Finding Sanctuary in Islam - By Nathalie Rosa Bucher

Daisy Duck is the first to greet visitors to the Soweto Islamic Centre, from a television in the lounge of this former pre-primary school in Katutura, Windhoek’s oldest township. Beyond a kitchen is a humble, light-filled prayer room, the ground covered with carpets.A blackboard is mounted on one wall and one of the windows is broken. "Home Sweet Home" embroidered covers are placed on each seat of the lounge suite, the bookshelf in the corner is filled with Arabic, German and English titles. "The Soweto Islamic Centre was established in 1986," explains Sheikh Abubakr Tjipanga, who has lived and worked at the centre for two years. About 60 Muslims, of which 10 are women, belong to this small mosque, which like most others in Namibia, is referred to as a centre. Namibia is a predominantly Christian country with 10 percent of its 2.1 million citizens embracing indigenous beliefs. Sheikh Abubakr, who reverted* in 1996, is one of a small but growing number of Namibian Muslims.