Munīruzzamān Khān Islāmābādī (; 1875-1950), also known by the

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

Biplobi Maulana (), was a Bengali philosopher, nationalist activist and journalist from Islamabad (now known as

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

) in

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

(present-day

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

). He was among the founders of the

Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind or Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind ( ) is one of the leading organizations of Islamic scholars belonging to the Deobandi school of thought in India. It was founded in November 1919 by a group of Muslim scholars including Abdul Bari Fir ...

Early life

Maniruzzaman Khan Islamabadi was born into a

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims (; ) 'Mussalman'' also used in this work./ref> are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising over 70% of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest ...

family in Araliar Char village under Barama union in

Patiya Upazila Patiya () is an upazila of Chattogram District in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh. History During the British rule, a police station(thana) was established in Patiya in 1845. It was upgraded to an ''upazila'' in 1984. The region saw revolution ...

(present

Chandanaish Upazila Chandanaish () is an upazila of Chattogram District in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh. History Chandanaish is one of the first inhabitant of the early settlers of Chittagong. Muslim traders and preachers from the then Islamic worlds had been ...

) of

district. As he became older, he taught at various traditional

madrassas Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary education or higher learning. ...

Career

Journalism and writing

Islamabadi began his career as a journalist by editing or managing

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

reformist periodicals such as the ''Soltan'' (1901), ''Hablul Matin'' (1912), and journals such as ''Mohammadi'' (1903), '' The Kohinoor'' (1911), ''Basona'' (1904) and ''Al-Eslam'' (1913). He organised literary conferences at Chittagong in 1922 and 1930 amidst pomp and grandeur. One such conference under the banner of "Chittagong Literary Society" was chaired by

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

Political activism

Islamabadi's activism started in 1904 with the "Islam Mission Samity" which had undertaken a course of action to preach awareness among

Bengali Muslims Bengali Muslims (; ) 'Mussalman'' also used in this work.are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising over 70% of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest et ...

of their

cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by socie ...

. Referring to the uneducated mullahs' reservation about learning

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

on the baseless ground that the subject was created by the "''Kafir English,''" Islamabadi wrote: Islamabadi supported the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

and took an active part in the movement for the annulment of the Partition of Bengal. He also participated actively in the

Non-cooperation Movement Non-cooperation movement may refer to: * Non-cooperation movement (1919–1922), during the Indian independence movement, led by Mahatma Gandhi against British rule * Non-cooperation movement (1971), a movement in East Pakistan * Non-cooperatio ...

and

Khilafat Movement The Khilafat movement (1919–22) was a political campaign launched by Indian Muslims in British India over British policy against Turkey and the planned dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire after World War I by Allied forces. Leaders particip ...

and was the President of the provincial Congress Committee. He, along with

Mohammad Akram Khan Mohammad Akram Khan (; 1868 – 18 August 1968) was a Bengali journalist, politician and Islamic scholar. He was the founder of Dhaka's first Bengali newspaper, ''The Azad''. He was among the founders of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind. Early life and edu ...

toured throughout Bengal and organised Khilafat meetings, particularly in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

and Chittagong. In an article titled ''Asahojogita-o-Amader Kartbya'', Islamabadi declared that to protect Khilafat and to acquire

Swaraj Swarāj (, IAST: , ) can mean generally self-governance or "self-rule". The term was used synonymously with "home-rule" by Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati and later on by Mahatma Gandhi, but the word usually refers to Gandhi's concept of Indian ...

were the twin aims of the Khilafat movement. He was among the founders of the

, and was appointed a member of its first executive council. He was one of the architects of the

Bengal Pact Bengal ( ) is a historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Bengal proper is divided between the modern-d ...

of 1923. He left Congress politics in the 1930s and joined the

Krishak Praja Party The Krishak Sramik Party (, ''Farmer Labourer Party'') was a major anti-feudal political party in the British Indian province of Bengal and later in the Dominion of Pakistan's East Bengal and East Pakistan provinces. It was founded in 1929 as th ...

and was elected to the Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1937 from this party.

Anjuman-i-Ulama-i-Bangala

In 1913, Moniruzzaman Islamabadi along with

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin (11 November 188822 February 1958), better known as Maulana Azad and sometimes referred as Abul Kalam Azad, was an Indian politician, writer and activist of the Indian independence movement. A senior leader of t ...

, Abdullah al-Baqi and Dr

Muhammad Shahidullah Muhammad Shahidullah (; 10 July 1885 – 13 July 1969) was a Bengali people, Bengali linguist, philologist, educationist, and writer. He played vital role in Language movement of 1952 he was the first to establish logic about Why Bengali should ...

led the organising of the ''Anjuman-i-Ulama-i-Bangala'' with headquarters in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. One of the objectives of this organisation was popularising

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

language among the Muslim middle class. When the ''Anjuman-i-Ulama-i-Bangala'' merged into

Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind or Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind ( ) is one of the leading organizations of Islamic scholars belonging to the Deobandi school of thought in India. It was founded in November 1919 by a group of Muslim scholars including Abdul Bari Fi ...

, in 1921, he became the founder of its branch in

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

, the ''Jamiat-i-Ulama-i-Bangalah''. He founded the Chittagong branch of the organisation and himself became its president. Through the Anjuman, Islamabadi addressed social ills that plagued the Muslim society like

dowry A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...

, excessive

mahr In Islam, a mahr (in ; ; Bengali: দেনমোহর; ; ; ; also transliterated ''mehr'', ''meher'', ''denmohor, mehrieh'', or ''mahriyeh'') is the bride wealth obligation, in the form of money, possessions or teaching of verses from the Qur ...

and young

child marriage Child marriage is a practice involving a marriage or domestic partnership, formal or informal, that includes an individual under 18 and an adult or other child.* * * * Research has found that child marriages have many long-term negative co ...

, without registering the age of consent. Due to its involvement Islamabadi's involvement with the Krishak Praja Party, the ''Anjuman'' viewed the

Muslim League Muslim League may refer to: Political parties British India *All-India Muslim League, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan ** Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organization above **Unionist Muslim L ...

as repugnant, lacking religiosity and "not being true Muslims." However, by the 1930s the organisation became too innocent of the reality of a "dissociation of modernity and democracy" and many of its members, including Mohammad Akram Khan abandoned the organisation and joined the Muslim League. This made Islamabadi a lonely voice, and he suffered from depression.

Death and legacy

He was a critic of the

Pakistan movement The Pakistan Movement was a religiopolitical and social movement that emerged in the early 20th century as part of a campaign that advocated the creation of an Islamic state in parts of what was then British Raj. It was rooted in the two-nation the ...

and lived his life at

after the

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

, where he died. Islamabadi was a preacher who wanted to give Bengali Muslims a new identity by purifying the modern and invoking universal morality. He wanted to establish an Islamic university in Chittagong but the lack of funds and circumstances of the time did not favour his efforts.

Works

Islamabadi's main objective to project the past glory of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, its contributions to the progress of human civilisation and thus inspiring the Bengali Muslims to change their conditions manifested in publications such as: * ''Bhugol Shastre Musalman (Muslim contributions in geographical science)'' * ''Khagol Shastre Musalman (Muslim contributions in astronomy)'' * '' Korane Swadhinatar Bani (Messages of freedom in the Qur’an)'' * ''Bharate Islam Prachar (Spreading of Islam in India)'' * '' Musalman Amale Hindur Adhikar (Rights of the Hindus in Muslim Rule)'' * ''Muslim Birangana (Heroic Muslim women)'' * ''Turashker Sultan (Sultan of Turkey)'' * ''Aurangzeb'' * ''Nizamuddin Aulia''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Islamabadi, Maulana Maniruzzaman Bengali Muslim scholars of Islam 1875 births 1950 deaths Bengali politicians Bengali-language writers 20th-century Bengalis Bengali writers Krishak Sramik Party politicians People from Chittagong Founders of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind Bengal MLAs 1937–1945 Journalists from West Bengal