Mohammed Eeza
Encyclopedia
Mohammed Eeza was a south India
n scholar, writer and thinker of Islamic studies.
He was a son of the social and religious reformer of Kerala
Vakkom Moulavi
. Eeza resumed the beliefs of his father which lay dormant after his death. Vakkon sought to combat religious conservatism and orthodoxy
while fully adhering to a genuine secular, pluralist political agenda.
Born in 1929, Eeza had his early education in the erstwhile state of Travancore
. He was only three when Vakkom Moulavi died and he had to learn by himself the value and significance of the mission his father had undertaken. Eeza went to Madras in pursuit of higher studies and it was there that he came into contact with modern trends in Islam, philosophy and politics. By that time Eeza had developed an interest in Marxism
(not of the Stalinist doctrinnaire variety) and even worked with the KSP
(and subsequently the RSP
) for a while. Soon he found himself a prisoner in this field and decided to eschew party politics. This helped facilitate a safe return to the intellectual domain where he took to writing, offering new insights into politics, literature, philosophy and religion.
Eeza began his career as a teacher which he continued till retirement in the mid-1980s. The earliest of his writings appeared in the 1950s in K Balakrishnan's Kaumudi. His writings also appeared in Mathrubhoomi, Kala Kaumudi, Chitra Karthika, Kerala Kaumudi
and Chintha. Eeza also wrote a lengthy article on Albert Camus
which exposed the intellectual dishonesty
of the critics of Malayalam literature at that time who not only failed to understand Camus' writings, but continued to cast aspersions on him. Likewise, Eeza's intervention in the context of the Shah Banu controversy provided a sense of direction to the ongoing Shariat debate. He had warned that Muslim orthodoxy and fundamentalism would not only generate the potential for ruin and decay within, but bring in unforeseen consequences for the secular fabric of society. Eeza's forebodings came true when both Islamic and Hindu fundamentalists swelled their ranks, capitalising on each other's unyielding conservatism. This further forced him to take up an exhaustive study on religious fundamentalism which appeared in a series of articles in Chintha weekly, under the caption 'Islamic Fundamentalism: Myth and Realty'.
Mohammed Eeza was one of the founding architects of the Vakkom Moulavi Foundation which, since its inception in the early 1980s, has been a leading intellectual forum in the state's capital. He was the manager of the Foundation until he died on January 17, 1999.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n scholar, writer and thinker of Islamic studies.
He was a son of the social and religious reformer of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
Vakkom Moulavi
Vakkom Moulavi
Vakkom Muhammed Abdul Khadir Moulavi, popularly known as Vakkom Moulavi was a social reformer, teacher, prolific writer, Muslim scholar, journalist, freedom fighter and newspaper proprietor in Travancore, a princely state of the present day Kerala, India...
. Eeza resumed the beliefs of his father which lay dormant after his death. Vakkon sought to combat religious conservatism and orthodoxy
Orthodoxy
The word orthodox, from Greek orthos + doxa , is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion...
while fully adhering to a genuine secular, pluralist political agenda.
Born in 1929, Eeza had his early education in the erstwhile state of Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
. He was only three when Vakkom Moulavi died and he had to learn by himself the value and significance of the mission his father had undertaken. Eeza went to Madras in pursuit of higher studies and it was there that he came into contact with modern trends in Islam, philosophy and politics. By that time Eeza had developed an interest in Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
(not of the Stalinist doctrinnaire variety) and even worked with the KSP
Kerala Socialist Party
Kerala Socialist Party was a political party founded under the leadership of Mathai Manjooran on September 21, 1947 at Kozhikode. It began as a small party, but its front-line leaders compelled the party deep into the public imagination....
(and subsequently the RSP
Revolutionary Socialist Party (India)
Revolutionary Socialist Party is a Marxist-Leninist political party in India. The party was founded on March 19, 1940 and has its roots in the Bengali liberation movement Anushilan Samiti and the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army. The party got around 0,4% of the votes and three seats in the Lok...
) for a while. Soon he found himself a prisoner in this field and decided to eschew party politics. This helped facilitate a safe return to the intellectual domain where he took to writing, offering new insights into politics, literature, philosophy and religion.
Eeza began his career as a teacher which he continued till retirement in the mid-1980s. The earliest of his writings appeared in the 1950s in K Balakrishnan's Kaumudi. His writings also appeared in Mathrubhoomi, Kala Kaumudi, Chitra Karthika, Kerala Kaumudi
Kerala Kaumudi
Kerala Kaumudi is a popular Malayalam newspaper, founded in 1911 by C. V. Kunhiraman with K. Sukumaran B.A. as the founder editor. Printed from Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Kochi, Kozhikode, Kannur in Kerala and Bangalore, Kerala Kaumudi is the third most circulated Malayalam daily. The...
and Chintha. Eeza also wrote a lengthy article on Albert Camus
Albert Camus
Albert Camus was a French author, journalist, and key philosopher of the 20th century. In 1949, Camus founded the Group for International Liaisons within the Revolutionary Union Movement, which was opposed to some tendencies of the Surrealist movement of André Breton.Camus was awarded the 1957...
which exposed the intellectual dishonesty
Intellectual dishonesty
Intellectual dishonesty is dishonesty in performing intellectual activities like thought or communication. Examples are:* the advocacy of a position which the advocate knows or believes to be false or misleading...
of the critics of Malayalam literature at that time who not only failed to understand Camus' writings, but continued to cast aspersions on him. Likewise, Eeza's intervention in the context of the Shah Banu controversy provided a sense of direction to the ongoing Shariat debate. He had warned that Muslim orthodoxy and fundamentalism would not only generate the potential for ruin and decay within, but bring in unforeseen consequences for the secular fabric of society. Eeza's forebodings came true when both Islamic and Hindu fundamentalists swelled their ranks, capitalising on each other's unyielding conservatism. This further forced him to take up an exhaustive study on religious fundamentalism which appeared in a series of articles in Chintha weekly, under the caption 'Islamic Fundamentalism: Myth and Realty'.
Mohammed Eeza was one of the founding architects of the Vakkom Moulavi Foundation which, since its inception in the early 1980s, has been a leading intellectual forum in the state's capital. He was the manager of the Foundation until he died on January 17, 1999.