Cape Malays

Cape Malay Choir at the Good Hope Center, Cape Town

Bo-Kaap , Cape Town's Malay Quarter

The Cape Malays are an ethnic group in South Africa that traces its origins back to Muslim , Southeast Asian slaves during the times of Dutch colonial rule . They were from the Dutch East India Company (VOC) from the Dutch East Indies brought. Some of their ancestors are of Malay origin.

The Cape Malays differ from the Cape Coloreds mainly in their religion, Islam . During apartheid they were also classified as colored and mostly speak Afrikaans as their mother tongue .

The Cape Malays live predominantly in the Western Cape Province and especially in Cape Town . Their number should be around 200,000. The Cape Town district of Bo-Kaap is considered to be the historic center of the Cape Malays.

The Cape Malays have had a major impact on South African cuisine .

Web links

Commons : Cape Malay  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Sindre Bangstad: Global Flows, Local Appropriations. Facets of Secularization and Re-Islamization among Contemporary Cape Muslims. Doctoral Thesis, International Institute for the Study of Islam (ISIM), Amsterdam University Press, 2007 (PDF file; 1.84 MB)