Durban – President Cyril Ramaphosa has said that South Africa has no place for religious intolerance.
“There is no place for religious intolerance of any sort in the democratic South Africa. Our Constitution is clear that no person may be discriminated against on the basis of, among other things, religion, conscience, belief, culture or language,” said Ramaphosa.
The president was speaking during a question-and -answer session with the National Assembly on Thursday.
This came after the president was asked about rumours regarding the alleged rise of “Islamic extremists” in certain parts of South Africa.
Ramaphosa said that despite the country’s conflicted past, South Africa has remained a nation that can be characterised by religious tolerance and a deep respect for beliefs and cultures.
Ramaphosa also said that the government had established institutions for dealing with discrimination against religions and beliefs.
“In short, South Africa has a progressive constitutional and legislative framework to address intolerance, hate speech and discrimination,” said Ramaphosa.
