Islamic heritage as colonial and apartheid redress

‘THE community spirit of Bo-Kaap as described in many historical studies has been carried through the last two centuries by generations of families residing in the area. The protection of religious, cultural and architectural heritage of the area is at the fore of community concerns.’

These are the opening words of the Government Gazette Notice of April 30, 2019, where 19 places across Bo-Kaap, Cape Town, were declared national heritage sites by the Department of Arts and Culture.

They include six mosques, three schools, four historic homesteads and six open landscapes.

This large number of concurrent declarations is unique and unprecedented in the history of post-apartheid South Africa.

Heritage is activated when there is a sense of imminent threat to the survival of a people or a place.

In Bo-Kaap, what is under threat is the inter-generational transmission of cultural knowledge, its religious life and its architectural heritage.

Under this wide ambit, heritage has become a political keyword for the negotiation of identity, access to resources and the wielding of power.