''Muslim Nesan'' (, , "The Muslim Friend") was an

Arwi Arwi ( ) or Arabu-Tamil (, is an Arabic-influenced dialect of the Tamil language written with an extension of the Arabic alphabet, with extensive lexical and phonetic influences from the Arabic language. Arwi has been used extensively by the ...

(Arabic Tamil) and English-language weekly newspaper, published from

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

British Ceylon British Ceylon (; ), officially British Settlements and Territories in the Island of Ceylon with its Dependencies from 1802 to 1833, then the Island of Ceylon and its Territories and Dependencies from 1833 to 1931 and finally the Island of Cey ...

between 1882 and 1889.ʻĀlim, Tayka Shuʻayb.
Arabic, Arwi, and Persian in Sarandib and Tamil Nadu: A Study of the Contributions of Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu to Arabic, Arwi, Persian, and Urdu Languages, Literature, and Education
'. Madras: Imāmul ʻArūs Trust for the Ministry of State for Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1993. p. 103Siddi Lebbe, M. C.
Asrar-Ul Aalam = Mysteries of the Universe
'. Colombo: Moors Islamic Cultural Home, 1983. p. iiiNuk̲amān̲, Em. Ē.
Sri Lankan Muslims: Ethnic Identity Within Cultural Diversity
'. Colombo: International Centre for Ethnic Studies, 2007. p. 105 M. C. Siddi Lebbe was the publisher, owner and editor of ''Muslim Nesan''. He founded ''Muslim Nesan'' in

Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...

in December 1882. The name of the publication was possibly inspired by the journal ''Ilankai Nesan'' ("Friend of the Ceylonese") of

Arumuka Navalar Arumuka Navalar (; 18 December 1822 – 5 December 1879) was a Sri Lankan Shaivite Tamil language scholar and a religious reformer who was central in reviving native Hindu Tamil traditions in Sri Lanka and India. Navalar's birth name was N ...

. In setting up the newspaper Cittilevvai was inspired by the Aligarh Movement, Navalar and Colonel

Henry Steel Olcott Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (2 August 1832 – 17 February 1907) was an American military officer, journalist, lawyer, Freemason (member of Huguenot Lodge #448, now #46) and the co-founder and first president of the Theosophical Society. Olcott ...

. The first issue appeared on 21 December 1882.Shukri, M. A. M.
Muslims of Sri Lanka: Avenues to Antiquity
'. Beruwala, Sri Lanka: Jamiah Naleemia Inst, 1986. p. 355 ''Muslim Nesan'' carried news from Muslim countries. The newspaper purposefully sought to politicize the Muslim community. ''Muslim Nesan'' had subscribers in Ceylon,

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

.Feener, R. Michael, and Terenjit Sevea.
Islamic Connections: Muslim Societies in South and Southeast Asia
'. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2009. p. 60 ''Muslim Nesan'' was, along with '' Sarvajana Nesan'', one of the two most prominent Muslim newspapers in the Tamil-speaking world at the time.Heng, Derek Thiam Soon, and Syed Muhd. Khairudin Aljunied.
Singapore in Global History
'. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2011. p. 74 ''Muslim Nesan'' had a network of correspondents in different parts of

South-East Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Australian mainland, which is part of Oceania. Southeast Asia i ...

. Material from ''Muslim Nesan'' was reproduced in other publications, such as '' Singai Nesan''. Between 1883 and 1885 ''Muslim Nesan'' carried a series of articles on the history of Ceylonese Muslims, authored by Cittilevvai. In the page of ''Muslim Nesan'' Cittilevvai argued for educational reforms in the Muslim community and reproduced articles by

Syed Ahmad Khan Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (17 October 1817 – 27 March 1898), also spelled Sayyid Ahmad Khan, was an Indian Muslim Islamic modernist, reformer, philosopher, and educationist in nineteenth-century British Raj, British India. Though initially esp ...

, a North Indian social reformer. The newspaper also carried an interview with the exiled Egyptian nationalist leader

Ahmed Orabi Ahmed Urabi (; Arabic: ; 31 March 1841 – 21 September 1911), also known as Ahmed Ourabi or Orabi Pasha, was an Egyptian military officer. He was the first political and military leader in Egypt to rise from the '' fellahin'' (peasantry). Urabi ...

, soon after his arrival in Ceylon. Cittilevvai also argued in ''Muslim Nesan'' that Muslims should adopt

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

as their day-to-day language.Agwan, A. R., and N. K. Singh.
Encyclopaedia of the Holy Qurʼân Vol. 3 Vol. 3
'. Delhi: Global Vision Pub. House, 2000. p. 301

References

{{Reflist Newspapers established in 1882 Publications disestablished in 1889 Tamil-language newspapers published in Sri Lanka Mass media in Colombo Defunct newspapers published in Sri Lanka 1880s in Ceylon