Syed Ameer Ali


Syed Ameer Ali Order of the Star of India was an Indian/British Indian jurist hailing from the state of Oudh from where his father moved and settled down at Orissa. He was a prominent political leader, and author of a number of influential books on Muslim history and the modern development of Islam, who is credited for his contributions to the Law of India, particularly Muslim Personal Law, as well as the development of political philosophy for Muslims, during the British Raj. He was a signatory to the 1906 Petition to the Viceroy and was thus a founding-member of the All India Muslim League.

Family background

He was born on 6 April 1849, toward the end of Mughal empire in India, at Cuttack in Odisha as the fourth of five sons of Syed Saadat Ali. His father moved the family to Calcutta, and then to Chinsura where they settled more permanently. His family took advantage of the educational facilities provided by the British government but otherwise shunned by the Muslim community. With the assistance of his British teachers and supported by several competitive scholarships, he achieved outstanding examination results, graduating from Calcutta University in 1867, and gaining an MA degree with Honours in history in 1868. The LLB 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.

Political career

After moving to London, where he stayed between 1869 and 1873, he joined the Inner Temple and made contacts with some people of London. He absorbed the influence of contemporary liberalism. He had contacts with almost all the administrators concerned with India and with leading English liberals such as John Bright and the Fawcetts, Henry and his wife, Millicent Fawcett
Syed Ameer Ali resumed his legal practice at Calcutta High Court on his return to India in 1873. The year after, he was elected as a Fellow of Calcutta University as well as being appointed as a lecturer in Islamic Law at the Presidency College, Kolkata. In 1878, he was appointed as the member of the Bengal Legislative Council. He revisited England in 1880 for one year.
He became a professor of law in 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. Earlier he had founded the political organisation, Central National Muhammedan Association, in Calcutta in 1877. This association later spread nationwide with 34 branches from Madras to Karachi. 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 modernisation of Muslims and in arousing their political consciousness. He was associated with it for over 25 years, and worked for the political advancement of the Muslims. Syed Amir Ali became the second Indian to hold the post of law member of the government of India, assuming the position after Satyendra P. Sinha resigned in November 1910.
Syed Ameer Ali established the London Muslim League in 1908. This organisation was an independent body and not a branch of All India Muslim League. In 1909, he became the first Indian to sit as a member of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council on which he would serve till his death in 1928. On appointment to the Privy Council he became entitled to be addressed as The 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 October 23 to December 6. The opening day to the public was on 27th Ramadan.
In 1910, he formally co-established the London Mosque Fund, alongside a group of prominent British 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 separate electorates for the Muslims in South Asia and promoting the cause of the Khilafat Movement.
He retired from Bengal High Court in 1904 and decided to settle down, with his English wife in England where he was somewhat isolated from the main current of Muslim political life. Throughout his career, he was known as a jurist and a well-known Islamic scholar. He died on 4 August 1928 in Sussex and was buried in Brookwood Cemetery.

Personal beliefs

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 the Aligarh Movement.
Referring to the concept of progressive social laws, Syed Ameer Ali wrote:

Opinions and legacy

in the preface of his book Mohammed and the Rise of Islam wrote:
Syed Ameer Ali belongs to that generation of Indian Muslims who tried to defend their faith, Islam, at a time when Mughal empire had only recently collapsed in 1857 and the Muslims were generally out of favour with the British rulers. The prevailing environment was generally hostile to Islam and Muslims. That's why, to some people, he may appear somewhat apologetic in his narration of Muslim history. Like some other authors of that time, he tried to show that Islam was a rational religion. At that time, very little was being published about Islam that was positive. His works created a sense of hope for the Muslim youth and provided a much needed feeling of historical context in the colonized British India.

Honors and recognition

There is a very famous Hall in the University of Rajshahi the second largest university of Bangladesh which is named in his honour The "Sayed Ameer Ali Hall".
In recognition of his services, Pakistan Postal Service issued a commemorative postage stamp in 1990 to honor him in its 'Pioneers of Freedom' series.

Books