Muhammad Mohar Ali ( bn, মোহাম্মদ মোহার আলী); 1929–2007) was a

British Bangladeshi British Bangladeshis ( bn, বিলাতী বাংলাদেশী, Bilatī Bangladeshī) are people of Bangladeshi origin who have attained citizenship in the United Kingdom, through immigration and historical naturalisation. The term c ...

Islamic scholar In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

and barrister. He is the only

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

to have received the

King Faisal International Prize The King Faisal Prize ( ar, جائزة الملك فيصل, formerly King Faisal International Prize), is an annual award sponsored by King Faisal Foundation presented to "dedicated men and women whose contributions make a positive difference". T ...

Academic career

Mohar Ali was born in 1929 in Khulna in

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

. Studying at Dhaka University, he obtained a degree in history in 1952 and a master's degree in 1953. In 1963 he obtained a PhD from

SOAS, University of London SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

, and in 1964 studied bar-at-law at Lincoln's Inn,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Between 1954 and 1976 he worked as a university lecturer in Bengal, becoming a professor, and moved in 1976 to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

to teach Islamic history at

Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU) (), commonly known as Al-Imam University, is a public university in Baladiyah al-Shemal in northern Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was founded in 1953. represented by the College of Sharia Sciences (no ...

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of th ...

for 12 years, followed by 7 years of teaching at the

Islamic University of Madinah The Islamic University of Madinah ( ar, الجامعة الإسلامية بالمدينة المنورة) was founded by the government of Saudi Arabia by a royal decree in 1961 in the Islamic holy city of Medina. Many have associated the uni ...

. He worked then as a researcher at King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Qur'an in years 1415–16 AH. He also worked at Dhaka University in 1965–69, at the official Historical Document Centre in 1966–71, and the chief editor for the Historical Society magazine. His university teaching career lasted for more than 40 years. Mohar Ali died in London on 11 April 2007.

Author

Ali was a specialist in Islamic history – in particular the history of Bengal. His book, ''History of the Muslims of Bengal'', is considered an important reference in the history of the propagation of Islam in the region and its cultural and political effects. It also deals with the struggle of

Bengali Muslims Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...

against the British colonial rule, and the Islamic influence on Bengali architecture and literature. His other books deal with the Islamic rule in India in the 19th century, Islam and the Modern world, the history of the Indian subcontinent, the Bengali reaction to Christian missionaries, in addition to articles in specialist magazines and conference participation in Bangladesh, Pakistan, the UK and the US. Ali won the

for Islamic Studies in 2000. While most of his books and essays are in English, he has translated ''Jawhart al-Bukhari'' from Arabic into Bengali and published a word for word English translation of the Qur'an in addition to Arabic essays such as ''Orientalists' Claims concerning the Glorious Qur'an''. He has also written books in response to the Orientalists' approach to the

biography of Muhammad This is a chronological listing of biographies of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, ranging from the earliest traditional writers to modern times. Earliest biographers The following is a list of the earliest known Hadith collectors who specialized ...

and their theories about the Qur'an: ''Sirat Al-Nabi and the Orientalists'' (1997) and ''The Qur'an and the Orientalists'' (2004).''The Qur'an and the Orientalists: An Examination of Their Main Theories and Assumptions''

Main works

* * * * * * * *

References

* The main reference used is a
Arabic article

External links

Commemoration Meeting on the Life and work of Dr Mohar Ali

Arabic links

Brief biography at Al-Madinah Research and Studies Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Muhammad Mohar 1929 births 2007 deaths People from Khulna Bangladeshi Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Bengali writers University of Dhaka alumni Alumni of SOAS University of London Historians of Islam 20th-century Bangladeshi historians 21st-century Bangladeshi historians