumud-flotillas-journey-to-gaza\/","title":{"rendered":"Irshaad Ahmed Chotia: South African Voice on the Sumud Flotilla\u2019s Journey to Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a>
\n3-minute read
\n04 September 2025 | 10:32 CAT
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

\ud83d\udcf8 South Africa\u2019s delegation to the Global Sumud Flotilla: Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, Fatima Hendricks, Zaheera Soomar, Jared Sacks, Elham Mouaffak Hatfield, Zukiswa Wanner, Irshaad Ahmed Chotia, Fazel Behra, Nurain Saloojee & Reaaz Moolla.<\/p><\/div>\n

SA Activist Irshaad Ahmed Chotia is among the South Africans who have joined the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza, a civilian convoy of ships sailing with urgent aid to the Gaza Strip. For Chotia, the mission is more than humanitarian. It is, he says, \u201ca deeply personal stand for justice and humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chotia explained that his decision was driven by harrowing images of starving children and families under siege. \u201cWhen you see the videos going viral of all the kids the Zionists are killing, and the kids are starving, people don\u2019t have food. For me, this was the motivating thing, to take the step to come out, try and get to Gaza, try and end this blockade, and try and establish the humanitarian corridor,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The activist reflected on South Africa\u2019s legacy of apartheid, noting that while he was too young to have experienced its full brutality, the historical struggle shaped his perspective. \u201cIt\u2019s part of our freedom and part of our history. It\u2019s something that we owe back to our country and back to our people,\u201d Chotia added, linking South Africa\u2019s fight against oppression with the plight of Palestinians.<\/p>\n

The flotilla, currently undergoing final preparations, faces serious challenges. Organisers have kept exact sailing dates confidential due to sabotage attempts. \u201cThey\u2019ve been damaging the boats, apparently poisoning the water supply on the vessels,\u201d Chotia revealed. Despite these threats, he remains hopeful, noting that departure is expected \u201csomewhere around this weekend, inshallah.\u201d<\/p>\n

With between 30 and 40 boats expected to set sail, the convoy has attracted participants from across the globe, including Turkey, Indonesia, the Maldives, Mexico and others. The turnout has been so significant that organisers are securing additional vessels to accommodate the numbers.<\/p>\n

Participation in such missions, Chotia explained, requires going through recognised aid organisations, which nominate and prepare volunteers. The financial cost of the voyage, he added, is typically covered by donors. \u201cFor example, our flotilla, the cost of it was 100,000 euros that was sponsored by a generous sponsor in France,\u201d he confirmed.<\/p>\n

As he prepares to embark on the dangerous mission, Chotia remains grounded in faith and solidarity. Radio Islam International<\/em> <\/a>extended prayers for his safety, acknowledging the courage of those on board. \u201cWe make dua that Allah be with you and may He accept from you this great effort,\u201d said Mufti Yusuf Moosagie.<\/p>\n

The flotilla is set to deliver both aid and a strong message: The siege of Gaza must end.<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on Your World Today<\/em> <\/a>with Mufti Yusuf Moosagie and Irshaad Ahmed Chotia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 04 September 2025 | 10:32 CAT SA Activist Irshaad Ahmed Chotia is among the South Africans who have joined the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza, a civilian convoy of ships sailing with urgent aid to the Gaza Strip. For Chotia, the mission is more than humanitarian. It is, he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":100278,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995,4998,4997],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa","category-ummah","category-world"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot_20250904_102000_com_instagram_android_InstagramMainActivity_edit_297977688302057.jpg?fit=1199%2C1585&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-q5n","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-19 23:45:11","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100277\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}