- Home
- Our Region
- Trinidad Muslim League
- History of Islam and Muslims in Trinidad
History of Islam and Muslims in Trinidad
- By Mohammed Rafeeq
- Published 12/30/2009
- Trinidad Muslim League
- Unrated
Mohammed Rafeeq
View all articles by Mohammed Rafeeq
EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT
There was a very great disadvantage in educational affairs for both Muslims and Hindus, which lasted for over a hundred years. I refer to the fact that neither the Hindu nor Muslim religions were recognized by Law as candidates for running Government assisted schools. The only religious body considered for such a privilege was the Christians.
In the early days the Canadian Mission did much for Indians in the field of education even though their central idea may have been one of proselytizing the Indians and bringing them within their own Presbyterian fold. These two communities owe much to the Canadian Mission. The Canadian Mission taught Christianity in the Hindi language at schools. This helped in preserving the Hindi language. In this respect the Muslims were handicapped but they were not backward, for they established their own Maktabs and taught Arabic and Urdu in a system best known to themselves. This assisted greatly in the preservation of their religion.
The Indians however embraced every opportunity as it came by, and from time to time proved they were none the worse in literary and educational affairs if fair opportunities were given to them. Among them were doctors, lawyers, clerks, artisans and they were forging ahead side by side with the other communities. For so long they had been learning from others, but it was now dawning upon them they also could be teachers of knowledge. The Marryat and Mayhew report recommended that the Indian community could have their own schools like the Christian denominations by forming an association for that purpose. The idea was also supported by the Lord Moyne Commission. Moulvi Ameer Ali, therefore, began to agitate in this matter and the Indian Educational Association was formed in 1938. But when an application for a school was submitted for the Governor's approval, Sir Hubert Young, the then Governor, put his heels on the application and very strongly disapproved the granting of a school on a national or racial basis and the matter was again shelved.
Moulvi Ameer Ali was made a member of the Education Board in 1936. To drive a thin wedge somewhere in the Education Department for the Indians was the Moulvi's chief aim and he never left anything undone to achieve this purpose. At one of the meetings of the Board he moved the resolution that the Hindu and Muslims religions should be eligible to receive Government aid in running schools in the Colony.
His arguments were a masterpiece, but either through fear or prejudice the vote went against him; he received only a single vote on his side and his motion was defeated.
He had fought in every quarter for schools to be run by Muslims and Hindus and had done a great deal of spadework on this important question. It was during this period that a school was being run by the Tackveeyatul Islamic Association of which Moulvi Ameer Ali was President. It was also at this period that a split in the T.I.A. occurred, and Moulvi Ameer Ali and his party showed their magnanimous qualities and surrendered the T.I.A. to Mr. Abdul Ghany and his party. The school trudged along and Mr. Noor Ghany, the secretary of the T.I.A., took up the trail. After a short while, the continued labours and persistence of Mr. Noor Ghany bore fruit when Government aid was granted in 1949 to the El Socorro Islamia School, the first non-Christian school of the Colony. Both Hindus and Muslims are now recognized as denominations fit to run schools in the Colony. To these communities it was as if stored energy was released from somewhere and in a short period more than a score of schools were opened up by Hindus and Muslims through the good graces of Mr. Roy Joseph, the Minister of Education and Social Services at that time.
With the dawn of a rising consciousness in both educational and religious fields the way is now open for the preservation of our religion and culture. This is a challenge to the younger generation. Are they bracing themselves for the task? I am sure they are.
In the early days the Canadian Mission did much for Indians in the field of education even though their central idea may have been one of proselytizing the Indians and bringing them within their own Presbyterian fold. These two communities owe much to the Canadian Mission. The Canadian Mission taught Christianity in the Hindi language at schools. This helped in preserving the Hindi language. In this respect the Muslims were handicapped but they were not backward, for they established their own Maktabs and taught Arabic and Urdu in a system best known to themselves. This assisted greatly in the preservation of their religion.
The Indians however embraced every opportunity as it came by, and from time to time proved they were none the worse in literary and educational affairs if fair opportunities were given to them. Among them were doctors, lawyers, clerks, artisans and they were forging ahead side by side with the other communities. For so long they had been learning from others, but it was now dawning upon them they also could be teachers of knowledge. The Marryat and Mayhew report recommended that the Indian community could have their own schools like the Christian denominations by forming an association for that purpose. The idea was also supported by the Lord Moyne Commission. Moulvi Ameer Ali, therefore, began to agitate in this matter and the Indian Educational Association was formed in 1938. But when an application for a school was submitted for the Governor's approval, Sir Hubert Young, the then Governor, put his heels on the application and very strongly disapproved the granting of a school on a national or racial basis and the matter was again shelved.
Moulvi Ameer Ali was made a member of the Education Board in 1936. To drive a thin wedge somewhere in the Education Department for the Indians was the Moulvi's chief aim and he never left anything undone to achieve this purpose. At one of the meetings of the Board he moved the resolution that the Hindu and Muslims religions should be eligible to receive Government aid in running schools in the Colony.
His arguments were a masterpiece, but either through fear or prejudice the vote went against him; he received only a single vote on his side and his motion was defeated.
He had fought in every quarter for schools to be run by Muslims and Hindus and had done a great deal of spadework on this important question. It was during this period that a school was being run by the Tackveeyatul Islamic Association of which Moulvi Ameer Ali was President. It was also at this period that a split in the T.I.A. occurred, and Moulvi Ameer Ali and his party showed their magnanimous qualities and surrendered the T.I.A. to Mr. Abdul Ghany and his party. The school trudged along and Mr. Noor Ghany, the secretary of the T.I.A., took up the trail. After a short while, the continued labours and persistence of Mr. Noor Ghany bore fruit when Government aid was granted in 1949 to the El Socorro Islamia School, the first non-Christian school of the Colony. Both Hindus and Muslims are now recognized as denominations fit to run schools in the Colony. To these communities it was as if stored energy was released from somewhere and in a short period more than a score of schools were opened up by Hindus and Muslims through the good graces of Mr. Roy Joseph, the Minister of Education and Social Services at that time.
With the dawn of a rising consciousness in both educational and religious fields the way is now open for the preservation of our religion and culture. This is a challenge to the younger generation. Are they bracing themselves for the task? I am sure they are.