Abu Bakr Effendi

Sheikh Abu Bakr Effendi, also spelt Ebu Bekir Efendi, was an Ottoman qadi sent in 1862 by Sultan Abdulaziz at the request of Queen Victoria to the Cape Colony, in order to teach and assist the Muslim community of the Cape Malays. He is known for having made several major contributions to Islam in South Africa, including the translation of his 1877 work, Bayân al-Dîn, into the Afrikaans language, then in a very early stage of development. He is credited with introducing the fez as headwear for male Muslims in the Cape, and his presence had a significant impact on the expansion and consolidation of Islam in the Cape Colony.