During its history, frequent poor weather, fog, strong currents and the high waves of the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the flatness of Robben Island made it a shipping hazard, sinking vessels in shallow waters around its shores. The dangerous location made it perfect for the various uses to which it has been put since the 17th Century. It was a leper colony, a whaling station, an animal quarantine station, and in World War II an armed military base for Cape Town’s defence.

Most people know of the infamous Robben Island as the prison facility where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated. Hundreds of years previously, it was leading Muslim leaders like Sheikh Abdurahman Matebe Shah who were imprisoned for resisting the Dutch East India Company.

On 24 January 1667, the Dutch East India Company’s ship Polsbroek left Batavia and arrived at the Cape on the 13th of May 1668, with three prisoners in chains. They were Malays from the West Coast of Sumatra, brought here after their defeat at the Castle of Soeroesang in 1667. One of them, Sayed Abdurahman Moturu, the Prince of Madura, became one of Cape Town's first imams, who was exiled to the island and he died there in 1754. The other two prisoners of the Polsbroek from Batavia were sent to the Company’s forest at Constantia.

Sayed Abduraghman Moturu, also known as Tuan (Teacher) Matarah was apparently a very learned and religious man known for the cures and comfort he brought to his fellow Robben Island prisoners when they were ill.

When Tuan Matarah died on Robben Island, his grave became a respected shrine. Here those who knew him came to meditate and seek consolation for their suffering. Their example was followed by other prisoners who arrived after his death and they would visit the tomb before leaving the prison. Since the closing of the prison on Robben Island, the Moturu Kramat has become a sacred site for Muslim pilgrimage.

Today, Robben Island, which was declared a World Heritage Site in 1999, can be reached by ferries from the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town. As it is a popular tourist destination it is open throughout the year.