There is a man I want to thank for empowering me whenever I've been in
South Africa, and especially when I first introduced Werner Erhard's
work to South Africa in 1979. I've never thanked him publicly before,
so this is something of a coming out for me.
His name is Sheikh Noorul Mubeen. He came out to South Africa from
Holland about three hundred years ago as a prisoner of the Dutch East
India Company. He was forced to develop the then Cape Colony. He was
freed once his contract with the Dutch East India Company expired. He
is therefore one of the forefathers of the Cape Malay nation in South
Africa.
There were times during the epic apartheid years when I shared Werner's
work in South Africa when I was literally afraid for my life. It was in
times like those (I'm not saying I understand how these things work)
when Sheikh Noorul Mubeen watched over me. I have a lot to be thankful
to him for.
If you're in South Africa and are interested in who Sheikh Noorul
Mubeen is and what his history in South Africa means to the Cape Malay
nation there, I suggest that you visit with him. You'll find him in the
kramat (ie mosque) just south of Bakoven on the
magnificent west coast road which meanders around the Cape Peninsula.
Thank You Sheikh Noorul Mubeen. I could never have done this without
you.