Early Life and Times in South Africa
Abu Bakr was born in ancient province Shehrizur in Kurdistan. His father Molla Omar Al-Baghdadi an Ottoman Governor, was killed in a bedouin raid. He is known to have studied in the Madrassa originally set up by his ancestor Emir Suleyman for the people of the area. Further studies and teachings were in Erzurum, Istanbul, and Makkah.
Many mistake Sayyid Abu Bakr for being a Kurdish due to his place of birth. But his family was more cosmopolitan than that. One cannot belong to the Quraysh Tribe and a Sayyid while also be a Kurd. Abu Bakr is a descendant of the Imam Zain-ul-Abidin, making him of Arab and Quraysh heritage. It is known the descendants and followers of Imam Zain-ul-Abidin migrated to Yemen and northern Iran after the persecution of the Imam and his son Emir Zaid, better known as Zaid ibn Ali.
According to the Travelogue of Omar Lutfi Effendi, while he and Abu Bakr traveled by sea. At a later age Omar Lutfi returned to Turkey where his descendants still reside. His Travelogue was translated into English from Ottoman Turkish by Turkish/American Islamic Scholar Yusuf Kavakci.
Many of Abu Bakr Effendi's descendants originate from his marriage to Tohora Saban Cook whom he married after renouncing the "perfectly white" first wife, Rukea Maker. He had 5 sons, Ahmad Ataullah, Hisham Nimatullah, Omar Jalaluddin, Muhammad Alauddin, and Hussain Fowzy. Fahimah his daughter was Abu Bakr's eldest child from his marriage to Rukea. The family continues to reside in South Africa, with some returning to Turkey, and many migrating to Australia. Some of Abubakr's sons continued in his footsteps of serving far and wide, with one son, Ahmed, getting involved in Cape politics. He became member of the Cemetery Committee because the cemetery where his father's grave was situated was threatened with closure by the Cape Administration. He stood for the legislature of the Cape but failed to get the required votes for a seat due to a change in the system for cumulative votes, amended especially to keep him out of the lCape legislature. Some also served in the Ottoman Army and fought in the Hejaz against the Anglo and Arab nationalist uprising against the Ottoman Empire. There currently exists in Singapore the grave of Abu Bakrs son, Ahmed, who served as the Ottoman Turkish Ambassador to Singapore.
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