Syed Ameer Ali CSI | |
|---|---|
| Born | 6 April 1849 |
| Died | 3 August 1928(1928-08-03) (aged 79) Sussex, England, United Kingdom |
| Spouse | [3] |
| Children | 2[2] |
| Relatives | Mahbub Ali Khan (grandnephew) |
| Education | |
| Alma mater | Aliah University,University of Calcutta |
| Philosophical work | |
| Era | Islamic modernism |
| Region | Muslim scholar inBritish India and United Kingdom |
| Notable works | The Spirit of Islam[4] |
Syed Ameer AliCSI[5] (6 April 1849 – 3 August 1928) was an Indian jurist, a prominent political leader, and the author of a number of influential books onMuslim history and the modern development of Islam.[1][2][3][6]
He hailed from theState of Oudh, from where his father moved and settled down in theBengal Presidency, and is credited for his contributions to theLaw of India, particularlyMuslim personal law, as well as the development of political philosophy for Muslims, during theBritish Raj.
He was a signatory to the1906 Petition to the Viceroy and was thus a founding member of theAll India Muslim League.[4] He played a key role in securing separateelectorates for the Muslims inBritish India and promoting the cause of theKhilafat Movement.[7][4]
He was born on 6 April 1849, toward the end of theMughal Empire in India, atCuttack inOdisha as the fourth of five sons of Syed Saadat Ali (d. 1856) fromMohan inUnnao ofOudh State.[4][6] TheShiite familytraced its descent toMuhammad through his daughterFatima fromImam Ali al-Rida, his great-grandfather having moved to India fromKhorasan in 1739, duringNadir Shah's Indian campaign.[3]
His father settled in Cuttack after Ameer Ali's grandfather (who worked in the service ofAsaf-ud-Daulah - theNawab of Awadh) died in 1820. There he married the daughter of Shamsuddin Khan, one of the nobles ofSambalpur.[3] He would later move the family toCalcutta, and then toChinsura where they settled more permanently. His family took advantage of the educational facilities provided by theBritish government but was otherwise shunned by the Muslim community. He received his initial education atHooghly Mohsin College, and with the assistance of his British teachers and supported by several competitive scholarships, he achieved outstanding examination results, graduating fromCalcutta University in 1867, and gaining an MA degree with Honours in history in 1868. TheLLB degree followed quickly in 1869. He then began legal practice in Calcutta. By this time, he was already one of the few outstanding Muslim achievers of his generation.[2][3]
After moving to London, where he stayed between 1869 and 1873,[7] he joined theInner Temple (one of four professional associations forbarristers and judges) and made contacts with some people of London.[4] He absorbed the influence of contemporary liberalism. He had contacts with almost all the administrators concerned with India and with leading English liberals such asJohn Bright and the Fawcetts,Henry (1831–1898) and his wife,Millicent Fawcett (1847–1929.)[8]
Syed Ameer Ali resumed his legal practice atCalcutta High Court on his return to India in 1873. The year after, he was elected as aFellow of Calcutta University as well as being appointed as a lecturer inIslamic Law at thePresidency College, Kolkata. In 1878, he was appointed as a member of the Bengal Legislative Council. He revisited England in 1880 for one year.
He became a professor of law at Calcutta University in 1881. In 1883, he was nominated to the membership of the Governor General Council. In 1890, he was made a judge in the Calcutta High Court.[9] Earlier he had founded the political organization, Central National Muhammedan Association, in Calcutta in 1877. This association later spread nationwide, with 34 branches fromMadras toKarachi.[7] This made him the first Muslim leader to put into practice the need for such an organisation due to the belief that efforts directed through an organisation would be more effective than those originating from an individual leader. The Association played an important role in the modernization of Muslims and in arousing their political consciousness.[10] He was associated with it for over 25 years and worked for the political advancement of the Muslims.
Syed Ameer Ali established the London Muslim League in 1908.[7] This organisation was an independent body and not a branch of theAll India Muslim League. In 1909, he became the first Indian to sit as a member of theJudicial Committee of the Privy Council, on which he would serve till his death in 1928.[7] On appointment to thePrivy Council, he became entitled to be addressed asThe Right Honourable.
In 1908, he was an advisory member to the Muhammadan Art and Life in Turkey, Persia, Egypt, Morocco and India exhibition held at the Whitechapel Gallery. The Autumn Exhibition was held from 23 October to 6 December. The opening day for the public was on 27th Ramadan.
In 1910, he formally co-established the London Mosque Fund, alongside a group of prominentBritish Muslims, to finance the building of the first mosque in the capital:East London Mosque, today one of the largest mosques in Europe. His field of activities was now broadened, and he stood for Muslim welfare all over the world. He played an important role in securing separateelectorates for the Muslims in India and promoting the cause of theKhilafat Movement.[7][4]
He retired from Calcutta High Court in 1904 and decided to settle down with his English wife (Isabelle Ida Konstam) in England, where he was somewhat isolated from the main current of Muslim political life.[7] Throughout his career, he was known as ajurist and a well-knownIslamic scholar. He died on 4 August 1928 inSussex (Rudgwick) and was buried inBrookwood Cemetery.[7][11]
Syed Ameer Ali believed that the Muslims, as a downtrodden nation, could get more benefit from loyalty to the British rather than from any opposition to them. For this reason, he called upon his followers to devote their energy and attention to popularising English education among the Muslims. This perception and consequent activism have been known as theAligarh Movement.[12]
Referring to polygamy, Syed Ameer Ali wrote:
Each age has its own standard. What is suited for one time is not suited for the other.[13]
David Samuel Margoliouth, in the preface of his bookMohammed and the Rise of Islam, wrote:
The charming and eloquent treatise of Syed Ameer Ali [The Spirit of Islam] is probably the best achievement in the way of an apology for Mohammed that is ever likely to be composed in a European language.[14]
Syed Ameer Ali, like some other authors of his time, tried to show that Islam was a rational religion.[7]
The Sayed Ameer Ali Hall in theUniversity of Rajshahi in Bangladesh is named for him.
Pakistan Postal Service issued a commemorative postage stamp in 1990 to honor him in its 'Pioneers of Freedom' series.[11]
Ali, Syed Ameer (1849-1928) lawyer, spokesman on Indian Muslim concerns, and writer on Islamic history and society, was born on 6 April 1849 at Cuttack in Orissa.
He was born on April 8, 1849 in Cuttack, Orissa, India.
Indian Muslim jurist and politician (Mohan 1849-Rudgwick, Sussex, 1928).
Works by or aboutSyed Ameer Ali atWikisource
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