Rank Nazeer Ahmed

{{short description|Indian Muslim scholar and politician (1939–present)}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Nazeer Ahmed

| office1 = Member of Karnataka Legislative Assembly

| term_start1 = 1978

| term_end1 = 1979

| constituency1 = Tumakuru

| predecessor1 = Abdul Subhan

| successor1 = S.Shafi Ahmed

| term_start2 = 1979

| term_end2 = 1983

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1939|09|28|df=y}}

| birth_place = Tumkur, Mysore State, United India
(now in Karnataka, India)

| party = 25px Indian National Congress

}}

Nazeer Ahmed (also known as Rank Nazeer) is an Indian Muslim scholar, politician, historian and translator and founder-author of the Encyclopedia of Islamic History.{{cite book|author=Nazeer Ahmed|title=The Qur'an: An English Translation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AwnnRuJBEAQC|date=2011|publisher=Xlibris Corporation|isbn=9781469135229|page=119}}{{cite web|url=https://historyofislam.com|title=History of Islam|website=historyofislam.com|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130125194158/http://historyofislam.com/|archive-date=25 January 2013}} He is a former politician of Indian National Congress, a former Member of Legislative Assembly from Karnataka,{{cite web|last1=Ahmed and Roger.R|first1=Nazeer and Tomlinson|title= Apparatus for strain-free mounting of optical components |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z0YbAQAAMAAJ&q=nazeer&pg=PA1761-IA96|work= Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office: Patents, Volume 1099, Issues 3-4|accessdate=24 September 2020|date=21 February 1989}} and Member of Karnataka Knowledge Commission, Government of Karnataka.{{cite web|last1=Ahamed Jhon |first1=M.A|title=Reconstitution of Karnataka Knowledge Commission|url=https://www.karnataka.gov.in/jnanaayoga/Govt%20Order%20%20Circulars/GO_Reconstitution%20of%20KJA_25-06-2019.pdf|work=Karnataka Jnana Aayoga (Karnataka Knowledge Commission)|accessdate=26 December 2019|date=25 June 2019}}{{cite web|title=The students need creative and analytical thinking|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/content/156893/students-need-creative-analytical-thinking.html|work=Deccan Herald|accessdate=26 December 2019|date=26 April 2011}}

Early life

He was born in Tumkur in the state of Mysore, India in 1939 to Abdul Azeem, an Islamic scholar of the Qadiriyya. In 1952, he achieved the first rank in the entire state of Mysore and won the Maharaja of Mysore Gold Medal. He has been known as “Rank Nazeer Ahmed” due to the consistency with which he ranked first in state and interstate exams.

He entered the California Institute of Technology in 1961 as an Institute Scholar as well as a Tata Scholar. He was awarded MS and AeE degrees from Caltech. He worked in Huntsville, Alabama on the Saturn, Apollo and Lunar Land Rover Projects at the Marshall Space Flight Center in 1964–65. He obtained a PhD in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from Cornell University in 1967. Under Peter Drucker he studied management at New York University. He then obtained an MBA from Rider University, New Jersey.

Teachers

He received his early religious training from Maulvi Abdul Quddus Qudsi, and he continues to be a student of Nazim al-Haqqani.

Political career

In 1977, he was elected a member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from the 57th constituency but resigned a year later. In 1988 he was elected a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, 42nd Congressional District in California. In 1992 he was a candidate for US Congress, 46 CA Congressional District.{{Cite news |date=2018-02-13 |title=Muslim leaders call for united struggle |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/muslim-leaders-call-for-united-struggle/article22746216.ece |access-date=2023-07-27 |issn=0971-751X}}{{Cite web |title=Congressman Ramesh Kumar at it again, this time heckles scribes covering party event |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/2022/jul/30/congressman-ramesh-kumar-at-it-againthis-time-heckles-scribes-covering-party-event-2482114.html |access-date=2023-07-27 |website=The New Indian Express}}

Charity work

The charities he founded in Tumkur, India, have given out millions in scholarships to poor children of all faiths and has built schools, mosques, and a unique Idgah with spiritual themes.

Books

Among his books are the following:

Islam in Global History, in two volumes was published in the United States and translated into Urdu and Persian.
The Qur'an: An English Translation, was done over a period of three years, between 2007 and 2010, although some of this work was done as early as 1972.{{cite web|url=https://historyofislam.com/the-quran/|title=The Qur'an – Its significance for Islamic History|website=historyofislam.com|date=29 April 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150731174907/http://historyofislam.com/the-quran/|archive-date=31 July 2015}}