Landmarks In The History Of The Muslims Of Sri Lanka

437 BC – King Pandukabhaya ascends the throne. Sets up a separate quarter for the residence of the Yonas, probably Arabs, in Anuradhapura

712 AC – The Arab invasion of Sind prompted by the capture of some Arab women, daughters of merchants who had died in Sri Lanka whom the Sri Lankan sovereign was sending to Iraq

1214 – Magha, a Malay warrior, invades Sri Lanka with 24,000 soldiers and takes over the Rajarata, the North Central region in which the Sinhalese capital was situated

1505 – The Portuguese arrive in Sri Lanka. The colonial era commences with some adverse impact for Muslims who had earlier thrived under the native monarchs

1640 – Malay troops serving the Dutch storm Galle Fort and liberate it from the Portuguese leading the way for the Dutch takeover of the maritime districts of Ceylon

1708 – Susunan Mas, King of Java, exiled to Ceylon by the Dutch, creating a precedent for the exiling of Malay nobles to the island by the colonial power

1776 – A Code of Law for the Muslims entitled Bysondere Wetten Aangaande Mooren of Mohametan (Special Laws relating to Moors and other Muslims) based largely on the Shafi Madhhab introduced during the governership of Dutch Governor Iman Willem Falck

1806 – The British colonial regime officially recognizes the “Code of Mahomedan Laws’ observed by the Muslims of Colombo which was introduced by the Dutch

1838.06.11 – Birth of M.C.Siddi Lebbe, renowned Moor thinker and social reformer. He was also the first Ceylonese Muslim lawyer and edited the influential newspaper Muslim Nesan that had a profound impact on the community

1864.03.21 – Malay constable Tuan Saban becomes first policeman to die in the course of duty when attempting to capture the notorious highwayman Saradiel, and every year, police heroes are commemorated on this day

1867.10.27 – Birth of I.L.M.Abdul Azeez, a renowned scholar who demonstrated that the Moors were descended from Arab settlers and not Tamils, thereby vindicating the struggle for separate Muslim representation in the country’s legislature.

1869.06.13 – First Malay newspaper in the world, Alamat Lankapuri edited by Baba Ounus Saldin, published in Colombo

1870 – First recorded instance of a Memon migrant to Ceylon, Abdul Rahman alias Manna Seth who sets up a thriving business in the Pettah. He is subsequently followed by members of his community who now number around 7000 persons

1872 – Formation of Colombo Malay cricket Club, the first Ceylonese cricket club in Ceylon

1873 – The disbandment of the Ceylon Rifle Regiment by the British. The move has immense implications for Malay social and economic life

1883.01.10 – The Egyptian revolutionary leader Orabi Pasha and his compatriots arrive in Colombo. His arrival rouses local Muslim sentiment and inspires them to be more assertive in preserving their Islamic identity

1885 – Asanbey Udaya Katai, a novel based on the life of an Egyptian prince named Asan Bey by M.C.Siddi Lebbe published. The work is believed to be the first ever novel published in the country

1889.10.29 – M.C. Abdul Rahman appointed first ‘Muhammadan’ Member to the Legislative Council

1891.05.15 – Mass meeting at the residence of Siddi Lebbe to promote Arabic among local Muslims

1893.12.29 – Birth of Sir Razik Fareed,  an astute Moor politician who had a profound impact on the Muslim community of his time including the need for Muslims to align themselves with the Sinhalese in order to realize their aspirations, a policy that proved immensely successful and stood the community in good stead in the years to come

1900 – The jubilee of the Ottoman Turkish Sultan Abdul Hamid’s accession to power celebrated in a grand way by local Muslims. Sri Lanka’s Muslims, like those in many other parts of the Muslim world, recognized the Turkish Sultan as the Caliph of the Islamic world

1905.12.31 – Mammoth meeting of Muslims held to protest the prohibition on the wearing of the Muslim headgear, the Fez, in Court by M.C.Abdul Cader, advocate of the Supreme Court by Justice C.P.Layard. The British regime subsequently revokes the decision in the face of Muslim indignation

1907 – I.L.M.Abdul Azeez publishes his well researched treatise on the origins of the Moors titled ‘A Criticism of Mr.Ramanathan’s Ethnology of the Moors of Ceylon’ where he debunked the notion that the Sri Lankan Moors were Tamils on account of their commonly spoken language – Tamil

1911.10.04 – Birth of A.M.A.Azeez, first Muslim civil servant and prominent educationist

1917.05.12 – Birth of M.A.Bakeer Markar, MP for Beruwala and Speaker of Parliament under the UNP in the 1980s

1925.05.14 – Death of Wapiche Marikkar, famous contractor who built the Colombo Museum and General Post Office among other famous landmarks of Colombo

1927.04.10 – Birth of A.C.Shahul Hameed, Minister of Foreign affairs under the UNP in the 1980s

1929 – Justice M.T.Akbar appointed to the Supreme Court, the first ever Muslim appointed to this prestigious legal office

1944 – Moors Islamic Cultural Home founded in Colombo with the objective of preserving Sri Lankan Moor identity and disseminating historical information relating to the community

1951 – Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act enacted. The Act resulted in some far-reaching changes to the Muslim civil law including greater rights for women such as the right to consent to marriage and divorce at the instance of the wife

1956 – Sir Razik Fareed, well known Muslim leader makes his famous speech in Parliament supporting legislation to make Sinhala the official language of the country

1957 – Introduction of the first ever Malay radio series Suara Melayu

1972.05.22 – Sri Lanka declared a sovereign Republic by the United Front Government, a move fervently supported by the Islamic Socialist Front led by Dr.Badiudin Mahmud who is made Minister of Education under the new Republic

1977.12.11 – Brigadier T.S.B. Sally, a Malay soldier appointed Army Chief of Staff. He was subsequently appointed Acting Commander of the Army in February and October 1978

1990 – Muslims of the Northern Province forcibly evicted from their homes by the LTTE upon pain of death

2004.12.26 – Destructive Tsunami hits Sri Lanka. Muslims in Hambantota and the Eastern Province towns like Akkaraipattu and Maradamunai badly affected with thousands of lives lost

USEFUL TIP – Formula for converting Hijri years to AD

To obtain the corresponding Gregorian year of a given Hijri year, multiply the Hijri year by 2.977, divide the product by 100, deduct the quotient from the Hijri year and add to the result 621.569.