Noor el Hamedia

Noorel Hamedia and its Turkish Connection

Sayed Abu Bakr Effendi was sent by Sultan Abdulaziz of the Ottoman Caliphate to Cape Town in 1862 to educate and provide guidance to the muslims of the area. He introduced the "Hanafi" madhab as that was the official madhab of the Ottomon empire even though he was scholar in all 4 schools of Sunni Islam.

His students at the Ottomon School of Theology in Bree street later became one of the most prominent religious leaders and politicians in South Africa. 

He was the inspiration for the building of the Noor el Hamedia Mosque which was purchased in 1881 by his descendant Mogamat Dollie and Jongie Siers. The Ottomon Sultan and Caliph Abdul Hamid II sent considerable donations to the Cape Muslims in order to officially establish the Masjid in 1884. Yildiz Hamidia Mosque was also established in Istanbul in 1884 and both were named after Sultan Hamid II in his honour.

The first Imam of the masjid was Achmat Sediek, who was one of his Abu Bakr Effendi's students, and resided between 1881 and 1903. Other notable Imams included, Ismail Manie and Hafez Salie Davids.