Sheikh Yusuf

Shaykh Yusuf, full name Tuanta Salama ri Gowa Shaykh Yusuf Abul Mahasin Al Taj Al- Khalwati Al- Makassari Al- Banteni, ( born July 3, 1626 Gowa Makassar or, South Sulawesi, † May 23, 1699 in Cape Town, South Africa) was an Indonesian Muslim from aristocratic family. In 1693 he was exiled by the Dutch at the Cape of Good Hope. His nickname or name of honor are, inter alia Tuanta Salamaka, Tajul Khalwati and Abadin Tadia.

Earlier times in Indonesia

Yusuf was born the nephew of King Sultan Alauddin Gowas XIV and named him Muhammad Yusuf. He later married his cousin, daughter of Sultan Alauddin, and walked the age of eighteen after Bantam, where he met the Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa. In 1644 he went on pilgrimage to Mecca for the Hajj, spent several years there, studying with various Islamic scholars. As Yusuf left the Arabian Peninsula in 1664, just started the war between Makassar and the Dutch East India Company (VOC ), which is why he could not return. He instead went to Bantam in Java, where he was received by the Sultan Ageng. Yusuf married the daughter of the Sultan and was religious judge and personal advisor to the Sultan. He stayed there for about 16 years until 1680, when Sultan Ageng against his support of the VOC son, Sultan Haji fought. When Sultan Ageng was defeated by the VOC in 1682, Sheik Yusuf continued to fight until he was captured and was launched in September 1684 to exile in Sri Lanka.

Exile in Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka Shaykh Yusuf remained active in the spread of Islam, so he created hundreds - had students, including one of the known Islamic scholars of India, the Sheikh Ibrahim ibn Mi'an - mostly South Indian. As Shaykh Yusuf had in Sri Lanka by passing pilgrims still in contact with his followers in Indonesia, he was finally brought in July 1693 by the Dutch into exile in South Africa.

Exile in South Africa

In South Africa, Shaykh Yusuf Islam taught and had many followers and students there again until he died on May 23, 1699. His death anniversary is today honored by his descendants as a memorial. The small town in which he lived, was named after his birthplace Macassar. Former South African President Nelson Mandela honored him as "one of Africa's best sons ."