The Muslim cemetery Tana Baru (meaning 'New Ground'), where some of the earliest and most respected Muslim settlers of South Africa were buried, was closed in terms of the Public Health Act No. 4 of 1883.
Following the granting of religious freedom to Muslims in 1804, the Batavian government granted the first piece of land for a Muslim cemetery - Tana Baru - to Frans van Bengalen on October 02, 1805.
Despite its closure, the Tana Baru, situated in the Bo-Kaap (Malay Quarter), has always been regarded as the most hallowed of Muslim cemeteries in Cape Town. Three prominent early Cape Muslim Imams, namely Tuan Nuruman, Tuan Sayeed Alawse and Tuan Guru lie buried on the Tana Baru grounds and shrines have been erected to honour them.
eventREF E-0011107Revised
Event record
The historic Tana Baru Muslim cemetery is forced to close
- Date
- 15 Jan 1886
- Updated
- 13 Jan 2021
Tana Baru, 2014
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How we know this
- 01SAHO Tana Baru Cemetery Uprising [online] Available at: www.sahistory.org.za [Accessed on 3 December 2013]
- 02Tana Baru HISTORY OF THE TANA BARU AT A GLANCE [online] Available at: www.tanabaru.co.za [Accessed on 3 January 2013]
Last updated · 13 Jan 2021
South African History Online. (2011, March 16). The historic Tana Baru Muslim cemetery is forced to close. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011107
South African History Online (2011) 'The historic Tana Baru Muslim cemetery is forced to close', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011107 (Accessed: 21 July 2026).
South African History Online, The historic Tana Baru Muslim cemetery is forced to close [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011107, (accessed 21 July 2026).
"The historic Tana Baru Muslim cemetery is forced to close." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011107. Accessed 21 July 2026.
South African History Online. "The historic Tana Baru Muslim cemetery is forced to close." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011107.
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