Nelson Mandela alongside Bashar Moolla’s grand uncle; Moosa Moolla

Family Connections With Apartheid Fighter Nelson Mandela Influences Bashar’s Advocacy Work

Growing up in a family who was involved in struggles against apartheid alongside Nelson Mandela, Regina-born Bashar Moolla has been dedicated to advocacy and community work from a young age. 

Bashar’s grand uncles, Moosa Moolla and Ebrahim Moolla, were involved in South Africa’s (S.A) liberation movement as members of Transvaal Indian Congress (TIC). Moosa also served as a chairperson of TIC and was the African National Congress’ (ANC) chief representative in Egypt; he was arrested under the allegation of treason alongside 155 activists, including Mandela in 1956 .

“[My] family members were very involved in the struggle in South Africa, the struggle for apartheid,” said Bashar.

“Just hearing those stories [of] how they were in jail when Mandela was there, pictures of them together, seeing those…It really put a sense of purpose in what I do.”

Bashar was born and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan as his parents immigrated from South Africa in the late ‘90s. However, he has a “connection to S.A”, as he visited it frequently since his early age. 

He has come across inequalities in S.A .

“I would always see the inequalities there. It’s very apparent when you’re driving down the highway, you’ll see one side of a road where it’s very comfortable and stable and then the other side is what you’d like to think of poverty,” said Bashar.

Coming back after witnessing such scenes in S.A, it wasn’t “easier to overlook poverty or communities in need of help here” for Bashar as his visits to S.A “really instill a sense of wanting to advocate for human rights and inequality.”

He grew up in a household where giving back to the community was integrated in his upbringing, as he witnessed his parents being involved in organizations like the Multicultural Council of Saskatchewan (MCoS).

When asked what giving back looked like growing up, Bashar said,“Giving back looked like refugee families picking up beds from our house or us dropping it off at theirs, giving back looked like doing food initiatives with either the food bank or other local groups here in the city. 
On top of that, a lot of faith-based work.”

Bashar has been involved in organizations like the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), University of Regina Muslim Student Association (URMSA) and Islamic Relief Club of University of Regina.

Bashar co-founded the Islamic Relief Club in April 2024 alongside Ali Elawad, a psychology student at the University of Regina (U of R). 

Elawad has known Bashar for a long time.

“I’ve known Bashar almost all my life. Our parents have been friends for years, however, I only developed a close friendship with him over the past three years,” said Elawad.

Talking about the process of building the Islamic Relief Club, Elawad said Islamic Relief national team had reached out to Bashar when he was the president of URMSA.

“He is really passionate and loves our work. This is not a resume builder for him, it is a passion and a part of who he is…I’ve heard stories of his great uncle fighting against apartheid in South Africa. Bashar continues his work in the modern day through his activism,” Elawad said.

Talking about Bashar’s leadership, Elawad recalled a moment from their time at the Islamic Relief summit in Toronto, “While we were doing our team ice breakers with other universities, Bashar stood out as a leader amongst leaders, engaging everyone in the conversation and making sure even the shyest person in the room wasn’t left out.”

Bashar’s role in the team environment has been mentioned as “welcoming” and getting people involved “without being judged” by Elawad.

Recollecting a challenging moment from early stages of getting the club started, Elawad said they were asked to put the club on halt but “Bashar took initiative to clear up the confusion” to ensure that the deadlines were met to get the club going.

Dania llyas, a U of R student has been attending events organized by the groups Bashar has been a part of.

She recently attended Advocacy 101 event organized by the Islamic Relief Club by partnering up with the NCCM. Bashar alongside Jannat Firdous; Manager of Education program at the NCCM were the two speakers at the event. The event was about advocating students’ rights when faced with discrimination on campus.

About Bashar’s involvement in the event, llyas said, “His background and knowledge in politics made his contribution very insightful and added depth to the discussion.”

Ilyas also mentioned the importance of events like this as she said, “They educate us about our rights and raise awareness about how racism and discrimination impact communities.”

Ilyas has encountered Bashar’s involvement in community work multiple times.

“I volunteered with the Arab Society during their Homeless Support initiative and saw Bashar…From what I have seen, he is very involved in community work. It is inspiring and essential for young people to actively represent and support their communities,” said Iliyas

Bashar mentioned “combatting Islamophobia” has been his goal. 

When asked how faith based values influence his approach towards injustice, Bashar said, “They do go together in terms of what our religion calls for and upholds in terms of justice. So it’s hard to even think of it separately just because it’s been so natural. It’s always been a part of the work I do, and faith definitely keeps me grounded.”

After graduating with a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the U of R in spring 2025, Bashar has been working at Butz and Company as a legal assistant.

Law school is the next step in his journey of advocacy. 

“It just feels like a natural progression in the work that I’ve done until this point. There’s been a lot of steps and different experiences I’ve had to sort of build up to the point of wanting to do law, but I knew at the back of my mind, since I was decently young, that finding myself as a lawyer would be something that I’d see myself in,” said Bashar.