Syed Ameer Ali
Syed Ameer Ali(1849 – 1928)
Rt. Hon. Sir Syed Ameer Ali, a leader and representative of Indian Muslims, left a lasting imprint on the political history of modern India. He was also a Muslim jurist, an interpreter of Islamic history and beliefs, he was a recognized authority, an ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity. He was the founder of the National Mohamedan Association in Kolkata.
The decline of the Mughal dynasty during the eighteenth century marked a major turning point in the history of the subcontinent. This encouraged the leading European powers (especially the British) to flex their muscles and gradually establish their politico-economic presence in the Muslim world. The European colonisation of a large part of the Muslim world not only led to political confusion, economic decline and educational backwardness in the Islamic world, it also precipitated the degeneration of Muslim culture and society – morally, culturally and educationally.
During this critical period in the history of modern Islam, a number of prominent Muslim intellectuals and reformers emerged to rejuvenate the Muslim ummah (global Muslim community). Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan and others emerged to call for Islamic unity, solidarity and reformation (modernism) throughout the Muslim world. While al-Afghani and his disciple, Shaykh Muhammad Abduh, were busy popularising their message of Pan-Islamism in Ottoman Turkey and the Arab world, Sir Sayyid and Nawab Abdul Latif launched their Islamic modernist movements in the subcontinent.