Living Halal in a Muslim-Minority Country

Exploring Halal and Spirituality at the Cape

In the '90s, my husband and I moved to the UK. Despite living there for several years, finding halal food was a continuous struggle. Funny enough, in the area we lived in, there was a large Muslim presence. But finding a mosque to pray in was a struggle as well.

In South Africa, grocery shopping, or even getting takeout, has always been a relatively easy experience for me. I was always assured that these items were almost always halal-certified and safe for me to consume. In Cape Town, there are several Muslim-owned butchers, which meant that halal meat was readily available. In fact, all meat, except pork (obviously), had been slaughtered according to Islamic standards, at the slaughterhouses. As a result, my UK experience of not finding halal food or a mosque to pray in, was rather strange, and quite frankly, an inconvenience.

Upon my return to South Africa, not being able to find halal food in the UK had been an eye-opener for me to appreciate the everyday blessing of being able to live halal in South Africa.

The halal issue aside, South Africa – specifically Cape Town – is blessed with a religious community who are of a high spiritual caliber. We are blessed with an abundance of mosques and Islamic institutions. In many neighborhoods, the call to prayer can be heard floating across the horizon. Muslims are free to adhere to the dress of their faith without fear of being a spectacle. Therefore, it would be safe to say that the Muslim presence in South Africa is strong and visible – despite it being a country in which Muslims are the minority.

This got me thinking: How did this come about? What has paved the way for Muslims to be so free and comfortable in this complex country? 

I have realized that for some time now, there has been a revival of Islam within South Africa and the Cape. I reference Cape Town because it is my city of birth, and I have personally witnessed this revival. For some, there is the opinion that the Muslim community in Cape Town is more synonymous with culture than religious practice. For instance, Capetonian Muslims or 'Cape Malay's are known for Thursday night gatherings spent in remembrance of God. This weekly vigil is referred to as "ghadaad." At a “ghadaad,” Muslims would remember Allah through specific chants and eat delicacies that are indigenous to the community, such as the koeksister (a spicy donut dipped in syrup and coated with fine coconut…mmm very delicious!) and boeber (a warm milky drink flavored with rose water and brimming with almonds, pistachios, and sultana raisins!).

The Cape Malays were famous for their big weddings. There are many traditions attached to the matrimonial ceremony, such as the Malay choir, where singers would belt out songs and choirs would compete with each other for top honors at an annual competition. However, my favorite association with Cape Malays is Bo Kaap. "Bo Kaap" is an Afrikaans term that means "above Cape Town." It is situated at the top of the city of Cape Town, located at the foot of the iconic Lion's Head mountain, where the Indonesian slaves of the Dutch were housed. Today, the area is quaint and picturesque with its colorful houses, worthy of an Instagram post. However, behind the colorful houses lies a painful past, which has shaped and influenced the Cape Town Muslim community.

Growing up, we were taught that the Cape Town Muslim community descended from Indonesian slaves known as "Cape Malays." This was what the history books of the apartheid-era were feeding us. While the sentiment is not entirely false, it does not encompass the full truth. The Muslim community also descends from a line of noble princes and learned men. [1] These men stood up against Dutch oppression and injustice in the 16th century. My descendants were men who were prepared to die for their faith and land.

One of the key proponents of oppression was Jan van Riebeek. Van Riebeek, a disgraced Dutch official, arrived in the Cape of Good Hope, now Cape Town, in 1652 to establish a refreshment station for Dutch ships sailing around the coast of Africa on their way to plunder the east. At that same time, the Dutch were waging a war of occupation against the Indonesian people for ownership of their lands and control of the spices. Led by Imams and chiefs, the Indonesians fought against the Dutch for their freedom. There is documented evidence that the first political prisoner arrived in 1654 and that he was a Muslim. Among the first political exiles from the island of Sumatra to arrive in the Cape were Sheikh Abdurahman Matabe Shah and Sheikh Mahmood. [2]

According to Abdul Kader Tayob 1996 and Ebrahim Moosa 1995, 

"Amongst them were exiled leaders of the resistance against the Dutch colonizers. Some of these dissidents, such as Tuan Guru of Tidore (Imam' Abdallah Qadi' Abd as-Salam, 1712-1807) and sheikh Yusuf of Macassar ('Abidin Tadia Tjoessoep of Macassar, 1629-1699) were religious scholars and played a decisive role with regard to the spiritual foundations of the emerging Muslim communities in the Cape. Both are part of the South African Muslim imagination and are regarded as the symbols of resistance against oppression." [3]

Individuals such as Sheikh Yusuf of Makassar and Tuan Guru, fought against Dutch colonial occupation in Indonesia and were sent to Cape Town as political prisoners. To minimize contact with other exiles, they were banished to remote areas of the Cape. However, this ploy failed miserably as the Muslim community grew as a result of these illustrious noblemen.

Of the remote areas in Cape Town, Robben Island was one of them. It is a notorious landmark off the beautiful coast of Cape Town and a reminder of our oppressive past. It owes its reputation to a famous political prisoner who became the first Black President of the Republic of South Africa. In 1954, Nelson Mandela was handed down a life sentence by the South African Apartheid state, for treason. Mandela, along with other political prisoners, were enslaved to a life of hard labor. Their time spent on the island is a symbol of resistance, and the fight for freedom.

Nelson Mandela, however, was not the first political prisoner at Robben Island. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Dutch imprisoned Indonesian Muslim political leaders. [4] As a result, the Muslim community has been shaped and influenced by people who stood up for their beliefs and fought for their freedom. These men were noble, knowledgeable, and righteous, and came from wealthy and influential families. They could have easily cooperated with the colonizers to secure their wealth, but they stood firm and left a remarkable legacy because of their piety and integrity. 

What does this have to do with the halal issue, you may be asking? Well, everything! As a Muslim-minority community in South Africa, we reap the fruits of our Indonesian forefathers' labor and sacrifice. We are indebted to our forefathers whenever we purchase halal food with ease, walk freely to the mosque, don our Islamic garb, and hear the call to prayer from our homes.

As a global ummah, we need to draw hope and strength from our histories as we navigate our current challenges. Through South African Muslims' history, we are reminded that our challenges do not break us, but they make us stronger, and unite us.

Works cited:

[1] Robert Shell (ed.), From Diaspora to diorama: The Slave Lodge in Cape Town, p. 451 (Cape Town: Ancestry 24, 2006-2007 CD- ROM).

[2] Cape Mazaar Society, p. 26, Guide to the Karamats of the Western Cape, 2010.

[3] https://mesbar.org/islam-in-south-africa-muslims-contribution-to-the-south-african-transition-process-and-the-challenges-of-contextual-readings-of-islam/

[4] http://www.auwalmasjid.co.za/index.php/tuan-guru/