Sri Lanka Moor Family Genealogy
ABDUL AZEEZ, Aboobucker Muhammad - Family #201
1 Sultan Abdul Cader
2 Mohamed Sultan Abdul Cader + Sultan Abdul Cader Nachchia aka ‘Ummamma’
3 Mohamed Meera Mohideen Nachchia + Sultan Mohideen Mohamed Aboobucker
4 A M A Azeez, b:Oct 4, 1911 - 1973 + Ummu Kulzum Ismail (10)
5 Marina Zulfikhar Azeez + Ifthikar Ismail (173)
6 Muhammad Murad Ismail
6 Muhammad Riyadh Ismail
5 Muhammad Ali Azeez
5 Iqbal Azeez
3 Meera Mohideen Nachchia aka ‘Ummachchi’ + Mohamed Meerasahib Mohamed Ibrahim Sahib
4 Shahul Hameed
4 Sithy Kathija
4 Noorul Jezeema
Aboobucker Muhammad Abdul Azeez
Born:04-Oct-1911 in Jaffna. Educated at Jaffna Hindu College, St. Josephs’ College, Colombo. Graduated from Ceylon University College. Obtained Government Scholarship and attended St. Catherine’s College, Cambridge in 1934. First Muslim to enter the Ceylon Civil Service (CCS) in 1935. Retired from the CCS in 1948. Appointed to the Senate in 1948. Founded YMMA movement in 1950. Principal, Zahira College, Colombo. Teacher, Educationist, Scholar. Founder, Ceylon Muslims Association. Member, University Court, 1948, University Council, 1951. Select Committee of the Senate on Muslim Mosques and Charitable Trusts (or Wakfs) Bill. Died:24-Nov-1973
KATHI
S.M. ABOOBUCKER
J.P. – Muslim Leader of Jaffna
By Ali Azeez
The
Muslims had lived for many centuries in Jaffna and they were
an integral part
of Jaffna Society. They were traders and later dominated the
hardware, lorry transport,
jewellery, tailoring and meat trades. They shunned education
in Christian
schools for fear of being converted to Christianity. During
their period the
British were more tolerant and with the opening of Hindu
schools the Muslims
showed interest in education by attending schools, and like
the Jaffna Tamils
had built up a proud educational tradition. There were many
academics, poets,
scholars in Tamil and Arabic, Government servants, social
workers and
politicians. The Muslims lived amicably with the Tamils until
October 1990,
when the Muslims were evicted from Jaffna within two hours and
the cordial
relations were completely shattered. Today they are scattered
all over and are
still awaiting resettlement after the ethnic war ended in May
2009. It is
perhaps just as well that some outstanding Muslim leaders of
Jaffna never lived
to see the senseless and cruel dismembering of the Jaffna
Muslim community.
An
affluent and educated Muslim of Vannarpannai in Jaffna, Sultan Mohideen (son of Uvais Naina Lebbe), was
an export merchant
of mainly bark and deer-horn. He was blessed with four sons
S.M. Meera
Mohideen, S.M. Asana Lebbe, S.M. Aboobucker and S.M. Yoosuf in that order.
Sultan Mohideen knew no English, but he had a habit
of reading the
large sized and Bombay printed Tafsir (translation in
Arabic-Tamil) of the Holy
Quran for two to three hours every morning after Subh (early
morning) prayers. His
extensive business interests brought him in touch with
Englishmen or the
English educated mercantile classes. Hence, he had no
antipathy to English
education and sent his sons to the Methodist Mission school
Kilner College in
Chetty Street, Vannarpannai. This was the same school, earlier
called St.
Peter’s School, where Arumaga Navalar had studied under Rev.
Dr. Peter
Percival. It was an off-shoot of Jaffna Central College. This
was significant
in view of the fact that at that time, when the Muslims were
entirely averse to
English education so closely identified with Christianity and
associated with
the fear of proselytization.
Meera Mohideen was successful in hardware business
and was a leading
personality. In 1905 he was an active participant and
represented Jaffna in the
agitation by the Muslims of Ceylon, consequent to M.C. Abdul
Cader refusing to
remove the fez cap in the Supreme Court and walking out.
(Incidentally, Abdul
Cader was born into an affluent family in Jaffna and had the
double distinction
of being the first Muslim Graduate and Advocate in Ceylon.
Later he settled
down in Kattankudy and practiced in the Batticaloa Courts).
Meera Mohideen died
in July 1922.
Asana Lebbe was so brilliant that he carried
away many prizes
including the Bible Prize. He caught up with his elder brother
Meera Mohideen
and both studied in the same class. Asana Lebbe started as a
Government clerical
officer in 1890, perhaps he was the first Muslim to pass the
competitive
Government Clerical Service Examination. He became a scholar
in Tamil and
Arabic, a renowned poet and an expert in Arabic-Tamil. He was
well known as
Asana Lebbe Alim Pulavar. He expired in December 1918.
Yoosuf was a successful merchant dealing in General Hardware
and Brassware,
and died in December 1987 during the IPKF presence in Jaffna.
Kathi S.M. Aboobucker
J.P.
Sultan Mohideen
Aboobucker was
born in September 1890 and died on Monday 12th
June, 1950 at the age of 60 years. On 3rd July, 1910 he
married Mohamed Meera
Mohideen Nachchia, who was the elder daughter of a businessman
and shop owner
Mohamed Sultan Abdul Cader and Sultan Abdul Cader Nachchia.
Their elder son
Mohamed Abdul Azeez was born on 4th October, 1911. On 9th
December, 1918 their
second son Mohamed Thaha was born. On 13th December. 1918
Aboobucker’s wife
died and on 11th December, 1919 Mohamed Thaha expired.
Aboobucker
re-married on 27th March, 1920 and his second wife was Ayesha
Umma, who was the
daughter of Mohamed Abdul Cader. Their eldest daughter
Shareefa was born on
21st January, 1924, and their other children were Hassan,
Raheema, Salam,
Ashraf, Thaha and Fawzia in that order. Aboobucker’s family
lived in Mohideen
Mosque Lane, off Moor Street in Vannarpannai, Jaffna. Ayesha
Umma expired in
January 1962.
At
a young age Aboobucker was well versed in Tamil, English and
the Quran, and was
keen on education, local politics and social activities. He joined the staff of
Chetty Street High School
in July 1912, but left in January 1913 and enrolled as a
Proctor student at the
Law College in Colombo. In August 1918 he qualified as the
first Muslim Proctor
in Jaffna, and was sworn in as a Proctor of the Supreme Court
on 19th May,
1919. He practised in Colombo from 1919 to 1923 and was
involved in the Wakf
Committee and youth organisations. He returned to Jaffna,
provoked by his
eldest brother’s demise, and enjoyed a lucrative practice as a
Proctor and Notary
Public. His ability and integrity was admired and well
respected by the Muslims
and Tamils of the North.
In
1936 Aboobucker was elected as a Member of the Jaffna Urban
Council and was its
Vice Chairman in 1940. He rendered a great service as a Member
of the
Ratepayers’, Hospital, Prisons and Provincial Road Committees
formed for
improvements of these services. In 1948 when the Jaffna
Municipal Council was
formed he was a Member for New Mosque Ward 12 until his
demise. In these
positions he was popular and had the co-operation of all
Muslim and Tamil
Members.
When
Kathi Courts were introduced in 1936, Aboobucker was appointed
as the Kathi for
Jaffna, Point Pedro and Kayts. He performed well in this
position and with his
extraordinary ability in reconciling the parties there were
very few divorce
cases.
Due
to Aboobucker’s religious knowledge he was Khalifa, Trustee of
the Idroos Makam
Mosque and Chief Trustee of the Grand Jummah Mosque. He was
interested in
education and formed the Manba-Ul-Uloom Madrasa, a Muslim
Tamil Mixed School in
Mohideen Mosque Lane with classes in Arabic and other lessons
in Tamil up to
Grade Five, of which he functioned as the Manager. It is
heartbreaking to see
the destruction of this school after 1990. Aboobucker was a
Member of the
Northern Education Committee.
When
a branch of the All Ceylon Muslim League was formed in Jaffna
in 1941, Aboobucker
was its President. He participated in educational conferences
organised by the
League in Matale and Batticaloa and his addresses were praised
by all. From
1944 to 1947 he was elected as the first outstation President
of the All Ceylon
Muslim League. He gave evidence at the Soulbury Commission as
the Jaffna
representative.
Aboobucker’s
services were well recognised and he was appointed as an
All-Island Justice of
the Peace and Unofficial Magistrate (J.P.U.M.) in 1943 by the
Governor Sir
Andrew Caldecott as part of the King’s birthday honours. He
was the first
Muslim to hold these positions in the Northern Province. This
was a honourable
and prestigious position, unlike today, and he was given a
rousing welcome by
the people of Jaffna at the Jaffna Railway Station
Rousing welcome to
Kathi S,M, Aboobucker
at the Jaffna Railway Station
on
being appointed as Justice of the Peace
Reception to Kathi S.M.
Aboobucker in
Jaffna on his appointment as Justice of the Peace
Aboobucker
had a great influence on his children. His eldest son A.M.A.
Azeez was the
first Muslim Civil Servant and was an eminent educationist,
erudite learned
scholar and orator in English and Tamil. Aboobucker was proud
of his son’s
educational achievements, and insisted that Azeez sits for the
C.C.S.
examination before proceeding to Cambridge University on being
awarded the Government
Arts Scholarship. Azeez’s interest in Arabic-Tamil and Muslim
Tamil Literature
was influenced by his ‘Sinnaperiyappa’ (younger paternal
uncle) Asana Lebbe Alim
Pulavar. Aboobucker gave all encouragement to his son, and
just two months
before his demise on 14th April, 1950, he had written to Azeez
about Asana
Lebbe’s compositions. Azeez has done extensive research on his
uncle’s scholarly
contributions. He was admired and well respected by the Tamil
community and the
University of Jaffna conferred a posthumous Doctorate of
Letters honoris causa
at their first convocation
in 1980. Azeez died in November 1973.
Aboobucker’s
eldest daughter Shareefa was married to Kathi M.M. Sultan,
Proctor and first
Muslim Mayor of Jaffna; Hassan qualified as a Proctor and died
soon after in
1955; Salam, Ashraf and Thaha were Officers in Government
Service; Raheema and
Fawzia were married to two brothers who were businessmen;
Raheema, Ashraf and
Thaha passed away few years ago. Aboobucker had many
grandchildren who have
done well in life and some have emigrated.
On
Monday 12th June, 1950, Aboobucker’s close friends Senator
S.R. Kanaganayagam,
Advocate and Proctor C.C. Somasegaram observed that he was
unusually absent in
Court. On hearing that he was not well they visited his home
and Aboobucker breathed
his last in their presence at about 4 p.m. On hearing the news
A.M.A. Azeez, who
was the Principal of Zahira College, rushed home from a
meeting and then to the
railway station and travelled to Jaffna in the night train.
Many friends and
relatives in Colombo travelled by a special Air Ceylon flight
on the next day. The
funeral was held in the evening in the presence of a very
large crowd from many
communities. After the burial the Government Agent, P.G.
Hudson, addressed the
gathering and praised Aboobucker’s virtues and immense
services to the
community.
Kathi
S.M. Aboobucker J.P., M.M.C. was a well respected Muslim
leader of Jaffna.
(Ali Azeez is the son of Dr. A.M.A. Azeez and a grandson of Kathi S.M. Aboobucker)