User:Bariuk/MKM Aboobakar
Menamuna Kassim Mohamed Aboobakar
(Also known as M.K.M. Aboobakar)
Born: 30 April 1937 (age 73)
Thirukkalachery, Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu, Republic of India
Alma mater: Madras Christian College, Chennai, India
Profession: Educationist
Religion: Islam
Menamuna Kassim Mohamed Aboobakar was born 30 April 1937 in the village called Thirukkalacherry, Nagapattinam District (then called Tanjore District), in the then Madras State, British India (now Tamil Nadu, India). He is now usually referred to as Alhaj M.K.M. Aboobakar. After having wasted his adolescent years from his early education, he started going to Primary School only from age 16. His enthusiasm and his rage to catchup on his lost education paid off after finally graduating his Bachelor's Degree in Science (B.Sc.) in the year 1962 (at age 25). During his college days he was an excellent Poet and a Writer in Tamil Literature. He also showed great interest in Athletic and in sports in college days, collecting numerous cups and medals for his achievements. He got married during his final year of his High School and had a son by the time he graduated his B.Sc. degree.
His father Menamuna Kassim was a successful businessman who had done a flourishing textile business for over 50 years in Saigon, Huế, Haiphong and Hanoi in Vietnam while it was under French Colonial Empire.
By the time Aboobakar graduated, his father had already returned to India losing everything from the business empire which he built in Vietnam after it fell into the communist hands during the Vietnam war. His father instead sent him to Hong Kong, a British Crown Colony (now Hong Kong, SAR, China) in the year 1964 to do his own business. In Hong Kong, he learnt the Gem Trade and became a successful businessman. His Hong Kong business flourished which he also expanded to Japan. At the peak of his career, he had a successful Gem Trade Business, a Food Canning Factory, a Travel Agency in Hong Kong and a Halal Fast Food Chain in Japan. He was also doing other export business from Hong Kong and Japan to the Middle East. He has four children of which 3 were helping him with his businesses while the last son was finishing his education in India.
He planned on retiring when he was 50 years old. So in 1982, he married off his 3 children (2 sons & 1 daughter) on the same day. He started to downsize his empire in Hong Kong and Japan so as to return to India for permanent settlement. Then in 1987 when he turned 50, he finally returned to India for good as planned. But his entrepreneur spirit and business skills did not stop even after returning to India. He had set-up a manufacturing company in India and did a successful business in video cassette assembling factory at Pondicherry (a.k.a Puducherry) for about 5 years. His youngest son who had just completed his education assisted him with his business in India.
But his vision and thoughts had long been to give education to the poor and under privileged people in his village when he returned to settle in India. He had to finally end all business and trade in order to focus on running his school and serving the community in his village.
- In June 1987, Aboobakar opened his very first school, Assalamath Islamic Nursery School in his village, Thirukkalacherry. This school was in a small land he owned and built using simple construction like a big tent using coconut tree leaves for the roof.
- On 1989, he set up the MKM Educational Trust, through which, he has been helping the poor and educationally backward children. They are not only from his village but also from surrounding villages to provide good English Education.
- In June 1990, he expanded his Nursery School to include Primary classes and the name became Assalamath Islamic Nursery & Primary School.
- In September 1993, his Assalamath Islamic Nursery & Primary School got Government recognition.
- In 1994, he relocated this Primary school to the adjacent land which he bought by building a proper 2 floor school building with his own money.
- In 1999, he expanded this school again by using his own funds by building and opening a 4-story school building. The school was then renamed as Aiyas Matriculation Higher Secondary School.
- On 22 May 2010, he opened his second school Aiyas CBSC School in Karaikal, Puduchery State. This school specialized in Islamic teaching together with advanced English CBSE (Centre Board of Secondary Education) System of Education for its students.
Aboobakar is a practicing religious man and a learned person in Islam. He also has studied, learned and gained vast knowledge in other fields too. Since he was a writer during his college days, he started to write.
In 2009 he wrote and published his first book in Tamil language, “Islamiya Kadamaigal – Arinthathum Ariyaathathum” (Duties of Muslim in Islam- Known and Unknown)
In May 2010, on the day of opening his second school, he published his second book also in Tamil “கருவறை முதல் கல்லறை வரை - அறிந்ததும் அறியாததும்” - “KARUVARI MUTHAL KALLAARAI VARAI – ARINTHATHUM - ARIYATHATHUM”.(meaning “Journey from Birth till Death - Known and Unknown facts”). This book had taken him almost ten years of research and collection of facts from various sources about the human conception of the child in the womb from birth till death.
He is presently working on other numerous other books at the moment. His third upcoming book called “ISLAMIYA PENGALIN URIMAIGAL – ARINTHATHUM – ARIYATHATHUM” (The Rights of Islamic Women – Known and Unknown”) also in Tamil, has been planned for release by mid 2011.
Books written:
* First book: “Islamiya Kadamaigal – Arinthathum Ariyaathathum”
Duties of Muslim in Islam- Known and Unknown
* Second book: “கருவறை முதல் கல்லறை வரை - அறிந்ததும் அறியாததும்”.
Which literally means, “Journey from Birth till Death - Known and Unknown facts”