Abu Bakr Effendi
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Sheikh Abu Bakr Effendi | |
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Hanafi | |
Notable work(s) | Bayân al-Dîn (1877) |
Sayyid Sheikh Abu Bakr Effendi (c. 1814 – 29 June 1880), was an
Early life
Abu Bakr Effendi ([1]) was born in 1814 in the Ottoman Sanjak of Zor, although his year of birth has been erroneously cited as 1835.[2]
His father, Mullah Omar, Administrator of the ancient family School in Siysaawah, was killed according to Ottoman Archives by nationalist Kurdish uprisings against the Ottoman Administration. He studied at the
He was asked by the Ottoman Sultan to give teachings in the
Life and work in South Africa
The Cape Malays had arrived in the
Other
He gained notoriety in 1869 after ruling that
Death and legacy
Effendi died on 29 June 1880 at his home in Bree Street, Cape Town, and was buried in the Tana Baru Cemetery.[3] He had contracted malaria from reportedly travelling to Dera in Mozambique.
His most visible impact was the wearing of the fez by Malay men,[5][3] but his presence also had a significant impact on the growth and self-identity of the Cape Malay Muslims at the Cape. The expansion of Islamic schools drew children from Christian mission schools, and conversion to Christianity drew to a halt. Attendance at mosques and other Islamic religious observances grew.[5]
Publication
He published the
Also, written in a modified
The book, totalling 254 pages, appears to follow the
- ritual cleansing (pp. 2–66)
- ritual prayer (pp. 66–219)
- religious tax (pp. 219–258)
- fasting (pp. 258–284)
- slaughtering of livestock (pp. 284–302)
- religious prohibitions (pp. 302–344)
- drink (pp. 344–349)
- hunting (pp. 349–354)
Adrianus van Selms , a Dutch scholar and Semitic researcher, published a transliteration in Latin script of Effendi's work in 1979. Since the original work presented spoken Afrikaans without using vowels, van Selms biggest task was to decipher which Afrikaans words were being referred to. Effendi had also innovated new Arabic characters for several Afrikaans letters not found in the Arabic alphabet, the letter 'P' for example. What is interesting is that these innovated letters had to be unique, yet still recognisable by the population who were already schooled in traditional Arabic. Since this was a local modification to the language, used only amongst the Cape Muslim Community, it may have proved illegible for those familiar with traditional Arabic.[citation needed]
Family and descendants
Effendi's first wife was from Erzurum with whom he had children but were left in Turkey on his mission to South Africa. His first wife in South Africa was Rukea Maker, said to be the daughter of an English woman and a Cape Muslim man, but this marriage ended with divorce and his wife eloping.[5] He sent his 2 sons from this marriage to Istanbul under the patronage of the Ottoman Sultan. His daughter Fahimah was his eldest child from his marriage to Maker.[citation needed]. This is however contested as Fahimah no birth certificates in South Africa unlike his other children as is believed to have been born in Turkey. She married the Turkish Sheikh Abdurezzek ilmi Efendi.
His second wife was the daughter of a
Ahmad (also spelt Achmat[4]) became involved in Cape politics. He became a member of the Cemetery Committee because the cemetery where his father's grave was situated was threatened with closure by the Cape Administration. He stood for the legislature of the Cape but failed to get the required votes for a seat due to a change in the system for cumulative votes, amended especially to keep him out of the Cape legislature. In Singapore is the grave of Effendi's son, Ahmed, who was the Ottoman Turkish Ambassador to Singapore.[further explanation needed]
Some of Effendi's sons served in the
Many of Effendi's descendants continue to reside in South Africa,[when?] some under the surname Emjedi, while some returned to Turkey and others migrated to Australia.[citation needed]
On 20 August 2020, 15 of Effendi's South African descendants became Turkish citizens by
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Ottoman descendants in South Africa get Turkish citizenship". Daily Sabah. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "The Shaykh of Knowledge Abu Bakr Effendi". abubakreffendi.net. 28 July 2012. Archived from the original on 16 September 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g Argun, Selim (2000). "Life and Contribution of Osmanli Scholar, Abu bakr Effendi, towards Islamic thought and Culture in South Africa" (PDF). pp. 7–8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 August 2011.
- ^ JSTOR 41033772. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Van Bruinessen, Martin (2014). A nineteenth-century Ottoman Kurdish scholar in South Africa:Abu Bakr Efendi (PDF). www.let.uu.nl. Archived from the original on 25 November 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
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Sources
- Orakçı, Serhat (October 2007), A Historical Analysis of the Emerging Links between the Ottoman Empire and South Africa between 1861–1923. (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 31 August 2011, retrieved 26 May 2010
- ISBN 975-428-162-9, archived from the original(PDF) on 5 June 2011, retrieved 4 December 2009
- http://www.biyografya.com/biyografi/9179 "Seyyid Abdürrezzak ilmi efendi"
- tr:Ömer Nasuhi Bilmen "Omer Nasuhi Bilmen"
Further reading
- Babb, Glenn (2010), "Abubakr Effendi – A Young Turk among the Afrikaners", A Young Turk among the Afrikaners, Cape Town: National Library Quarterly Review Vol. 62 No 1 Jan-Mar 2010
- Babb, Glenn (2020). "Ons Taal se begin in die Bo-Kaap", Rapport Weekliks, 5 January 2020
- "History of Muslims in South Africa: A Chronology". SA History Online. 30 October 2007. Archived from the original on 9 June 2009.