Jan van Boughies [Imam Asnoon]
the most prominent of the slaves from Celebes to arrive at the Cape of Good Hope, had a remarkable administration as imam of the Palm Tree Masjid [also known as Jan van Boughies Masjid] during the first half of the 19th century. He and
Frans van Bengalen
purchased a property in Long Street, Cape Town, after a dispute over succession to the imamate of the Auwal Masjid. They initiated their own congregation and opened a prayer room which later was converted into the Palm Tree Masjid, the second oldest in South Africa. Jan, also known as Imam Asnoon, succeeded
Imam Abdolgamiet [ `Abd al-Hamid]
from 1808 to 1846. Jan, who had been manumitted by
Salia van Macassar
[a free Muslim woman], later married her. Jan died in 1846 at the age of 112, leaving behind his second wife,
Sameda van de Kaap,
who dedicated the property as a masjid in memory of her late husband and called it “De Kerk van Jan van Boughies” [The Masjid of Jan van Boughies].