HERITAGE DAY: Auwal Mosque, from madressa to living legacy

More than 230 years ago, the property that today houses the Auwal Mosque served as a madressah, or Islamic school.

Nearly 1 000 people attended the Auwal Mosque's anniversary this past Sunday, honouring and celebrating the fact that Sartjie van de Kaap gave the community the lands and rights to establish what is now the oldest mosque not just in Cape Town, but in South Africa.

Together with Sheikh Imam Ismail Londt, Mogammad Carr is the co-imam at the Auwal Mosque where they lead the daily prayers.

“We have the deeds from Sartjie van de Kaap; I have seen it myself and it's in our possession,” said Imam Carr.

“Sartjie van de Kaap was instrumental to the building of this mosque, this was a warehouse and it was first a madressa, so that came before the masjid. The Auwal Mosque was the first to be built here and it serves a role – it fulfils a role that it serves the community,” he said.

Imam Carr says that the mosque is not just for Bo-Kaap residents to attend but for all South Africans to visit.

“We recognise the value of the Auwal Masjid, back then people were drawn to the mosque, to Islam, and today Islam can still serve as part of the solution to the problems we face in South Africa.

“This is not only for the Muslims but for the whole of the world in fact. We come from a rich tradition and we need to preserve it.”

Cassiem Abdullah, 75, the secretary of the Auwal Mosque, has been coming to the mosque since he was 9 years old and has served on the committee for over 40 years.

“My father brought me here when I was a young boy. I was about 9 years old, so I’ve been involved with this masjid for many years. I’ve been coming here for many years, so I have so many good memories,” Mr Abdullah said.

Mr Abdullah says that the importance of women cannot be underestimated as they are integral to the traditions that surround the Auwal Mosque and Islam.

“On Eid mornings you can see that this is a family-oriented event – fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, all come here. We have women who attend the dhikr (pray evening in honour of Allah) on Thursday nights and the sons of my friends are now getting involved with the masjid and of course, they have been coming here since they were children.”

Besides being a place of worship, the educational aspects of Islam is featured regularly at the Auwal Academy.

“Our main focus is to get them ready to read the Qur’an; I teach books one to three. We do surah readingsand we teach various aspects of Islam,” said Nazly Mowlana, 53, a teacher at the academy since 2020.

“I have fun interactions with the kids and during the lockdown we had to do it online, which was a challenge. I have a small class of 11 and we take kids in from the age of 6 and they enjoy the learning,” she said.

“The continuation of the education is very important for me, I mean this mosque started as a madressa and we are part of it and I’m proud to be part of it. We will be teaching the kids about the history of the Auwal, so that the kids know about it and they know their history.”

Abdeya Da Costa, 98, the oldest resident of the Bo-Kaap, lives less than 20 metres from the mosque and claims that the sound of the athaan (call to prayer) relaxes her.

“I grew up in a religious family; my father was an imam at the Palm Mosque in Long Street, my mother held slamse skool (madressah) and my grandfather, my mother’s father, was also an imam. So we – I had three sisters– grew up surrounded by Islam,” she said.

“The athaan has an echo that goes directly to my soul and I’ve had it all my life.”