Westville’s first mosque still standing 120 years later

Mark Levin

This week’s look at historic Durban takes in the Scofie Masjid and Darbar at 119 Jan Hofmeyr Road, Westville, which dates back to 1904.

It was one of a series of mosques founded by Hazrath Scofie Saheb, who was born in India in 1848. With the blessing of his family, he travelled to South Africa in 1895 to strengthen Islam among the growing number of Indian labourers who had been arriving in Durban since 1860. After their contracts of indenture had ended, many had settled in Durban and the surrounding areas.

The first mosque which Hazrath Soofie Saheb established was at Riverside, but he was the driving force behind many other mosques, including those at Overport (1901), 45th Cutting, Sherwood (1905) and Westville (1904). All the mosques he founded still survive. When he died suddenly in 1911, he was buried at his first mosque.

At the end of the 19th century, there was a small community of Indians in Westville, many of whom lived on or close to Old Main Road (later renamed Jan Hofmeyr Rd). In need of a place of worship, Hazrath Soofie Saheb secured sufficient donations to buy two plots of land from Shaik Ally who lived in nearby Old New Germany Road.

In 1904, a small mosque was built together with a wood and iron house for the Imam. It is notable that although there had long been Christian worship in Westville, the first purpose-built church (St Elizabeth’s) was only erected in 1939.

A little way up from the mosque is the Outspan Tree, which was the first stop for the wagons travelling from Durban into the hinterland and eventually to Johannesburg.

Near this tree, a Natal fig, was a sign “Free Water at the Mosque”, inviting transport riders to make use of it. The water was from the mosque’s underground well which had a pump which is now on display at Westville’s Bergtheil Museum.

The well was re-opened during the severe drought of 1983/84, but has since been filled in. Also left for the transport riders were barrows of fruit, particularly the small stringy mangoes which had been brought to Natal from India. This variety of mango is still found in Westville and elsewhere.

The generally harmonious relations between the Indian and white communities changed after 1948. Under the Group Areas Act, relocated Indian families were forced out of “white” Westville.

Many were moved to Shallcross; others settled in the new “Indian” enclave in the Devon Terrace and Meerut Road part of Westville in the late 1960s.

Not everyone supported the removal of the Indian community.

Roddy Clarke, who had bought the Westville Hotel in Jan Hofmeyr Road in 1947, employed staff whose families owned houses across the road from the hotel. It was a battle they could not win and they too were forced out. The mosque survived, but was isolated from its community.

One victor was the Imam and his extended family who survived numerous attempts to relocate them. Relying on legal technicalities, they became the only Indian family to live in a white area. However, when the family later applied for their only son, Fuzail, to attend Westville Boys’ High (which is across the road from the mosque) in 1986, permission was refused. Fuzail Soofie is now the Imam, the fifth generation of his family to hold this post.

The family’s original house was later replaced with a brick building to which a small madressa was subsequently added. They still live in this house.

In 1930, a boundary wall was built with traditional arched entrances which have been preserved. There were extensions in 1984 and 1992, but these would prove inadequate after the repeal of the Group Areas Act. Many Muslim families could move back to Westville.

In 2010, a new mosque was built in which only the original entrance and a few walls could be incorporated into its interior. The concept behind the design was a modern interpretation of traditional Islamic architecture. The huge arch exaggerates the 1930 entrance arches, while the aluminium lattice cladding above the arch was laser cut in France by the same company which worked on the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

Even more impressive are the inner teak doors. Hand-carved by Indonesian craftsmen, each set of doors contains a chapter from the Koran: worshippers can both read the Koran and admire the delicate detail of extraordinary artistry. The new mosque can accommodate up to 1 500 worshippers as opposed to 50 a century ago.

Behind the mosque is a carefully maintained cemetery, where many prominent residents are buried, including earlier this year, Zuleikha Mayat (1926-2024), the author of Indian Delights.

Despite being in the heart of Westville and on its most historic road, most residents drive past the mosque unaware of its 120-year history.