Simonstown: Tuan Dea Koasa and Tuan Ismail Dea Malela
At the beginning of this century, when the hilly terraces of Simonstown were still occupied by the Cape Muslims, a grave of a holy personage was discovered among the trees on a terrace in Goede Gift, now above Runciman's Drive. The history of the person buried in this grave is unknown to the people of Simonstown. Even his name is doubtful. Some say it is Sayyid Musa, Sheikh Suleiman and Abdul Samad, and others do not venture to give a name.There are different stories as to who discovered the grave. One is that the grave was discovered by Sheikh Abdurahim ibn Muhammad al Iraqi at the beginning at the century. Sheikh Abdurahim was a renowned spiritualist and theologian who came to the Cape, from Basra in Iraq, in the 1880's. He was a prolific writer of Arabic-Afrikaans kitaabs and was also the discoverer of the graves of Sheikh Noorul Mubeen and Sayed Jaffer on the hills on the Atlantic seaboard near Bakoven. Another story goes that the grave was discovered by a Christian man who informed the Muslims of his finding. Many Simonstown people thus have doubts about the authenticity of this Kramat. A third story tells us that it was discovered by workers who were digging at the site.
However, the adherents of these stories are in agreement that the area of the grave's location has a strange spiritual aura. They say the area is 'Moestajap', a word often used to express inexplicable spiritual happenings.
In the 1940's there was a severe fire which started at Cape Point and spread all along the mountain ranges of Simonstown. Strangely enough, the area in which the grave was situated, though surrounded by this fire, did not have a leaf on a tree scorched or burnt. The same happened with subsequent fires.
Whoever lies buried in this grave in the terrace amongst the trees above Runciman's drive must have been a resident of Simonstown in the seventeenth or eighteenth century. What is known, is that soon after Simon van der Stel's visit to this area in 1697, Simonstown was annexed as part of the Cape settlement and people started to settle there.
The early Muslims who came to settle in Simonstown were slaves. This grave could have been a grave of a runaway slave, who sought refuge on the mountain ranges. It could also have been the burial ground of the slave community of Simonstown. Many graves are said to be located around the Kramat. In those early days, slaves could not be buried in the regular cemeteries and thus no records exist.
The Simonstown Muslim Community and the Muslim community around the Auwal Mosque in Dorp Street developed close links at the start of the nineteenth century.
Initially, the Simonstown Muslim community probably worshipped in the various homes of the Free Blacks or must have had some sort of Langgar (prayer-room) in which congregational prayers were conducted. What is known is that there was a Langgar in Hospital Lane prior to the establishment of the mosque in 1880.
It would appear that the mosque also acted as a seat of Islamic learning in the area, for in 1913, there appeared to have been some problem with 'Malay' children attending a local secular school. They were discriminated against because they were Muslim. According to records, a religious school for 'Malay' children was operative at the Mosque.
The removal of the Muslim community from Simonstown in term of the Group Areas Act, was in fact a destruction of a community with deep roots in that area. However, two symbols of their historical occupancy remain intact - the Mosque and the Kramat.
The uncertainty and lack of historical information surrounding this Kramat should be our last concern. The Kramat and the Simonstown Mosque serve as powerful symbols of our forefathers' commitment to Islam, despite their humble origins as slaves and the oppression they endured because of their religious beliefs.