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Indonesia’s culture minister has announced a new Shaykh Yusuf Cultural House in Macassar, a project set to strengthen Indonesia–South Africa ties and honour the saint’s enduring legacy.
BY EBRAHIM PETERS
THE Indonesian Ministry of Culture has announced plans to build the Shaykh Yusuf Indonesian Cultural House near the maqam of Shaykh Yusuf al-Makassari (RA) in Macassar, about 45 minutes from central Cape Town.
The announcement was made by Fadli Zon, Indonesia’s Minister of Culture, during his visit to the maqam on Friday, October 31, 2025. The minister was in South Africa for the G20 Culture Ministers Meeting in KwaDukuza, KwaZulu-Natal.
The visit was hosted by the Nurul Latief Islamic Association in Macassar, represented by Imam Adam Philander and Ebrahim Peters, who met with Minister Zon and his delegation.
Minister Zon said: ‘The Shaykh Yusuf Indonesian Cultural House will serve as a centre for arts, cultural activities and inter-community interaction — to instil values of spirituality and tolerance, as well as to promote cultural exchange and historical research.’
He added: ‘Shaykh Yusuf al-Makassari is a bridge of civilisation between Indonesia and South Africa. The Cultural House will be a symbol of the enduring friendship between the two nations that has existed for centuries.’
The initiative builds on a 2008 proposal by Indonesia’s former president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who expressed interest in a legacy project to honour one of Indonesia’s national heroes.
The planned development will include a library, museum and cultural centre serving the Kramat community and the broader Muslim community of Cape Town. The venue will be open to all South Africans and international visitors.
The Cultural House will be modelled on the Balla Lompoa Museum in Sungguminasa, located in the Gowa Regency of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The Cape Town site will cover approximately 2 000 square metres near the Shaykh Yusuf Kramat, which is a South African heritage site.
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Professor Faadiel Essop, a trustee of the ShahMohamad Trust, which owns the land, confirmed that the structure may be built on their property. The project will require collaboration between the South African and Indonesian governments, as well as other key partners.
Shaykh Yusuf: A link between Indonesia and South Africa
Abadin Tadia Tjoessoep, better known as Shaykh Yusuf, was born in Makassar in 1626. A nephew of Sultan Alauddin, the first king of Gowa to embrace Islam in 1603, he became a leading scholar and resistance figure against Dutch colonial rule in Southeast Asia.
Captured and imprisoned in Batavia and later exiled to Colombo, he was eventually sent to the Cape of Good Hope in 1693 and settled on the Zandvliet farm, on the banks of the Eerste River — the area now known as Macassar, named after his birthplace.
Shaykh Yusuf passed away at the age of 73 on May 23, 1699, and is revered as the ‘Father of Islam in South Africa’.
He was proclaimed a National Hero of Indonesia on August 7, 1995, and in 2005 the South African government posthumously awarded him the Order of Companions of OR Tambo in Gold for his struggle against colonial oppression.
For more information, contact Ebrahim Peters at 082 562 5457.
