Tutu: Solomon 'inspirational'
2009-10-30 19:00
Cape Town - Imam Gassan Solomon was a highly principled and inspirational human being, and would be sorely missed, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu said on Friday.
"One of the jewels of the Western Cape has left us for a higher place," he said in a statement.
Solomon, a former African National Congress MP, died on Wednesday after being diagnosed with prostate cancer earlier this year.
Tutu said he had met Solomon, a cleric from Cape Town's Claremont Main Road Mosque, during the formation of the Interfaith Movement in the mid-1980s.
Solomon had preached for equal rights and justice and had been responsible for mobilising young people to act against apartheid.
He had also understood the value of truth, appearing before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission where he represented the Muslim Judicial Council.
"We marched together, worked together in the UDF [United Democratic Front], overcame many anxieties and shared many disappointments," said Tutu.
- SAPA