His invaluable service to public life should not be forgotten
Dr. A. M. A. Azeez
I pen these lines as a mark of respect to the great educationist and academic Dr. A. M. A. Azeez. He hailed from a respectable family in Jaffna. He attended the Vaideshwara and Jaffna Hindu Colleges and these institutions gave him ample knowledge that had a positive impact on his life.
In 1929, he entered the Ceylon University College. Devoted and hardworking, he excelled in his undergraduate studies. His performance earned him a place in St. Catherine’s College, Cambridge where he studied History. Dr. Azeez was the first Muslim to enter the prestigious Ceylon Civil Service in 1935. He retired in 1948 with the sole idea of serving his community and country. The furtherance of education among Muslims became his noble mission.
He functioned as the Principal of Zahira College, Colombo for 13 years. No other principal had such a record of service at Zahira. All credit should go to Dr. Azeez for having built up an institution with a firm foundation and successfully guiding its destiny.
Zahira was Dr. Azeez and Dr. Azeez was Zahira; such was the thinking that prevailed then. With the help of his administrative skills, he made the college a leading Muslim institution in Sri Lanka.
Dr. Azeez was confronted with many challenges during his stewardship, but faced them bravely and tactfully. He was a man of principle and proved himself to be an exemplary and efficient Principal.
Zahira produced many doctors, engineers, architects, chartered accountants, professors and teachers; they are indebted to him for where they are today.
Dr. Azeez wrote a number of articles on Muslims in Sri Lanka and they were published in ‘The Voice of Islam’ in Karachi, Pakistan. He published the book ‘The West Reappraised’ in 1964. At the first International Conference on Tamil Studies held in Kuala Lumpur in April 1966, an interesting research contribution was made by Dr. Azeez.
The invaluable service rendered by Dr. A. M. A. Azeez to public life should not be forgotten.
His life and deeds should serve as a shining example to the Muslim community and its leaders.
Dahlan Salahudeen
