A mosque in Chatsworth was damaged in a fire on Wednesday morning. Picture: Bongani Mbatha/Africa News Agency/ANA A mosque in Chatsworth was damaged in a fire on Wednesday morning. Picture: Bongani Mbatha/Africa News Agency/ANA
Durban - Shouts from outside alerted a Moulana and his wife to a fire that had broken out at the Musjid-E-Moin in Chatsworth just after 6 am on Wednesday morning.
Speaking to the Daily News, Moulana Yusufu Said Motala said a taxi driver alerted them by hooting and screaming.
"We rushed out to try and put the fire out," he said.
Motala, who has been leading prayers at the Croftdene Mosque for the last seven years, said it was the first time that they had encountered a fire at the mosque.
He said he and his wife had heard footsteps before they heard people screaming outside the gate. According to Motala, they dismissed the footstep as sounds coming from their cats.
The fire, which was mostly isolated to one area of the mosque, was put out with the help of the taxi driver and his passengers.
Saleem Adam, secretary of the Chatsworth Islamic Federation, said had it not been for the taxi driver, it is unsure how far the fire would have spread and how much more damage would be done.
“That taxi driver really saved the mosque because had he not alerted them, the damage would have been far worse,” said Adam.
“I know that there are people who stay in the back of the mosque so maybe they were trying to keep warm and started a fire, but I don’t know it could be anything,” Adam said.
Motala said even though it was impossible to pinpoint the reason behind the fire, he was aware of a conflict between worshippers. "I cannot say for a fact that it was because of conflict," he said.
Police are investigating further.
*This is a developing story*