Historical Background

The early history of the Cape cannot be ignored as it is here in the Cape where Muslims have their roots.

Historical research shows that what took place during the seventeenth century at the Cape involved not only the Malays, but also a vast number of Indians, Javanese, Bengalese and even Arabians.

There had been a great power struggle in the East between the Dutch and the Portuguese for supremacy of the seas.  These two powers were competing to plunder and ransack as much as possible and in order to do so, they built up a large naval facility in the Asiatic sea.  Targets were areas such as Bombay, Goa, Cochin, the Coramandel Coast and Bengal all in India, Colombo and Galle in Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Medan and Padang in Sumatra, Batavia and Bali in Java (Indonesia), as well as smaller islands like Tidore and Timor.  

Soon thereafter the inhabitants began to resist and came together to form defences against the imperialist autocracy.  The men who were to lead the people were of a high calibre and great spiritual intellect but they however were cleverly captured, and together with their followers, banished to the Cape.

During this time, Jan van Riebeek had his own distinctive problem in the Cape.  His plot was to establish a Dutch garrison to defend the sea route to the East, but all was not going according to plan.  He had hoped that the capture of the local Hottentot population would adequately serve his labour force requirements.  This had proved to be difficult as the Hottentots soon fled to the interior.  Those who were captured were too indolent to work.  Van Riebeek pleaded with the Dutch Council for slaves.  These slaves would be used for hard labour, in addition to which they were made to carry stones, build the Fort, make bricks, dig, plough, sow, plant and construct homes.  They were also used to work the salt mines.

This marked the beginning of the Islamic community in the Cape.