Page 146 - Bulletin 17 2013

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Although commonly referred to as Cape Malays – suggesting a solely Malaysian ancestry, this

term is believed by some to be incorrect. A common lingua franca was Malayu, a mixture of
languages from the Malaysian and Indonesian islands many of them had come from. It is

believed by some that the use of Malayu led to all Muslims being referred to as Cape Malays. It
is quite easy to see that these Indonesian people with their centuries-old knowledge of the sea

and of fishing would be the mainstay of the VOC fishing operations, first at Roggebaai and later
at Kalk Bay. An early traveller to Kalk Bay mentions that it was mainly Malay fishermen who

had manned the boats that had caught 16 whales so far that season at Kalk Bay.

After the emancipation of slaves in 1838, more Muslim fishing families moved to Kalk Bay and

settled in the area of Die Dam where they were joined by immigrants from Indonesia.

Kirkaldy (1989) has recorded that a Kalk Bay mosque was in existence in 1846 but it has not

been possible to confirm this. (A mosque should more correctly be called a masjid.) What is
known is that Imam Rejaldien Sallie bought erf 89718 from Robert Andrew Fish in 1902 and a

mosque is named on this site on the 1902 map. It is believed it may have been a converted house.
It appears partially in various old photos and more completely in a photo of the top of Rouxville

Road dating from the early 1950s. (Fig. 3.28.)

The first Imam is recorded as Rejaldien and may well have been his father. Despite best efforts,

no information has been traced about the first Imam, except oral history which says he was a
wise man from Java who spoke seven languages.

The Imam’s Will makes it clear that the mosque was built by the Muslim community. Rejaldien
Sallie was a fisherman at Kalk Bay for many years and in 1914 was recorded as owning the

fishing boat Sea Flower. (Fig. 3.29.) After Imam Sallie died in 1935 the mosque was transferred
to a Trust and so it remains today.

The next Imam was Hassiem Fisher, also a fisherman whose family lived in Rosmead Road for
many years, before building next to the Cozyns on MacRobert Steps.