UKZN academic appointed honorary consul of Seychelles

UNIVERSITY of KwaZulu-Natal’s Emeritus Prof Abul Fadl Mohseen Ebrahim of the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics was recently appointed Honorary Consul of Seychelles by its President Mr Danny Faure.

Through a highly publicised 2016 book Muslims in Seychelles: A Historical Appraisal of Legacy, the Seychelles High Commissioner in Pretoria, Marie-Antoinette Rose Quatre contacted Ebrahim to take up the position of Honorary Consul of Seychelles, to which he agreed.

He will now be promoting tourism, trade and education between Seychelles and South Africa, and considers it a great honour to serve the country of his birth.

Ebrahim is officially accredited by South African President Mr Cyril Ramaphosa and the Ministry of International Affairs and Cooperation. He has also been issued with an Identity Card which accords him diplomatic immunity and other privileges.

“When I met the Vice Chancellor of the University of Seychelles, he indicated that we could collaborate by initiating student exchange programmes between our universities and explore the possibility of introducing the religion curriculum at the University of Seychelles. I intend also proposing that UKZN should consider enrolling Seychellois students for medicine and nursing,” said Ebrahim.

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Ebrahim was born in Seychelles and in 1970, upon completing his ‘O level’ studies, he proceeded to Karachi, Pakistan, where he enrolled at the Aleemiyah Institute of Islamic Studies and was awarded the Bachelor’s degree (BA) in Islamic Studies (1975) and his Bachelor of Theology (BTh) degree at the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt in 1977.

He then obtained MA in 1983 and PhD in 1986 from Temple University, Philadelphia, USA. He joined University of Durban-Westville (UDW) in 1985 as a junior lecturer in Islamic Studies.

In 2011, he retired and was subsequently accorded the title Emeritus Professor, School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics, at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

He continues to supervise Honours, Masters and PhD students. He has published widely in the field of Islam and Bioethics and delivered papers at Bioethics Conferences in several countries.

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