ABSTRACT
Soon after South Africa became a democratic state during 1994, it opened up different spaces for communities to voice their opinions, air their views, and reinforce their identities. One of the critical avenues via which these were done was the establishment of more radio stations. The formation of these stations provided each community with an innovative platform, one that has been instrumental in contributing towards a very vibrant communal environment and one wherein the citizens can assert their identities, express their opinions, and voice their feelings on anything and everything. South Africa’s Muslims have been among those religious minorities that made certain that structures and institutions are erected to maintain their identity as Muslims. Considering these, this chapter’s purpose evaluates two audio-streaming South African Muslim radio stations, which were set up during the past few years (c. 2016–2018). These radio stations are slightly different from those that were established during the late 1990s. The chapter first describes the formation of these stations by identifying the principal founders and presenters; it then demonstrates how these platforms were utilised to reinforce the Muslim identity; and, lastly, it compares the two stations by showing how they differ from one another. It also addresses the notion of ‘participatory communication’ for social change as its theoretical frame.
