Author: Umme Danyaal Bilal
Today our Lost Islamic History brings us home…
Cape Town is known as one of the most beautiful cities in the world for its vast oceans, picturesque scenery, magnificent mountains, the tastiest fish and chips, and irresistible koeksisters, which makes it the perfect tourist destination but hidden in its beauty it has its own story to tell, one of struggle and victory.
When the Portuguese had finally overcome the Muslims in Al Andalus in 1492 they inherited technology which was a combination from around the Globe that the Muslims had learnt on their various voyages. Vasco Da Gama in the 15th century rounded the Cape of Good Hope looking for a way around Southern Africa, it was not surprising he was able to do this, his boat was designed by Muslims, he carried an astrolabe which was a Muslim invention and he hired a Muslim navigator Ahmed Bin Majid and so he found his way around the Indian Ocean with Islamic help.
Arab seafarers were familiar with the Indian Ocean from earlier times but only now are geographers and historians realizing that not only did they travel to East Africa but went deep into the South also, what is reported is that they went around the Southern part of Africa and made it into the Cape of Good Hope long before any European presence.
The first recorded presence of Muslims in the Cape was in Western Cape around the 1650s.
Today what is known as Cape Town the Dutch have established a colony and in this colony, they brought slaves and political prisoners from India, Indonesia, New Guinea, Malaysia, Madagascar and East and West Africa. Some of the slaves and prisoners such as Tuan (Imam) Matarin who was a prisoner on Robben Island and Tuan Rahman and Tuan Mahmood who came from Sumatra in Indonesia, in the year 1667 they were able to establish a community in an area of Cape Town that is known as Constantia, they were first to start the Islamic movement in the Cape however it was not until the 2nd April 1694 a great personality by the name of Sheikh Yusuf of Muqasir comes into Cape Town, he arrives as a political prisoner and was known as a very important person in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Sheikh Yusuf of Muqasir
With him he had his family and 49 followers, in 1644 Sheikh Yusuf made the pilgrimage to Makkah where he continued to stay and became fluent in the Arabic language he memorized the Qur’aan and became proficient in its Tafsir, he was also well-versed in Ahaadith and Fiqh and became a very important person amongst the people of the Cape, as it is through his efforts a community starts to develop.
The Dutch used their weapons to defeat the Indonesians, they also used divisions and greed amongst the Kings and Ameers something similar to what was done in Al Andalus but Sheikh Yusuf resisted colonization for a long time with his 4000 fighters, eventually, he was captured and exiled to Sri Lanka and from here he entered into the Cape and like this, he became known as the father of the Muslims of the Cape, he established a community at the banks of the river Ernst with 12 Imams and their families and this was the beginning of Islam in the Cape.
By 1725, the Cape was now developing and prisoners of war were being brought in from different parts of the world amongst them were exiled Imaams who were in direct contact with the slaves and offered them a different culture compared to the alcohol, adultery, etc., which was coming from the Dutch culture, you could say this was a form of resistance, they held religious gatherings in private of freed Muslim homes and as the slaves got freed we find many turned to Islam. One of the plus points for the Dutch was that Muslim slaves stopped drinking wine and busied themselves in education so even while the Dutch hated the resistance and the Muslims they were benefitting from the sober labour of the Muslim slaves.
When the Europeans abolished slavery and freed the Africans about 5000 of them came into this region between 1808 and 1856 they saw Islam as the best alternative and accepted Islam in large numbers which boosted the community, with this madrassahs began to be established and Islam began to rise.
Tuan Guru
Tuan Guru is known in the Malaysian language his real name being Imam Abdullah bin Qaadhi bin Abdus Salaam he emerged as the strongest personality at that time and was banished to Robben Island finally when he came out in 1793 he had written the entire Qur’aan from memory and this text is still found today in the first mosque that was established in Cape Town in 1834 known as the Auwal Masjid. Tuan Guru and his colleagues who were Imams also were able to revert people to Islam but not through force or violence instead through education and it is reported that those who were still in slavery and chained despite not being able to move around would get up in the night and pray Tahajjud and read the Qur’aan.
The Muslims living in Southern Africa
The Muslims living in Southern Africa developed a beautiful blending of cultures and languages that came from the merging of Muslims from different areas of the world. The major indigenous group are Khoi Khoi and their language mixes with the Indonesians, Malaysians and Dutch which forms the language we know today as Afrikaans, an amazing fact about this new language is that it is expressed by the locals and is also written in Arabic script like that of Turkish, Spanish, Persian, etc. Arabic had become a lingua franca and dominated the majority of the world.
Muslims were the first to write Afrikaans in Arabic script and we find books of Arabic grammar, Tafsir, Fiqh and Ahaadith, now these kitaabs are known to be a very important part of the Islamic heritage of Southern Africa and are being brought together by the African Union to be made part of the rich heritage of the African continent. It is fascinating to see how Islam brought together different Nationalities and also raised the level of education amongst people, it was this education that brought people into Islam.
This young Muslim community living in the bondage of slavery is liberated when slavery is abolished, but South Africa goes through a terrible period of colonialism which eventually leads to apartheid, where people are separated based upon their colour and Nationalities. Muslims found themselves in the middle, not in the top dominating classes nor at the lowest oppressed class but they were still oppressed however Muslims used their education to bring people out from this period and we find many Muslims were at the forefront of fighting against this regime. During this period even though it was a difficult time the fact that the Muslims were forced to live in communities together we find masaajid being built and the Adhaan being called, women were dressed in Islamic attire and children were being taught in the Madaaris, so while apartheid had many negative effects, positive also came about from it.
Muslims provided upward mobility for people through the religion of Islam, especially for those who could not express themselves through a written language but through the reading of the Qur’aan and its memorization they were able to learn from different Imaams internationally, history has it that Qaaris from Cairo and Saudi Arabia would come to the Cape to teach Qur’aan together with the various forms of Qiraat and competitions would be held which continues to this day, at that point some of the greatest Qaaris were from the Cape and their recitation was world famous.
The beauty of Islam is once again seen despite the hardships and difficulties that were faced through slavery and apartheid, Islam could bring people together regardless of their race or colour which is another fascinating aspect of Tawheed and this merging of cultures and Nationalities is what has contributed to making South Africa a diverse democracy with a rich heritage.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of Halaal Travels. While we encourage diverse perspectives, these views are solely the author’s and are not intended to represent the position of Halaal Travels.