Founded in 1794 on Dorp Street, the Auwal Mosque is the oldest mosque in South Africa and the cradle of Islam at the Cape. It was established by Tuan Guru, a prince from the island of Tidore in present-day Indonesia who had been exiled to Robben Island by the Dutch and who, on his release, set up the country's first Muslim congregation here. From its cramped beginnings in a former warehouse, it became the centre of religious and educational life for the Cape Malay community.
The mosque is still in daily use, and its modest white facade — easy to walk past among the coloured houses — belies its historical weight. Visitors are welcome outside prayer times if respectfully dressed, and a quiet look inside, or simply a pause at the doorway, adds depth to a stroll through the Bo-Kaap. The mosque anchors the same stretch of slope as the Bo-Kaap Museum and the brightly painted streets that draw the photographers.