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Claremont Line

Cape Town, Claremont family tree

First Generation​

Imam Abdulla Slemmen (1819-1885)​

Married Janapie Baseau (1834-1923).

Children​

  • Suleiman
  • Oesman
  • Galema
  • Magmoed
  • Karema
  • Mochamat
  • Joseph
  • Gadeja

Second Generation Highlights​

Imam Magmoed Slamang (1865-1928)​

Married Aysa Mazoer (1869-1918).

Children​

  1. Janap Julie (1892-1947)
  2. Rukeah Salie (1895-1937)
  3. Gadija Slamang (1901-1936)
  4. Imam Armien Slamang (1906-1955)
  5. Qaasiem Slamang (1908-?) - died young
  6. Abbas Slamang (1911-1980) married Asa Davids (1925-2004)

Descendants through Imam Armien Slamang​

  • Magmoed Slamang (1930-1995) married Kaamilah Arnold (1929-2023)
  • Achmat Slamang (1933-1982) married Gafsa Salaam (1943- )
  • Koelsum Slamang (1935- )
  • Rashaad Slamang (1937- ) married Asa
  • Rashieda Slamang (1937- ) first married Ebrahiem Albertus, then Allie Salie
  • Gamza Slamang (1939-1988) first married Farieda Arnold, then Zynoenisa; adopted Sharief Slamang and Rudaiba Slamang
  • Abdullah Slamang (1940- ) married Rashidah van der Schyff
  • Ebrahiem Slamang (1942-2017) married Amiena Abrahams (1944- )
  • Nassiem Slamang (1944- ) married Galiema Abdullah
  • Omar Slamang (1947- ) first married Irene Hazel (1944- ), then married Shereen Heffen
  • Safoora Slamang (1946- ) married Fuad Domingo (1940-2019)
  • Mogammat Hassiem Slamang (1950-2017) married Fouzia Pastor (1951- )

Karima Slamang (1867-1905)​

Married Bakardien Hendricks (1852-1926).

Children​

  1. Ebrahim Hendricks (1893-1957) married Asa
  2. Mariam Hendricks (1895- ) married Mohammed Hoosain Ebrahiem Peerbhai
  3. Galima Hendricks (1904-1967) married Omar Crombie
  4. Zubaida Hendricks
  5. Hassiem Hendricks
  6. Moegamat Noor Hendricks
  7. Moegamat Ganief Hendricks

Imam Magmoed Slamang of Claremont​

Imam Magmoed Slamang Imam Magmoed Slamang.

Researched and compiled by Mogamat Armien Slamang, 30 January 2024

Imam Magmoed was the son of Abdulla Slemman (1819-1885) and Janapie Baseau (1834-1923). He was born in 1865 on a property that was bought by his father Abdulla in 1858. The property was situated in Draper Street, Claremont, below the railway line near what is now Palmyra Road. He was one of eight children born there. This property remained in the family for 44 years.

Imam Magmoed Slamang was the father of Abbas Slamang, and the grandfather of Mogamat Armien Slamang, who compiled this account.

While on Hajj, Imam Magmoed wrote to his family in Claremont from Mecca on 7 April 1928. Because the letter was written in English, it suggests that he had some secular education. The original letter and envelope are now in the possession of his great-granddaughter, Mariam "Mynah" Salie (born Davids), of 10 Ella Street, Bo-Kaap, Cape Town. He also wrote kitaabs in Jawi and Arabic script, and one such kitaab was passed down to his son, the late Imam Armien Slamang.

Imam Magmoed was appointed as the first Imam of the Stegman Road Mosque in Claremont. According to the Slamang family's oral history, he led the first Jumuah prayer when the building of the mosque was completed on 25 August 1911, which coincided with 1 Ramadan 1329 AH.

He served his community until the end of 1927. He passed away in Mecca between April and August 1928, though the exact date of his death is unknown.

Some written evidence of Imam Magmoed's Hajj journey is found in a diary of the late Imam Mohammad Salie Saban of Simonstown, who recorded Muslim events from 1904 to 1928. On page 68, he noted that "Imam Magmood of Claremont" was among those who departed by steamer for Makkah in late December 1927. Together with Imam Magmoed's own letter from Mecca, this helps identify the pilgrim in the diary entry as Imam Magmoed Slamang of Claremont.

Research into Dutch steamers operating at the Cape during that period suggests that the ship referred to as SS Clip Fountain in the diary was likely the S.S. Klip Fontein, launched in 1922 and active until the end of 1928.

Photographs like this one help connect the documented Claremont line to a remembered individual. They give later generations a more personal sense of continuity, linking names in records and family trees to an ancestor whose memory remained alive within the family.