Robben island kramat celebrated
|Published
SYMBOL OF FAITH: 400 Muslims visited the island.
Hundreds of Muslims flocked to the V&A Waterfront to set sail to Robben Island in a celebration of the island’s kramat as a symbol of struggle and faith.
A kramat, also known as a mazaar or durga, is a shrine that honours a holy person of Islam.
The kramat was built from 1967 to 1969, over the grave of Sayed Abdurahman Motura, a political prisoner brought to the Cape from Batavia, in the 18th century.
The Cape Mazaar Society said the shrine of Sayed Abduraghman Motura, also known as Tuan Matarah, was a symbol of the struggle for the establishment of Islam.
It is an expression of Islam’s power, having survived all kinds of restrictions, prejudices, imprisonment and oppression in a land called “the fairest Cape on the circumference of the Earth”, reports IOL.
Ironically, the shrine was constructed by apartheid prison authorities.
On Sunday, over 400 Muslims from across South Africa and further afield boarded boats to the island where the annual Urs of Sayed Abdurahman Motura was held by the Cape Mazaar Society and the Cape Urs Committee.
Also in attendance were leaders from the Cape Town Ulama Board (CTUB), Muslim Judicial Council and Sunni Ulama Council Cape.
CTUB executive board member Shayk Sayed Ridhwaan said the kramat should be remembered for its establishment of Islam.
“The deep rooted celebrations of Islam must not stop due to unfounded claims by extremists minorities, we should remember [that] the kramat on Robben Island is a symbol of the struggle for the establishment of Islam, it is our responsibility and duty to continue educating people about these kramats and saints that lie buried around the Cape,” he said.