The Tana Baru cemetery uprising – considered the most significant form of civil disobedience by South African Muslims in the 19th century by historians – came after the Cape government closed a number of urban cemeteries due to a smallpox epidemic.

On Jan. 17, 1886, the Muslim community revolted against the closure of Tana Baru when 3,000 marched to the graveyard to bury a child, Ibn Amaldien. As police attempted to take the names of those who had breached the law on burials, they were stoned by protestors.

The following days saw Muslims flood the streets in a protest that was eventually put down by 1,200 troops. Thirteen Muslims were convicted of rioting and sentenced to two months imprisonment with hard labor.

Shortly afterwards the cemetery was reopened.

“We are spreading awareness about our history as Muslims and as South Africans,” Aadil Bassier, chairman of the Tana Baru Trust, told Anadolu Agency. “The uprising is an example of when communities come together to achieve the greater good.”

As well as being the site of the historic uprising, the cemetery holds the graves of prominent Muslims who played a key role in the development of Islam in South Africa.

Among them are the Ottoman scholar Sheikh Abu Bakr Effendi; Indonesia’s Prince Imam Abdullah Kadi Abdus Salaam; Tuan Said Aloewie, the first imam of Cape Muslims; and Tuan Nuruman, who led the Cape’s early Muslim community in the late 18th century.

“We are blessed with Islam here because of the actions and significance of those buried here,” Arsia Abderoof, a descendant of Abdus Salaam, said. “A child in 1886 is still moving our hearts today.”

Islam was first established in South Africa by slaves, prisoners and exiles brought from the Indonesian archipelago by the Dutch. It was later reinforced by Indians who arrived as laborers.

During the period of British rule, Abu Bakr was sent to the Cape by Ottoman Sultan Abdulmecid I at the request of Queen Victoria to teach and help the Muslim community.

“I came here to discover the Tana Baru story and I learnt so much about those who came to South Africa from Malaysia, Indonesia and Turkey,” Indonesian visitor Tisa Khairunnisa said.

For student Riyad Jacobs, the uprising has lessons for the modern world. “We as a community can learn today from their actions,” he said. “We need to be active citizens in the path to our democratic peace.”

In the coming years, the cemetery is to be preserved for future generations. Three months ago, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency contributed to upgrading the cemetery’s security.

The trust plans to develop the cemetery into a garden of remembrance that will function as both a graveyard and an open-air museum and hopes assistance from the Indonesian and Turkish communities will help preserve its place in history.

By Shu’eib Hassen