The Muslim Judicial Council said on Monday it had no knowledge of local Muslims fighting with Taliban forces in Afghanistan, but there were South African Muslims involved in humanitarian efforts in the war-torn country.
Weekend media reports quoted a Cape Town-based Muslim organisation that claimed 1 000 local Muslims were either in Afghanistan or waiting at the Pakistani border to join the fight against the American-led anti-terror coalition.
"The MJC can emphatically say we have no knowledge of that. We regard this speculation as very lopsided," said Moulana Igshaan Hendricks, the MJC's first deputy president.
"The people who have gone are genuinely involved in giving humanitarian assistance, as they did in conflicts like Bosnia and Kosovo."
The Cape Town-based organisation Muslims Against Illegitimate Leaders claimed that 1 000 South Africans had left in recent weeks to join the Taliban battle.
Foreign Affairs spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa warned on Monday that such acts were illegal and that culprits faced legal action on their return.