Gassan Solomon

Gassan Solomon (6 January 1941 – 28 October 2009) was a South African politician and Muslim religious leader in Cape Town. He represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 1994 to 2009.

During apartheid, as the Imam of Cape Town's Claremont Mosque from 1979, Solomon was active in the United Democratic Front and broader anti-apartheid movement. He was also a national leader of the Muslim Judicial Council and Call of Islam.

Early life and activism Solomon was born on 6 January 1941 in Constantia in Cape Town in the Cape Province. His mother was the great-granddaughter of Imam Abdullah Kadi Abdus Salaam, known in South Africa as Tuan Guru and a renowned figure in the history of political Islam in the Cape.

From 1985 to 1991, Solomon lived in exile abroad in Saudi Arabia; he left South Africa to avoid undue police attention, particularly after he defied a government ban to attend the funeral of Gugulethu youth activist Sithembele Mathiso in August 1985. but was sworn in later in 1994 to fill a casual vacancy in the ANC caucus.

Personal life and death Solomon was divorced from Nazly Solomon and married to Amina Solomon. He had two sons and two daughters. He died on 28 October 2009 after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.