Mohammed Sameer (1890-1972)

Muhammad Sameer bin Haji Ismail Effendi 1890-1972 Muhammad Sameer, congregation membership # 292, held the prestigious position of Managing Trustee of the Maradana Mosque, Colombo for two year periods on three separate occasions, viz; 6.6.1941 to 1943, 1945 to 1947 and 1949 to 1951. As early as 1908, at the tender age of 19, he associated himself as a Junior Member of the congregation. He was the Secretary of the Mosque Board that framed the regulations in 1913 which were incorporated in 1924. He was, later, a member of the Board, member of the Executive Committee, Treasurer and finally Managing Trustee.

His name appears at No. 56, under Section C of the First Schedule of the Maradana Mosque Inauguration Ordinance No. 22 of 1924 (28.8.1924) He also held membership # S-7 of 24.9.1945, was a member of the Board of Directors as indicated in the Moors’ Islamic Cultural Home (MICH) (Incorporation) Ordinance No. 46 of 1946.

He was awarded a Gold Medal & Citation on Friday, November 1, 1965 (25 Rajab 1385H) by His Excellency, El-Seyed Abdul Qadir Al-Gailanee (Ambassador for Iraq in Pakistan & Ceylon), who was a direct lineal descendant of Ghus-i-A’zam Muhiyadeen Abdul Qader-ul-Gailanee, at a ceremony attended by many of his family ad community members at the MICH, Bristol Street, Fort.

Muhammad Sameer was educated at St. Thomas’ College and entered the Colombo Municipal Council clerical service in 1910. He was employed as Chief Clerk under an Englishman named Orr and won acclaim and affection from Civil Servants such as, H.E. Newnham, H.P. Kaufmann, and W.L. Murphy. He married Raliya Umma, daughter of A.C.Noordeen. They had four sons and six daughters. The oldest son was Muhammad Thahir (1914-1989), a surveyor by profession, who held the position of Superintendent in the Municipal Engineer’s Department at the Colombo Municipal Council. He passed away at the ripe age of 75 in 1989. Two of the other sons of Muhammad Sameer, Muhammad Ismail (1919-1993) and Ahmed Farooq also took up the surveying profession. Muhammad Sadiq, the youngest son, a bachelor, decided to seek his pastures in the United Kingdom, spent a considerable portion of his life in England, and has since returned to settle down in Sri Lanka.

Muhammad Thahir has two sons, Muhammad Fazli Hussain and Ahmed Firoze, the compilers of this publication. The former is successfully pursuing the Computer profession in the Middle East while the latter, after having served a short stint in the Middle East, is a professional in Accounting & Finance, presently holding the position of Company Secretary at The State Trading Corporation (General) in Sri Lanka. Muhammad Fazli is married to Fathima Shirani Naleefa, daughter of Husain Jiffry Ibrahim, ex Customs Appraiser, and Hibshi Mazaya Saleem (d/o W.M. Saleem) and has two daughters, Fathima Melina and Fathima Nadia. Melina is married to Ahmed Yousry Sheriff, son of Amir Arslan Sheriff, Attorney-at-Law, of Mutuwal and Sithy Zehra Dastakeer of Matara. They have a daughter, Maria Admira Sheriff, born in Toronto Canada, on September 22, 1994 and a son Abdullah Yousry Sheriff, born in Riyadh, on March 25, 1997. Ahmed Firoze is married to Qureisha Nizar, daughter of M.Y.M.Nizar, JP, Attorney-at-Law, of Wattala. They have a daughter, Nabila Safra and a son Ahmed Yazdhan. Mohammed Ismail has one son, Mohammed Kamal and Ahmed Farooq has a son, Ashfaq Mahmood.

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lkawgw/gen020.html