Religion and politics a volatile mix

The ANC's attempt to portray its presidential candidate as a messianic figure has infuriated opposition politicians and theologians alike.

The South African presidential candidate Jacob Zuma, centre, attends the launch of his campaign.

JOHANNESBURG // One is a secular politician, the most controversial in South Africa; the other is the Christian Messiah who is recognised by Islam as a prophet. Drawing comparisons between Jacob Zuma, the leader of South Africa's divided African National Congress, and Jesus would appear ludicrous, even blasphemous, to many outside observers. But some figures in the ruling party have done exactly that, prompting accusations of "using the name of the Lord in vain". The outrage was triggered by Ace Magashule, the leader of the ANC in Free State province, who told South Africa's Volksblad newspaper: "Jesus was persecuted. He was called names and betrayed. "It's the same kind of suffering Mr Zuma has had to bear recently, but he's still standing strong. He's not giving up." Mr Zuma himself is not above making Christian references in his speeches. He has said several times that the ANC will rule "until Jesus returns", and has compared the Congress of the People (Cope), the breakaway organisation formed as a result of the split in the ruling party, to the donkey on which Jesus rode through Jerusalem to cheers from the people before he was crucified. "The donkey did not understand it and thought the songs of praise were for him," Mr Zuma said, explaining that in time Cope's leaders would similarly realise that their standing was purely because of the ANC. The comparisons, intentional or not, have caused fury among opposition politicians and alarm to some theologians. In a statement, Kenneth Meshoe, leader of the African Christian Democratic Party, described Mr Zuma - a polygamist facing corruption charges - as "unrighteous and unholy" and said the ANC "has no respect for God". "Their habit of joking about and using the name of the Lord in vain is tantamount to blasphemy, and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms," he said. Patricia de Lille, leader of the Independent Democrats, another opposition party, accused the ANC of trying to portray itself and its leader as "God-like" and "using Jesus Christ, the Bible and Christianity in general to garner votes from the poor and the vulnerable". "Jesus was never charged with corruption," she said. "Adultery, the machine gun song and Zuma's failure to condemn war talk and hate speech by the ANC rank and file are examples of why it is insulting to compare Zuma with Christ." But she was not above using the issue to make a political point herself. "Jesus Christ stood for the concept of putting the poor first, a concept the ANC should have heeded when it made the decision to throw away billions of rand for weapons our country could not afford and did not need." For Murray Hofmeyr, a minister in the Uniting Reformed Church and the director of the Study Trust, an organisation that distributes grants on Christian principles, the ANC is seeking to exploit South Africans' religious beliefs. Already a deeply observant country, religion was "making a comeback" as a "way of coping" among the many desperately poor people in the country, he said. "I haven't come across a student who feels it's an option not to believe in God." Asked why the ANC kept using Christian imagery, he said: "There are two possibilities: one is that they are misusing it deliberately, the other is that they really believe it." He inclined to the second theory, saying that in some quarters of the ruling party, "there's a firm belief that the leaders have been appointed by God" and as such they are above criticism. To such people, he added: "Zuma is almost a messianic figure. As far as I'm concerned it's quite dangerous." The predilection was indicative of "delusions of grandeur", he said. "I'm not really offended, but in the long run it's completely wrong. I know how certain people would listen to it so it's scary. "When somebody says Zuma is like Jesus he seriously believes it. All the good things about the secular state, modernity and tolerance, then fly out of the window. That's got to be a problem." It reminded him of the use of religion by apologists for apartheid in the country, he said, who argued that God was on their side, so that "if you are against that you are against God. When religion is misused is when it's dangerous." Mr Magashule has not denied the remarks he was quoted as making, but insists that they have been misinterpreted, according to Carl Niehaus, the ANC's spokesman, whose own background is as a theologian. He insisted that there was nothing sinister in the language being used. He said he would be "surprised" if Mr Zuma was seen as messianic, and instead that part of the party president's appeal was that people identified with him as "one of us", someone familiar with poverty and who they hoped would "do something about it". "People have grown up with Christian imagery and allegories in their lives, so it tends to be used also in political speech and in general," Mr Niehaus said, although he admitted that in the political arena it could cause "all kinds of theological hitches". "If you asked [Mr Magashule] did you really mean the president of the ANC is similar [to Jesus] he would be shocked," he said. "He didn't mean that." [e-mail]