Suhrawardi, Abdullah Al-Mamun

Suhrawardi, Abdullah Al-Mamun (1870-1935) a scholar, politician and a writer, was born in 1870 at Medinipur, West Bengal. He graduated with Honours in English in 1898. He obtained MA examination in Arabic. In 1908, Al-Mamun Suhrawardi was awarded the PhD degree from Calcutta University. He became a Bar at-Law from Gray's Inn, London. He had further education in France, Germany, Austria, Constantinople and Cairo. Distinguished as a scholar and an academic, he became the Head of the Department of Arabic and Tagore Professor of Law at Calcutta University in 1911. In May 1913 asutosh mookerjee, the vice-chancellor of the university, recommended his confirmation, but for political reasons, the government did not approve the proposal; subsequently, Al-Mamun Suhrawardi left the university and entered politics.

While a student in London he became the founder-Secretary of the Pan Islamic Society and the Mosque Movement there in 1909. He was elected to the Legislative Council from bengal praja samiti. He founded the All India Muslim Legislators Association and was its joint-secretary from 1920 to1926. He was Chairman of Medinipur District Board for 1920-1923. Abdullah Al-Mamun Suhrawardi joined the khilafat movement and was elected the president of the Khilafat Committee in 1924.

He was a regular contributor to two Bengali periodicals, Nabanoor and Kohinoor. He was also the editor of English weekly The Hablul Matin, which was founded by maniruzzaman islamabadi. He wrote several books. The Sayings of Muhammad (Sm), First Steps in Muslim Jurisprudence, Muhammadan Law of Marriage, The Beauties of Islam, History of the Emperor Shah Alam, and History of Muslim Legal Institutions are some of his notable books. He died' in 1935. [Golam Kibria Bhuiyan]