Zahira College, Colombo
Zahira College, Colombo ( commonly known as Zahira College or simply as Zahira ) ( Sinhala: සහිරා විදුහල, Tamil: சாஹிரா கல்லுரி, Arabic: Zahira means "Excellence" ) is the very first Muslim school in Sri Lanka and was founded in 1892 as Al Madrasathul Zahira by two of the most prominent Sri Lankan Muslims of the day, I. L. M. Abdul Aziz and Arasi Marikar Wapchie Marikar, with the active patronage of Ahmed Orabi Pasha of Egypt. It is currently the largest Muslim educational institution in Sri Lanka with more than 4000 students studying there. The college is situated at the heart of Colombo city. The college also has one of the oldest mosques in the country in its premises.
History
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The idea of school mainly for Muslims was conceived by visionaries at a time, such as Proctor M. C. Siddi Lebbe of Kandy, when circumstances were positively hostile to English education due to the reasons where English education was very much associated with proselytism. At this juncture in history of Sri Lanka almost all the schools in the country were run by Christian missionaries. Because Sri Lanka had not won its independence from the British Empire an almost state aided conversion submerged other communities. Nevertheless Muslim pioneers in education were more than satisfied that Islam would weather assaults at conversion but that education was essential for the Muslim community’s progress if not its very survival. Thus did Zahira make its first small steps on Monday, 22 August 1892.
An historic public speech made by M. C. Siddhi Lebbe in 1891 at the Maradana Mosque Hall (which later became to be the college mosque) and his appeal to the Muslim community to unite and promote the educational advancement of the community led to the formation of the Colombo Muslim Educational Society. The first Secretary was I. L. M. Abdul Aziz and Arasi Marikar Wapchie Marikar was the first Treasurer and Head Master. With the help of Ahamed Orabi Pasha, an Egyptian exile in Ceylon and freedom fighter, the long cherished dream of Al-Madrasathul Zahira was established. In 1894 the school was registered as a grant-in-aid school Maradana Mohammedan Boys School.
