He became involved with political activity in the 1980s when, while he was still in secondary school, the country erupted into almost a decade of nationwide student protests, followed by widespread resistance in trade unions and communities.
He later married Shamima Shaikh, who he met for the first time when the couple was arrested during a trade union-led consumer boycott campaign against White businesses.
Jeenah rose in the ranks of the Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa to become its national general secretary and, later, its president.
Working with the latter, he was also a member of the drafting committee of a landmark document produced during South Africa's constitution-drafting period called the Declaration on Religious Rights and Responsibilities.
In 1994, on the eve of South Africa's first democratic elections, Jeenah's family joined ohers in South Africa who had sacrificed family members for the struggle: his brother, Mohseen Jeenah, a student leader and anti-Apartheid activist, was gunned down in the early hours of the morning of 17 January by Apartheid police.
He previously held the position of Director: Operations at the Freedom of Expression Institute[usurped], was a steering committee member of an inter-religious organization focusing on women's issues called The Other Voices, and a lecturer in political studies at the University of the Witwatersrand.