Page 1
KATUTARA
De of the IMF
Muslim ខែថ្ងៃបាទ
 

Page 2

MUSLIMS OF KALUTARA DISTRICT
HISTORY AND CULTURAL, HERITAGE
A BRIEF SURVEY
Al-Haj. M. M. M. MAHROOF B.A. (Hons.)
Mrs. MARINA ISMAli B.A. (Hons.) M. Phil.
Published B
Office of the
Minister of State for Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs,
34, Malay Street, Colombo - 2, Shri Lanka.
1992

Page 3
TTLE
AUTHORS
PUBLISHERS :
PRINTER
FIRST EDITION
COPY RIGHT :
MUSLMS OF KALUTARA DISTRICT
HSTORY & CULTURAL, HERITAGE
A BRIEF SURVEY
Al-Haj. M. M. M. Mahroof, B. A. (Hons.) Mrs. Marina Ismail, B.A. (Hons.), M. Phi.
Office of the Minister of State and the Department of Muslim Religious & Cultural Affairs,
34, Malay Street, Colombo 2, Shri Lanka.
The Kumaran Press, 201, Dam Street, Colombo 12.
1992 January, 17
Publishers

This book is published on the occasion of the Presidential Mobile Service held at Kalutara on January, 17, 18, 19- 1992 and presented to His Excellency Ranasinghe Premadasa President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Shri Lanka By Al-Haj. A. H. M. Azwer, M.P. Hon. Minister of State for Muslim Religious & Cultural Affairs.

Page 4
C.. O N T E N T S
FOREWORD
Editorial Note
Chapter I : The Early Muslim Settlers : Marina Ismail
O
Chapter II : The Modern History : M. M. M. Mahroof
Chapter III : The Social & Cultural Heritage : M. M. M. Mahroof

FO REW ORD
This book which is now in your hands is a presentation of the Office of the Minister of State for Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs. The Office of the Minister of State for Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs which was established by His Excellency Ranasinghe Premadasa, has been assigned the twin purposes of fostering Muslim religious and cultural affairs and the implementation of the Wakfs Act. The establishment of such a separate State Ministry for Muslim Affairs is unique in the annals of Muslim-minority countries.
The Presidential Mobile Service, at which this book is being issued, is also an unique feature in the administrative structure of Shri Lanka and indeed in the world, as a measure which brings the entire machinery of Government to the door-step of the people, decentralizing and democratising the ruling process.
One of the important aspects of the functions of my State Ministry is the dissemination of information on the heritage of the Muslims of Shri Lanka. Towards the furtherance of this object, this book is published. Entrenched between the Districts of Colombo and Galle, the Kalutara District has an age-old history, but is tuned to face the challenges of the present. It is also the seat of the gem trade which has contributed and is contributing to the Exchequer of this country.
Enlightened, energetic, and enterprising, the Muslims of Kalutara District have been and are steadfast in their commitment to Islam and their Islamic identity, while living in perfect harmony and amity with the rest of the population of this country and contributing significantly to the National Income of Shri Lanka.
- 5 -

Page 5
This book, while small in the number of pages, is large in its compass and gives much detailed information. This book has involved devoted labour on the part of its authors.
I thank all those who have been involved in this enterprise.
Al-Haj. A. H. M. AZWER, M.P., Minister of State for Muslim Religious & Cultural Affairs,
Malay Street, Coloumbo 2, Shri Lanka. January, 17, 1992.

EDITORIAL NOTE
This book is the outcome of the deliberations of a Conference held at the Presidential Mobile Service Secretariat, Colombo on October 14, 1991, regarding the Presidential Mobile Service to be held at Kalutara in January 1992.
On that occasion, Hon. Al-Haj. Imthiaz Bakeer Markar, M.P., Minister of State for Housing made the valuable suggestion that a publication should be issued regarding the history and culture of the Muslims of Kalutara District.
My Hon. Minister of State for Muslim Religious & Cultural Affairs, Al-Haj A. H. M. Azwer, M.P. eagerly took up this suggestion, and steps were immediately taken to make it a reality. My Hon. Minister of State who is committed to the unveiling of the heritage of the Muslims of this country, has directed the publication of similar works already. The re-printing of “Asen Bey Charittiram' by Siddi Lebbe, which is considered to be the first Tamil novel written in Shri Lanka; a book on the poetry of the blind poet Sheik Alaw deen of Karaittivu in Puttalam and a Research Souvenir on the Meelad Celebrations of 1991 are instances of the concern of my Hon. Minister of State.
The authors of this little book have spent considerable time and effort on research. While the matrix of this book is governmental records and books of established authority, substantial field work has been done. They have had valuable discussions with Hon. Al-Haj. M. A. Bakeer Markar, formerly a member of Parliament for a long time; Speaker of Parliament, and presently Governor of Southern Province, Hon. A. M. Yoosuf, MPC, Minister of Food, Co-operatives Social Services, Industries and Fisheries (Western Provinicial Council) and Mr. A. Andrew de Silva, Government Agent, Kalutara. Mr. A. A. M. M. Samsudeen Mr. A. W. M. Ajward, Assistant Directors of Education, Mr. Haleem A. Azeez, Private Secretary to Hon. Minister of State for Housing and Mr. A. Iqbal, poet and writer also supplied informations on several aspects. To all of them, we extend our grateful thanks.
- 7 -

Page 6
We would have wished to publish a more comprehensive and a larger book, but the time-factor permitted only the publication of a book of this concise nature.
Our thanks are also due to the officials of the Office of the Minister of State for Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs and the Department who actively participated in this project.
I thank the Printers for having done a very good job of work at such a short notice.
AL-HAJ. S. H. M. JAMEEL
Secretary to the Minister of State for Muslim Religious & Cultural Affairs,
34, Malay Street, Colombo 2.
January 17, 1992.

CHAPTER
THE EARLY MUSLM SETTLERS
The Muslims appear to have settled in the Kalutara District as far back as the 8th Century A.D. According to Sir Alexander Johnstone,1 the first Muslim settlers in the island were those of the House of Hashim who were driven out of Arabia by Caliph Abdul Malek Bin Merwan in the 8th Century A.D. They are said to have settled at various ports stretching from Jaffna to Galle, including Beruwela. According to a legend prevailing among the people of Beruwela, Muslim settlement in the district dates back even further. It is said that in the twenty-second year after the Hijra (7th Century A.D.), four vessels sailed from Yemen with three Sultans, Bad-ur-din, Salah-ud-din and Mohamed. They landed at Mannar and settled there, but Sad-ur-din the son of Mohamed, sailed further south along the west coast and settled at Beruwela.2
Archaeological evidence indicates that there were Muslims in Beruwela in the 9th Century. A.D. A stone with the inscription “Hijra 33l' was discovered in the Muslim burial grounds clearly indicating the presence of a settlement. Copper coins of Arab origin belonging to the 12th and 13th Centuries have also been discovered south of Colombo along the coast near Kalutara.3
The Muslims first came to Sri Lanka as traders With the advent and spread of lslam in the 7th Century A.D., Arab trade increased; the first Muslim fleet is said to have sailed into the Indian Ocean in 636 A.D. during the Caliphate of Omar and from this time trade expanded to cover areas as far as China. During the 9th and 10th Centuries the Arabs (Muslims) gained control of all the east-west trade (between Europe and the Far East) which was earlier in the hands of the Greeks and Romans. Lying on this important trade route, the ports of Sri Lanka, from Jaffna and Mantai in the north to Colombo, Beruwela and Galle in the south gained prominence.

Page 7
Apart from these larger ports, the western seaboard had many sheltered bays and inlets such as Matara (Nilavalatittha), Welligama (Valukagama) and Bentota (Bhimatittha) in the Kalutara district, which developed into trading points as a result of the increase in trade, for, by the 10th Century trade at the ports had increased because of the Arab trade route to Kedah. This route went round the island, on to the Nicobars and then to Kedah. After the 14th Century as a result of the decline of Rajarata and the subsequent shift of the Sinhala kingdom further south, these southern ports developed at the expense of the older northern ones.
With time, Muslim traders began to settle at these ports. Sometimes they brought their families with them but very often they inter-married with the local population. They adopted Tamil (which was the language of the traders) as their spoken language but adhered strictly to their religion of Islam. Prior to the coming of the Portuguese, Muslims had settled along the coast of the Kalutara district as well as along the rest of the western and south-western coast. From the main ports of Colombo, Beruwela and Galle, they spread to Panadura, Kalutara, Maggona, Alutgama and Bentota.
The Muslims handled all the trade at these ports. The Sinhala kings allowed the Muslims to carry on trade without interference and with their encouragement. The export-import trade as well as the internal trade were in Muslim hands. Muslim merchants often owned the ships that plied the important trade routes; many ports had separate trading quarters where they resided; there were well-defined market places. Internal trade was carried on by means of “tavalams' where goods such as salt, dry fish and cloth were carried into the interior villages and the Kandyan kingdom on pack-bulls and in carts. These were bartered for items such as rice, spices, arecanuts and bees-wax, which were brought back to the ports. The Dutch Governor Wan Goens noted that the Muslims of Beruwela, Maggona and Alutgama traded with the Kandyan Kingdom.4
- 10 -

The merchants of Beruwela were highly respected and as they were of assistance to the Sinhala kings, they were granted many rights and privileges. A copper “Sannas' of 1010 A. D. States, '......... in return for anchoring ships at Beruwela, sending them to other countries and improving the villages. As long as the sons and grandsons' children... live, they are not to perform Rajakariya...His respectability and dignity are to be maintained always undiminished......'.
The Muslims living in these places were allowed to build mosques and practice their religion freely. They were also granted separate burial grounds. The same “Sannas' refered to earlier, states, ''On their supplication they are to build mosques for the performance of their religious duties and they are to be taken care of and any land they apply for is to be granted to them''.5 These privileges were granted as the Muslims were a part of the community who performed the important economic activity of both internal and external trade.
In the 14th Century, at the request of King Vijaya Bahu III of Dambadeniya a Muslim merchant of Beruwela, Mira Lebbe, brought eight weavers from South India to introduce the weaving of fine cloth in this country. The descendants of these weavers later turned to cinnamon production. 6
Beruwela is considered the earliest Muslim settlement in the island and during the period prior to the Portuguese conquest, it was the largest Muslim settlement and the chief centre of Islamic culture. The first settlers were of pure Arab stock while in 1024 A. D. traders from the Malabar coast and Kayalpattanam settled here. It is said that the Kechimalai Mosque was built by the descendants of those latter settlers.7
Unani medicine or the Arab system of medicine was said to have been first introduced at Beruwela. Tradition says that in the 10th Century Prince Jamal-ud-din, the son of the Sultan of Konya (in Asia Minor) arrived here and practiced Unani medicine.8 From here it was introduced into other coastal centres. The extensive foreign trade carried on at these places
- 11 -

Page 8
enabled the physicians to obtain the necessary ingredients for their medicines. At the same time many of these or suitable substitutes were available in this country. Al-Istakhi (10th Century) and Al-Quzrini (13th Century) mention that medicinal plants were available in Shri Lanka and Were exported to Arabia, 9 The popularity of Unani medicine can be noted by the fact that even Sinhala royalty resorted to this system of treatment.
The importance of Beruwela can be gauged from references in the Sandesaya poems of the 15th Century. The Tissara Sandesaya refers to the prosperity of the place while the Gira Sandesaya mentions the Moor women of this port. In the 16th Century the Portuguese noted, “the extensive village of Beruwela in their (moor) hands...'". 10 it's significance as a centre of Islam can be seen by the fact that in 1410 A. D. the Muslims of Colombo sent to Beruwela for a Katheeb (religious leader in-charge of a mosque) to officiate for them. 11
Records left by the Portuguese and later the Dutch give much information with regard to the Muslims of the coastal areas, likewise of the Kalutara District. In 1614 the Portuguese noted that the Muslims of Kalutara had one headman while those of Alutgama were so influential that they had three headmen. 12 Once again with reference to Alutgama the Tombu of 1613-15 states, “the Moor inhabitants of the said port as “ “ tupetin” each year to Raju (Rajasingha of Sitawaka) 60 larins ...for possessing some gardens and from their persons for living in the port. and for conducting their buying and selling transactions'. 13
These records also indicate that apart from trade, Muslims were also employed as tailors, bakers and butchers. It is also possible that there were at this time, gem merchants among the Muslims. It is known that they settled in areas around Eheliyagoda and Ratnapura and were engaged in gem mining. The gems were then brought to the ports for sale. At a later date in the 18th Century, Tennant states, "...But the more expert lapidaries who cut rubies and sapphires, reside chiefly at Caltura and Colombo'. 14
- 12 --

The Memoirs of Wan Goens gives information of the poorer Muslims living in the villages between Kalutara and Walawe ganga. 15 They were mostly cultivators and had to perform services for the rulers. In addition they paid a poll tax.
The coming of the Portuguese in 1505 was a blow to the Muslims. Sir Alexander Johnstone states, Although the Muslim) traders who had settled in Ceylon and acquired great wealth and influence very early in the eleventh Century, and although they continued to possess a most extensive and lucrative trade in the ports till the end of the fifteenth Century, it was during the twelfth and thirteenth Centuries that they attained the highest degree of their commercial prosperity and political influence 16 y. 3 v
The Muslims were not only wealthy, they were also influential - having all control of trade in the country. Thus they proved to be formidable rivals. Besides they could not be converted to Christianity. Therefore many measures were adopted both by the Portuguese and the Dutch to curtail the prosperity and the power of the Muslims. The enforcement of these measures reduced the Muslim merchants to mere petty traders or at most, agents of the Europeans. Under Dutch rule the civil status of the Muslims was reduced - they had to persom “uliyam' or compulsory labour they were subject to death duty and the heads of Moor households had to pay a poll tax. In 1670 the Dutch passed a decree ordering all Muslims to quit areas around Colombo and move to areas between Alutgama and Galle. This resulted in the movement of population into these areas and it is evident that places such as Panadura and Kalutara, which already had a settled Muslim population, had an influx of Muslims. '- . . . .
Repressive measures adopted by the Europeans undoubtedly led to the spread of Muslims, firstly into the smaller coastal
- 13 -

Page 9
settlements and later into the interior villages and the Kandyan Kingdom. The present-day Muslim settlement of Veyangalla in the Agalawatta electorate (Kalutara District) is an example. In the Kandyan Kingdom the Muslims were welcomed by the kings. They settled in villages such as Akurana and engaged in trading activities. Senerat also settled these Muslims in the Eastern coast, along with Tamils, and it is said that paddy cultivation in this region increased as a result. 17
The early Muslim settlers in the Kalutara District, like the others in the rest of the island, lived peacefully with the Sinhala. Extreme tolerance was shown towards them by the Sinhala rulers as well as the ordinary people. An instance worthy of mention is that where a Muslim became the ruler of this country, although it was only for a very short period. Vathimi Kumaraya was the son of Bhuvaneka Bahu I (1272-84 AD) by his Moor wife who was from Maligahena. He was brought up in the traditional religious and cultural atmosphere of the Muslims. On the death of his father he succeeded to the throne. Although his reign was brief, he ruled with all the accepted virtues of kingship, but was murdered by his political enemies at Etagala in Kurunegala. Since then he is known as G a le B and a ra De v i yo b у the people, because of his exemplary character as a king and noble qualities as a man. Thus Maligahena, a part of Beruwela, a Muslim settlement has the unique honour of having provided a king to the line of rulers of Shri Lanka.
The coming of the Portuguese and the Dutch affected the Muslims adversely. However the coming of the British and the policies they adopted during the 19th Century went a long way in improving the circumstances of the Muslims.
- 14 -

REFERENCES :
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
6.
17.
18.
Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society (G.B. & I), Vol. I, 1827.
Ethnological Survey of the Muslims of Sri Lanka, published by the Sir Razik Fareed Foundation, 1986. Chapter I.
Ibid, Chapter I.
Kotalawala, D. A. “Muslims under Dutch Rule in Sri Lanka' in Muslims of Sri Lanka - Avenues to Antiquity, M. A. M. Shukri, Sri Lanka, 1986.
Ethnological Survey...... Chapter I.
Ibid, Chapter I. Brohier, R. L. Seeing Ceylon, Colombo, 1981. pp. 135. Ethnological Survey......, Chapter XII Unani Medicine.
bid
Pieris, P. E., Ceylon - The Portuguese Era, Vol. II, Colombo, 1913, p. 171.
Ethnologisal Survey......Chapter I.
Abeysinghe, T. B. H. “Muslims in Sri Lanka in the 16th and 17th centuries', in Muslims of Sri Lanka......
bid
Tennent, Sir James Emerson, Ceylon, Vol. I (sixth edition), 1977 p. 32.
Kotalawala, D.A., “Muslims under Dutch Rule in Sri Lanka' Muslims......
Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society (GB & I), Vol. I, 1827.
Devaraja, L. “Muslims in the Kandyan Kingdom', in Muslims in Sri Lanka.
Ethnological Survey......Chapter I.
- 15 -

Page 10
CHAPTER II
THE MODERN HISTORY
The modern history of the Muslims of Kalutara District begins with the imposition of British rule in Shri Lanka in 1796, resulting from the surrender of the Dutch. The British believed in a relaxed attitude to other peoples' religions and culture. More, they believed in an open economy. So, the British removed the constraints which were imposed by the Dutch on the Muslims, such as uliyam (the capitation tax.) 1
A writer on Muslim affairs of the nineteen-twenties, J. C. Van Sanden, could say with feeling and with truth:
“It will be noticed that while the Portuguese and the Dutch did everything possible to disregard the rights of the subject and wantonly wounded their susceptibilities, the diplomatic Englishman under his sheltering protection' 2
The economic possibilities of Kalutara were realized by the British very early in their assumption of power in Shri Lanka. Colonel W. M. G. Colebrooke, who arrived in the Island in the mid-twenties of the last century to report on constitutional and administrative reforms, wrote :
“In the districts of Colombo and Galle, the intercourse (trade between India and Shri Lanka), is much impeded during the south-west monsoon, the boisterous navigation of Mannar and the dangers of the coast. To obviate this inconvenience, canals have been constructed for connecting the lakes and the rivers which are calculated to secure a convenient channel at all times for the conveying of produce. The coast vessel can come over during the south west monsoon, to Calpentyn (Kalpitiya), an accessible port in the Gulf of Mannar and their cargoes are conveyed from thence by canals to Colombo. These canals which are yet to be completed were first projected by the Dutch, who designed
- 16

to carry them to a port to be formed at Barberyn (Beruwela) between Colombo Galle and in furtherance of this plan, a canal had been opened into the Caltura (Kalutara) river, 25 miles to the south of Colombo.'3
That proposal of Colebrooke's being a non-event notwith standing, the economic development of Kalutara District went on steadily. Kalutara District was the natural half-way house between Colombo and Galle and in the first part of the last century, smart British subalterns did not fail to race their thorough-bred Arab horses from Colombo to Kalutara all of a December evening.
By the first half of the last century, the present Muslim configuration of the Kalutara District had been established. There were the establishments at Beruwela, Kalutara and Panadura and the sub-establishments at Tunduwa, Maggona, Mihiripenna and Veyangalla among others. From a historical-sociological point of view, the Muslim establishments of the Kalutara District belong to the South-Western variant of the Muslim town organization of Colombo.4 The spatial organization of the Muslims was planned around the mosques.5 Education was carried by traditional means and qualified and educated men of the area had eager young adults around them so that a knowledge of Quranic recitation and interpretation, Tamil language and literature was passed from generation to generation6. A knowledge of Muslim Tamil literature was customary and formed the background reference of most of the people of the District. 7 A knowledge of makan ni arithmetic, a system of multiplication tables based on fractions was common 8 A knowledge of folk medicine was widespread. Unani medicine was the traditional medical system of the Muslims of the Kalutara District and it is believed that Beruwela is the original point of transmission of the Unani system from Koniya in Asia Minor to Shri Lanka.9 Unani medicine has been acclamatized in Shri Lanka for most of the ola leaf manuscripts containing Unani medical information are in Tamil. In some parts of the Kalutara District, Unani medicine seems to have been cross-fertilized with Ayurveda.
- 17 -

Page 11
In the first half of the last century, there were several affluent Muslim families in Kalutara District. There is no record of the Muslim rich man owning slaves in the District. 10 The social cohesion of the Muslim villages was strong and the elders regulated the moral codes of the villages. Social cohesion was reinforced by marriages between families in the different villages. Thus there was horizontal integration though there is no record of total vertical integration. Traditional behavioural and applicatory systems continued to reign in Kalutara District; for instance the buggy-cart was in existence till quite recent times.
The economic development of Shri Lanka in the middle of the last Century helped and encouraged the formation of the middle-class in the District. During the 1800s the British plantation had come into being. So had the export-import economy. Britain became Shri Lanka's best customer and supplier. Quite automatically, the ups and downs of the British economy were transferred to Shri Lanka. For instance, the years 1 & 57, 1860, and 1865 were years of prosperity for Britain and years of high note circulation for Shri Lankall; between 1885 and 1892, the value of total imports increased from Rs. 40.8 million to Rs. 62.8 million; at the same time the value of gold rose from f 3.4 million to f 3.9 million12. Between 1885 and 1892 the value of exports had almost doubled.
Between 1885 and 1900, the average monthly circulation of currency had increased from Rs. 3.8 million to Rs 13. i milion. There was an intimate connection between the average value of bank clearings, average currency circulation and the value of exports. By 1901, rubber exports were picking up. 13
The economic development noticed above affected the Muslims of the Kalutara District in many ways. The rubber plantations, which form an extremely significant part of the economy of the Kalutara District, attracted the Muslims. Some of them became the service arm of the local rubber dealers. Some of the Muslims became rubber dealers; others rubber brokers. Yet others transported the rubber to the leading shippers in Colombo.
- 18 -

Some of the affluent Muslims of the District, bought rubber estates. During the forties and fifties of this Century, the possessors and owners of the largest acrages of rubber in the country were Muslims of the Kalutara District.
Meanwhile, the import economy penetrated the Kalutara District. Oilman stores owned by Muslims sprang up. These oilman stores dealt mainly with goods imported from Britain, supplied frum Colombo and ranged from English biscuits, Scots, thread and ribbons. Most of the employees were Muslims, as well. The Muslims of the Kalutara District being industrious and persuasive people, the trade of pedlars and hawkers came into their hands. Some of the Muslims of the Kalutara District, aided by their perseverance and ability, had penetrated the bazaars of Colombo and had established businesses there.
Secular Education and Allied Matters
As had been implied above, there had been informal education centres of some complexity among the Muslims of this district. However, towards the latter part of the nineteenth Century, Muslim leaders all over the country felt that educatiou should be organized on systematic grounds, so that the Muslim community would not be marginalized among other communities in Shri Lanka. Leaders like Mohamed Cassim Siddi Lebbe thought that since Muslims were not eager to send their children to Government schools, an incentive should be found. That incentive was the establishment of Special Mohammadan schools, that is, Government schools with Quranic reading and Arabic on the curriculum. Accordingly a Special Mohammadan Boys school was set up in Aluthgama which had 29 pupils in 1906.14 The Administration Report of the Director of Public Instruction for 1906, gave some of the reasons for the Muslims' attitude towards education. It said,
“In the larger towns there is a demand for English education for boys among the shop keeping class of the (Muslim) population; at the same time there is considerable unwillingness to allow the boys to remain at school for any considerable
- 19 -

Page 12
number of years. The parents have a natural and well grounded apprehension that if the boys remain too long at school they will become unfitted for the ordinary life of the native shopkeepers...... circumstances render it necessary that (Muslim) custom prescribes that education should begin with a period of (Quran) and Arabic teaching which necessarily causes the period of beginning the ordinary vernacular education be deferred. The result is that the boys in the lower standards in a (Muslim) Tamil school are older than boys in the same standards in an ordinary Tamil school.''15
Slowly, the educational structure of the Kalutara District changed for the better. Transaction in real property and the making of deeds was one such incentive. In 1902, out of the 22 notaries in the Kalutara District, one notary was a Muslim.
The Government took a deep interest in elementary education. As a result of the deliberations of the Committee on Elementary Education of 1905, two Ordinances were enacted (Sessional Paper XXVIII of 1905). These two enactments were Town Schools Ordinance (Ord. No. 5. of 1906) and the Rural Schools Ordinance (Ord. No. 8 of 1907). The Town School Ordinance was to be applied to Municipal and Local Boards (Kalutara town was a Local Board) as well as to “townlets' under the Small Towns Sanitary Ordinance of 1891 regarding compulsory vernacular education. The Rural Schools Ordinance catered for vernancular education in rural districts.
These two Ordinances provided for the compulsory education of children between the ages of six and twelve years except in the case of girls of Muslim and Tamil parentage, where the age limit for compulsory education was set between six and ten years.'6
These enactments did not seem to have had much offect on the education of Muslim girls in the Kalutara District.
-- 20 -س-

The beginning of the twentieth century saw the development of the infra-structure of the Kalutara District. The rubber industry, and rubber production improved by leaps and bounds, becoming the second largest foreign-exchange earner of Shri Lanka.
The world Depression of 1930, knocked the bottom off the rubber trade in Shri Lanka. In 1923 the average export price of one pound of rubber was 88 cents; in 1932, it fell to just 11 cents. 17 The Subsequent adoption of the Stevenson scheme through which many rubber trees were felled, depressed the rubber trade still further. The Muslims of the Kalutara District suffered most of all. A large number of Muslims were directly concerned with the rubber trade. There were many others who were indirectly connected with the rubber trade.
Further, Muslims of the Kalutara District like the Muslims of other districts, were not sufficiently represented in Government employment. Education seemed to Muslims the best way of resisting the effects of the Depression. Happily, the changing political environment helped the Muslims of the Kalutara District. The State Council system of Government (the Donough more Constitution) gave considerable power to State Councillors in the form of membership of the Executive Committees. The two Muslim members of the Executive Committee of Education, namely, Mr. A. R. A. Razik (later Sir Razik Fareed) and Mr (later Dr.) T. B. Jayah persuaded the then Minister of Education, Dr. C. W. W. Kannangara to look into the just cause of the Muslims as to education and help them in that regard. Senator A. M. A Azeez wrote of the situation and the consequences in the following terms :
* The sympathetic attitude of the Minister Dr. C. W. W. Kannangara led to the establishment of a very large number of Government Swabhasa schools in Muslim areas. The establishment of Special Training Colleges (primary) for Muslim teachers (males) enabled the Department to appoint Muslim teachers to these schools. 18
The establishment of a Government Training College in Alutgama was to revolutionise Muslim education theory and
- 2 -

Page 13
practice. It was also to make Alutgama and the Kalutara District one of the centres of intense educational activity in the Island. The Kalutara District also got one of the earliest Central Schools for Muslims.
Meanwhile, by the thirties of this Century, Zahira College, Colombo had established itself as a fine public school and it attracted students from the Muslim middle-classes of the Kalutara District. From that time onward , many Muslims of this District entered Zahira College, Colombo, who later became leading professionals, doctors, lawyers and scholars and leading businessmen who adorned the Muslim community.
The Second World War and its Aftermath
The Second World War had at least three side-effects on the Muslims of the Kalutara District. In early 1942, the Government of Ceylon in an effort to minimise Japanese air-attacks, directed the inhabitants of Colombo to evacuate the city. Some of these Muslims came to the Kalutara District for temporary residence. The District was, to some extent, metropolised. Further there was heavy spending by the Government of Ceylon for the maintenance of the Allied forces in the country and their commissioning and performance. The services of masons, plumbers, builders, contractors, ship-chandlers and suppliers of various goods were in great demand. A large number of the Muslims of the Kalutara District entered these fields and some affluence percolated into the District.
Another factor was the vivification of education. The ; evacuation of Colombo had caused the temporary shut-down of Zahira College, Colombo. Mr. Jayah who was Principal at that time and who, had the innate knack of turning apparent misfortunes into successes, decided to establish branches of Zahira College in the provincial towns. Accordingly, he, with fifty pupils, set up Zahira College Alutgama in 1942.19 From its inception, Alutgama Zahira was a success.
- 22 -

Increasing transport facilities and the Ceylon-China Rubber Pact had brought greater affluence to the Kalutara District and closer contact with Colombo. Many affluent Muslims had established themselves in Colombo from the 1950s onwards The gem boom in the latter 1950s accelerated this tendency. By the time, the Kalutara District had economically improved to a great extent and it bade fair to equal any other district in Shri Lanka in influence and affluence.
The population of the Muslims of Kalutara District during the 1960s was as follows.
Area Total Muslim
population population VH. Div. Alutgama 2849 2825
, No. 753 Malegoda to 747
Karanda goda 12816 1611 , No. 766 (Alutgam Veediya) 6194 4571 , No. 673 (Sariikkamulla) 4388 1788 , No. 675 (Totawatta) V 2666 1830 , No. 818 (Veyangalla) 242 1017 , No. 791 A (Welipenna) 984 927 Beruwela Urban Council Area . Ward No. 2 (Deenagoda) 601 1438 , No. 3 (Central) 1530 1 168 ,, No. 6 (Mahagoda) 1601 1408 ,, No. 7 (Maligahena) 2721 1853 ,, No. 8 (Maradana) 1852 1701 Kalutara Urban Council Area Ward No. 2 (Kurunduwatte) 3039 1325 , No. 3 (Heenatiyangala) n 31.83 227
The Kalutara District has been a growing point of Muslim education in Shri Lanka. In recent years, there has been an increase in female education among the Muslims of the district. The Muslims of the Kalutara District have been traditionally famous for their gem expertise. Other Muslims have excelled in the field of light industry such as bicycle manufacture and sale. Recently, Muslims have been successful in the garment industry. The Kalutara District has had representation in the legislatures of Shri Lanka and have received high positions in the field of politics.
ー 23ー

Page 14
REFERENCES :
1.
2
10
11
12 13
14
15 16
17
18
19
Details in G. C. Mendis. The Colebrooke-Cameron Papers; Documents on British Colonial Policy in Ceylon 1796- 1833, Oxford 1956, vols I & II. J. C. Van Sanden, “Sonahar - A Brief History of the Moors of Ceylon' Colombo, 1926. Report by W. M. G. Colebrooke on Administration to Viscount Goderich, dated 24 December 1832. M. M. M. Mahroof & M. Azeez (compilers), An Ethnological Survey of the Muslims of Sri Lanka' Colombo. Sir Razik Fareed Foundation 1986, chapter VI (M. M. M. Mahroof). M. M. M. Mahroof, “A Historical Survey; Mosques and their Ambience in Sri Lanka“ in Journal, Muslim World League, Makkah, Saudi Arabia vol. 14, no. 11/12, 1987. cf. Shustery, “Outlines of Islamic Civilization Baroda 1950. M. M. M. Mahroof, “Muslim Education in Ceylon 1780 - 1880 in Islamic Culture (IIC) Hyderabad, India vol. xlx no. 2, April 1972 (b) “Muslim Education in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 1881 - 1901 in IIC vol. xlviino. 4 October 1973; (c) 1slamic Foundations of Sri Lankan Muslim Education in Hamdard lslamicus, Karachi, Pakistan, vol. xiv no. 3 Winter 1991. Dr. M. M. Uwise, Islamic Tamil Literature' Kilakarai, India 1991, passim. M. M. M. Mahroof, "A Millennium of Quran Schools in Shri Lanka; The Chequered Career of a Folk Tradition in Muslim Education Quarterly (MEQ) vol. 6 no. 1, Autumn 1988, appendix. For a general discussion, M. A. M. Jalaldeen, Unani System of Medicine in Sri Lanka in Ayurveda Pradika, vol. 2 no. 2, September 1970. Also, A, Iqbal's Biography of Al-haj M. A. Bakeer Markar, Dharga Town 1990. In the Memorial addressed to the Prince Regent in 1816, by the slaveowners of Ceylon manumitting their slaves, there is no mention. H. A. de S. Gunasekera, “From Dependent Currency to Central Banking in Ceylon 1825 - 1957, London, 1962. ibid ibid. Administration Report of the Director of Public Instruction for 1906, Colombo p. A 15. ibid. U. D. I. Sirisena, Legislation for Compulsory Education in Education - A Centenary Volume, Ministry of Education, Colombo 1969, Pt II, p. 500.
S. E. N. Nicholas, Commercial Ceylon, Colombo 1933, p. 66.
Dr. A. M. A. Azeez, The Muslim Tradition in Education in Ceylon - A Centenary Volume, 1969, Pt III.
M. M. M. Mahroof. Dr. T. B. Jayah' Colombo 1980, p. 11.
- 24 -

CHAPTER TIL
SOCIAL & CULTURAL, HERITAGE
The heritage of the Muslims of the Kalutara District, while standing four-square in the Islamic tradition, has a specific cultural heritage which gives them an unique flavour.
The Muslims of this District, particularly those of the Beruwela area, have been known as lapidaries and gem-traders for a millennium or more. The Chinese, for instance, called varieties of corundum such as Sapphires as “Muhammedan stones.' Many writers, both ancient and modern, from the Roman historian, Pliny downwards. have adverted to this fact.
Writing on a different occasion and on a different location,
an American visitor of one hundred and fifty years ago, had
left a vivid account of the age-old craft of the Muslim lapidary: They sit under a verandah or shed in front of the house, squatted on their heels behind a rude lathe, raised a few inches from the ground. On the end of its azle there is a round plate of iron or steel, about eight inches in diameter, placed vertically; which is made to revolve backwards and forwards by a drill-bow about four feet long, made of bamboo and worked by the right hand, while the left applies the stone to be cut, held tightly between the finger and thumb against the wheel.
A sort of emery, or finely powdered sapphire of coarse quality, moistened with water, is the only intermediate substance used in cutting the stone."1
While modern machinery has tended to replace this age-old cutting device, it is the expertise, preserved and maintained continuously, of the traditional Muslim lapidary, that is the bedrock of the successful gem trade of Beruwela and which is known throughout the gem trade the world over.
- 25 -

Page 15
William Maxwell Wood, the American naval surgeon who visited Shri Lanka in 1856, has left a pen-picture of the Muslims of the period. He wrote:
'Moormen in Arab parti-coloured caps, with shaven heads and voluminous shawls wrapped around their waists are everywhere......These Moormen are the traders in jewelry and precious stones. Jewel boxes are taken from the folds of their shawls and Sapphires, rubies, amethysts, cats eyes, emeralds, carbuncles displayed in gorgeous abundance.....'2
An important heritage of the Muslims of Kalutara District are the mosques. Mosques take a large place in the physical and mental landscape of the Muslims of Shri Lanka.3 The historical growth of mosques in the Kalutara District follows the same typology as in other districts of Shri Lanka: first a house-like prayer hall; then a mosque with dome and minaret and finally, expansion of the existing structure according to the expanding population. Today, there is an increasing acceptance of the “international style" in mosque architecture. The construction of mosques in the District was curtailed during the Portuguese and Dutch occupations and revived when the British took control of Ceylon in 1796.
Though mosques have been continuous with Islamic history, various Thariq's have played a role in their construction and maintenance. Ibn Battuta, who visited Shri Lanka in the middle of the fourteenth century, does not refer much to the Thariq of Shri Lanka though he gives detailed descriptions of Thariq such as the Nakshabandiya in Asia Minor in his books of travel. It is reasonable to infer that Thariq came to Shri Lanka. and established themselves during the last two hundred years.
The Kalutara District has seen intense activity on the part of several Thariq's during the past two centuries. In particular, the Shazuliyya, thé Nakshbandiyya and the various sub-fraternities of the Qadiriyya have built and maintained mosques which go under their name and title. The Shazuliyya Thariq is thought to have been established in Shri Lanka by Muhammad Slih ibn
- 26 -

Abdul Qadir Jithavi. The founder of this Thariq was Abul Hasan Shazuli who was born in Gemarra (in present day Tunisia) in 1196. He had as spiritual guide Abdus Salam ibn Mashish. The mosques in the Kalutara District having the Shazuliyya cognomen are:
1 Masjid ul Khurbututh Zakroon wal Zavia
Meeripenna, Dharga Town
2 Mahagoda Zavia, Beruwela
Katukurunda Zavia, Kalu tara
4 Al Mirathul Shazuliyya Zavia
Pitawela, Beruwela 5 Taj ul Mafaqir Zavia China Fort, Beruwela 6. Kuttimalai Zavia
China Fort, Beruwela 7. Zaviathul Faasiyathul Shazuliyya
Henamulla, Panadura 8. Maradana Zavia
Beruwela
9. Zaviathul Ibrahimiyya
Dharga Town
10 Zaviathul Faasiyathul Shazuliyya
Maligahena, Beruwela
11. Zaviathul Faasiyathul Shazuliyya
Kalutara South
12. Zaviathul Faasiyathul Shazuliyya
Katukurunda, Kalutara
3
A Thariq which has been particularly in Kalutara, is the Nakshabandiyya. This Thariq, originating in Asia Minor, is found throughout Turkey and the Middle East, especially in Egypt. However, some of the Thariq prevalent in Egypt, such as the Afifiyya, the Bakriyya and Leisiriyya, have not become established in Shri Lanka.
The mosques in the Kalutara District with the Nakshabandiyya cognomen are:
- 27 -

Page 16
1.
2.
3.
4.
Nakshabandiyya Jumma Mosque Gorakana, Moratuwa Nakshabandiyya Jumma Mosque Horetudawa Majlisun Nakshabandiyya Takiyya Kalutara Nakshabandiyya Takiyya Aluthgama
Another Thariq of importance in the Kalutara District is the
Qadiriyya. The Qadiriyya derives its origin from Hazrat Mohiyiddin Abdul Qadir of Jilan (in present day Iraq). The Qadiriyya has developed into several fraternities and also sub-fraternities as the Mubaraqiyya and the Kotahriyya. There are also the Thariq such as Jisthiyya, Alawiyya and the Nabaviyya. The mosques in
the
1.
2.
Kalutara District which bear the Nabaviyya cognomen are
Masjidul Nabavi Jumma Mosque Welipenna
Nabavi Jumma Mosque
Atu lugama Nabavi Burial Ground Jumma Mosque Atu lugama Henamulla Nabavi Takkiyya
Panadura.
The mosques in the Kalutara District which carry the Alaviyya
cognomen are:
1.
2.
3.
Alaviyya Jumma Mosque
Maggona
Umrathul Alaviyya Takkiyya Veyangalle, Agalawatte Alaviyya (also called Qadiriyya) Takkiyya Moor Street, Kalutara South
The mosques in Kalutara District which bear Jisthiyya
cognomen are:
1.
2.
Henamulla Jisthiyya Takkiyya Panadura
Jisthiyya Mosqe Atu lugama
- 28 -

Other significant mosques (some of them, mosques of Qadi
riyya fraternities) in the Kalutara District, are:
l.
2.
l0.
1.
14.
15.
16.
Hilur (or Oor) Palli & Mohideen Palli Kalutara
Masjidul Abrar Jumma Mosque Maradama, Beruwela Panadura Bazaar Jumma Mosque Panadura Jamiul Khairath Jumma Mosque Ambalanduwa, Pamadura Jumma Mosque,
Maggona Rowlathul Asfiyya Jumma Mosque Pallimulla, Panadura Rowlathul Athkiyya Jumma Mosque Tota watte, Panadura Henamulla Jumma Mosque, (also called Mubaraqiyya Jumma
Mosque,
Panadura Mol liyamalai Khiluririyya Jumma Mosque Beruwela Sheik Madar Jumma Mosque Dharga Town China Fort Jumma Mosque Beruwela
Jumma Mosque Veyangalla, Agalawatte Pellenda Jumma Mosque Agalawatte Horana Muslim Jumma Mosque
Horana
Neboda Jumma Mosque
Kalutara Weyakada Jumma Mosque Eluwila, Panadura
ܚ- 29 ܚ

Page 17
17.
18,
19.
20.
2.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
3.
32.
33.
Atulugama Ground Jumma Mosque Atulugama Dharga Town Jumma Mosque Dharga Town Masjidul Zam Zam Jumma Mosque Matugama
Kalutara Bazaar Mosque
Kalutara
Jamiathul Badriya Masjid
Kalutara
Masjidur Rahmaniyya Dharga Town
Baitul Mubaraq Bukhari Takkiyya Maligahena, Beruwela Soonawatte Mosque
Aluthgama
Masjidun Noor Muslim Colony, Welipenna
Maha Heena tiyangala Mosque Kalutara
Galak Pahala Mahagama Mosque Veyangalla, Agalawatte Masjidun Nazrath Takkiyya Jayakodikande Colony, Atulugama Sheik Dawood Takkiyya, Dharga Town
Mohideen Mosque
Dharga Town
Bukhari Takkiyya
Welipenna Masjidul Dheeniyya
Pana dura
Masjidun Noor Atulugama
ح--- 30 --

34. Masjidul Fatah
Moogahamulla, Atulugama
35. Masjidul Ummi Mosqu Sarikkamulla, Panadura
The Kalutara District has been celebrated for the number of Muslim saints who have lived there. The places where they had been interred after their death have been carefully maintained. These places are called shrines. The following are some of these shrines:
1. Kaliyar Appa Shrine
Dharga Town
2. Sheik Noordeen Valiullah Shrine
Kalutara
3. Shrine of Sheikh Hassan Uduman ul Maghdoomi
Dharga Town
4. Ketchimalai Shrine
Beruwela
Mosques and Muslim shrines were administered and litigated under the Trust Ordinance till the Muslim Mosques and Charitable Trusts or Wakfs Act No. 21 of 1956 was enacted.4 In 1982, soon after the establishment of the Department of Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs which is now in charge of the Minister of State for Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs), it was amended and various structural changes introduced.
Apart from the spiritual exercises of the Tariq, Muslims of the Kalutara District have taken part in various religious activities. These include the giving of khandooris, at which food is served to the needy, as well as the recital of mowloods and rathibs, devotional and hortatory verses. The popular mowloods are Subhana mowlood, Kiluri mowlood, Kwaja Mohinuddin mowlood, Badre en mowlood, Hariri mowlood and Sheik Dawood mowlood. Amon the Rathibs the most popular are rathib Muthabatyin, rathib Haddad, rathib Addish, and rathib Jalaliyva.
سس۔ 31 --س۔

Page 18
Throughout history, and particularly during the last two centuries the learned and spiritual men of the Kalutara District have left spiritual and literary works, some of which are in print. Sheikh Mustapha of Beruwela, for instance, a person of acknowledged spirituality, has left many works on Islamic theology. One of these is Meygnanattirattu.5 Another one of his works was Meezan Maalai. It is understood that he was the first to translate the Holy Quran into Tamil tafsir.
Other Muslim scholars and men of letters who lived in the last century include A. Hamid Pulavar of Maggona, Ahmed Lebb e Maraikar of Beruwela and Umar Marikar of Kalutara. The background to that intellectual endeavours still are existent. This is because, the Kalutara District has a fine network of schools. In the Panadura area, there are schools in Horetudawa, Henamulla, Totawatte and Ambalanduwa. In the Kalutara area, schools are found in Kalutara, Maggona and Beruwela as well as in Dharga Town. As regards the Matugama area, schools are situated in Veyangalla and Pelenda. These schools are of course, Muslim schools.
Hence, the heritage of the Muslims of the Kalutara District is their proudest possession.
1 William Samuel Wuthman Ruschenberger 1835 in H. A. I. Gooneti leke,
Images of Sri Lanka through American Eyes' Colombo 1975 p. 62
2 William Maxwell Wood. 1856 in Goonetilleke, p. 109. For Beruwela,
generally, S. M. Kamaldeen. Barberyn' Colombo.
3 & 4 M. M. M. Mahroof, “The Enactment of Wakf Legislation in Sri Lanka; the Law in Context' in Journal of Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Jedda 1 London July 1986
5 Dr. M. M. Uwise, Muslim Contribution to Tamil Literature” Keelakarai,
India 1991 p. 202.
-- 32 س

SKETCH MAP
kA LUTARA PISTRICT
YA
NA " , f سع " ,
w 。” w سے ع * A W o M - به . " سمه Y R \ V, محے Y V
A - حمه عی
V w سه س- - - - همه ی Y
M w
W محم۔ W. , a w
وحی> **
PANPAPRA
Tro RA NAPu 12M
KALVITARA
MAGeoNA
O AeALAWATTA
W,
Abe kuwaLA () MAT6AMA `v
ܫ A uT GAMA ʻv
w BEN TOTA ʻv
w
W,
~ . - w
V ج - به "
YA M e ar es w w
w w
w v
w w
`M > *s 

Page 19



Page 20