Mohamed Haniffa Mohamed (15 June 1921 – 26 April 2016) was a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n politician. Mohamed served as the 14th

Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka The Speaker of the Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the presiding officer of the chamber. The current Speaker of the Parliament is Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, in office since 20 August 2020. The Speaker fulfills ...

as well as being a former member of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

and government minister. Mohamed was the first

Sri Lankan Moor Sri Lankan Moors ( ta, இலங்கைச் சோனகர், translit=Ilaṅkaic Cōṉakar; si, ලංකා යෝනක, translit=Lanka Yonaka; formerly Ceylon Moors; colloquially referred to as Sri Lankan Muslims) are an ethnic minorit ...

to hold office as

Mayor of Colombo The Mayor of Colombo is the Mayor (and head) of the Colombo Municipal Council. The post was created in 1866 when the Colombo Municipal Council was established by the Legislative Council of Ceylon. The Mayor is assisted by the Deputy Mayor and a ...

from 1960 to 1962

Early life

Born 15 June 1921, Mohamed was educated at

Wesley College, Colombo Wesley College, Colombo, popularly known as "Wesley" or "The Double Blues" is a school providing primary and secondary education in Sri Lanka since 1874. Wesley College is a Methodist educational institution. History In 1858, Rev. Joseph Ri ...

. After completing his schooling, he joined Cargills Ltd., where he became active in trade union activities. Later he joined the family shipping firm, Nagoor Meera and Sons. His grandfather Marhoom Abdur Rahman was a member of the

Legislative Council of Ceylon The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of British Ceylon, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first f ...

Political career

Mohamed entered politics having been elected to the

Colombo Municipal Council The Colombo Municipal Council is the municipal governing body of Colombo, the largest city and financial centre in Sri Lanka. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of Colombo, current elect is Rosy Senanayake, and 119 elected 119 muni ...

from the Maligawatte Ward and served as

from 1960 to 1962. He contested the 1965 general elections as the

United National Party The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...

candidate in the Borella electorate and was elected to parliament defeating the

Lanka Sama Samaja Party The Lanka Sama Samaja Party, often abbreviated as LSSP (Literal translation, literally: Lanka Socialist Party, Sinhalese language, Sinhala: ලංකා සම සමාජ පක්ෂය, Tamil language, Tamil: லங்கா சமசமா� ...

(LSSP) candidate

Vivienne Goonewardena Violet Vivienne Goonewardene ( si, වයලට් විවියන් ගුන්වර්ධන, ta, வயலட் விவியென் கூனவர்தன; 18 September 19163 October 1996), commonly known as "Vivi", was a Sri Lan ...

. He lost his seat in the 1970 general elections to LSSP candidate

Kusala Abhayavardhana Kusala Vichitra Abhayavardhana (née Fernando) (1 November 1920 – 1988) was a Sri Lankan social worker. She was the co-founder of the Civil Service International in Sri Lanka, founding secretary International Women’s Year Sri Lanka and nation ...

by 16,421 votes to 15,829 votes. He was re-elected to parliament in the 1977 general elections and would retain his seat until 2010 in the consecutive elections that followed. In 1977, he was appointed to the Cabinet by J.R. Jayawardena as Minister of Transport.

Role in anti-Tamil violence

In the

Black July Black July ( ta, கறுப்பு யூலை, translit=Kaṟuppu Yūlai; si, කළු ජූලිය, Kalu Juliya) was an anti-Tamil pogrom that occurred in Sri Lanka during July 1983. The pogrom was premeditated,T. Sabaratnam, Pirapa ...

pogrom of 1983, M.H Mohammed unleashed his thugs to attack

Tamils The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...

Borella Borella is the largest suburb in Colombo, Sri Lanka represented by divisional code 8. Demographic Borella is a multi-religious and multi-ethnic area. The major ethnic communities in Borella are Sinhalese and Tamils. There are also various other ...

. In April 1985, President

J. R. Jayewardene Junius Richard Jayewardene ( si, ජුනියස් රිචඩ් ජයවර්ධන, ta, ஜூனியஸ் ரிச்சட் ஜயவர்தனா; 17 September 1906 – 1 November 1996), commonly abbreviated in Sri Lanka as ...

sent M. H. Mohamed, along with his henchmen to attack Tamils in the village of

Karaitivu (Ampara) Karaitivu ( ta, காரைதீவு, si, කාරතීවු) is a coastal village situated in the Eastern Coast of Sri Lanka about 30 miles (44 km) south of Batticaloa and is next to Kalmunai town. This is one of the oldest survivin ...

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

youth with the support of the security forces killed several

, raped several women and burned over 2000 Tamil homes, rendering 15,000 Tamils homeless.Some Critical Notes on the Non-Tamil Identity of the Muslims of Sri Lanka, and on Tamil–Muslim Relations – A. R.M. Imtiyaz a & S. R.H. Hoole, South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies (2011), p229-230

References

1921 births 2016 deaths Speakers of the Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 8th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 10th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 11th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 12th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 13th Parliament of Sri Lanka Transport ministers of Sri Lanka Mayors of Colombo United National Party politicians United People's Freedom Alliance politicians Labour ministers of Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Muslims Housing ministers of Sri Lanka {{WesternLK-politician-stub