Munshi Mohammad Meherullah
| Munshi Mohammad Meherullah | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1861 Kaliganj, Jessore District, Bengal Presidency, British India (now Bangladesh) |
| Died | 1907 |
| Language | Bengali |
Munshi Mohammad Meherullah (26 December 1861 – 1907) was a Muslim poet, religious leader and social reformer from Bengal.[1] He is best known for his oratory and writing on Islam and comparative religion and his efforts has been compared to Raja Ram Mohan Roy's defense of Hinduism against British colonialism and Christian proselytization.[2][3]
Life
Early life
When Meherullah was a student of primary school, the premature death of his poor father Munshi Mohammad Wares compelled him to leave academic education. However, his unquenchable thirst for knowledge made him a great scholar in later life.[4]
Religious conversions
Christian missionaries started making inroads into Muslim society in the last decades of the 19th century. Professor Abdul Hai writes: "During the last decades of the nineteenth century, Muslims started getting converted themselves into Christianity in different districts of Bangladesh. Lack of education, inadequacy of conviction in Islam and temptations for material interests motivated the Muslims in question to accept the rulers’ religion."[3][5]
M.A. Majid in Chotoder Munshi Mohammad Meher Ullah mentions about him becoming a Christian, moving to Darjeeling and living under the patronage of Christian missionaries.[2] There, he studied the books written by Muslim dais and reverted to Islam.[2]
Religious activism
Munshi Mohammad Meherullah, returned to Jessore District and with his converted disciple Munshi Jamiruddin, adopted oratory method known as bahas[2] (disputation) and sought to refute Christian missionaries.[6][7] He was able to re-convert numerous Muslims who had been converted to Christianity. He established Madrasaye Karamatia and Islam Dharmottejika Sabha in 1889 at Manoharpur village in Jessore. He contributed regularly to Muslim newspapers like the Sudhakar and Islam Pracharak published from Kolkata.[1]
Notable works
Munshi Meherullah wrote at least 10 books between 1886 and 1908, which include[5]
- Isayee Ba Khristani Dhoka Bhanjan
- Khristiya Dharmer Asarata (The hollowness of the Christian religion, 1887),
- Bidhabagavjana O Bisadbhandar (Sufferings of Widows, 1894),
- Meherul Islam (1897),
- Hindu Dharma Rahasya O Devalila (1898, 2 editions)
- Mussalman O Christian Tarkayuddha (Muslim and Christian Debates, 1908; 2 editions).
- Rodde Khrishtian O Dlaliul Islam
- Babu Ishanchandra Mandal and Charles French er Eslam Grahan (Embracing of Islam by Babu Ishanchandra Mandal and Charles French),
- Slokmala (Compilation of verses)
Death and evaluation
He died on 7 May in 1907.[1] Professor Abdul Hai, remarked "Meherullah proved to be the Ram Mohan of the Muslims of Bengal — Ram Mohan saved the Hindus from being converted to Christianity in the early nineteenth century and Meherullah saved the Muslims from being proselytized to Christianity in the late Nineteenth century."[3][6]
E M School in Jessore has been renamed as Munshi Meherulla Academy in his honor. Organizations such as Munshi Meherulla Social Welfare Organization and Meherullah Foundation were working in Jessore as of 2014.[4]
Bangladesh published a stamp of face value 2 taka in his honor in 1995.[8]
References
- 1 2 3 Hussain, Mohsin (2012). "Meherullah, Munshi Mohammad". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
- 1 2 3 4 Islam, Md. Mohirul (February 2014). "The Valiant Warrior of the Insomnia of Bengali Muslim: A Study of Mahammad Meherulla". International Journal of Advanced Research in Management and Social Sciences 3 (02).
- 1 2 3 Abdul Hai, Muhammad; Ahsan, Syed Ali (2010). Bangla Sahityer Itibritto: Adhunik Jug (History of Bengali Literature: Modern Period) (11th Reprint ed.). Dhaka: Ahmed Publishing House. pp. 13 and 99.
- 1 2 "Birth anniv of poet Munshi Md Meherullah today". The Financial Express (Dhaka). 26 December 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
- 1 2 Kabir, Nurul (1 September 2013). "Colonialism, politics of language and partition of Bengal PART XV". The New Age. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
- 1 2 Kabir, Nurul (1 September 2013). "Colonialism, politics of language and partition of Bengal PART XVI". The New Age (The New Age). Retrieved 2 January 2015.
- ↑ Khan, Muhammad Mojlum (2013). The Muslim Heritage of Bengal: The Lives, Thoughts and Achievements of Great Muslim Scholars, Writers and Reformers of Bangladesh and West Bengal (1st ed.). Kube Publishing Ltd. p. 215. ISBN 9781847740625. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
- ↑ "BANGLADESH 1995 Commemorative Stamps". Stampedia. Retrieved 2 January 2015.